Empress Isabella and a Cracklin' Christmas by Margaret Evans

Holiday and wedding plans spin everyone’s heads as Laura and Connor set their wedding date and practicing their vows and dance moves. Empress Isabella tries to keep everything going as planned, but an unexpected reindeer "deer-napping" threatens to cancel the wedding! And what about the dead body at the tree farm? Or Laura going missing? Who can have done this??

Will Isabella work her magic to pull everything back together in time?

BE SURE YOU DON'T MISS THE WEDDING OF THE YEAR, OR NON-WEDDING...   (Summary via Goodreads)

Empress Isabella and a Cracklin' Christmas is the third prequel to the Laura Keene Cozy Mystery series by Margaret Evans.  This is the third novella that introduces the reader into the lives of main character Laura Keene, her hometown of Raging Ford in Minnesota and the friends, family and other residents of the town....and the importance that Empress Isabella has in their lives.  

Readers hopefully read the first two novellas in this little series....first there was Empress Isabella and the Halloween Caper and then Empress Isabella's Disastrous Thanksgiving.  They obviously occured around the two holidays and Empress Isabella and a Cracklin' Christmas follows suit.

The one thing that readers should prepare themselves when they read these three novellas is that at first only Laura could see and feel Isabella who is a cat but then something changed and her fiance Sgt. Connor Fitzpatrick was able to see her also.

Another thing that readers should know when reading these is that even though they are less than 100 pages long each, they are packed with a lot of story and things going on.....

In Empress Isabella and a Cracklin' Christmas not only is the town gearing up for their holiday Reindeer Cheer Festival which is going to include real reindeer but there is a wedding planned as well !! With Laura and Connors wedding set for the 27th of December, Laura is just sitting on the Reindeer Cheer committee as a consultant.  However when some reindeer are reported as missing and some town people are missing as well, Laura cannot help but do some investigating into their disappearances.   

All Laura wants is her hometown to be a safe place for residents as well as tourists that come to visit and to walk down the aisle and marry the man of her dreams......and with Empress Isabella on the case, there is nothing to worry about......hopefully !!

Readers can pick up these novellas and read them all in one sittiing or take your time with them.  Once you start reading, you may have a hard time putting them down.  Evans sure knows how to put the words to the pages to keep you turning them.  I cannot wait to see what is in store for everyone in Raging Falls but I know that whatever it is it will be a GREAT read !!!  Look for the full novel in this series coming out early 2022 !!!

Review by Missi M.