A Circle of Dead Girls (A Will Rees Mystery Book #8) by Eleanor Kuhns

The circus arrives in Durham and the whole town is excited... until the body of a Shaker girl is found beaten.

The circus has arrived in Durham, Maine. Before weaver Will Rees is able to take in its spectacle, he spots Magistrate Hanson - the man he blames for his family's having to flee Dugard two years earlier.

On his journey home he encounters Shaker brothers searching for a girl from their Zion community. Despite women not being allowed inside the circus, Leah had snuck out to visit it. They quickly come across her lifeless body beaten and thrown into a farmer's field on the road leading to the circus.

Bored of his household chores, Rees begins investigating at the expense of his home life. He becomes entranced by the lives of the circus performers, including the charismatic horse rider and tightrope walker. Is his longing for his old journeyman's life causing him to take his eye off the case, and can he stay out of Hanson's way and keep his family safe?  (Summary via Goodreads)

There is a lot going on in A Circle of Dead Girls, the eighth book in the Will Rees Mystery series, by Eleanor Kuhns .... and readers cannot help but love it !!  Hopefully you are a fan of this series already but if not, you have some reading to do, which I'm sure you will enjoy.

In A Circle of Dead Girls main character Will Rees is excited that a circus will be stopping in town.  Unfortunately, only men and boys are allowed to see it so his wife and daughters cannot attend.  The best that they can hope is that Will will be able to describe everything he sees.

But before he returns home from seeing a little bit of the circus performances, he comes across some of the men from the Shaker community who are looking for one of their own, a young girl who left with a boy but has not returned.  He agrees to help them search for her only to find her body in a farmer's field.

Everyone wants to blame the members of the circus, but Will knows he has to have an open mind especially when he has to convince the local constable that the man he quickly arrested is not the guilty party.

Will will stop at nothing to solve the murder and bring justice to the victim, even if it jeopardizes his marriage and homelife.  Will wants to be more than just a farmer, he wants to be able to do weaving jobs and solve any criminal cases that occur.  And readers cannot help but want that also.

Christmas in Newfoundland 3: Sgt. Windflower Holiday Tales by Mike Martin

Sgt. Windflower loves Christmas and we’re happy to share what he and his family and friends do at Christmastime in Grand Bank or Marystown or Ramea, Newfoundland. Some of the stories feature Windflower and Sheila’s adorable daughters and of course Eddie Tizzard and his family make several spotlight appearances. Other stories take you back to Christmas seasons of any years long past and there’s even a return of a fabulous Newfoundland tradition, the Mummers.

Christmas is a time to celebrate but it is also a time to reminisce and remember. We hope that it will bring back pleasant memories for you and your family to share at Christmas and throughout the year. Come celebrate Christmas in Newfoundland with Sgt. Windflower Mysteries.  (Summary via Goodreads)

Christmas in Newfoundland 3 by Mike Martin is a book with short stories pertaining to the characters from his Sgt. Windflower Mystery series and Christmas.  This is the third book of Christmas short stories, and it really allows readers a chance to get to know the characters without a murder to solve.

Christmas in Newfoundland 3 consists of 12 stories, most of them in Windflower's voice but it also allows you to get to know Eddie Tizzard, his family and father, the Mug-Up Cafe where everyone hangs out, Windflower and Eddie's dad when they were younger, and even a story when they had a green Christmas.  It's weird because when you read the Sgt. Windflower Mystery series, it is either raining or snowing in the stories.

While I was reading this book, I thought I had my favorite story picked out .... until I started reading the next one.  However, if I had to pick my favorite, I think I would choose Christmas Away.  In this story Eddie Tizzard is going to his fiancé Carrie's family home to meet her parents and ask her father for his blessing on them getting married.  In this story you are focusing on Eddie and Carrie and get to know them a little deeper.  But again, it was very hard to pick and that is only by a small margin.

Christmas in Newfoundland 3 allows readers to take a break from shopping, cooking and partying with friends and family and sit down for a few minutes with a snack and treat and read for a few minutes.  You can read a story then get right back to celebrating ... or read another one. There is no wrong way to read it.  Enjoy !!! 

 

Murder in an Irish Churchyard (Irish Village Mystery Book # 3) by Carlene O'Connor

Bestselling author Carlene O’Connor’s third novel in the acclaimed Irish Village Mystery series is now available in trade paperback! The village of Kilbane in County Cork, Ireland, has a new garda—and her first case is a grave matter indeed.

It's official! Siobhán is now Garda O’Sullivan, and her five siblings couldn’t be prouder. While brother James runs Naomi’s Bistro, Siobhán is doing her part to keep the village safe. Of course, Kilbane is pretty quiet compared to a place like Dublin, where Macdara Flannery has gone to be a detective sergeant. Good for him, but she still misses him.

Then one night the local priest summons Siobhán to the church cemetery. There’s a dead man in the graveyard—aboveground. He’s a stranger, but the priest has heard talk of an American tourist in town, searching for his Irish ancestor. A detective sergeant is dispatched from Dublin to assist with the case, and as fate would have it, it’s Macdara. After his parting, things are awkward between them, but they have to work together. They learn the victim was from Dublin—Dublin, Ohio, that is. And when his extended family arrives from the States, the plot thickens. Siobhán begins to dig for a motive among the gnarled roots of the family tree. But as long-buried secrets are unearthed, she and Macdara will need to stay two steps ahead of the killer or end up with more than one foot in the grave.  (Summary via Goodreads)

Anytime that I can spend time at Naomi's Bistro with the O'Sullivan Six in Kilbane, Ireland, I am going to do it !!  But with this third book, Murder in an Irish Churchyard, things are really different !!!

Murder in an Irish Churchyard, is the third book in the Irish Village Mystery series by Carlene O'Connor and main character Siobhan is on her first official murder case as a new guard at the Kilbane Gardai Station.  Unfortunately, things don't start off well when Father Kearney summons her at the bistro in the middle of the night when he finds a dead body above ground in the cemetery.  And things don't get any better when Detective Sergeant Macdara Flannery returns to oversee the investigation.  They were a couple until Siobhan decided to go to school to be a guard without talking to him first.  Even though he knew how much she enjoyed solving the cases in an unofficial capacity.

It doesn't take long for Siobhan to realize things are very different when you have to follow rules and not go by what you assume.  She has a hard time just following the evidence .... and the group that they are concentrating on are an American group, some family, who are there to do a documentary of their family who they believe lived in Ireland many years ago.  But when Frank, the one who really wanted to find out his family's history, is found dead in the cemetery, all the family and rest of the group want to do is return to the States.

Siobhan is working against the clock to find the killer and Macdara isn't helping.  The tension between them is there but he has forbidden them from discussing anything personal, so she has to work through that as well.

Readers cannot help but want to hang out at Naomi's Bistro or walk around town, even with a killer out there.  You will love Siobhan and her siblings, Macdara and their relationship or lack thereof, the town, the food ... even the murder case draws you in. You won't want to stop reading until you get to the end to make sure Siobhan can again solve the case.

Holidays & Homicides: Short story collection by Rosalie Spielman , Catherine Bruns , Gin Jones , Annie McEwen , Lena Gregory , Jennifer Fischetto , Anne Marie Stoddard , Kelly Rey , Misty Simon , Christine Knapp , Jamie L. Adams , & Erica Wynters

From twelve USA Today bestselling and award winning authors, comes a short story collection stuffed full of mirthful mysteries, clever criminals, and holiday cheer! These short holiday bites are perfect for enjoying between rounds of wrapping or binge-reading over a cup of cocoa!

Stories

A Hometown Christmas Caper (Hometown Mysteries)
by Rosalie Spielman

Gossip, Guilt & Gingerbread (Coffee & Cream Café Mysteries)
by Lena Gregory

Larceny & Twinkle Lights (Jamie Winters Mysteries)
by Kelly Rey

Holidays & Heists (Aloha Lagoon Mysteries) by Anne Marie Stoddard

Ornaments, Surprise & Dead Guys (Gianna Mancini Mysteries) by Jennifer Fischetto

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Mischief (Northwoods Mysteries) by Annie McEwen

You Can't see the Forest for the Christmas Trees (Modern Midwife Mysteries) by Christine Knapp

Jingle Bell Rocker (Sunny Side Up Mysteries) by Misty Simon

Holly, Handcuffs, and Hearsay (Camelot Flowers Mysteries) by Erica Wynters

Search for the Silent Santa (Ghost Town Mysteries) by Jamie L. Adams

Nothing But Truffle (Cookies & Chance Mysteries) by Catherine Bruns

A Heartland Homicide (Bourbon B&B Mysteries) by Gin Jones   (Summary via Goodreads)

Holidays & Homicides is a collection of short stories written by a group of amazing authors who have books published through Gemma Halliday Publishing.  Each short stories gives readers a glimpse into the characters and settings surrounding the series that they write about.  This gives the readers a little Christmas fun as well as allows you to pick your next books .... or if you are like me and you have read books by the authors, it just makes you fall in love with them some more.

Even though the authors are cozy mystery authors not all the short stories involve murder, some of them do, which again sheds some light on their creative story telling.

I dare you to pick a favorite.  Every time I was reading one, it became my favorite, and I was sure it would remain that way.  But then I began reading the next one and that jumped to the top of the list.

From Thanksgiving until after the New Year everyone is busy so if you can sit down with a short story and get lost for an hour or so, that helps with your stress level.  Sometimes, especially this time of year, we do not have the time to devote to a full novel, so this is the perfect solution.  So, grab your copy, a cup of tea or glass of wine, a snack and enjoy some time with Holidays & Homicides.

O, Deadly Night (A Year-Round Christmas Mystery Book # 8) by Vicki Delany

Tis the season for mischief and murder in the 8th Year-Round Christmas mystery from national bestselling author Vicki Delany.

It’s Christmastime in Rudolph, New York, which means it’s time for the December Santa Claus parade. This year, shop owner Merry Wilkinson has decided to decorate her float as Santa’s elves' workshop and invites her landlady, Mabel D’Angelo, to help supervise the excited children playing the elves. But when Mrs. D’Angelo doesn’t show up, Merry begins to worry. 

Worry quickly turns into frustration when Mrs. D’Angelo reveals she was delayed by new neighbors moving in. As the center for all things gossip, Mrs. D’Angelo is determined to introduce the new arrivals to the neighborhood. As the days pass, Mrs. D’Angelo notices strange things about the newcomers, but Merry, busier than an elf in Santa’s workshop, has little time for matters that really don’t concern her. But things turn from jolly to downright concerning when Mrs. D’Angelo disappears, and Merry is forced to admit that something might be terribly wrong. 

With family and friends counting on her during this stressful holiday season, it is up to Merry to make sure this Christmas doesn’t end up wrapped in blood red.  (Summary via Goodreads)

I know O, Deadly Night by Vicki Delany is the eighth book in the Year-Round Christmas Mystery series and can be read any time of the year but reading it in December really helps put readers into the Christmas spirit .... even with a murder to solve.

In O, Deadly Night main character Merry Wilkinson is as busy as always running her store, Mrs. Claus's Treasures on Jingle Bell Lane in the town of Rudolph. But when Mrs. D'Angelo, her landlord who lives downstairs in the big Victoria that Merry lives upstairs in, tells her about some mysterious goings on across the street in an empty house, she begins to also gets suspicious.  And then when Mrs. D'Angelo goes missing for a few days, her attention is on high alert.

When Merry goes snooping across the street she finds more than Mrs. D'Angelo tied up in the kitchen pantry.  She finds a dead woman in the cellar with lots of machines.  It is soon learned that the dead woman is actually someone who went to school with Merry's sister Eve and the machinery is used to make counterfeit money.  The deceased, Raquel, has a criminal past and the NYPD take over the investigation so Merry can let it go.

Unfortunately, Merry cannot let it go even though Christmas is soon approaching and she needs to concentrate on her store and enjoy the holiday.  But she is way off in her investigating when her and Mrs. D'Angelo come face to face with Raquel's killer .....

I loved reading O, Deadly Night !!  There is no way you cannot fall in love with the town of Rudolph, the shops and the people.  I wish it were real so I could visit it !!  I guess we will have to settle for visiting it in the books.