Maine innkeeper Holly White returns to sleuth another seasonal slaying
in the third Christmas Tree Farm mystery from author Jacqueline Frost.
Reindeer Games Christmas Tree Farm is going into the B&B business, and
Holly White is looking forward to her new role as innkeeper. Even
better, Mistletoe, Maine's sheriff, Evan Gray, has deputized his little
sister Libby to help Holly wrap presents for Mistletoe's toy drive. But
a cold wind ruffles the cheery holiday decorations when a new guest
checks in: Karen, a vicious B&B critic, who could make or break the new
inn. And the short December days turn even darker when Evan and Libby
find Karen's dead body in the gift-wrapped toy donation box.
The suspect list is longer than Santa's naughty list, and local resident
Cookie is on it, since her fingerprints are all over the murder weapon,
a metal nutcracker that she gave to Holly. So is Libby, who recently
moved to town from Boston in less-than-savory circumstances. But cranky
Karen was an oh-holy-nightmare to lots of the townsfolk, such as Evan's
reporter friend Ray; Christopher, the inn's former contractor; and
confectioner Bonnie, whose Gum Drop Shop was a direct target of Karen's
scathing prose.
To figure out the killer's identity and clear Cookie's name, Holly and
her friends brainstorm at The Hearth, the farm's café, while her mother
keeps them fueled with Christmas goodies fresh from the oven. But if
they can't put the culprit on ice, Holly may never see another
Christmas.
