No one can glam up the holidays like the rich & famous. Sporting a wealthy clientele list, Amanda & Chloe Carstairs are busily decking the halls for them. Interior designer Amanda is used to divas & high strung men who want outlandish décor for the Christmas season. Amid parties & chaos, they trim each home to perfection. At famous crimewriter, Saul Taylor’s house, they’ve almost finished recreating the 12 Days of Christmas. Unfortunately, their spirits are dampened when a severed hand is found on a NOEL doormat.
Saul blows it off as an occupational hazard. Chloe & Amanda are horrified. However, the night of his Christmas party a few days later, a drunken Saul dies after taking his heart pill. Who’s killed the crime writer?
There’s no shortage of suspects. To start, his May-December girlfriend & a notorious gangster top the list. Then there’s a classless attention seeker & her plump husband. Saul’s daughter is MIA. Judges & attorneys were both present. Most of the partygoers have a closet full of skeletons. Saul was a braggart & had busy hands with other people’s wives. Plus, it’s widely known that Saul’s boisterous personality & abrasive antics didn’t earn him any popularity points. As a crime writer, he’s opened his share of Pandora’s boxes. Can the Carstairs ladies wrap up this crime with a tidy bow before there’s another corpse under the tree?
Humor peppered throughout & a madcap suspect list equals a great mystery. Each character was highly unique in his or her own way. Both female leads are strong & capable. The author creates very vivid mental pictures. We’re fed just enough to keep us guessing awhile, which is essential to any mystery’s plot.
A little too descriptive with the dropping of brand names, but all in all a delightful read. You may want to ask Santa for your own copy. It’s a 4 out of 5 star novel.
I received 1 eBook copy in exchange for an honest review & all opinions are mine.
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Christmas and a mystery–sounds good to me.