Title: Holidays & Homicide
Author: Lucinda Race
Genre: Paranormal Cozy Mystery, Holiday Cozy Mystery
Book Blurb:
Welcome to Pembroke Cove, where witches and murders are multiplying...
With twinkling lights and Christmas trees, the small seaside town of Pembroke Cove, Maine is dressed up for the season. Lily Michaels, bookstore owner and witch, is excited to be going to the Glow and Glide ice skating festival. This year as part of a couple with her new fiancé, Gage Erikson—who Milo, her familiar calls, Detective Cutie. It’s the holidays, what could go wrong?
After the fun is over from the skating event Lily drives by the rink and is shocked to discover a body on the ice. Archie Dane is dead. Lily's intuition starts to twitch. When she learns there is a discarded mailbag near the body things really go wonky. Archie was a nice guy, but with claims of stolen mail parcels, was he a thief, stealing from his friends and neighbors?
Suspects and motives are piling up faster than the crisp white snow. What is Archie’s new girlfriend, Noelle, hiding? What about his co-worker flirting with Noelle? With Lily's spell work improving and having escaped death four times in the last six months, will her luck hold while solving another murder? It’s a magical season, but will it be a merry Christmas for Lily and Gage?
My Review:
After the skating party, Lily discovers local mailman dead in the center of the rink. With suspects piling up as Christmas fast approaches, can she unwrap the killer or will she stay silent forever? This delightful holiday paranormal cozy mystery is the fifth book in the series, and I think it might be my favorite. Lily and Gage are engaged, make a great detective duo, and are full of the holiday spirit. The victim is the local mailman. He seems innocent enough, yet Lily discovers he may have been harboring a secret. Holidays & Homicide is a cozy wrapped up in Christmas cheer and sure to put you in the festive mood.
Let’s start with the cozy mystery plot. Lucinda Race is a prolific writer, and this mystery is exceptional. The characters are introduced then the murder takes place. The rest of the plot is investigating the murder. There are false clues, a couple of surprises, and a fascinating trail of deducing. I love cozies like this where it’s a natural pace. The plot unfolds at a normal progression and there are plenty of suspects to sift through.
The characters are my favorite part. Lily and Gage may be a couple, but he still tries to keep her safe. Lily’s astute mind and ways of investigating are very easy to follow. It’s almost like I get to be as smart as Lily for awhile. The cast of characters (some new, some recurring) are colorful and quirky. They are what make reading this series such fun.
The paranormal aspects are of Lily learning to be a witch, with the help of her familiar, Milo, of course. I like this sprinkling of magic. It adds a whimsical vibe to this cozy mystery.
If you love cozy mysteries featuring a witchy amateur detective, you’ll want to read this book. In fact, I know you’ll love the whole series.
My Rating: 5+ stars
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Author Biography:
Award-winning and best-selling author Lucinda Race is a lifelong fan of fiction. As a young girl, she spent hours reading cozy mystery and romance novels and getting lost in the fictional worlds. While her friends dreamed of becoming doctors and engineers, her dream was to become a writer—a novelist.
As life twisted and turned, she found herself writing nonfiction but longed to turn to her true passion. After developing the storyline for the McKenna Family Romance series, it was time to start living her dream. Her fingers practically fly over computer keys she weaves stories with strong, quirky characters, snarky humor, and toss in a bit of romance. To date, she has published over 30 novels paranormal cozy mysteries, and romance.
Lucinda lives with her two little dogs, a miniature long hair dachshund and a shitzu mix rescue, in the rolling hills of western Massachusetts. When she's not at her day job, she’s immersed in her fictional worlds. And if she’s not writing novels, she’s reading everything she can get her hands on.
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Bookbub Lucinda Race https://www.bookbub.com/profile/lucinda-race
Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/Lucinda-Race/e/B00Q0MMNUM
Lucinda’s Heart Racers Reader Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/118597305361578
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Reviewed by: Nancy