Meg and Michael’s house is serving as the marshaling point for the annual Caerphilly Christmas parade. The theme is “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” and it features twelve drummers from the school marching band, eleven bagpipers, ten leaping lords costumed in medieval finery from the college drama department, etc. There are also assorted Christmas-themed floats, a live nativity scene on a flatbed truck, the Three Wise Men on Caerphilly zoo camels, and Santa Claus in a bright red horse-drawn sleigh (eight reindeer were beyond the zoo’s scope) Meg has been volunteered to organize the parade, which is to proceed from her house to the local campus, where Santa will take up residence to hear the Christmas wishes of the town’s children. Of course, getting all the camels, pipers, leapers, and drummers in order is proving every bit as difficult as Meg feared it would be. Then her nephew Eric, wide-eyed and ashen-faced, whispers, “Meg, something’s wrong with Santa.”  The local curmudgeon, whose beard and belly made him a natural for the role, has been murdered. Now Meg and Chief Burke, who is playing one of the wise men, are faced with the two-fold mission of solving the murder and saving Christmas!

My Review: I read this book on the recommendation of my daughter, Amy, because she knows I LOVE cozy mysteries.  It’s a double blessing that it is a Christmas book!  Even though I think this book is 10th in a series, it could stand alone.  I will, however, look into the previous books because it met all my qualifications of a good, escaping read – close family ties, smart and curious female main character, AND a mystery.  I didn’t solve the mystery right away, although maybe I should have.  I am new to this series and didn’t know the characters well.  The Christmas parade based on the 12 Days of Christmas is what makes this book holidayish – also the SNOW (which I can only dream about and remember in So. California!)  There are also lots of quotes from Dickens “A Christmas Carol.”  Amy was right on – this book is just as lovable as the books by Joanne Fluke and Leslie Meier.  I recommend this book to others, who like me, enjoy entertaining, light mysteries.  There is just a little mild language and no graphic sex scenes.

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 14th, 2009 at 12:07 pm

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