PUBLISHER: Dell Mystery
PUBLISHING DATE: December 2000
From The Back Of The Book....
Murder in the holiday spirit
It was Christmas in Lickin Creek, and all through the town something was stirring..The borough council was quarreling about the color of the Christmas lights. A social worker wouldn't let a living baby be part of the town's living crèche. And some ladies were stretching the limits of their leotards in a pageant called the Nutcracker. All in all, former New Yorker Tori Miracle was basking in the quaint glow of her adopted Pennsylvania town, when suddenly the season went sour. A boy was missing. A thirty-year-old mystery resurfaced. And now two people have been murdered. With her boyfriend--the town police chief--out of town, Tori must help his befuddled replacement. And what she finds out, or should be finding out, is making Tori the next target--of someone only in the mood for murder....
REVIEW
It's almost Christmas in Licken Creek, Pennsylvania. A substitute editor for the weekly newspaper, Tori Miracle is a transplanted New Yorker who's in love with the town sheriff. Now he's off in Costa Rica and Tori's stuck in Licken Creek trying hard to shed her "outsider" status and be accepted by the small town community. With Christmas just a week away, she finds herself estranged from her best friend, second-guessing her boyfriend's commitment, and hot on the trail of a murderer.
This is the fourth book in the Tori Miracle mystery series, Death, Snow and Mistletoe has a cast of eccentric characters and a refreshing view of small town life. Once I got past all the strange (and I do mean strange) names, I enjoyed getting to know the people of Licken Creek.
Malmont puts a great deal of humor in a book whose undercurrents deals with alcoholism, domestic abuse, poverty, bigotry, Wiccan religion, and of course, murder. Tori's observations and dealings with her slightly daffy neighbors will keep you turning the pages as much as the desire to discover the murderer.
One of those keeping company with Tori is the world-famous psychic Praxythea Evangelista. Praxythea has appeared in previous Miracle books to confound and exasperate Tori. Here she's busy playing Martha Stewart to Tori's avenging angel, mixing up fruitcake and cookies with aplomb. (Recipes to follow)
Things get much worse for the Tori before they get better. A five year old goes missing and another child's long-lost remains are unearthed, and two of Licken Creeks' rather notorious citizens die gruesome deaths within days of each other. Tori ultimately saves the day and even learns a thing or two about the spirit of Christmas.
Malmont's given us another winner with Death, Snow, and Mistletoe. An excellent cozy-up-to-the-fire book for the cold nights ahead. Have a cup of tea, cut yourself a slice of fruitcake and settle in for a nice cozy read.
EXCELLENT
Jo Anderson
R & M Reviews
