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Secrets of Mary's Bookshop #15
The Lost Noel
Christmas is coming, and Mary is excited that both of her children are bringing their families to Ivy Bay for the holiday. Grace Church is putting on its first ever living Nativity, and the congregation members are all pitching in, including Mary and Betty. But only a week before Christmas, the costumes go missing. Then the sheep escapes from its pen and the flyers around town have all been torn down. Someone is sabotaging the living Nativity! As Mary investigates the strange mishaps, she discovers that the truth is far more complicated than she expected. Can she save the Nativity - and the church's "goodwill toward men" - before Christmas?
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
December 20, 2021
About this book:
“Christmas is coming, and Mary is excited that both of her children are bringing their families to Ivy Bay for the holiday. Grace Church is putting on its first ever living Nativity, and the congregation members are all pitching in, including Mary and Betty. But only a week before Christmas, the costumes go missing. Then the sheep escapes from its pen and the flyers around town have all been torn down. Someone is sabotaging the living Nativity! As Mary investigates the strange mishaps, she discovers that the truth is far more complicated than she expected. Can she save the Nativity - and the church's "goodwill toward men" - before Christmas?”
Series: Book #15 in the “Secrets of Mary’s Bookshop” series. Please click on the number to be taken to that review: Book #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, and #16.
Spiritual Content- 1 Timothy 1:15 at the end in bonus content; Scriptures are quoted, mentioned, read, discussed, & thought-over; Bible reading; Church going & a sermon; Prayers & Thanking God; Set during the Christmas season and a live nativity is the main focus of the plot; Talks about God, Jesus’ birthday, & forgiving; ‘H’s are capitalized when referring to God; Many mentions of churches, church going, pastors, events; Many mentions of those in the Bible, a live Nativity, & nativity sets; Mentions of God & faiths; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of thanking God & the phrase “thank heavens” is said a couple times; Mentions of blessings & being blessed; Mentions of Christmas hymns; A mention of a miracle;
*Note: Mentions of Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus, & St. Nicholas.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a form of ‘dumb’, a ‘sucker’, two ‘wicked’s, and four ‘stupid’s; Some eye rolling; All about missing costumes & an ewe (possibly stolen); Mentions of stealing, stolen items, vandalism, & possible thieves and vandals; A couple mentions of lying; A mention of the Revolutionary War; A mention of jail; A mention of rumors; A mention of the possibility of an animal being hit by a car; A mention of animal droppings;
*Note: Mentions of a high school group (“Animals Aren’t Props”) boycotting the live nativity because of the animals; Mentions of movies, books, authors (including Agatha Christie), and an old skit (with George Burns and Gracie Allen); A few mentions of a car brand; A mention of the New England Patriots; A mention of a Boy Scouts troop.
Sexual Content- N/A.
-Mary Fisher
P.O.V. of Mary
289 pages
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Pre Teens- One Star
New Teens- Two Stars
Early High School Teens- Three Stars
Older High School Teens- Four Stars
My personal Rating- Three Stars
There is three mysteries packed inside this Christmas mystery and a lot of different leads and red herrings. I was able to figure out 1.5 of the mysteries, but it was still enjoyable. A bit of a slow beginning, but it started picking up towards the middle and end as different clues are revealed. This one wasn’t my favorite from the series, and while I thought the reasons for the actions were a little weak, I did liked the multiple mysteries within the story.
Link to review:
https://booksforchristiangirls.blogsp...
*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
“Christmas is coming, and Mary is excited that both of her children are bringing their families to Ivy Bay for the holiday. Grace Church is putting on its first ever living Nativity, and the congregation members are all pitching in, including Mary and Betty. But only a week before Christmas, the costumes go missing. Then the sheep escapes from its pen and the flyers around town have all been torn down. Someone is sabotaging the living Nativity! As Mary investigates the strange mishaps, she discovers that the truth is far more complicated than she expected. Can she save the Nativity - and the church's "goodwill toward men" - before Christmas?”
Series: Book #15 in the “Secrets of Mary’s Bookshop” series. Please click on the number to be taken to that review: Book #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, and #16.
Spiritual Content- 1 Timothy 1:15 at the end in bonus content; Scriptures are quoted, mentioned, read, discussed, & thought-over; Bible reading; Church going & a sermon; Prayers & Thanking God; Set during the Christmas season and a live nativity is the main focus of the plot; Talks about God, Jesus’ birthday, & forgiving; ‘H’s are capitalized when referring to God; Many mentions of churches, church going, pastors, events; Many mentions of those in the Bible, a live Nativity, & nativity sets; Mentions of God & faiths; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of thanking God & the phrase “thank heavens” is said a couple times; Mentions of blessings & being blessed; Mentions of Christmas hymns; A mention of a miracle;
*Note: Mentions of Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus, & St. Nicholas.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a form of ‘dumb’, a ‘sucker’, two ‘wicked’s, and four ‘stupid’s; Some eye rolling; All about missing costumes & an ewe (possibly stolen); Mentions of stealing, stolen items, vandalism, & possible thieves and vandals; A couple mentions of lying; A mention of the Revolutionary War; A mention of jail; A mention of rumors; A mention of the possibility of an animal being hit by a car; A mention of animal droppings;
*Note: Mentions of a high school group (“Animals Aren’t Props”) boycotting the live nativity because of the animals; Mentions of movies, books, authors (including Agatha Christie), and an old skit (with George Burns and Gracie Allen); A few mentions of a car brand; A mention of the New England Patriots; A mention of a Boy Scouts troop.
Sexual Content- N/A.
-Mary Fisher
P.O.V. of Mary
289 pages
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Pre Teens- One Star
New Teens- Two Stars
Early High School Teens- Three Stars
Older High School Teens- Four Stars
My personal Rating- Three Stars
There is three mysteries packed inside this Christmas mystery and a lot of different leads and red herrings. I was able to figure out 1.5 of the mysteries, but it was still enjoyable. A bit of a slow beginning, but it started picking up towards the middle and end as different clues are revealed. This one wasn’t my favorite from the series, and while I thought the reasons for the actions were a little weak, I did liked the multiple mysteries within the story.
Link to review:
https://booksforchristiangirls.blogsp...
*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
May 16, 2021
This takes place in December, just before Christmas. The story involves a missing sheep, stolen costumes, a living nativity, and basketball. There is a prank gone awry as well as a slew of secrets. It added humor to the story. The ending wasn't what I thought it would be.
July 14, 2018
Easy to read cozy mystery. Mary, the owner of Mary's Bookshop in Ivy Bay Maine, is once again embroiled in a mystery. It's Christmas time and Grace Church is putting on their first ever living Nativity when, all of a sudden, all their notices around town disappear, the sheep for the Nativity is gone, and someone has stolen all the costumes.
This was a bit slow moving, but it was interesting in that the three disappearances were not connected. Each had its own culprit and each culprit had their own plausible reason for what they did. Nice book to curl up with for a quick read.
This was a bit slow moving, but it was interesting in that the three disappearances were not connected. Each had its own culprit and each culprit had their own plausible reason for what they did. Nice book to curl up with for a quick read.
August 29, 2018
The town is getting ready for the lighting contest and the church for the living nativity scene. Mary is very excited that both her children and their families are coming to visit. The costumes go missing and so the the sheep. Mary chases after several dead ends before putting it all together. It is the volunteer who clasehed with another volunteer and left or it is the man from the next town who keeps showing up and advertising his town’s Christmas celebration. Her children have started new traditions that clash with each other.
June 5, 2020
Overall this is a fantastic series! The characters are quirky and fun, and relatable. I really enjoy reading book series that are light, funny, and share much needed lessons. Set in an idyllic setting, I can picture it clearly due to the all the details provided. All of the books in the series hold my attention - I don't want to put them down until I know how the mystery ends!
January 7, 2016
A fun Christmas story in the Secrets of Mary's Bookshop series. Someone is trying to keep the Living Nativity from happening.
January 27, 2019
Usually when a series is this long and with multiple authors they get boring, but in my opinion this series has just gotten better.
October 20, 2024
If this were a novella, I think it would be more enjoyable. The Christmasy details were fun, and the mysteries were not too simple but just drawn out too much.
August 29, 2023
Mary is having her children and grandchildren spending Christmas with her and Betty. Meanwhile, everyone at Grace Church is planning to put on their first live Nativity for Christmas. A week before Christmas, the costumes disappear, the sheep goes missing, and someone is taking down all the fliers. Can Mary find the costumes and the sheep before Christmas. Also, can she find out who took them and why are the fliers being taken down. Most importantly, while trying to solve these mysteries, can she spend time with her family? Read this book to find out. Enjoy!
December 22, 2020
I really enjoy cozy mysteries like this one. I have read one other Secrets of Mary's Bookshop books and I loved it as well. My only complaint is I kept wondering what was in the box that was delivered to Mary. It may come up in another book later on but I was thinking you could read these as stand alone books.
July 23, 2019
A very nice story about Christmas, and families and forgiveness. An intriguing mystery, too.
July 12, 2020
It was hard to keep reading it, but it did pick up speed along the way. If you enjoy mysteries, this book is worth reading.
May 19, 2021
What a heartwarming story of community, love and forgiveness.
November 3, 2023
Sweet Christmas mystery
January 7, 2026
This was a simple read and a cute, fun mystery. No one died, no bad words, no sex, just a mystery. I enjoyed it!
August 10, 2016
Mary and Betty have all their children home for Christmas this year and they are finding new traditions by combining everyone's individual traditions. This year they would like to add attending a living outdoor nativity but someone has taken all the costumes. Another mystery for Mary and her friends to solve before it is too late and it ruins Christmas.
288 pages
288 pages
January 1, 2016
Good Book
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews