Meltdown in Christmas River: A Christmas Cozy Mystery

Christmas River #10

by Meg Muldoon

How do you find a killer when everyone in town has a motive?

That’s the question pie-baker extraordinaire Cinnamon Peters and the rest of the cozy little mountain town of Christmas River are asking this December.

After Moira Stewart — the town’s worst gossip — is found dead of unnatural causes one snowy morning, rumors begin swirling like snowflakes in a blizzard about her unexpected demise.

But not everything is as it seems in Christmas River this holiday season. And in a town where everyone stands to gain from Moira’s death, Cinnamon and her husband Sheriff Brightman find themselves stumbling into dangerous and deadly territory.

Because this December, the weather outside is frightful…And so is the murder.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Christmas, Holiday, Fiction, Cozy, Contemporary

377 pages, Paperback

First published December 10, 2017

About the author

For a very limited time receive a FREE cozy mystery and recipe book when you sign up for Meg Muldoon's mailing list! Sign-up here: http://eepurl.com/zcGr1

Meg Muldoon is the author of over 20 feel-good mysteries, including the bestselling Christmas River Cozy Mysteries and The Dog Town USA Cozy Mysteries. A former small town news reporter, Meg has always had a special place in her heart for lost dogs, homeless cats, and feisty old locals. She enjoys Marionberry pie, red cowboy boots, and craft glue guns. Meg specializes in writing stories filled with humor and heart, and her books have been featured in the Amazon Kindle Top-100.

Meg lives in Central Oregon with two Great Pyrenees, a cattle dog named Huckleberry, and a rascal cat named Frank.

Reading Order:

THE CHRISTMAS RIVER COZY MYSTERY SERIES
Murder in Christmas River – Book 1
Mayhem in Christmas River – Book 2
Madness in Christmas River – Book 3
Malice in Christmas River – Book 4
Mischief in Christmas River – Book 5
Manic in Christmas River – Book 6
Magic in Christmas River – Book 7
Menace in Christmas River – Book 8
Missing in Christmas River – Book 9
Meltdown in Christmas River – Book 10
Midnight in Christmas River – Book 11
Mistake in Christmas River – Book 12
Matrimony in Christmas River - Book 13
Malarkey in Christmas River - Book 14 (Coming Spring 2025!)

THE CHRISTMAS RIVER COZY MYSTERY NOVELLA SERIES
Roasted in Christmas River – Novella 1
Cinnamon Peters & the Rabbit Bandit – Novella 2
Caught in Christmas River – Novella 3
Crushed in Christmas River – Novella 4
Hounded in Christmas River – Novella 5
Framed in Christmas River – Novella 6
Trapped in Christmas River - Novella 7
Merriment in Christmas River - Novella 8

THE HOLLY HOPEWELL COZY MYSTERY SERIES
The Silence of the Elves – Book 1
Elf Confidential - Book 2

THE DOG TOWN USA COZY MYSTERY SERIES
Mutts & Murder – Book 1
Bulldogs & Bullets – Book 2
Corgis & Conspiracy - Book 3
Pyrenees & Poison - Book 4 (Coming Soon)

THE COZY MATCHMAKER MYSTERY SERIES
Burned in Broken Hearts Junction – Book 1
Busted in Broken Hearts Junction – Book 2

THE WITCHES OF BROOMFIELD BAY MYSTERY SERIES (with Jools Sinclair)
Ginger of the West – Book 1

Reviews

[Rainbow Goth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 2.5 stars (rounded up)

Let’s begin with the positives. This book is a whirlwind of activity, moving at a brisk pace that makes it incredibly easy to digest. It's the kind of read you can pick up when you need a lighthearted escape from deeper, more intense novels. As a cosy mystery, it offers a familiar structure peppered with a few twists. Interestingly, I stumbled upon this book as part of a promotion, which is why I jumped in at book 10 of the series. Fortunately, the narrative stands alone well enough; while there are nods to events from earlier instalments, prior knowledge isn’t necessary to enjoy the story.

However, numerous aspects left me feeling disappointed. The main character, Cinnamon, embodies an excessively sweet disposition that feels painfully one-dimensional. Rather than endearing her to me, her overtly sugary nature quickly became grating. Her relationship with her husband teeters on the edge of saccharine overload, and by the book's conclusion, I found myself cringing at their nauseatingly sweet exchanges, almost feeling the need for a sugar detox.

The author really loves similes—an abundance of them, to be precise—which added an overwhelming layer of description that I found more distracting than delightful. In terms of plot, the improbabilities piled up: in this small town, do really all the residents indulge in pies to such an extent that it raises questions about their health? It felt hard to believe that an entire community would be so obsessed with Cinnamon’s baked goods. Moreover, the outrageous situations Cinnamon finds herself in stretch realism to its limits, especially considering there’s a distinct lack of genuine tension throughout the story. Just as the narrative starts to build any suspense, it evaporates far too swiftly.

In the end, I can appreciate why some readers find comfort in this series; it simply doesn’t resonate with me. Though I have cherished many cosy mysteries in the past, this one didn’t quite hit the mark for my tastes.

[Kathy Brackin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Been reading this series for a few years always good for the Xmas season!!

[Mary Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meltdown in Christmas River
Christmas River Cozy Book, Book #10
Meg Muldoon
5+ Stars


Synopsis:

Book 10 in the Amazon best selling cozy mystery series is full of heart-pounding twists, sweet romance, and bright holiday spirit to keep you turning the pages long into the cold winter’s night.

How do you find a killer when everyone in town has a motive?
That’s the question pie-baker extraordinaire Cinnamon Peters and the rest of the cozy little mountain town of Christmas River are asking this December.
After Moira Stewart — the town’s worst gossip — is found dead of unnatural causes one snowy morning, rumors begin swirling like snowflakes in a blizzard about her unexpected demise.
But not everything is as it seems in Christmas River this holiday season. And in a town where everyone stands to gain from Moira’s death, Cinnamon and her husband Sheriff Brightman find themselves stumbling into dangerous and deadly territory.
Because this December, the weather outside is frightful…
And so is the murder.

Grab a cup of cocoa, curl up by the fire, and enjoy another delightful visit to Christmas River! (Goodreads)


Review:

The characters are well developed and well rounded. I just love getting to spend time with Daniel, Cinnamon and her friends. Kara is her best friend and you can tell they have been friends for awhile. They are very supportive of each other and will do anything to help the other. And the love between Warren, Cinnamon’s grandfather, and her, is so heartwarming and it just makes me smile.

The writing style flows smoothly and the book is an easy read. The author is very talented in her descriptive writing and I felt like I was right there watching all the action and activities taking place around me. I felt like I was in the pie shop, smelling all of the delicious aromas found within. The mystery is well plotted and well paced. There were enough suspects to consider and clues to sift through that the mystery was difficult to solve.

I would recommend this book (and series) to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy mystery. This series is one of my favorites, with great characters and a cozy setting, and I cannot wait for a new book to be written. Check them out, I think you will agree.

[Juliana Veale · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is yet another reason that despite loving the cosy mystery genre introduces by the likes of Dame Agatha Christie, I frown at the genre now. The proliferation of badly written romance plots with a minor mystery layered on top seems to dominate the genre sadly.
Fortunately, the mystery is reasonably complex for the new style of a cosy mystery. Unfortunately to get to the mystery you have to read tons of descriptions of pies, that seem to mostly be made up of chocolate, hazelnuts and cream with a speinkinh of cranberries. Not to mention the Sweet Valley High level of friendship advice and other gems of small town living. The main character's dogs seem to be magical, considering how much sugar and chocolate their owner feeds them.
The more or less worthwhile plots are barely explored, but the gingerbread competition that has little connection to the murder mystery is explored in a lot more detail.
Overall, a 1.5 stars

[Stephanie Schindler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I stand corrected.

This was a pleasant surprise. I just began thinking cozy mysteries weren't for me, and then I read this book.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/5. (OK+)

I meant to read the first book in the series and accidentally started with 10. While a couple of references to events in earlier books were brought up, this stood alone just fine. The relationships and storyline aren't complicated at all.

The mystery had some surprises, but, to avoid spoilers this is all I'll write: it wasn't my favorite format. The ending, while not a true cliffhanger, was definitely a hook to incite the reader to come back and see how something develops. Well, actually, two things.

What keeps me from the other half star is that I didn't really get into the main characters of the series. Meg, her family and friends are fine, but didn't really draw me in.

I was a bit worried about the numerous mentions of weight and losing it at the beginning of the story, but they mostly ended. Harping on weight in a book annoys me. There was also one weird sentence: "...Bradley Houston was the coolest-looking turkey in our quaint little mountain town..." Turkey? What?

[Chelsea Skinner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why oh why do so many cozy mystery authors focus on the fact that the female MC isn't the model-style woman? Why do they always lament about gaining weight or going up a pants size? Just have them appreciate those curves!

Other than that, I enjoyed this book. This was the 10th in the series and I had never read any of the others, which meant that I was missing some of the backstory. Cinnamon, our MC is married to the sheriff, so she gets a front-row seat to the investigation, but there are things her husband won't tell her due to it being police business.

The fact that Cinnamon doesn't really stick her nose into the investigation, but helps where she can made this a really enjoyable read.

[Judith Cormier · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absolutely charming story.

I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect. I’d gotten this on a whim and on sale. I didn’t have any “Christmas” stories to read. It’s typically not really my thing, but this sounded like one that I might enjoy.

And I did … thoroughly. I liked the characters, I liked the plot and I liked how it ended. It did keep me guessing. I honestly was quite surprised at who the “bad guy” was.

I did ding it a bit because I felt it contained a lot of things that dragged it out a bit here and there throughout, but overall I’d say that if anyone likes the idea of a really great cozy mystery, then they would love this one. i know this is the 10th in the series and now I want to go back and read them all to get more of Cin, Daniel, Kara, Warren and more!!

[Dee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oooops, I jumped in 10 books into a series, but I'm ready to go back and figure out all the stuff that goes before, but I have to say I enjoyed this mystery. Cinnamon gets inadvertently involved in several mysteries, murders and rumors and feels it necessary to try and figure it all out. She does have some help, and there are some twisted clues, besides, she is married to the sheriff. I am looking forward to going back and reading the first 9 books. It sounds like an interesting cast of characters to catch up with.

[Rexine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who wouldn’t want to live in small town Christmas River & have unlimited access to the best pies in Oregon? Crusty & nasty Moira has spread rumors about most everyone in town so no one really seems to be upset by the murder of the gossiper. Pie shop owner Cinnamon, her Sheriff husband Daniel & her best friend Kara have to dig through clues & suspects to identify the real killer. Famous author Pam Dallas who lives part time in town & is well respected for her novels as well as workshops for would be writers plays an integral & surprising role in the investigation. Lots of interesting characters each with their story to tell make for interesting reading. One slight mistake that is quite common is referring to the monster Dr. Victor Frankenstein created as Frankenstein when he was never given a name. I guess he’s more correctly referred to as Frankenstein’s Monster. No matter what he’s called everyone knows who he is & what someone is like who is compared to him. I’m on to my second book in the series now even if it pre dates this one.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not enjoy the story at all.
After realizing that I had spent over two hours reading and I was only on the fourth chapter?
The characters are pretty much one dimensional, and the storyline just didn't hold my interest due to several typos such as missed words in the sentences. It was just too distracting for me.

[Erinn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think the mystery in reality is how someone might successfully run a pie shop in a small community. There were a lot of pages to wade through that contributed little to the storyline but over the top sanctimony. This read is just a little too sweet.

[Michael Borachok · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story but...

In practically every chapter the protagonist does something that she knows she shouldn't and ends the chapter saying she shouldn't have done that. It got boringly redundant.

[Annette Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Drivel

I read into Chpt. 13 a bit, but that was too far in my opinion.

When the authour got to describing the smell of the nursing home I’d had enough.
A good well run nursing home actually has no awful smells at all. Makes me wonder what kind of nursing homes this authour has been in if any at all.
Chpt. 13 and so all drivel, no storyline, no plot, no nothing happening to make me want to read this any more.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cinnamon Peters Brightman owns a pie bakery and lives in a "sleepy town" in Wisconsin. Her friend becomes the target of the town gossip's ire, and after trying to confront the gossipy old lady about her meanness, the gossip turns her attention to Cin. Then, when Cin goes to give the gossip a piece of her mind, she finds the old lady, dead and buried in the new-fallen snow. Cin and her Sheriff husband then try to find out whodunnit.

Slow beginning. Boring middle. Decent climax. Sleepy ending.

I got this during a deal when the Kindle book was on sale. I haven't read the rest of the series, and I won't be going out of my way to do so after this taste.

The book starts REALLY slow. The mystery doesn't even really start happening until chapter 25ish, literally more than 33% through the book. The investigation bits were bland, and while the result was a surprise, it wasn't because the book has been so well written that the clues were well-weaved throughout. It was because the culprit came out of left field. The climax was good enough because I didn't find the twist right away, but that was mostly because of a lack of prior evidence. Then the end literally was putting me to sleep. In fact, I feel asleep reading it last night in a place where it should have at least been intriguing and held my attention.

The writing style is chunky. I'm really surprised there's enough of a following here to get 10 books in, let alone more than that. There are SO MANY similes that are clunky and overused throughout... If I had a beer on me, and sipped for every simile (not metaphor, though there were plenty of those too) that is peppered throughout this book, I'd have been drunker than an alcoholic on a binge night. (See what I did here?)

And every time someone was getting encountered, whether we had met the character or not, it was all pronouns only for the entering character and "mystery" for at least 3 sentences of dialogue, so that it was difficult to catch who the main character was talking to LITERALLY every time she was seeing someone walk into a room.

I don't revel in writing bad reviews. I know writing a book is no easy feat. But. Well. This was ROUGH. I was bored. I was disappointed. I stopped and started this book at least 4 times and read other stuff instead because it wouldn't hold my interest. The only reason I figured I'd power through it is because I wanted to get one more book off my current reads pile, and had hoped to finish it before the end of the year. (Missed it by that much.) I honestly do NOT understand how this has a 4+ reading on GoodReads. I really, really don't.

I wanted to like it. I just... Didn't.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story, good characters

This is my first Christmas River book so I don't have all the backstory but enjoyed the book anyway. The story is complete although there is an epilogue that sets up the next book. Cinnamon and her friends and family keep things interesting, for sure. No profanity or overt sex if that matters to you. I recently moved from the Pacific Northwest and Cinnamon's description of OR and her pies made me a little homesick. I didn't figure out whodunnit until close to the end and even then I hadn't figured out the why. My only complaint and the reason I didn't give five stars is why anyone in this small town took the town gossip seriously after years of her gossip. I grew up in a small Ohio town and trust me, we knew to take with a grain of salt anything our town gossip said. But aside from that, it's a decently written book that I enjoyed and I will read more of this series. And I miss huckleberry pie!

[Krystyna · Rating 5 out of 5]

The lies we tell ourselves and others

A great little read about the harm that can be done just by a few little words.
Her BFF is excited about the forthcoming writers workshop until she finds the town's most malicious gossip attending. A workshop that is being run by a woman who survived being trapped on a mountain by her husband giving her his coat so she wouldn't freeze to death whilst awaiting rescue. She has decided to forgo entering the Gingerbread House competition this year until a new contestant asks for her help. His efforts have all ended in disaster. Malicious rumours, missing money, a dead body and a killer that will use any means/people possible to get what they want. Will they figure out what is going on? Will the killer be stopped?

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy reading these cozy mysteries set in Christmas River and Cinnamon's pie shop. In this book, a local is murdered and once again Cinnamon gets involved.Together with Daniel, (the Sheriff, also her husband) once again Cinnamon is thrown into the investigation.

There are also problems at the Sheriffs office, which could impact Daniel severely!

Easy to read cozy mysteries which take around a couple of hours to finish, so ideal for passing the afternoon away with a cuppa and snuggled in a blanket! Being in lockdown because of the Covid 19 virus, these books are helping me get through... best read in order as although the stories are standalone, the same characters appear in each book and to ensure continuity they're best read in the order of publication. Well worth a read!

[Denise M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just read “Meltdown in Christmas River” not realizing it’s book 10 in a series by Meg Muldoon but didn’t matter.
I enjoyed the murder mystery storyline, that takes place in Christmas River right before Christmas.
Cinnamon owns a Pie Shop, Daniel, her husband + town sheriff + Kara her bff are some of the main characters but there are plenty others that play a huge part in this colorful town. They all are believable + could be suspects in the murder that takes place.
Being a small town, everyone knows everyone + Moira happens to be the town gossip, which involves the main plot.
There are many twists + turns + difficult to figure out the murder, but it’s an enjoyable + well written, page turning story to the end.

[Sandy T · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cozy murder mystery

This was my first read in this series and I throughly enjoyed the story plus now I am carving pie! Cinnamon owns a pie shop in Christmas River small town. She stumbles over the dead body of the town's meanhearted gossiping lady, Moira, after going to her house to confront her about a rumor spreading around town about Cin's husband. We know lots of people had motives to want Moira dead but the author does a good job in making it difficult to figure out the murderer. I liked the characters in the story, the pace of the plot, and the romance of Cinnamon 's relationship with her husband.
Although part of a series, this book was a good stand alone story too.

[Penny · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is sort of cozy mystery, then sort of cozy thriller (is there such a thing), and then even cozy romance. To me, it was all over the place and it distracted me. Several times she'd write about something intense that had previously happened, but the various pieces of the tale were improbable or not logical. There was a big side story that added a lot of word-count, but I could not figure out why it was there. It was probably a beloved character from a previous Christmas River book continuing his arc. I don't know. I have not read the earlier books so had no appreciation for it, and the book would have been tighter and a bit more coherent without it. Overall, however, it was readable and it was not a struggle to finish it.

[Angel Ballard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Secrets, secrets everywhere
Oh the tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive. White lies, little lies, small lies, big lies. It's kind of like a snowball rolling down a hill - if one isn't careful things can quickly get out of control. The same can be said for gossip. But gossip is even worse than a little white lie. Most who tell little white lies usually do so to keep from hurting someone's feelings. But someone who gossips is just wrong - in a wrong headspace and most times they get such an ego boost spreading gossip that they become monsters. Just saying. So seriously...just don't go there. Great book with a great lesson.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the 10th in the series. The main characters are Cinnamon and hubby Sheriff Daniel. It is almost Christmas and Cinnamon is busy making pies for her pie shop and for a charity event her granddad is throwing. The day after the event she learns that the old busybody Moira has spread a story that there is money missing from the sheriff's office and Cinnamon's hubby not only took it but is running away with the clerk Liv. Cinnamon is so angry, she heads over to tell the old busybody a thing or two and finds her body buried in a snowdrift. Now they think she may have done it. Can Sheriff Dan and her figure out what is going on before it's to late ?

[monacia williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

The healing comfort of pies

Very compelling reading. Wonderful, well developed characters. A book that was more about life than it was about mystery. Yes, the mystery was there but it was interwoven with the story of life in Christmas River. Cinnamon was such a warm and loveable character, she kept the reading momentum going along with her husband Daniel, her grandfather Warren and her friend Kara. It was great meeting them and I certainly enjoyed their company.
By the way, the mystery had a surprising end. Go ahead and read, you will enjoy.

[Nan Adel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just shy of a 5 star

I really enjoyed this story. All the pie talk got my mouth watering but I'm on a diet so it was torture. Haha. Great details describing the town, sky, weather, and people. I felt like I lived in this quant little town. I didn't give it a 5 star only because it didn't 'wow' me. I was able to put it down and get back to it when it was convenient. I recommend this book if you're looking for a cozy book to Just enjoy on a cold day, and definitely at Christmas time. I loved the cute cover.

[Debra-ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love visiting Christmas River

Never a disappointment, Meg Muldoon's Christmas River series is a like a welcome visit to a town filled with family & friends. There's familiar faces and always a new friend to be found. Just like in most small towns, there might be a secret hiding behind a closed door. This visit ended with a huge surprise that has me eagerly waiting my next visit!

[Cindy Feigert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read a book in this series in awhile so it was nice to visit Christmas River again. Cin is still getting mixed up in murder mysteries and her husband the sheriff is there to protect her and the town. There were a lot of twists and turns in the story and I feel the author wrapped it up quite nicely. A note to other readers it is ok not to read these books in order. I only read the first two and this was number ten. But the story was easy to follow.

[Lynette Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great evolving story and characters.

The characters and plots just continue to evolve and grow. I even enjoy the preparation and contests that are a part o the stories. Although my preference is for books based in warmer climates I find the Oregon novels engrossing. Looking forward to t next installment.

[june · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good but….

This was a really good Cody mystery except for one thing, the use of the word (content) in every place she used it it should have been contented. There is a vast difference between the 2 words. Come on people read your story over carefully or get some one to proof read it for you. Thank you

[Erika P. Lapham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Looking for a great Christmas murder mystery?

You will love all the unique characters and you can almost taste all of the fabulous pies that come from the pie shop. Lots of red herrings and misdirection will keep you jumping from suspect to suspect until the surprising end. You will want to read this one.