Roasted in Christmas River

Christmas River #4.5

by Meg Muldoon

Gobble gobble, cluck cluck, someone has stolen Jack Daniels the turkey this Thanksgiving, leaving a Christmas River family fresh out of luck!
It’s Thanksgiving week in Christmas River, and pie baker extraordinaire Cinnamon Peters has a lot on her plate. Between planning her big Thanksgiving dinner and baking a mountain of pies at her shop, Cinnamon’s been rushing around like a turkey with its head cut off.
But when someone steals a turkey from its pen just days before the big day, Cinnamon finds herself pulled into the plight of the poor family whose Thanksgiving has been ruined. Despite having hardly a minute to spare, Cinnamon and her husband, Sheriff Daniel Brightman, are compelled to get to the bottom of the fowl crime.
Will they be able to solve the mystery in time to save the family’s Thanksgiving?
Roasted in Christmas River is a lighthearted, standalone Thanksgiving novella of 22,000 words with characters from the Christmas River Cozy series.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Cozy, Christmas, Short Stories, Thanksgiving

98 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 10, 2014

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
Monster in Christmas River - Book 15 (coming spring 2026!)

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

[Madeline]

Perfect thanksgiving story.

I only wished I had read more about the Maui honeymoon.....

[Mary Brown]

Synopsis:

Gobble gobble, cluck cluck, someone has stolen Jack Daniels the turkey this Thanksgiving, leaving a Christmas River family fresh out of luck!
It’s Thanksgiving week in Christmas River, and pie baker extraordinaire Cinnamon Peters has a lot on her plate. Between planning her big Thanksgiving dinner and baking a mountain of pies at her shop, Cinnamon’s been rushing around like a turkey with its head cut off.
But when someone steals a turkey from its pen just days before the big day, Cinnamon finds herself pulled into the plight of the poor family whose Thanksgiving has been ruined. Despite having hardly a minute to spare, Cinnamon and her husband, Sheriff Daniel Brightman, are compelled to get to the bottom of the fowl crime.
Will they be able to solve the mystery in time to save the family’s Thanksgiving?

Roasted in Christmas River is a lighthearted, standalone Thanksgiving novella of 22,000 words with characters from the Christmas River Cozy series. (Goodreads)

Review:

I love this series and this book was just as good as all the other books in the series. My only complaint that it was not longer because I enjoyed it so much but I knew it would be short because it is a novella.

All the things that I love about the Christmas River series is present: great characters, great interactions between the characters, humor and of course a mystery (although this mystery does not involve a murder) to solve. It was very refreshing to not have a dead body being involved and I thought the author was very clever with the mystery that she presented.

The writing style flows smoothly and the novel is a quick, easy read. The author is very talented in her descriptive writing and much of the time I felt like I was write there with the characters watching all the activities going on around me. The author created many heartfelt moments and many gentle reminders of what Thanksgiving is all about. She opened her home to other’s in need and by doing that, it enriched her own holiday. I really enjoyed the fact that Warren, Cinnamon's grandfather, was back and that she got to spend time with him. I really like his character and their interactions.

I would recommend this novella to anyone who enjoy a a well written cozy mystery. If you are already a fan of the Christmas River series, this is a must read. If you are new to this series, it is also a must read, but I would suggest starting the series from the beginning.

[Clare O'Beara]

I liked the light feel and good hearted neighbours in this mystery novella.
A lady who runs a pie shop has quite enough to do coming up to the American holiday period of Thanksgiving and Christmas. A wandering tom turkey causes some chaos and a demanding client at the shop adds to her workload. When the lady tries to help a homeless veteran, not everyone approves, while an impoverished family doesn't seem likely to have a good dinner, since their plump live turkey mysteriously keeps getting stolen.

For crime lovers who don't want anything dire to read just now, and for readers young and old.

[Shannon]

Roasted in Christmas River
Christmas River, Book 4.5

I Picked Up This Book Because: Continue the series.

Media Type: eBook
Source: Kindle/Amazon
Dates Read: 2/12/24 - 2/13/24
Stars: 4 Stars
Narrator(s):

The Characters:

Cinnamon Peters
Sheriff Daniel Brightman
Residents of Christmas River

The Story:

A nice addition to the series. I love how much cinnamon loves her community. And how much they love her. The way the stories of Christmas River unfold never fail to entertain me. I see myself finishing this series quickly.

[Darcysmom]

Thanksgiving in Christmas River means Cinnamon Peters is operating in overdrive - baking pies for her customers Thanksgiving desserts and planning her own epic family meal. Adding to the chaos this year is a turkey named Jack Daniels. When Jack Daniels goes missing, Cinnamon adds finding him to her full to bursting plate.
Roasted on Christmas River is a sweet, feel-good novella. At 87 pages it is a quick read - perfect for an afternoon break. While it features characters from the Christmas River series, it is able to stand on its own.

[Nikki]

Part of the Christmas River cozy mystery series, this is a shorter book than normal and fits between books 4 and 5 in the timeline.

It's Thanksgiving and one of the turkeys destined for a Christmas River residents Thanksgiving dinner table keeps escaping, much to the amusement of the locals. However, is more going on here other than an escapologist turkey!

Cinnamon takes it upon herself to get to the bottom of the mystery, despite it being one of the busiest times of year for her and her pie shop.

Easy to read, well written cozy mysteries, best read in order for continuity, despite the fact that the books are standalone stories. Well worth a read.

[KylieAtkinson]

Short and sweet Thanksgiving novella. We don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in Australia but it always sounds amazing. The big turkey dinner with all the trimmings makes my mouth water and the sense of family and being thankful is heartwarming. This story definitely ticks those boxes.
(I was a tad disappointed that Cinnamon was quick with her accusations with no evidence but hearsay, especially when it could affect her business.)

[Sue]

This is a great novella. The mystery kept me guessing and the romance between Cinnamon and Daniel was a sweet second chance romance with lots of angst. I enjoyed all the main characters. The interactions between Cinnamon and her grandpa are fun and also sweet. There’s some humor and suspense as well as romance. Cinnamon and her best friend have some great moments as well. The disappearing turkey added some light humor to the story. A five star story.

[Mary]

Another charming book by Meg Muldoon. Spoiler alert, there's a very happy ending.
In these crazy times, that's just what we all need...more of Meg's happy endings, more of life's happy endings, too.

[Shaena Walker]

I love this series! Just such a nice warm fuzzy read, gets my head out of the city and into the woods and the pie shop where all the books take place.

[Felicia Allen]

This one was a really cute short read. I loved the ending.

[Katarzyna]

Perfect Thanksgiving novella!

[Julie]

2.5 stars

[Jo Hurst]

A short thanksgiving novella with all our Christmas River favourites. A lovely little tale.

[Mel Murray]

Short, sweet Thanksgiving mystery. A delight to read.

[Donna]

A very cute story

A great story of friendship and family for Thanksgiving. As always Meg has brought joy and harmony to her books.

[Lorna Francis]

Quirky, witty and utterly delightful.

[Claudia Ainsworth]

Nice little story


I enjoyed the way Cinnamon and Daniel work together. It is nice to read about people treating others well and with respect.

[Liz Terek]

'Roasted' is a fabulous addition to the Christmas River series. This installment focuses more on the residents of Christmas River rather than just Cinnamon's family. More or less, we see that, despite its festive name, it has the same issues that plaque every town in America. It was good to see Daniel take a more active role in crime solving & his wife taking a backseat per se. She's never far away from the scene, but he does most of the policing duties.
This installment showed a lot of heart & character depth. The plot was great with bits of humor & mystery working together. Of them all so far, this has become my favorite. I give it 5 stars.

[Nola Arganbright]

A fun standalone addition to the Christmas River series. Cinnamon is trying to meet all of the special pie orders before Thanksgiving while preparing for her own Thanksgiving feast. This season Cinnamon is helping locate friend's turkey Jack Daniels.
This is a well written quick read that touches many of the points of the meaning of the holiday season. I have enjoyed the entire series and am looking forward to beginning a new series by Meg Muldoon.

[Kay (Brigidsmomma) Compton]

This is a short mystery, but still a good one. Not as serious as he full-length novels, but fun to read anyway. You will love all the great characters who come together for this year's Thanksgiving dinner at Cin and Daniel's home, and all the drama that gets them there in the first place. Read it, you'll fall in love with these characters too!

[Jean]

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble

This is a sweet novella including the folks from Christmas River. Cinnamon and Daniel are searching for a lost, live turkey which was intended to be the center of some poor folks Thanksgiving dinner. What they find are new friends and expanding gratitude and love. A charming story!

[Arow]

I really enjoyed this light hearted installment of the Christmas River series. I read it out of order so I highly recommend reading it where it should fall. It follows Cinnamon and crew as they prep for Thanksgiving. It really just made me smile and feel that there is some good left in the world.

[Beverly Williams]

Excellent

love this series. wonderful story

l love this series, excellent stories. I am waiting patiently for the next books in December.

[Sparkymom]

Cute

This was a cute sweet story with a bit of mystery and a lot of heart. It put me in the perfect mood for Thanksgiving! I love this series.

[Kerri]

I really enjoy the Christmas River books. Great, light-hearted series.

[Jennifer]

This series has easily become one of my favorite series, having finished all of the current books in just a few weeks. Hope to see many more Christmas River books in the future!

[Carol]

I love this series. The story put me in the perfect mood for the holiday.

[Marilyn]

Good

the mystery of the missing turkey and how one woman helped her community and some homeless men.the families that came to thanksgiving super.

[Kerza]

Another Great Story

This author never fails to deliver, a little mystery, a little romance! Would love to get some of Cinnamon's recipes.