The Ornament Exchange Murder

Christmas in July Mystery #1

by Maisy Marple

When holiday cheer turns deadly, one retired teacher must unwrap the truth before the killer strikes again…

When retired art teacher Grace Hartwell organizes Pine Valley's Christmas in July ornament exchange, she expects friendly trading and holiday cheer, not murder. But the festive community event turns deadly when Veronica Sterling, the town's most competitive collector, is found dead in the storage room surrounded by shattered glass ornaments.

Veronica had made enemies all morning with her cutting remarks about "amateur work" and accusations of fraud against fellow collectors. Now someone has stolen her prized 1920s glass peacock and the notebook documenting her planned investigation into widespread deception in the local collecting community.

Grace teams up with Detective Ray Martinez to untangle a web of suspects. There's Carol, the struggling craft store owner whose work Veronica publicly dismissed, Frank, the antique dealer whose expertise she questioned, and Veronica's own family members, bitter about being cut from their grandmother's valuable collection. When the missing ornament is planted in an innocent widower's car, Grace realizes the killer is calculating enough to frame others.

The investigation reveals that Veronica's notebook contained accusations that could destroy reputations and end careers. Someone was desperate enough to kill to keep those secrets buried. As Grace digs deeper into small-town rivalries and hidden financial pressures, she discovers the killer has been manipulating events from the beginning, using community trust as the perfect cover for murder.

In this charming cozy mystery debut, Grace must use her teaching skills and understanding of human nature to identify a killer hiding behind respectability. With holiday atmosphere, small-town secrets, and puzzles solved through observation rather than technology, this tale keeps readers guessing until the final revelation about who turned Christmas spirit into deadly deception.

Genres: Cozy Mystery

104 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 21, 2025

Reviews

[Linda Langford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short story. In some parts, there could have been a bit more explanation; however, the murder, the mystery, and ending were entertaining and satisfying.

[Liquidopal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Repetitive and poorly written, possibly AI

[Joy Wolfe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed "The Ornament Exchange Murder." It was a simple, uncomplicated mystery story about Grace Hartwell who had organized an Ornament Exchange for her community at the community center. When the day came for the Ornament Exchange, Grace had tables set up for the participants to display their items. One of those participants was Veronica Sterling, a hateful, snobby woman who thought she knew it all regarding what was valuable in antique ornaments. This attitude did not go well for her at all! The story involves a lot of the community people who participated in the exchange and a murder that takes place at the community center in a well hidden area.

I typically like my mysteries to have a little more depth to them and a little more excitement, but this was a good story for a quick read.

[Jean Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book in a series. It is well-written with interesting characters and situations. Grace is the main character and becomes a sleuth after the death of an unpleasant woman at the ornament exchange, which was planned by grace as Christmas in July. There are plenty of possible suspects since the woman was nasty to everyone she talked to. Grace starts investigating, feeling some responsibility since she arranged the ornament exchange. As she starts learning more, she and the police work together to arrest the guilty party. The murderer turned out to be someone who had fallen on hard times and made bad decisions because of it. Good ending.

[Donna McKenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christmas in July mystery

Grace is helping to organize an ornament exchange at the Community center. There are several people with delicate ornaments wishing to trade. One particular individual is less than nice to the others along with comments about various people. Veronica Sterling is then found in a storage room at the center with broken ornaments on the floor. Several suspects emerge during the mystery. I followed along with the red herrings throughout and didn't figure out the murderer.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first in the series. The min character is Grace. Grace plans a Christmas Ornament exchange in July. It doesn't go well as one lady does nothing but shame and belittle everyone that goes to her table. Before the show is over she is found dead. Now Grace tries to figure out who did this. She keeps getting closer and with the help of the police she could figure this out .

[Patty Guerard · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to read a good cozy mystery book in a day, then this series is for you. Centered in a small town, this first book gives insight into how a small community seems so close yet it really isn’t. No one knows what goes on in families and what a desperate person could do to hide a secret. And how a community can move forward and heal.

[Peggy Arnold · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ornamental killer

Christmas in July has always been one of my favorite themes and an ornament exchange sounds like such a fun community event. I liked the way Grace interacted with the other members of the community and was able to figure out who the killer was and help find ways to bring a peaceful closing.

[Tari · Rating 5 out of 5]

When one of the participants at the yearly July ornament exchange was murdered, Grace set out to find the killer. With some insight, kindness and persuasion she was able to come to a peaceful agreement once she figured out the perp. It’s rare you find a perp who’s sorry, so this was refreshing and much better for the amateur sleuth Grace’s overall wellbeing.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Original

This is an interesting mystery full of broken ornaments and suspects. The reason that I found it interesting is the link between the killer and the victim. I received a free copy of this book from the author. This in no way affects my opinion of that book.

[Cathey Edgington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christmas in July

Grace had the grace to speak to people and not upset them. A good quality for someone investigating. Good story, but there were details not told. How did the notebook get into the locked car.

[Alice Hazelbaker · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a brouhaha about ornaments!

What is designed as a community ornament exchange turns into murder when one person places too high of a value on her ornaments and another makes a tragic mistake! Some great lessons on community healing and forgiveness. An enjoyable story!

[Tricia Ferguson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poorly written
Not impressed at all

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

town ornament exchange,