Sleigh Bells and Stalkers

by Robin Patchen

2025 Winner of the Faith, Hope, and Love Reader's Choice Award! Threats lurk in the shadows this Christmas season.It was strange enough when a woman Daniel Nolan had taken on one date suddenly showed up everywhere he went, but when he discovered her in his college apartment, he knew he had to go to campus police—who did little but snicker when he made his report. Headed home to Nutfield for Christmas break, Daniel decides not to tell his police-detective father. The last thing he wants is for Dad to think he’s scared of a girl. Which he’s not, of course. He just wants her to leave him alone. He’s looking forward to a fun, relaxing, and stalker-free holiday at home with his family.

After Mom abandoned the family—and with Dad away so often on business—Star Brightwell stepped into the role of cook, cleaner, and babysitter to her younger siblings. On top of that, she’s stuck with organizing the live nativity—which used to be Mom’s job—at the annual Christmas festival. Star can’t let the program be cancelled. It would devastate her siblings to lose this tradition, especially after Mom’s betrayal. Between her ornery brothers and sisters, her job, and now the nativity, she’s alone and overwhelmed and can’t wait for the season to be over. That is until her older brother’s handsome best friend, Daniel, offers to help. She’s gotten over her longtime crush. Now, she’s just happy for the extra set of hands.

But Daniel’s stalker has followed him to Nutfield, and she doesn’t take kindly to the pretty girl who’s clearly caught his eye. Determined to reclaim Daniel’s attention, the stalker sets her sights on the woman who stands in her way.

A best-friend's-sister romance and a stalker suspense wrapped up with a sparkly Christmas bow. Don't miss Sleigh Bells and Stalkers, anew Nutfield novella from a USA Today bestselling author.

Genres: Christmas, Romance, Suspense, Clean Romance, Contemporary

199 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 30, 2025

About the author

Robin Patchen is a USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of Christian romantic suspense. She grew up in a small town in New Hampshire, the setting of her Nutfield Saga books, and then headed to Boston to earn a journalism degree. After college, working in marketing and public relations, she discovered how much she loathed the nine-to-five ball-and-chain. After relocating to the Southwest, she started writing her first novel while she homeschooled her three children. The novel was dreadful, but her passion for storytelling didn’t wane. Thankfully, as her children grew, so did her writing ability. Now that her kids are adults, she has more time to play with the lives of fictional heroes and heroines, wreaking havoc and working magic to give her characters happy endings. When she’s not writing, she’s editing or reading, proving most of her life revolves around the twenty-six letters of the alphabet. Visit https://robinpatchen.com/subscribe to receive a free book and stay informed about Robin’s latest projects.

Reviews

[Loraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Chistmas book but a little light on the mystery side.

[Rebekah Morris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t usually like Christmas stories that are suspense, but this one wasn’t full of danger and suspense and drama. That was only a little near the end. While I haven’t read the rest of this series, I didn’t feel like I was missing a whole lot of background info or anything. I really wanted to hug Star and get on to her siblings. I did like Daniel but his reluctance to tell what’s going on with his stalker was a bit irritating. A good reminder of asking for help and not trying to do everything yourself and fall apart while trying.

[Debbie Chatley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved Sleigh Bells and Stalkers. This story drew me in quickly, not just because of the suspense, but because of the deeply relatable themes woven throughout the plot—responsibility, family, trust, asking for help, and most importantly, the choice to turn toward God rather than away from Him during hard times.

At the heart of the story are two protagonists facing a very real and unsettling threat: a stalker. I appreciated the unexpected twist of a female stalker, which added depth and realism to the suspense. The story does an excellent job of showing why stalking should always be taken seriously and how quickly situations can escalate when warning signs are ignored. It was both gripping and educational without feeling preachy.

I connected most strongly with Star, the female protagonist. She carries the weight of the world on her shoulders, caring for her family and believing that everything depends on her—that if she falters, everything will fall apart. That struggle felt incredibly real to me. Like Star, I often find it hard to ask for help or admit when I’m overwhelmed. Walking alongside her through her journey of stress, fear, growth, and surrender was comforting and encouraging. Her story reminded me that strength doesn’t mean carrying everything alone.

Daniel’s character also deserves recognition. While his life may appear “put together” on the outside, he faces his own challenges—both with the stalker and with expectations placed upon him. One of the most meaningful lessons in this book is the reminder that everyone has struggles, even when things look fine from the outside.

Ultimately, Sleigh Bells and Stalkers is a powerful, real-life reflection of the choice we all face in difficult seasons: Will we run to God or run from Him? This book beautifully illustrates the peace, growth, and healing that come from choosing trust and faith—even when fear is loud and the burden feels heavy.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys suspense with heart, strong character development, and faith woven naturally into the story. It’s engaging, relatable, and deeply encouraging.

[Shannon Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story immensely! It was hard reading all the family turmoil and trauma that poor Star had to deal with. She’s at her wits end when the story starts. I feel like her character was very real and relatable. Her struggles and emotional reactions felt very justified. She felt like a 3-D character. She got mad, sad, glad, all the things! And she thought about more than one or two subjects at all times. I hate when a protagonist is flattened to one aspect of their personality or interests and all their internal dialogue is just about that one thing. Star had her family to care for, crushed dreams and trauma to grapple with, a new flame in the other protagonist. Yet she also still had moments with coworkers and friends independent of her family or Daniel, that didn’t revolve around them if that makes sense. She felt like her own self, an actual person.

Daniel was wonderful, and I do love me a cinnamon roll—especially a Christian one. At times though he seemed a tad too good to be true. A tad too much for me. His big “growth” moment was a simple two minute conversation with a loved one that literally resolved all the awkwardness and resentment he’d been experiencing—just him experiencing by the way, the other person didn’t notice anything was even amiss! So that was unsatisfying…and the way he dealt with his stalker, choosing not to talk to his police dad once the stalker showed up in his hometown…sorry but he should’ve known his dad would’ve taken things seriously and kept things under the radar too. He kept worrying about getting laughed at by the town law enforcement like his college campus law enforcement did but…that’s really stupid once you learn more about Daniel’s life and the community as a whole. He could’ve saved himself a whole lot of heartache if he’d been more open with his father from the start.

[Valri Western · Rating 5 out of 5]

Star and Daniel’s Story

I love Christmas stories and I enjoy this author a lot! Put the two together and it’s a great combination! When Daniel has a stalker, he downplays it and doesn’t think it’s anything serious but when the woman follows him to his hometown, he doesn’t want to tell his policeman father thinking he can deal with things on his own. Star is overwhelmed with taking care of her siblings after her mom splits and her dad works out of town. I couldn’t imagine all she had to do! No help and no sympathy from her dad! She connects with Daniel and things begin to change - until stalker woman reappears!

[Jayne Wheatley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful story, with such relatable characters. I loved they Daniel wanted to move back to his small town to open a business once he finished his education.
I felt sad for Star raising her siblings after her mum took off and her dad worked away weeks on end. She was left to raise youngsters and teens at only 20 herself with full time On my way! Job.
She didn’t get to live her life on her own terms.
When Daniel comes home for a visit his stalker follows and ends up kidnapping Star when she realises Daniel and Star like each other.
Very clean read Christian based and ho not hugely mentioned so I didn’t actually mind, a kiss or two is as spicy as it got lol lots of family drama tho.

[Tamera Westhoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet Romantic Suspense Filled Novella

This was the perfect read for me with just a little bit of romance, dealing with trauma, and some suspense! Star has had to fill in for her mother, since she just up and left. Then Daniel shows up and helps her deal with everything, plus let others know how they can help! But, Daniel is so great that he has a stalker willing to do anything to be with him.

[A_Friend · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sleigh Bells

Awesome read. Lived the characters and storyline. What’s better than returning home. Meanwhile a mother had decided she couldn’t handle it anymore and left, leaving her oldest daughter to take care of everything. That’s not all that happens. To return home is great but to top all what about a romance and a stalker to set off for a Merry Christmas. Definite must read. A+++++

[Vicki Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hard to Put Down!

I enjoyed reading this book. A new twist of a stalker with a college Christmas romance! Faith was woven into the story in a real-life way. This book wax my introduction into this series. Yes, I've already started buying more booms in this series! I'm off to read the next book since it's Christmasy too!

[Cathy Donaldson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good formula for a romantic suspense

Small town + stalker + new love + family drama = suspense romance. There was a natural development of several stories that allowed for a culmination of healing of family relationships in the midst of dealing with a stalker, bringing together community and renewing of faith. Enjoyed this short story,

[MileHighSunshine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing story!

This book has a lot of depth in it but it’s mingled among many sweet moments and giggling along with the characters.

I’m going to go back and read the entire series now because this was so well written!

[Clara K Page · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful story

Great story with plenty of suspense and action. Loved the family closeness and how, even though they all took advantage of Star in the end when she finally spoke up they all came together to help her.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartfelt Story

This story is a wonderful romance full of suspense and intrigue. Star and Daniel face complicated conflicts but need to learn a lesson in faith. I thoroughly enjoyed this novella.

[Adair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story will have to go back and get the rest about the small town of Nutfield

[David Palmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book. A mixture of suspense and romance. It also has a great lesson on the importance of communicating your need. I highly recommend this book.

[Patricia Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Story

I really enjoyed reading this story. This is a really awesome story and I enjoyed reading it very much, as it's a very good story.