What do you think?
Rate this book
Jamie Winters #1.5
Motion for Mistletoe
From USA Today bestselling author Kelly Rey comes a holiday novella that is ho-ho-hilarious…When Jamie Winters' elderly neighbor Jack disappears a week before Christmas, Jamie pairs up with her landlord's fearless teenaged niece to find him. Only the more they look into his disappearance, the more they begin to believe Jack is not the man they thought he was...and he bears a suspiciously striking resemblance to jolly old Santa Claus! One carjacking, some spooky reindeer, a little person, and a skinny green man later, Jamie winds up getting way more than she bargained for this holiday season!"The quirky characters were just plain fun. Very enjoyable!"~ Kings River Life Magazine"Move over Stephanie Plum—there's a new girl in town! Jamie Winters is smart, sassy, and laugh-out-loud hilarious.~ Gemma Halliday, New York Times bestselling author
74 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 26, 2015
30 people are currently reading
69 people want to read
About the author
Kelly Rey
28 books28 followersFrom her first discovery of Nancy Drew, Kelly has had a lifelong love for mystery and tales of things that go bump in the night, especially those with a twist of humor. Through many years of working in the court reporting and closed captioning fields, writing has remained a constant. If she’s not in front of a keyboard, she can be found reading, working out or avoiding housework. She’s a member of Sisters in Crime and lives in the Northeast with her husband and a menagerie of very spoiled pets.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
March 5, 2020
A wonderful feel good Christmas story
Awesome. She's trying to make ends meet from her dead end job and keeping her dreams of being a lawyer alive.
However when she finds out that one of her neighbours is missing and her landlord's niece wants to help track him down, the two put their heads together. After all they had both seen the carjacking and it's too close to Christmas for the man to miss out on seeing his family. Throw in a green elf, reindeer, a slip on some ice, a sudden belief in Santa and a rescue. Will Christmas be cancelled or will everything go ahead?
Awesome. She's trying to make ends meet from her dead end job and keeping her dreams of being a lawyer alive.
However when she finds out that one of her neighbours is missing and her landlord's niece wants to help track him down, the two put their heads together. After all they had both seen the carjacking and it's too close to Christmas for the man to miss out on seeing his family. Throw in a green elf, reindeer, a slip on some ice, a sudden belief in Santa and a rescue. Will Christmas be cancelled or will everything go ahead?
January 18, 2023
Do you believe? Jamie does!
A fun story about a missing next door neighbor, her landlord's niece, a grinch, and deer. Jamie meets Maizy and that starts a friendship that is highly unusual and a lot of fun!
It's not along story, but now you can find out how Jamie and Maizy became the unusual team we know them to be in the Jamie Winter mystery series.
It was fun to pretend or distort reality and accept the neighbor to be Santa. He certainly seemed to fit the criteria! A pleasant way to enjoy the Christmas spirit!
A fun story about a missing next door neighbor, her landlord's niece, a grinch, and deer. Jamie meets Maizy and that starts a friendship that is highly unusual and a lot of fun!
It's not along story, but now you can find out how Jamie and Maizy became the unusual team we know them to be in the Jamie Winter mystery series.
It was fun to pretend or distort reality and accept the neighbor to be Santa. He certainly seemed to fit the criteria! A pleasant way to enjoy the Christmas spirit!
April 10, 2017
4 stars
This novella takes place between book 1 and book 2. Their neighbor Jack has disappeared right before Christmas. And this neighbor has a penchant for dressing strangely akin to Santa Claus. So when her landlord’s niece spies the abandoned car of Jack, the search is on!
This book is only 70 pages but it feels like you get a lot of bang for your buck here. There is no sweeping stuff under the rug just to get the story complete. All characters are well defined and more fleshed out even from book 1.
This is a gem of a novella. Check it out.
I paid for this book with my own money.
This novella takes place between book 1 and book 2. Their neighbor Jack has disappeared right before Christmas. And this neighbor has a penchant for dressing strangely akin to Santa Claus. So when her landlord’s niece spies the abandoned car of Jack, the search is on!
This book is only 70 pages but it feels like you get a lot of bang for your buck here. There is no sweeping stuff under the rug just to get the story complete. All characters are well defined and more fleshed out even from book 1.
This is a gem of a novella. Check it out.
I paid for this book with my own money.
December 14, 2025
What if Santa Lived Next Door?
This was so much fun. It’s a really quick read not just because it fun, but it’s only 89 pages too. In this one, Jamie lives in a little efficiency apartment above landlord Curt. Curt’s niece Maisie shows up one night full of teenage angst and mood. She argues with Curt so Jamie takes her upstairs and they connect over junk food and old TV. The next day, the mystery starts with the disappearance of Jamie and Curt’s neighbor, Jack. As Jamie and Maisie look into his missing, things get weird as reindeer show up and they find out that Jack is a toy maker… and yes, you know where this is going. It all turns out well, especially for Curt and Jamie.
Definitely recommended! Have fun!
This was so much fun. It’s a really quick read not just because it fun, but it’s only 89 pages too. In this one, Jamie lives in a little efficiency apartment above landlord Curt. Curt’s niece Maisie shows up one night full of teenage angst and mood. She argues with Curt so Jamie takes her upstairs and they connect over junk food and old TV. The next day, the mystery starts with the disappearance of Jamie and Curt’s neighbor, Jack. As Jamie and Maisie look into his missing, things get weird as reindeer show up and they find out that Jack is a toy maker… and yes, you know where this is going. It all turns out well, especially for Curt and Jamie.
Definitely recommended! Have fun!
December 19, 2025
Cute Christmas story!
Santa is missing, reindeer keep appearing, along with a strange little green elf named Algae! It’s the week before Christmas and all is not well as Jamie Winters is worried about her missing neighbor Jack. She winds up getting together with her friend Curt’s niece Maisy to go looking for him! The hunt is a hoot, to be sure! A fun and zany Christmas story you are sure to enjoy!
Santa is missing, reindeer keep appearing, along with a strange little green elf named Algae! It’s the week before Christmas and all is not well as Jamie Winters is worried about her missing neighbor Jack. She winds up getting together with her friend Curt’s niece Maisy to go looking for him! The hunt is a hoot, to be sure! A fun and zany Christmas story you are sure to enjoy!
December 18, 2017
This was really cute and perfect to put you in the holiday spirit
April 2, 2018
Quick witted, humorous, and cute - my favorite kind of cozy mystery.
December 15, 2025
Wonderful story!
I so enjoyed this magical Christmas story. I highly recommend for a holiday must read! It was full of twists, turns and magic.
I so enjoyed this magical Christmas story. I highly recommend for a holiday must read! It was full of twists, turns and magic.
December 18, 2025
Entertaining
A fun short story with interesting characters. I'm looking forward to reading about Jamie and Maizy in their next adventure.
A fun short story with interesting characters. I'm looking forward to reading about Jamie and Maizy in their next adventure.
December 31, 2025
Fun
Santa is missing! Or is Jamie's neighbor? I'm going to have to read more books by Kelly Rey. This was a delight.
Santa is missing! Or is Jamie's neighbor? I'm going to have to read more books by Kelly Rey. This was a delight.
January 20, 2017
Motion for Mistletoe — Kelly Rey (13 chapters) Jan. 19, 2017
Note: was originally read as part of a collection of holiday cozy mysteries called: “Cozy Christmas Shorts: holiday short story collection”.
Out of all the holiday shorts I have read that are contained in this collection, this one is the most Santa-ie one of all of them. Everything about it is exactly what I was hoping to find in a “holiday themed cozy:” Santa, elves, toys, reindeer, and naughty/nice lists…it’s all here! (Even a red El Camino!)
I wasn’t sure I was going to like the story from the way it started off, but I ended up really enjoying the characters and their interactions with each other. This is one of the few stories in this collection that I can honestly say I would enjoy reading more from the series. I definitely will be downloading some samples from this author to check out. Which means, though this story is technically the second story in this series, I didn’t feel out of place and confused, or lacking too much explanation as to what was going on. Always a good thing with short stories from series (as they often are written and sold cheap to entice new readers into their world.) Ms. Rey at least has intrigued me enough to read more of this world she has created.
Despite having thirteen chapters, this story reads pretty fast and stays lively until the end. The writing is tight, and I didn’t notice any typos or spelling issues.
Looking forward to Jamie and (Maize…I hope!) in other stories in this series.
Three stars.
Note: was originally read as part of a collection of holiday cozy mysteries called: “Cozy Christmas Shorts: holiday short story collection”.
Out of all the holiday shorts I have read that are contained in this collection, this one is the most Santa-ie one of all of them. Everything about it is exactly what I was hoping to find in a “holiday themed cozy:” Santa, elves, toys, reindeer, and naughty/nice lists…it’s all here! (Even a red El Camino!)
I wasn’t sure I was going to like the story from the way it started off, but I ended up really enjoying the characters and their interactions with each other. This is one of the few stories in this collection that I can honestly say I would enjoy reading more from the series. I definitely will be downloading some samples from this author to check out. Which means, though this story is technically the second story in this series, I didn’t feel out of place and confused, or lacking too much explanation as to what was going on. Always a good thing with short stories from series (as they often are written and sold cheap to entice new readers into their world.) Ms. Rey at least has intrigued me enough to read more of this world she has created.
Despite having thirteen chapters, this story reads pretty fast and stays lively until the end. The writing is tight, and I didn’t notice any typos or spelling issues.
Looking forward to Jamie and (Maize…I hope!) in other stories in this series.
Three stars.
June 22, 2016
I don't think most people would look at a grown woman, who works for terrible lawyers and doesn't have college degree or is paid well, and a kid, with blue hair a cops daughter, and say watch out for the kid. But I would. While Jamie started it, Maizy wouldn't stop it. She's like a blue curious kitten, and she doesn't seem to do well with authorities like all rebellious teens. Which of course makes for a hilarious short story featuring Santa.
December 22, 2016
This story was a little strange. I can't tell if I liked it or not- maybe I need more time to process it? Some parts were just crazy weird and some parts made sense in a Christmas story way. It was def something different to read than your usual Christmas mystery. This story had magic too.
June 9, 2015
Wonderful Holiday Story
If you do t believe in Santa Claus, you will after you read this book! Gave me goosebumps! Thank you Kelly Rey.
If you do t believe in Santa Claus, you will after you read this book! Gave me goosebumps! Thank you Kelly Rey.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews