Death, Snow, and Mistletoe

Tori Miracle #4

by Valerie S. Malmont

Murder in the holiday spirit

It was Christmas in Lickin Creek, and all through the town something was stirring..The borough council was quarreling about the color of the Christmas lights. A social worker wouldn't let a living baby be part of the town's living crèche. And some ladies were stretching the limits of their leotards in a pageant called the Nutcracker. All in all, former New Yorker Tori Miracle was basking in the quaint glow of her adopted Pennsylvania town, when suddenly the season went sour. A boy was missing. A thirty-year-old mystery resurfaced. And now two people have been murdered. With her boyfriend--the town police chief--out of town, Tori must help his befuddled replacement. And what she finds out, or should be finding out, is making Tori the next target--of someone only in the mood for murder....

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

320 pages, Paperback

First published November 7, 2000

About the author

Valerie Skuse Malmont grew up in a foreign service family and lived in several different Asian countries. She now lives in Pennsylvania.

Reviews

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's Christmas time in the small town. during the run up to the big day, a five year old disappears. Our amateur sleuth gets involved only to find the disappearance may be linked to a murder in the past.

Not really zany enough for this sort of book.

[April Wood · Rating 3 out of 5]

I never do this but I read other reader's reviews before writing my own. What I read from other readers didn't surprise me, and I'm glad I'm not the only person who was utterly confused by this story.

I borrowed Death, Snow, and Mistletoe from my local library to get in the Christmas spirit. This book had sooo much potential. It really did. The title and cover immediately grabbed my attention, and the synopsis of the story sounded interesting enough. Unfortunately, I think there was way too much going on, (Christmas light debacle, a live baby in the manger scene fiasco, Nutcracker pageant wardrobe malfunction, a psychic, a missing child, a cold case reawakened and a child's body who was missing for 30 years found, and two murders). If that sentence was annoying to read, imagine the book...

*Big sighs*

This is what would have made this story better, if one of the above things was focused on solely. I didn't know what I was reading half the time. Of course I read this book till late in the night and was tired, but still. I normally love these holiday mysteries so I was totally disappointed that it didn't meet my expectations.

I gave Death, Snow, and Mistletoe 3 stars because like I said, it really did have so much potential, I liked the protagonist, and I enjoy Holiday mysteries in general.

[Jessica Sinn (Books and Trouble) · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s a lot going on in this mystery, which kept the pace moving along at a fast clip. The main character Tori Miracle seems likeable enough, but I didn’t really appreciate her comments about heavyset women, and I especially didn’t enjoy her mentionings of things being “politically correct.” That subversive term really sets me on edge, especially when it’s applied to fur coats. Don’t even get me on my soapbox about that one!

Also, while I’m griping here, I fear for this small Pennsyvlania town because the only qualified lawman is on a long sabbatical, and the others left at the cop shop are inept, sniveling imbeciles! I mean, yeah, Lucious, you are probably right that you will lose your job because you are sorely unqualified! If you have to rely on a small town newspaper editor to do your police work, something is wrong. Very wrong.

And then there’s the gimmicky names. Why oh why do all the characters other than Tori have the strangest, impossible to pronounce names? I see this as lazy writing for authors who don’t want to bother fleshing out characters, so they just slap a gimmick on them and call it a day. Read a John Green book for more examples on that subject.

Lastly, the kitty needed a bigger part! And when he was allegedly kidnapped—or catnapped, I should say—Tori didn’t put much effort into the search. I’d be going nuts and driving my car around the neighborhood all day and night if my Lil Bootz was wandering the streets, but that’s just me.

OK, I promise I’m done griping. I just needed to get that all off my chest! All of those minor grievances aside, this is a solid mystery with a lot of layers. I had fun trying to figure it out and was taken by surprise in the end!

[Margie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting murder mystery, though seemed strange at times to me. Picked this book as a Christmas read and probably will get the first book in this series.

[Carmen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is entertaining but the contradictions, repetitive descriptions and exposition, and overuse of colloquialisms in dialogue are distracting.

[Carol J. Hudson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tough Christmas

A story set in a small town in the south near Christmas with many local people coming together to find a missing child. With two murders happening , the locals don’t trust the police chief and life becomes as cloudy as the weather which has turned into a snow storm.

[Dharia Scarab · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since I don't normally write reviews unless I have something specific to say, here's the break down of how I rate my books...

1 star... This book was bad, so bad I may have given up and skipped to the end. I will avoid this author like the plague in the future.

2 stars... This book was not very good, and I won't be reading any more from the author.

3 stars... This book was ok, but I won't go out of my way to read more, But if I find another book by the author for under a dollar I'd pick it up.

4 stars... I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be on the look out to pick up more from the series/author.

5 stars... I loved this book! It had earned a permanent home in my collection and I'll be picking up the rest of the series and other books from the author ASAP.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having grown up in Pa., I was really looking forward to this book. But there were too many strange names & too much of "you don't belong here". The story was decent. I really felt for her when her cat went missing & I really enjoyed Praxythea ( how the hell is that pronounced?!)- the psychic. I would probably read another in the series, but I'm not actively searching them out.

[Georgiann Hennelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

i learned that stuff we do as children can come back to haunt us in different ways

[Jeannie and Louis Rigod · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel sounded intriguing to me as I saw an advertisement on social media. The plot was clever. A Reporter, Tori Miracle from New York, living in Lickin Creek, Pennsylvania finds herself trying to join in the community and getting the stories for her temporary job as an Editor of the weekly newspaper.

It is Christmas time. There are plays, parades, dinners, community functions, and murders. A child goes missing...a skeleton is found. How can that be? The child just went missing. A member of the pageant play is murdered. Why? Then another play actress is shot. Are all these things connected?

This novel is the fourth in the series. I couldn't find the first on Kindle. I'm going to have to go to the paperbacks or Hardbacks to find them. However, I guarantee you the search will be worth the effort. The characters are three dimensional. The dialog will have you chuckling. The mystery will have you working to try and solve.

This author is new to me, however, I'm going to enjoy all she has written.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cozy mystery with the main characters all part of a small home town . And they were characters! The heroine is a editor of a small paper and she solves crimes as a hobby/pasttime. I enjoyed the book, but it was difficult to feel the cold air surrounding the folks as it's been 90 degrees this last week.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, funny, lighthearted little murder mystery. I liked it and I think I will read some more of the Tori Miracle stories. This book was a quick read and wasn't a heavy, downer of a story like some murder mysteries can be.

[Josephine Hawkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mistletoe

Book kept me interested yet did not reveal who did it or reason until last possible moment. Incorporated several events that led up to why murder was done without spoiling end.

[Cathie Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. This is the first book I've read by this author. I like her writing style. Characters were interesting and well defined. Some good suspense. Storyline and plot was good. Some good humors. I like her two cats. Recommend.

[Laura D · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dumb story.

[Danni · Rating 3 out of 5]

weird book.

[Vicki Gooding · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not even hardly put the book down I enjoyed it so much

[Lilly Iamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was fantastic, from beginning to end. Finding a quote of Monty Python was a memorable treat that also made me feel kinship with the author. 10/10 will read again!

[Virginia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I rated it a 3.5.

[Axcoro · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very awesome.

[Theresa Lange · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

[Shannon · Rating 1 out of 5]

abandoned...wicca and psychics

[Xanthi · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read in this series. I have mixed feelings about it. How does one take this book? Is it a parody? A rip-off? The similarities between this and Lilian Jackson Brauns 'Cat Who' series, are strong. Both have a protagonist who is an 'out of towner' living in a small town, who has two cats, and solves mysteries. The names of the people and the locales in the town are odd, and the authors of both series aim for a bit of humour. Braun's books have more 'charm' and humour is gentler. Malmont's book, generally speaking, has a better plot - more red herrings, suspects, etc. Braun's feline characters play a bigger role than Malmont's. If I was feeling cynical, I could just say that this author picked a formula (cats + small town + some humour = cozy mystery) that has sold millions for others and so jumped on the bandwagon. If I was feeling more generous, I would say this author wrote a homage of sorts, to the feline whodunnits. All aside, I still enjoyed this book as some light, entertaining reading. Just wish it had more cats. ;) I may even try reading another in the series.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another cat inspired cozy. It was pretty well written and the story kept my interest. Tori Miracle moved to Pennsylvania to be near her boyfriend and to take over publishing the local newspaper. Just after she arrived, Garnet, the boyfriend, left for a year abroad so she is trying to be accepted in a strange town when half the town blame her for his leaving town. A very young child is missing and the town bands together to search for him. Tori is covering the story for the newspaper and also trying to assist Lucious, Garnet's deputy who is trying to fill very big shoes with little confidence in his abilities. A body is found but it has been dead for over thirty years and this opens up a lot of past history. Tori is likable and the cast of "characters" in the town make this a good read.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read a couple in this series and always enjoyed them and this installment was no exception. There was some funny moments (channeling Monty Python for example) and some sad moments but a true to life story. I did figure out, towards the end, who did it but it took me awhile to get there. Set around the Christmas holidays I really enjoyed the descriptions of the activities taking place in and around Lickin Creek. The party at the Gochenauer farm AKA Greta's Fine Swine Farm sounded like so much fun made me wish I had been invited. I will read more in this series.

[Sarahanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book. Lots of elements - things that came together - or didn't come together. It was a little odd reading it since some bits were classic cozy fare, but others weren't. I enjoyed the various threads. I liked that some pieces fit together & others were red herrings - or background noise. The writing style was nice - no annoying phrases or habits. Even the cats (yes - there are cats) were fine. They didn't death yowl or reveal hidden clues. They were pretty much cats.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, although it is the first book I have read in this series, it is the 4th in the overall series, now I have to go back and start at the begining. It is not hard to follow, even though I started in the middle. This book will not chage the world in anyway but I found it to be an enjoyable time.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice diversion. The author lives in Chambersburg, PA, where I finished my dissertation and taught wonderful young women at Wilson College. While she calls the setting "Lickin Creek," there are familiar references to the area as I remember it.

[Melissainau · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit of fun. Won't bother with the rest of the series.

[Marti]

As I like to do, Christmas books in December.