The Christmas Riddle

Antique Shop Mysteries #3

by Susan Sleeman

Maggie and her friends in the historical society are recruited to help decorate a Victorian mansion for Somerset Harbor’s annual candlelight home tour. When Maggie finds a jeweled key tucked inside an antique Christmas vase along with a cryptic plea for help scrawled on a scrap of paper, she is enlisted to help discover the significance of the key and the author’s identity. Is it a prank, a plea from the past, or is someone in the small town in danger?

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Christmas, Cozy, Christian Fiction, Christian

204 pages, Unknown Binding

Published May 1, 2016

About the author

SUSAN SLEEMAN is the bestselling author of over sixty romantic suspense and mystery novels with more than two million books sold. She writes romantic suspense novels that are clean with inspiring messages of faith. Readers love her series for the well-drawn characters and edge-of-your-seat action. She graduated from the FBI and local police citizen academies, so her research is spot-on and her characters are real.

In addition to writing, Susan also hosts The Suspense Zone. She has lived in nine states but now calls Oregon home. Her husband is a retired church music director, and they have two beautiful daughters, two special sons-in-law, and four amazing grandsons

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maggie Watson and her kitty Snickers return in The Christmas Riddle, the 3rd book in the Antique Shop Mysteries cozy series. A long time resident of Somerset Harbor has died. Adele Kessler used to host parties that were the talk of the town....but became a recluse later in life, allowing her 300+ year old home fall into disrepair. Maggie buys a beautiful vase at the estate sale without realizing something is hidden inside. A strange bejeweled key and an urgent note scrawled in haste by an unknown person have Maggie wondering what might be hiding in the old Kessler house. Family secrets? Murder?

The Antique Shop Mysteries series is sold by subscription by Annie's Attic. The books are hardback, attractive and nice quality. There are more than 16 books in the series, written by various authors. The books are relatively short (200 pages or so), quick reads. I like Maggie Watson as a main character. She's rebuilding her life after the loss of her husband and her daughter going to college. The background theme of an antique shop makes for a nice cozy series.

The plot in this book developed at a nice pace and had plenty of suspense throughout. There was a nice even blend of background theme and murder mystery. All in all, a nice cozy reading experience. This series is a great palate cleanser between my usual thriller and horror selections. Sometimes I just need a burst of cuteness and light between heavy reads. I'm thankful for the library patron that donated her books to our local library!

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are very enjoyable cozies

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Antique Shop Mysteries are enjoyable and I do love the cozy Maine setting. I liked this one but found it to be somewhat oversimplified. The plot was à good one but Maggie's habit of barging in on strangers in their homes to ask edgy questions was unrealistic and irritating and her tendency to rush off into dangerous situations to persue her mission was mostly foolish. I would love to see another layer of depth to these stories which are fine ones but a bit thin on characterization and dramatic build up. Lots of fun, though!

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found this book to be a little disappointing. The cast of supporting characters were just as entertaining. However, this time around, Maggie was a little annoying with her investigative antics being she thought the actual authorities couldn’t do it better. Also, I found the title and book cover to be a little deceiving, thinking it would have had more of Christmas woven into the plot. Other than that, it is an entertaining read that had me wondering who did it up until the end.

[Margie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maggie Watson has a mystery to solve. She bought a flower arrangement in a beautiful vase at an estate sale. The flowers were ugly and as she removed them from the vase a key with jewels on it fell on the table along with a note. The note was a cry for help from someone being held till she would reveal where the key was and what it would open. Follow her as she searches for an answer and the dangerous situations she finds herself in.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Other books in this series, written by a variety of authors, were better. The plausibility factor in this one was pretty weak.

[Tirzah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't care for this author's writing style as well as the first two and the plot towards the end got a little too intense for my liking. It was still a enjoyable read, just not my favorite.

[Ilke Franssen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cozy and quick mystery! 🧐 I enjoyed the storyline although it's far from realistic, but that's why we read fiction don't we? 😊

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even for a cozy mystery, the main character was really nosy and ran all over the place “investigating” and accusing people of wild things. That was annoying. Usually at least in these books, the characters will at least pretend to let the cops do their jobs. Not so with this one! I couldn’t believe how everyone just accepted her interrogations and answering her questions. Annoying and unrealistic. But besides that, I really enjoyed the actual mystery and the writing. This author is consistently good. Just didn’t love the main character.

[Jo Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's Christmas time and while Maggie is busy with the shop and decorating an old house with her friends at the historical society, she also has time to solve a mystery when she buys an old vase at an estate sale and finds an ornate key and a plea for help hidden inside.
As usual, fast paced and a good read.

[Pianosue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maggie Watson lives in a charming town in Maine and runs an antiques shop. she and the members of the historical society set out to unravel mysteries that have hidden for centuries in antiques and more. She has stumbled onto a mysterious key and note that someone is being held hostage. Can she find what the key belongs to and who is being held hostage?

[Debra McEathron · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the first stories in this series, not all of them are number and are written by different authors. This story is about Maggie finding a note in an antique vase. She thinks that the note writer is in serious trouble. Her friends rally around to help solve the mystery. It is a quick cozy a clean read.

[Lis Sigona · Rating 5 out of 5]

12/6/25 - 12/8/25
The Christmas Riddle (Sn Antiques Shop Mysteries #3) by Susan Sleeman
The third in a series regarding Maggie and her always finding a mystery involving her antique hunting or her Manor. She manages to usually perplex her friends with getting some involved, having others worrying about her and making the local police of Somerset Harbor take another big sigh! She definitely keeps everyone on their toes, that is sure! This novel revolved around an estate of an elderly lady, her incompetent spoiled criminal son, and a base with some hidden clues. Maggie was determined to get to the bottom of the clues feeling something was off and a woman’s life might be in danger. Maggie wasn’t far off in her intuition. The book picked up speed in the last few chapters!

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great Christmastime read. It draws you in but doesn't hit you with the murder in chapter one. Plenty of good mystery throughout, and good holiday events, too. And the print is big enough that I can read it even without my glasses.

[Laurel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like a sweet little fluffy mystery or two in Dec/Jan, and this one fit the bill. I fell and bruised my back today, so it was nice to have a book to curl up with on the couch. And to have some fluff to read between plays during playoff games I wasn't invested in, but wanted to keep tabs on.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the cover of this book! The story is so-so. It's written well, but the plot is so implausible...why would anyone think a note in a vase of old flowers is a current crisis? If you can imagine someone risking her life for that, you might enjoy the book.

[Alene J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book!

Susan Sleeman does not disappoint in the third book of this series! Good mystery, keeps you wondering who's the culprit! Of course, along with a good set of characters and Christmas fun!

[Dedra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great clean mystery

[Kaye Wingo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, just enough mystery to keep you wanting to read to see what happens next

[Kelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good mystery in this series! I enjoy reading the twists and turns and appreciate that there is no foul language or content!

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story was interesting but there were a few details that didn't make sense. I decided to ignore those and just enjoy the story.

[Amanda Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful mix of characters in a wonderful setting- great plot that had me guessing til the end

[Irene Marston · Rating 5 out of 5]

these are good little mystery the family is all enjoying them

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this mystery that started with a note in a vase bought at an estate sale.

[Brittany Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute, clean, quick read with a page turning mystery. Really really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more in the series.

[⋆˚࿔ michala˚⋆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Sanderella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good book in this series.

[Mooshka · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another fun tale of Maggie and her new friends in her new home! I thought the overall mystery was intriguing and kept you thinking, but the majority of the book was kind is dull research the MC was doing. It never really allowed for us to put the pieces together because we were just told each thing along the way without leaving room for interpretation. Really enjoy Maggie as a MC though and I always enjoy the other characters as well!

[Sue Marie]

Good cozy mystery that reads quickly.

[Kathie]

I enjoyed this mystery. Very entertaining, fast paced read.