Homicide for the Holidays

Viv and Charlie Mystery #2

by Cheryl Honigford

Deck the halls with suspicious deaths…

A hidden key that opens a drawer locked for the past eight years, a mysterious envelope filled with cash, and a threatening note... none of this is what rising radio star Vivian Witchell expects to find in her late father’s office. But when Vivian stumbles into trouble, she hardly knows how steer herself back to safety. With the handsome and maddeningly practical private detective Charlie Haverman at her side, Vivian spends the holiday season uncovering the details of the last weeks of her father’s life, following a sinister trail of clues that leads her directly to one of the most notorious mob bosses of all time, Al Capone.

The second book in the acclaimed Viv and Charlie mystery series, Homicide for the Holidays is a riveting holiday mystery set alternately amidst the glitz of Chicago’s radio drama scene and the grime of its taverns and speakeasies.

Genres: Mystery, Christmas, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Historical, Fiction, Cozy Mystery

428 pages, Paperback

First published October 3, 2017

About the author

Born and raised in Ohio, Cheryl Honigford has been writing stories since she could read (and telling stories even before that). She received her BA in Journalism, with a minor in English, from The Ohio State University.

She is the author of The Viv and Charlie Mystery series which includes The Darkness Knows (2016), Homicide for the Holidays (October 10, 2017), and Dig Deep My Grave (August 2018).

Cheryl lives with her family in the suburbs of Chicago.

Reviews

[Veronica · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

Vivian Witchell's star has been on the rise at WCHI radio in the two months since the first book in this charming series. She's got a lead role in the station's most popular radio serial and her picture regularly appears in the entertainment papers, usually in connection with her dashing male co-star, Graham Yarborough. It's a fake relationship drummed up by the publicity department but of course the general public doesn't know this. Neither does Charlie Haverman, the P.I. who made Vivian's heart go pitter patter in the first book so it should come as no surprise that he hasn't contacted Vivian in the intervening two months. But when she finds a wad of cash and a threatening note in the desk drawer of her (eight years) deceased father, Vivian finds that only Charlie can help her uncover long buried secrets that seem to tie her beloved father to none other than Al Capone.

I didn't like this book quite as much as the first one, mostly because I'm not a fan of flashbacks, but I still enjoy both Vivian and Charlie and the whole radio station backdrop. This particular book takes place in December 1938 so even as the main plot is unfolding you get characters anxiously monitoring the movements of Hitler in Europe. The mystery surrounding Vivian's father didn't go the way I was expecting so that was a nice surprise.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fun, and pretty much what I expected from the title: A light, enjoyable read with a plot that never lagged, set at an interesting point in the history of Chicago. It was fun, too, to read about places that are still around, particularly the Aragon Ballroom, where I’ve been many times - though of course it really was a ballroom at that point. I’ll probably read the next in the series.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Maybe not quite as much as the first but still 5 star. I do hope to see more growth from Vivian in the next book. It's ended with her telling a non truth so she is still not being very mature to Charlie (who's too good for her!) I will be frustrated if she doesn't grow up by book 3!

[Marlea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like the characters in this series, most of the time. Vivian sometimes grates on me with her childishness, but I really enjoy all of the others. I also think the author does a really great job creating imagery, making for a pleasant read.

I have a few gripes with this book:

1. I wish she hadn't used Al Capone. Everything about this series feels fun and vintage and using a well known mobster cheapened it for me. I can't really pinpoint why, but it did.

2. The size of the book is terrible. That may be petty, but had it been taller and thinner it would have been significantly easier to maneuver. I've never seen a book shaped like a brick and I didn't care for it.

3. I'm hoping to see growth in Vivian. If she grows out of the childish way she handles work/romance/Charlie, I'll be on board for life. I don't mind a damsel in distress, but she outright lies and only intermittently cares about things (people) other than her fame. If this ends up being on of those series that follows the same frustrating girl-pattern, I'm out.

[Lizzie Rhoades · Rating 4 out of 5]

The characters really earned some dimensionality in this second book! I enjoyed the characters so much more, even though the lack of communication between characters is always one of my least favourite tropes. Still, I love the connection between Charlie and Viv, and the setting is beautiful and so realistic! I'm learning a lot about the 1930s. I also like the mentions of historical events, which really ground everything.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to pick this book up and see what it was about since it takes place during the holidays and that is my favorite time of the year. And the story was good. The author did a good job of taking me back to the time when this took place. I felt like I was watching an old black and white movie. It was great! I would read another book in this series, for sure!

[Chris Leuchtenburg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the milieu of 1930's radioland is unusual, this is really just a run of the mill mystery with the usual soupcon of romance. But after reading a book about African American history (a continuing tragedy), reading a brutal Dennis Lehane mystery recommended by a misguided friend, and watching and reading the news (more depressing every day), it was exactly what I was in the mood for. Light, sweet, and satisfying.

[Amy Bare · Rating 3 out of 5]

Exactly what it was supposed to be- light, entertaining & enjoyable

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full in the blanks for a secret message!! M_m_y K_t_e_ w_l_ m_s_ B_b_ K_t_e_ v_r_ m_c_!!

[Penny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started out very interesting. I was absorbed. Then it started rambling and lost focus. I did not finish because I just didn’t care anymore about the characters or whodunnit.

[Rosemary Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little slow moving but good historical background of the 30's.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Radio actress Vivian discovers a hidden secret about her long-deceased father. She hires Charlie, the private detective whom she's been falling in love with, to help her investigate. As she gets closer to the truth about her father, she also finds that she's in danger. I wish Honigford hadn't told so much about the solution to number 1 of this series--there are people who don't read series in order, and who might feel discouraged from reading the first one, which I also enjoyed.

[Karissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A period mystery set in 1930's Chicago among the glitz and glamour of radio dramas and just after Capone is dethroned from power and jailed. Not a genre I usually go for but the book's back blurg snagged my attention. Good thing, too, as this was a page-turner of a mystery. It was well-thought-out with full-bodied characters, vivid imagery, and enough twists and turns, blind alleys and dead ends that the ending was a total surprise!

On the evening of her mother's annual Christmas party, Vivian Witchell discovers a key hidden in a picture frame holding an old ornament she made. Finding it opens her deceased father's long-locked desk drawer, she's even more startled to uncover an envelope full of cash accompanied by a threatening note. Then...the envelope goes missing, she finds another threatening message in the drawer, and a second key. Befuddled, wanting advice and answers, and not sure whom she can trust she goes to Charlie Haverman private eye. Hiring him, despite his discouragement that she pursue this, to find out why her father had an envelope of cash and who might have been threatening him and why.
As they explore leads, she is reawakened to her attraction to Charlie. But there is an obstacle, a big one, to forming a relationship with him. In two words...her career. Her career as a radio drama personality is finally flourishing with talks of ad campaigns and even moving to Hollywood. Plus, as part of her contract, she is in a "relationship" with her on-air costar on The Darkness Knows, Graham Yarborough. Even though it is for publicity only, she is concerned what will happen both for the show and her career if she breaks things off with Graham and pursues Charlie.
As we wind down the path of clues Vivian is followed, her house is broken into and ransacked, a friend is pushed in front of a trolley, and everyone is suspect. This trail of shocking revelations, lying friends, and disturbing events leads up to a stunning conclusion and a bang of a start to 1939.

[DiAnne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't sure if I really wanted to read this book. Taking place in Chicago during the 1930's, I was kind of dubious as to whether I would enjoy it or throw it. I decided to try it regardless of my doubts. I am so GLAD I did. The characters, Viv and Charlie, plus the storyline had me engaged in no time at all. As I continued reading, I realized this was the second book in a trilogy. By this time, I was so drawn into the story there was no turning back! I now have purchased the first and third books in the series! I can hardly wait to read them. I love a book that offers a bit of suspense, history, romance, and humor that lightens the storyline.


Christmas has come to Chicago and Vivian Witchell is looking forward to nothing more than spending the holidays with family and friends - and maybe spotting her picture in a few radio magazines. But the discovery of a mysterious envelope stuffed with cash in her late father's study sets Vivian into a tailspin, as she discovers that her beloved father may not have been exactly who she thought he was, and who may in fact have been working with the most notorious mob boss of the time.
With her career as a radio actress finally beginning to take off, a romance between Vivian and her costar manufactured by their publicity team to keep the public engaged going farther than she had anticipated, and the reappearance of dashing detective Charlie Haverford in her life, it's all Vivian can do to hold herself - and her family - together as she discovers the dangerous secrets of her father's past - and the truth behind his sudden death.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was quite a fun read. Vivien Witchell is now the star of "The Darkness Knows"--a somewhat romantic mystery soap opera. (As in the author's first book of the same name.) It's Christmas and Viv is reliving the melancholy memories of her father's death several years before. She explores her father's death, finds a key to a locked door and discovers a lot of cash and mysterious scribbles! The investigation begins. Viv investigates the cash and whether or not it is connected with her father's death--but then the money disappears, and Viv starts to receive threatening letters. The plot thickens and Viv hires private detective Charley Haverman (read the first book). And did I mention this story takes place during the late 1930's! Great fun book for those who remember Stella Dallas and My Gal Sunday!!!!

[Cheri Ruble · Rating 5 out of 5]

Homicide for the Holidays is a delightful although sometimes wistful holiday mystery set in the Chicago radio theater world at the end of 1938, amidst the uneasiness of world events prior to World War II and following the fast rise and fall of Al Capone. Vivian Witchell is a rising radio star, determined to make a life and career for herself while forging through a variety of challenges and a fledgling relationship, all of which she meets head-on with various degrees of success. Cheryl Honigford knows Chicago and the history of a fascinating era, and the workings of radio theater when that was the in-home entertainment before the introduction of television. This book follows The Darkness Knows, her debut mystery, which I am eager to read and look forward to the next installment in this sparkling series.

[Reney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave "Homicide for the Holidays" a solid 4-stars. It's an enjoyable read about a time when things were very different than they are today. For me, that's what made it FUN! - no cellphones, no TV, no internet - instead, there were parties and social events. Because it was a mystery, it really reminded me of the Bobbsey Twins and Nancy Drew days! But, of course, with a little more mature themes and an actual crime committed. This is Book 2 of a 3 book series. It can definitely be read as a "standalone", but if you are planning on reading the series - it does have spoilers from the first book. Just a warning! Also, if you are looking for something really "Christmas-y" - this is not it! Only the first chapter actually takes place during a Christmas dinner party, then it's pretty much business as usual.

[Mayda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Secrets and mysteries seen to follow Vivian and she just can’t let them go. When she accidentally finds a hidden key in her deceased father’s study, she sets in motion a chain of events that will affect her family forever. Vivian is torn is several directions as she deals with her budding career, a shame romance with her co-star, a desired relationship with her absent private detective friend, and her constant battle for independence from her mother. Her father was the bright star in her life, and now, it may be that that star has more than just a little tarnish on it. This second book in the series is even better than the first. Author Cheryl Honigford has written a mystery that is entertaining as well as intriguing with a complex plot and well-developed characters.

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Viv stumbles onto a secret her dead father kept for years, and it's putting her life in danger. Once again, the details of 1938 Chicago are fantastic--it makes me feel like I'm there. And because I know the city, I could picture all the cross-streets mentioned and imagine what it was like 80 years ago. It's mostly the same buildings, just different occupants.

The mystery was interesting because the murders were almost a decade earlier, but I enjoyed the twists and turns. I wish Viv had been more honest with Charlie--she hid far more from him than she told him, and her rationales didn't always make sense. I feel like their relationship is getting dragged on a bit too long, but hopefully that gets resolved in book three! I'm on the wait list and highly looking forward to it.

[Ellen Lindseth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up because I enjoyed the first title in the series, and because I enjoy historical mysteries with a touch of romance.
Honestly, this installment in the series wasn't as strong as the first one, but as the author admits, this is her first stab at writing a series, and it shows. There was a fair bit of unnecessary recapping of the first book, but not enough to ruin the story. The romance is still there between Viv and Charlie, which was a definite plus for me. She also had some clever plot twists that held my interest to the end. The writing is accessible, and easy to follow at the end of a long day, both good things in my opinion.
Will definitely pick up the next one in the series on the strength of Honigford's plotting and the romance angle.

[Grey853 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set during the late 30s, right before WWII, Vivian is home for the holidays. She's feeling very melancholy and missing her father who passed eight years before. When she finds a hidden desk key in his study, she also discovers an envelop of cash and a threatening note in his desk drawer. That sends her on a very dangerous trail as she tries to figure out who her father really was.

I truly enjoyed Vivian and this book filled with varied characters. Honigford does an excellent job of detailing a complicated story that's not overly twisty, but just layered enough to keep the reader's interest.

[Michael Ritchie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I admit I didn't finish this, but I read fully half of its 400 pages. No homicide had taken place yet and Christmas was over. This is the second book in a series set in the world or Chicago radio in the 1930s, a setting I was sure I would enjoy. I did to a point, but the author spent way too much time referring to and summarizing her first book in the series, and fleshing out character arcs, that I grew impatient to something to happen. Worse, she actually includes spoilers for the first book, surely a no-no in a mystery series. The prime audience here is people who already read her first book.

[Barb Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are no fresh bodies in this second installment of novels featuring Vivian, screamer-extraordinaire of "The Darkness Knows" fame. However, we do have a fresh(ish) mystery to solve.

Warm, fuzzy feelings at Christmas of her deceased father prompt Viv to enter his study where she finds something strange. Was her father not the man she thought he was? Is her kid brother's girlfriend a total witch? Who is that guy following her?

Although not as charming as the first book, this was a fine light romp.

[Miriam Holsinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book even more than the last one - now that I know Viv and Charlie I really appreciated the depth Honigford develops in their characters and their relationships. The plot moved along at a wonderful pace and the details Honigford gives about the era was just delightful. My grandmother would have been two years older than Viv during this time and she also wasn't in a hurry to get married so it was wonderful get a more vivid picture about what the world was like when she was in her twenties before WWII.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pg.157 Occa's razor. The simplest explaination is likely the best.
Sherlock Holmes. When you have eliminate the impossible,whatever remains, however improbable, must be truth


Pg 320. Ask forgiveness rather than permission.

Pg 361. Dreams are strange things ... Occam's razor...

Pg 401. Occam's razor...

Best compliment I have for book: morality of time period portrayed realisticlly. No one paid much attention to Jewish's people destruction. Homosexuality hidden. Women were 2nd class citizens
.

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just okay, not as good as the first book. I like the radio setting and the glimpses of old time Chicago. I didn’t like the gangster related plot...too stereotyped as the setting is Chicago. And, I don’t like the immaturity of Viv’s character. I’d like to see some growth. She’s too selfish and Charlie is too good.

[Hope Broadway · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series so far. Viv and Charlie are a great team! MORE PLEASE!
A lot happens in this book regarding character development. Viv learns some hard truths about her life.
In the last book, Viv had some memory lapses that bugged me, but in this one, it didn't so much. I think it's actually a good indication of the human condition.
I love the period details.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book--the time period and the setting--but I got really frustrated with Vivian. She spent too much time keeping secrets and overthinking or jumping to conclusions. I wish she had just been honest with Charlie about Graham. I had not read the first book but there were enough references to it that I easily followed along with this sequel.

[Will G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up in the discount pile looking for something to read during the holidays. While the story takes place at that time of year, it's really not at all a holiday book. But it's a cute story taking place in the 1930's with a not very thrilling mystery involved. But well written and a decent period piece.

[Leani · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun read with enjoyable characters.

I've noticed that many of these "cosy mysteries" are not really about the mystery. There are few clues and the characters don't do much detecting. They generally bumble along until the murderer decides to get rid of them, when all is revealed. It's about the characters - particularly in series - and the setting.