Christmas Cocoa Murder

Irish Village Mystery #3.5

by Maddie Day, Carlene O'Connor, Alex Erickson

'Tis the season for hot chocolate and mouthwatering treats. But sometimes too much of a good thing can be downright deadly . . . CHRISTMAS COCOA MURDER by CARLENE O’CONNOR Siobhán O’Sullivan’s hopes for a quiet Irish Christmas are dashed when the local Santa turns up dead in a carnival dunk tank of hot cocoa. Now instead of hunting down holiday gifts, she’s pursuing a heartless killer. Seems the dead Santa was no angel either, stealing neighborhood dogs to guide his sleigh. But was it his holiday antics—or worse—that led to his death by chocolate?  CHRISTMAS COCOA AND A CORPSE by MADDIE DAY When local businessman Jed Greenberg is found dead with a Chocolate lab whimpering over his body, the police start sniffing around Robbie Jordan’s country restaurant for answers. Was it something in Robbie’s hot cocoa that killed Jed, or was it Cocoa the dog? As the suspects pile as high as her holiday tree, Robbie attempts to get to the bottom of the sickly-sweet murder . . .  DEATH BY HOT COCOA by Alex Erickson A Christmas-themed escape game seems like the perfect pre-holiday treat for bookstore café owner Krissy Hancock and her best friend. But when the host is found dead in a pool of hot cocoa, it’s up to Krissy and her team to catch the killer—or escape before getting killed.  There’s nothing like a hot cup of murder to warm up the holiday season!  

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

354 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 24, 2019

About the author

Maddie Day is a pseudonym for Agatha Award-winning mystery author Edith Maxwell.

As Maddie Day, Edith writes the Country Store Mysteries, from Kensington, set in southern Indiana. Maddie lived in the area some years ago and loves writing the adventures of Robbie Jordan, a country store owner and chef in South Lick, Indiana.

She also writes the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries, with bike shop owner Mackenzie Almeida and her cozy mystery book group solving murders in a fictional Cape Cod village.

Her new Cece Barton Mysteries series, set northern California wine country, releases in fall, 2023

Please see Edith Maxwell's author page for more information about her other mystery series and her award-winning short stories.

Reviews

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this is a consolidated book of novellas penned by three different authors, I only read the middle one, Christmas Cocoa and a Corpse by Maddie Day. I'm sure the others are good, but I reached this point Day's Country Kitchen Mysteries, so I had to read the novella in proper order for the overall series. I might come back to read the other two authors' books one day, if I take on their series in the future.

Robbie Jordan runs a country restaurant and B&B in rural Indiana. She's having a holiday dinner with boyfriend Abe, his parents, and two of their friends. During the event, a few other folks from town swing by for various reasons. The next day, it appears as if one of the guests had an accident overnight, possibly poisoned. Who had access to his food? Which of the guests or Robbie's potential future in-laws could've killed the man. Robbie, of course, must investigate, and she gets tangled up in the situation. Luckily, she comes out the other side without any foul or harm.

A fun way to celebrate the holidays with our friends in Indiana. I enjoyed the trip and mini-mystery. I look forward to the next book too.

[Natalia R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three delightful Christmas themed stories. The first story, Christmas Cocoa Murder by Carlene O'Connor is set in Ireland. It was well written and full of humor. I really liked the main character, Siobhán. She's smart, easy to relate to, and I enjoyed getting to know her and her siblings. The mystery was solid and interesting enough for me to keep reading until the end. The second story, Christmas Cocoa and a Corpse by Maddie Day is set in the wonderful fictional town of South Lick, Indiana. This is one of my favorite cozy mystery series and my favorite of the three stories. The writing is excellent and the plot is perfectly paced. I enjoyed getting to know Robbie's boyfriend, Abe's family a bit more and their adorable puppy, Cocoa. This was a great addition to the country store mysteries. The third story, Death by Hot Cocoa by Alex Erickson is set in a Christmas themed escape room. I loved this story. It reminded me of a horror movie. It was fast-paced, and I had a lot of fun reading it. I recommend these stories to anyone looking for an enjoyable Christmas themed cozy. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this collection of three cozy mystery novellas, hot chocolate takes center stage! In the first novella, missing dogs, quaint Irish villages, and handcrafted nutcrackers all play a role. When a police officer in training discovers the town dogs are going missing… and then discovers Santa dead in a carnival dunk tank, she decides to investigate. I really enjoyed the unusual small-town Irish village setting, the sleuthing, and figuring out the mystery.

The last of the three tales was another unusual setting for a Christmas novella-set in an escape room party! Eight participants have to figure out how to get out of the escape room building when the host suddenly drops dead. Just like before, cocoa is involved. An enjoyable collection of tales.

[Jill McGill · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Tis the season for hot chocolate and mouthwatering treats. But sometimes too much of a good thing can be downright deadly . . .

Christmas cozy mysteries... Yes please!

Christmas Cocoa Murder combines 3 Christmas themed short stories from 3 different authors - CHRISTMAS COCOA MURDER by CARLENE O'CONNOR, CHRISTMAS COCOA AND A CORPSE by MADDIE DAY, and DEATH BY HOT COCOA by Alex Erickson.

Each story is well-written, highly entertaining, and has a theme of cocoa in each story with a wonderful cocoa recipe at the end. Highly recommend!

"There's nothing like a hot cup of murder to warm up the holiday season!"

*Many thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC, all opinions are my own.

[Tahera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christmas Cocoa Murder is a collection of three novellas, each written by a different author and each novella is a part of an ongoing cozy mystery series penned respectively by the said authors. I have, till date, not read anything by the authors in question, Carlene O' Connor, Maddie Day and Alex Erickson and suffice to say I now have three more cozy mystery series to add to my list.

All the stories take place around Christmas time but instead of happy endings we get to witness murders and in each story the murder weapon of choice is hot chocolate/cocoa 😳!

Each story is well conceived and written but my personal favourite of the three was the third story 'Death by Hot Cocoa'. Its setting of a Christmas themed escape game that turns into a murder scene was pretty unique and since I listened to the audiobook I felt that the pace of this story was faster than the other two.

The narrator Amy Landon does a great job of narrating all these stories.

[Mark Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kensington has released another Christmas novella collection, this time featuring three authors that haven’t been featured before. All three stories feature hot cocoa is some capacity. Up first is “Christmas Cocoa Murder” by Carlene O’Connor, which takes place in an Irish village leading up to Christmas. Her series main character, Siobhan O’Sullivan, is just a couple of weeks away from joining the police force, but she gets pulled in early when the village’s Santa’s stunt at the annual panto goes horribly wrong and he’s found floating in a dunk tank filled with hot cocoa. Next, we get “Christmas Cocoa and a Corpse” by Maddie Day. Robbie Jordan, the star of the Country Store Mysteries, is looking forward to a quiet Christmas, but first she must figure out what happened to Jed Greenburg who was found dead while out walking a dog and drinking some of Robbie’s special hot chocolate mix. Finally, comes “Death by Hot Cocoa” by Alex Erickson. Krissy Hancock, his main character, has been talked into doing a Christmas themed escape room, but when she and the rest of the participants finish the first part, they find themselves locked in a second room with the body of their host next to a puddle of hot chocolate.

All three of these stories are fun. The only series I read regularly is Maddie Day’s, but that didn’t keep me from enjoying all of them. The plots are all wonderfully constructed and perfect for the shorter novella format. I did feel a little lost with some of the series regular characters in the first story, but that’s to be expected since I haven’t read the series before. However, it didn’t hamper my overall enjoyment at all. The main characters all come to life in the stories, and the suspects are just as vivid. Each story is filled with Christmas detail that will put you in the holiday spirit no matter what time of year you read them. A couple of the stories even feature some recipes, including two different versions of hot chocolate. So, make yourself a cup of hot chocolate (or maybe not given the theme of this book) and snuggle up and enjoy.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love holiday theme cozy novella collections! I read every one I can get my hands on. Not only are they cute, quick holiday theme stories, but it's a great way to find new authors/series to add to my tbr!

Christmas Cocoa Murder gathers 3 Christmas theme stories from different popular series. One series I have never read before, and the other two I've read one or two of the books. I'm definitely moving all 3 series up my tbr stack because I enjoyed this entire book!

This collection includes:

Christmas Cocoa Murder - This novella is set in Carlene O'Connor's Irish Village Mystery series. Main character Siobhan plans a quiet Christmas with her siblings, but someone kills santa in a dunk tank filled with cocoa. She's on the case to find out why someone murdered the eccentric man playing santa claus.

I have never read any of the books in the Irish Village Mystery series. I enjoyed Siobhan as a main character. Intelligent, funny and witty....just an enjoyable character! I like the setting as well. The mystery was solid and kept my attention. There are 4 books in this series with a fifth, Murder in an Irish Cottage, coming out in February 2020. I will definitely be reading this series!

Christmas Cocoa and a Corpse - I have read one book in Maddie Day's Country Store Mystery series. This novella definitely renewed my interest in reading the entire series!

Robbie Jordan gets pulled into a murder case when a local businessman drops dead after drinking her cocoa. Was the cocoa poisoned or did Cocoa the dog (a cute chocolate lab found with the body) have something to do with it? I thought it was really cute that the dog's name was Cocoa. Definitely made me smile. :) Cute way to tie in with the theme of this story collection!

I like Maddie Day's writing style. This was an entertaining story that definitely makes me want to read this entire series. I'm not sure why I never read more than one -- probably just a matter of my ponderous TBR pile. I will definitely be reading more of this series.

The Country Store Mystery series has six books so far, with a seventh, Nacho Average Murder, coming out in July 2020.

Death By Hot Cocoa - I have read a couple books in the Bookstore Cafe Mystery series by Alex Erickson and enjoyed them. So I happily read this novella! Krissy Hancock and her bestie are excited about trying a local Christmas theme escape room experience. But things get serious when they find the attraction's host dead in a puddle of cocoa. Yikes! Who offed the host and why?? I'm a sucker for locked-room type stories, so this was my favorite story in the collection. And it definitely has me wanting to finish reading this series!

This is a very enjoyable Christmas themed cozy collection. I'm definitely moving all 3 series by these authors up on my to-read list! And even though it isn't even fall yet as I write this, I enjoyed reading Christmas theme stories! Made me crave cocoa and Christmas music!

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Kensington via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

[Mark Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story finds Siobhan O’Sullivan, the main character in the popular Irish Village Mysteries, a few weeks from joining the local police department in her small Irish village. Even though she’s not supposed to officially join until after the first of the year, she finds herself getting involved in a case just before Christmas. First, her family’s dog goes missing. Then the intermission entertainment at the holiday panto goes horribly wrong. Paddy O’Shea, the village Santa, has been obsessed over how to top the Santa from the neighboring village, and he’s come up with what he thinks is the perfect way. He’s had a custom-built dunk tank made, and he’s going to challenge people to dunk him in hot chocolate. However, before the show is over, Paddy is found floating face down in the hot chocolate. Who killed Santa?

This was my introduction to the characters, and I did struggle a bit keeping Siobhan’s family straight, and there are some references to things going on in her personal life that I didn’t get. However, these were very minor issues in an overall fun story and easy enough to ignore. As you might have guessed from the description of the story, there is some humor involved in the events, but it does have plenty of serious moments as well. These were balanced perfectly. I really enjoyed getting to know Siobhan and the suspects were all strong enough to be believable as the killer. The plot kept me engaged until we reached the great climax.

NOTE: This story is a novella, roughly 100 pages, and was originally part of the novella collection Christmas Cocoa Murder. If you have that book, there is no need to buy this ebook. If you haven’t read the story, now is the time to sit back and enjoy this Christmas mystery.

Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.

[The Sassy Bookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

September seems to be Christmas month for publishers, so I have a bunch of holiday themed cozy mysteries to indulge in. First up is Christmas Cocoa Murder. 🎁 A three short story anthology dedicated to cocoa. ☕ Christmas. 🎄 And Murder. 🔪

 
CHRISTMAS COCOA MURDER 🎅 by 𝓒𝓪𝓻𝓵𝓮𝓷𝓮 𝓞'𝓒𝓸𝓷𝓷𝓸𝓻
🌟🌟🌟🌟 ➡ I enjoyed this story a lot. 🙌 It was set in Ireland, which made it extra special to me. 💗 It was also very festive. 🎄 I'm not a fan of a book that advertises itself with a "holiday" setting and barely mentions the holiday. 👀 This was choked full of Christmas fun. Santas, Elves, Nutcrackers...the whole kit and caboodle (as they say). 🙌 The mystery was laid out nicely with a few red herrings thrown in here and there. 🙈 That said, I figured out the "baddie" fairly early on. 😁 There was a fantastic cast of entertaining secondary characters, and I found Siobhán to be a likable main character. 👍 And as a bonus we get a yummy sounding recipe for hot cocoa with Irish cream. ☕ What more can you ask for? 👍👍

CHRISTMAS COCOA AND A CORPSE ☕ by 𝓜𝓪𝓭𝓭𝓲𝓮 𝓓𝓪𝔂
🌟🌟 ➡ This one wasn't that great for me. 🙈 First, I found Robbie unlikable. 😠 I can't put my finger on the reason, she just came across cold and bitchy to me. 👀  I also thought the mystery was pretty thin, and other than it taking place around Christmas it really wasn't all that festive. ⛔ However, the Mexican hot chocolate recipe and the eggnog oatmeal recipe at the end sounded yummy, so there is that. ☕

DEATH BY HOT COCOA 🔪 by 𝓐𝓵𝓮𝔁 𝓔𝓻𝓲𝓬𝓴𝓼𝓸𝓷
🌟🌟🌟 ➡ This was a fun one since it all takes place inside a Christmas themed escape room. 🎁 So bonus points for originality. 👍 However, it also seemed to be the shortest and least fleshed out of the three stories. 👎 I wish there had been more to the story once they were all in the "murder" room together. 🔪 I was also a tiny bit disappointed to see that there wasn't a recipe included at the end of this story. 😪 Still, overall it was a quick and entertaining story.

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[Karen Stallman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tis the season for hot chocolate and mouthwatering treats. But sometimes too much of a good thing can be downright deadly . . .

I loved each of these short stories who doesn’t love hot cocoa and murder!. I have read books by these authors before so I knew I was in for an enjoyable few hours. I recommend these stories to anyone looking for an enjoyable Christmas themed cozy! There great for reading on the bus or while waiting at appointments (if like me sometimes I wait an hour at doctors) I read each in just over an hour.

I have left out the description of each story as it is all there in the book description.

I requested and received an Advanced Readers Copy from Kensington Publishing and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Kav · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the audible edition of this book and it only had Christmas Cocoa Murder by Carlene O'Conor so I can't review the other two books in this collection. I bought it for the O'Sullivan clan though so I'm a happy reader. Amazed at how the author managed to pack the same family fun, intrepid mystery and general shenanigans in a novella length. Very well done. I won't look at cup of hot cocoa the same way again. :-)

Have to mention that I don't think the narrator was a great match for this particular story. An American with a poor imitation of an Irish accent (it kept slipping into British) robbed some of the fun out of the dialogue. Still enjoyed the story, though.

[Tari · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading these Christmas-themed short mysteries by authors that I knew I already read and liked. I wasn't familiar with the series that the first story belongs with, but I had read the author's newest series. Even though I didn't know anyone, it didn't take long to warm up to Siobhan's character and her siblings. That and her possible love interest made me want to read this series. The ending of this story was so sweet and I hadn't guessed the killer.

In the second story, I loved how Ms. Day tied in the "cocoa" theme by having a Lab puppy by that name. A nasty man was killed, and it almost could have appeared as if the pup caused his accident...or was it an accident? Robbie and her hopefully future mother-in-law Freddy made a good investigative team for this case. I kind of had a feeling I knew who it was, but it was interesting to see how they caught the person. The dinner at Abe's parents on Christmas Eve was really fun and festive, since it ended in singing Christmas carols.

The last book was a locked room type mystery set in Christmas-themed escape room where the host had been killed, which wasn't part of the game at all. All eight of the game players were strangers, except for Rita and Krissy. Rita, of course had talked Krissy into doing this. Since she'd helped with a lot of local murders, Krissy naturally took the lead as investigator and questioned everyone. It was pretty cool how they did all work together, but they used their brains not their tech just like in the old days. I was totally surprised by the killer. I guess I had something or someone else in mind for what had happened, but it all worked out, they got out eventually and the killer was taken away.

This book publishes on September 24, and I voluntarily read and reviewed a paperback ARC of the book provided by the publisher. My opinions are my own and do not reflect on having received the book for no charge.

[Carla · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is made up of three novellas, all from series that I read and enjoy. Each of the stories uses Cocoa as a theme in their story. Christmas Cocoa Mystery stars Siobhán O'Sullivan, the oldest sibling in a family left orphaned in the first book in the series. While she raises her siblings, runs the family bakery/cafe she also went to school to become a garda. In this story she has not yet started her new job, but is allowed to help when asked. Of course, she can't stop there and does some additional investigating on her own. The mystery was well written and developed, even in novella form. The second story, Christmas Cocoa and a Corpse by Maddie Day, was all I have come to expect from this author and series. Again, this was a novella, but was a well written and plotted mystery that I really enjoyed. Robbie's boyfriend's family was very involved in this story and it was great getting to know them, especially his mother, Freddy who helped solve the mystery. This story used a friendly lab puppy named cocoa to tie in the theme. Finally, Death by Hot Cocoa written by Alex Erickson finished off this book. This story did not take place in the coffee shop like others in the series. It was a locked room mystery. When Krissy participates in an Escape Room activity, the last thing any of them expected was the proprietor of the Escape Room company dying before they are released. Was it an accident or is one of the participants the killer. Krissy uses her intelligence, and logic skills to solve the mystery and identify the murderer. I enjoyed all three of these short stories and definitely recommend this one to those looking for some fun, Christmas mysteries. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book upon request. The rating, ideas and opinions shared are my own.

[Aisling · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is actually three short novellas by three different authors. I got it because my bookgroup was reading Carlene O'Connor. Her short was the same as the book title and then there were two other short stories by Maddie Day and Alex Erickson. O'Connor's was good but not as suspenseful as her full length novels (or maybe because it was Christmas themed). The other two were fine but I did not know their characters or settings as well as the first. A light, fun, holiday read.

[CheyAnn Robin ·ᴥ· · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just wasn't for me

[Lola · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley.

I have to admit that the biggest reason I requested this one was because there's a novella by Maddie Day in this book. I love her Country Store Mysteries series and I was excited to read her Christmas novella set in that series. I also like discovering new to me authors, so I figured this was a great opportunity to check out the other two stories as well which are by new to me authors.

Christmas Cocoa Murder by Carlene O'Connor
This story is clearly part of an ongoing series, but even so it was quite easy to get a feel for the setting and the characters. There were a few moments that I did notice me being new to this series, like trouble remembering all the character's names as none of them were familiar it was a bit much to get introduced to so many new to me characters and there was this part where I hadn't realized some of Siobhán's siblings were quite a bit younger than her. It also was a bit difficult at first to get the feel for the setting and characters while also following the start of the mystery. But overall I think the author did a good job making this novella accessible for those who don't know the series.

The mystery got off to a quick start when the village Santa gets murdered. Siobhán doesn't start her job at the Garda yet till next year, but she gets involved anyway and can help solve the mystery. The mystery was quite a good one. There are some clues that are important and some things I knew were part of the answer, but it still takes a while for things to come together. I wrongly guessed who the murderer was and there was quite the nice twist when everything finally falls on it's place.

I think I have the first book in this series and definitely plan to go back and read that at some point. I think if you are already familiar with this series this novella will be even more fun. I had some trouble getting a feel for the characters as I didn't know them beforehand, but even so it was nice following them around as they solve this mystery.

Christmas Cocoa and a Corpse by Maddie Day
This was the story I was most excited about and it really was a great one. I love this series and I really enjoyed spending some time with Robbie and in her store this time set around Christmas. The Christmas theme was a fun addition and I always enjoy seeing the familiar characters.

The mystery wasn't as complicated as that in most books in this series. With only two main suspects it was relatively easy to solve it and after a certain clue I was sure I knew who the murder was. Even the motive was clear already. I liked how Robbie again took the effort to be careful and not go alone when talking to possible murder suspect.

All in all this was a great short read set in this series. I enjoyed spending time with the characters and have an entertaining read set around Christmas. There also was a cute puppy and some cocoa as well.

Death by Hot Chocolate by Alex Erickson
This was a fun story. I liked the locked room type of mystery in this book. The main character and one of her friends join a escape room and during the escape room someone gets killed. Now they're stuck in the escape room and one of them is the killer. I thought this was a fun set-up for a mystery. It added some great suspense knowing one of them was the murderer.

I also liked how this set-up lend itself for a shorter read as they have to figure it out before they can escape from the room. Another bonus was that for those new to this series this short story was really easy to get into as it all takes place in the escape room there aren't many appearances of characters or mentions of things you don't know. And this story did make me curious about the rest of the series.

The mystery was a pretty good one. It was tricky to figure out who had done it, but before I had a solid guess the main character figured it out. It made sense and I liked how things fell on it's place. It also was interesting how the motive in this one was quite hard to figure out and even when the main character figured out the who she didn't know the why until the murderer told them.

To summarize
I really enjoyed this collection with three Christmas themed cozies. Only one of these was in a series I already knew and the other two authors were new to me. I enjoyed all three of the stories, although the one by Maddie Day was my favorite as I already knew that series. The other two have me curious to check out those series too. I also liked how each of the stories had a Christmas theme and hot cocoa played a role in the murder mystery. All in all I would definitely recommend this collection to cozy mystery fans.

[Kristina Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christmas Cocoa Murder by Carlene O'Connor, Maddie Day, and Alex Erickson contains three cozy novellas that are a part of the following series: An Irish Village Mystery series, A Country Store Mystery series and A Bookstore Café Mystery series. I thought they were three entertaining Christmas cozies. They are all well-written and full of Christmas spirit. The three mysteries were interesting with various levels of complexity. The escape room mystery was my favorite, and I particularly enjoyed the description of the escape room puzzles. I have read books from all three series, so it was not a problem for me to read each story. I already knew the characters plus the settings. Maddie Day has my favorite writing style. It is like conversing with old friends. I like how hot cocoa played a part in each story with Christmas Cocoa Murder featuring it in a unique way (a dunk tank). We get to enjoy Christmas festivities in three different towns from two countries. I especially appreciated that all three stories featured intelligent female protagonists who are resourceful and do not break down at the sight of a dead body. I am glad that Kensington puts out these holiday novella collections and I hope that they continue to do so. It is a chance to catch up with our favorite series and solve a mystery (a definite bonus in my book). Christmas Cocoa Murder has three cocoa connected conundrums, a swarm of suspects, many missing mutts, sharp sleuths and copious Christmas cheer.

[Peggy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a delightful anthology of Christmas cozy novellas from three authors with well-developed series. I am a huge fan of the Carlene O'Connor Irish Village Mystery series and loved this glimpse in Siobhan O'Sullivan and her siblings in this Christmas mystery. We get to see Siobhan in action before she is officially a guarda and solve a murder of Santa to save Christmas.

The second novella is from author Maddie Day and is part of her Country Store Mystery series. Once again, Robbie Jordan's store is at the center of a townsperson's death and she must work to solve the mystery before Christmas and clear her and her hot chocolate of any involvement. I love Robbie Jordan and the town of South Lick Indiana so it was a joy to return and read this book. Ms. Day never disappoints.

The last novella is by Alex Erickson, whose main characters owns a bookstore/cafe. I was not familiar with these characters, not having read any of the books in this series. However, the novella has a great premise of a Christmas themed escape room and was a unique story.

I loved that hot cocoa tied all of the novella's together even though they are separate, distinct series that have never crossed over. These were all fun reads.

I voluntarily read a digital ARC provided to me by the publisher through Netgalley.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only read the Carlene O'Connor story in this collection, but it was so delightful to be back with this crew. I love the O'Sullivan Six and the town of Kilbane. It's worth noting, however, that this book is marked as 4.5 in the series but it's more like 2.5, just before Siobhan becomes a Garda. The lack of Macdara made me sad but the rest of the crew is still enjoyable. It only made me long for the next book.

[Marguerite Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

The heroine starts her crime solving again even before her Guardi job is official. Cocoa will never have the same appeal in this small town.

[McKenna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Eh wasn’t a fan

[Laura Knaapen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was looking for Christmas reads, so I got this, but it was NOT my cup of cocoa. The writing was not that good. The recipes might be. The first one had promise, best storyline. The second was the worst with a very sudden and almost meaningless ending. The third started out well, with a good premise, but faded from there.

[Wulfwyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review coming after the readathon.

I enjoyed this book so much! There are three stories in the book. The first story, Christmas Cocoa Murder, is set in Ireland. The words aren’t spelled incorrectly. I had no trouble with reading it but I grew up hearing, and using, most of the words. I thought the plot was original and entertaining. I love the nutcracker event. Their is a tasty cocoa recipe at the end of this book.
The second story, Christmas Cocoa and a Corpse was written by an author I enjoy, (the other two were new for me). I adore that a puppy named Cocoa was a part of this story. I quickly became engrossed in the mystery. There were also recipes after this story, including an interesting one for oatmeal, (which I happen to love so I can’t wait to try this recipe).
The third story, Death by Hot Cocoa, takes place at an Escape Room event. I was so excited to see that. I want to try one of those, but without a body. The mystery was fun.
I was looking forward to this book, and happily, it was everything I hoped it would be. Every story engaged me. I had an excellent time reading it. I recommend this book to cozy mystery lovers especially those who enjoy a Christmas theme.
I won a signed copy of an arc of this book in a Giveaway. No review was required. Thank you Kensington Publishers and Maddie Day for the giveaway.

[Glenda · Rating 2 out of 5]

My husband and I have listened on Audible to all of Caroline O’Conner’s books. They have been delightful. We read the reviews on Audible for this one that the narrator, a different woman than the rest, was horrible, but we thought, “How bad can she really be?” The reviews were right, she was awful and greatly lessened the enjoyment of this short novel. It was a hardship to listen and we had to force ourselves to finish. I also have little memory of what actually happened in the story, and we chose not to listen to the other two short mysteries written by other authors included in this book because we just couldn’t listen to this narrator anymore.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a good book to read during the Christmas season. This is my first read by Carlene O'Connor and her Irish Village Mystery series. I like the setting in Ireland and the Irish expressions such as brekkie for breakfast. Many of the characters have Irish names, and there is the resident Catholic priest from St. Mary's Church. The protagonist is in her early twenties which is younger than what I am used to for a cozy mystery series. I will give the series a try at some point!

[Patrizia · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stelle e mezza
Raccolta di tre racconti di serie che sto seguendo, più o meno visto che una la ho appena iniziata e in un'altra sono paurosamente indietro. Comunque sia, i racconti mi sono piaciuti, anche se normalmente preferisco le storie più lunghe.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

It would be hard to give a single rating to a book containing 3 novellas, but in this case, I had no problem. They were all very enjoyable.

I had already read all 4 of Carlene O'Connor's Irish Village mysteries, so I had no problem with the many characters. I hadn't read anything by the other two authors, but I plan to check out both of their series. I liked the characters in the stories.

Recommended (but you might not want to drink cocoa for a while).

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christmas Cocoa Murder by Carlene O'Connor - 3.5 Stars

Christmas Cocoa and a Corpse by Maddie Day - 5 Stars

Death by Hot Cocoa by Alex Erickson - 4 Stars

[Trio · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed Carlene O'Connor's writing style very much in Christmas Cocoa Murder. This was an exciting story, and Siobhán is an interesting character.

The audio version is nicely performed by Amy Landon. They do a great job with all the different accents in the story.

[Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved all three of these short murder mystery's.