Missing Santas: Holiday Corner Christmas Cozy Mystery Book 1

by Sharon Michaels

Event planner Joy Holiday isn’t exactly feeling joyful this Christmas season.
~Her Santas keep going missing and worse, end up dead.
~Her hometown of Holiday Corner (named after her great-great-great grandfather) blames Joy for this year’s lack of Christmas spirit.
~Her billionaire ex-husband is seeking revenge and ready to buy up the town.
~And to make matters worse, it hasn’t snowed yet this season, not even an inch!

Joy’s job has quickly turned into saving the town’s holiday season and putting an end to the chaos.
Holiday Corner, Vermont, is a close-knit mountain town that prides itself on showing its Christmas spirit 365 days a year. For some reason, this year’s Christmas celebration seems to be plagued by misfortune and mayhem. Someone is out to ruin the festivities and lay the blame on Joy Holiday. Who dislikes Joy so much that they are willing to commit murder?

Missing Santas is Book 1 in the Holiday Corner Christmas Cozy Mystery series.
Enjoy all the cozy mystery short reads in the series…
Missing Santas – Book 1
Ghostly Gift – Book 2
Slay Ride – Book 3

Genres: Christmas

169 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 7, 2022

About the author

* Cozy Mysteries
* Keeps You Guessing Stories
* Smart, Mature, Believable Characters

Bestselling author Sharon Michaels writes sweet, clean, and fun cozy mystery short reads about mature, smart women who know how to enjoy life. Small towns, close friends, a hint of romance, and a fur-baby or two makes solving mysteries fun and exciting.

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____________

Reviews

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining mystery listening 🎶🔰

This kindle e-book novella is from my Kindle Unlimited account book 1 of 6

Joy has divorced her husband and moved back to Vermont. She is the Christmas planner for the town and bad 👎 things are happening. It all comes to a happy ending 😀.

I would recommend this series and author to 👍 readers of family and friends relationships mystery novels 👍🔰. 2024

[Tari · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Christmas carol that talked about wrong failing and right prevailing could've been describing this book. Poor Joy had a dickens of a soon-to-be ex-husband that she learned a shocking truth about. Meanwhile someone was determined to ruin Christmas for Holiday Corner, but with all the good townspeople working together, the perps got their come-uppance.

I wasn't that thrilled with Joy as a character (she was a little better toward the end, very strong which I was proud of her for), but I liked her parents a lot. The author's very good at creating characters to loathe too like Butch and his nasty sister. I think my fave character's gonna be sweet old Miss Emily, a retired teacher who knew just the right things to say to people and whose knowledge was priceless. I borrowed all of this trilogy from KU so I've already started reading the second book.

[Nancy Lapierre · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an exciting book to read for the holidays!

The main woman character finds her strength and does not back down against all the challenges she has to face.

There are a lot of twists and turns to keep you guessing until the exciting climax at the end who the killer is and why they did it.

Sharon Micaels keeps her readers engaged in her books from the beginning of the story until the end!

[Emily Gawlak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Missing Santas is wonderful! I adore everything about this book. It is a quintessential cozy mystery, incredibly enjoyable characters, beautiful Christmas setting, and it keeps your attention from the first to the last page. Joy is an amazing heroine. She is working to rebuild her life and career, while adjusting to moving back home. All the characters in the book are essential to the story, I especially love Angel.

Overall I truly enjoyed this book. It leaves you with a cozy, warm hearted feeling. This book was my introductory read to Sharon Michaels and I am so grateful! I cannot wait to continue on with her books! I’m so excited that she has written 118 books, my binge can go on for a long while!! SO EXCITING!!!!!

Missing Santas is an absolute must! Whether it’s during the Christmas season or at the end of summer, it is a wonderful read! Give yourself the treat of visiting Holiday Corner! grab a warm beverage and snuggle up in your favorite blanket, because once you begin reading, you won’t want to stop.

Until next time, happy reading! 📖

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick read for December. Forty-five year old Joy Holiday has moved back to Holiday Corner, Vermont after divorcing her billionaire husband Calvin Beckett. She is now an event planner while her twin brother Nick is the town's mayor. The sheriff is Nick's best friend Frank Lawson. The town becomes Horror-day Corner when a string of happenings threaten to ruin the Christmas holiday events. First a dead Santa Claus comes flying and lands on the sidewalk in front of the Dash-in Diner's picture window. Then a small bomb planted at the back of the town's gazebo explodes. And lastly, there is a fire at the Holiday Corner Festival warehouse. Joy thinks her ex is behind all the trouble. But is he responsible? I enjoyed reading this novella.

[Mona J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ - Very short, quick Christmas read. This is Book 1 of 3 in a series written by different authors. I thought that was interesting concept and was interested to see the differences in writing. I was a little confused about whether the books are written to take place simultaneously or if the timeline continues from book to book. The events that surround Joy Holiday in this book seem like they didn't happen while reading Book 2. I don't know. I was a little confused about that. Not that it matters. These are just very short stories and they were entertaining. The covers alone made me want to read them.

[Sharon Michaels]

Excited for the December 7th release date!!!
Kindle pre-order available now
Amazon U.S. Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BF2R1SB1
Amazon Universal Link: https://mybook.to/MissingSantas

Holiday Corner, Vermont, is a close-knit mountain town that prides itself on showing its Christmas spirit 365 days a year. For some reason, this year’s Christmas celebration seems to be plagued by misfortune and mayhem. Someone is out to ruin the festivities and lay the blame on Joy Holiday. Who dislikes Joy so much that they are willing to commit murder?

[Sharen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very slow starting, but improved dramatically. I almost gave up on this book in spite of the good reviews….but, I’m glad I didn’t. There are charming characters, evil doers doing evil deeds, a nasty rich guy, a murder to solve, recipes, smart police, dumb criminals, no cliffhanger ending, a few grammatical errors (typos?), no sex, no graphic violence, witty dialogue, humor, and a dog hero. I am looking forward to the next book in the series. I really recommend this book. Great for curling up in a comfy chair with a cup of tea on a rainy day.

[Mary Rose · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really not believable

Couldn't get past page 20. Honestly after reading the cliche cast of character's page at the beginning I was skeptical. Thought I'd keep on reading though. The first scene the family is so perfect it's entirely unbelievable. The main character is not mature or believable. She comes off as entitled and spoiled even after college. Yeah, just couldn't do it. Shame, because I was really looking forward to this concept but it just wasn't there.

[Marsha Asquith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holiday Corner

Returning to her hometown after 25 years, Joy Holiday never dreamed that the quaint small town and her vindictive ex would ever meet. As Joy tries to plan for the Christmas festivities, there are explosions of danger and an ex friend's 25 years worth of jealousy she has to deal with. I really enjoyed this story. It had me turning pages and gasping through it all. Highly recommend it!

[Patty Guerard · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a cute story! This is my first book to read by Sharon Michaels. Joy Holiday returns to her hometown, Holiday Corners, Vermont. She is the new event planner for the town, which is named after her family, working on the Christmas events planned by the town. What evolves is a mixture of unbelievable happenings, caused by her ex, and some townspeople, and an elderly homeless St.Bernard gets involved in the chaos. I could definitely see this as a Hallmark movie!!

[Dawn Wooden · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has characters you love to love and ones you hate. Lots of twists and turns and a surprise at the end of who is related to whom. I like the fact that Joy finds her inner strength she didn't realize she had and may find love in the end after all. The St Bernard in the story warmed my heart, since I used to own one. Very well written.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Missing Santas: Holiday Corner Christmas Cozy Mystery Book 1

I really liked the setting of this book. A small town where everyone knows each other. It kept my interest throughout the story. A fast read to find out who did what.
I highly recommend this book to anyone that likes cozy mysteries!

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Missing Santas

A fun holiday cozy mystery read. Joy Holiday has moved back to her home town of Holiday Corner. The town is preparing for Christmas and Joy is in charge of hiring Santa's for the holiday events, however, she can't seem to find anyone willing to be Santa. A must read to find out what is going on.

[Marilyn Larkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

No Santa's

Joy finds herself back in her hometown that was founded by her family. She just divorced a very wealthy man and it appears he is trying to cause trouble for Joy. Interesting bits of information surfaces and a bunch of people end up in jail but Christmas goes off as planned.

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fabulous story about a small town called Holiday Corner, Vermont. Join Joy and the town as they work to solve the problem of a dead Santa as well as other bad things that are happening around their town.

[Nancy Browne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who doesn’t love a Holiday mystery? This story is a good one. A cozy small town preparing for the Holidays, a 25 year grudge, an ex-husband or two, and adorable canine. Enjoy this quick read with solid story line and devolved characters. The first in the Holiday Corner Christmas.

[Kelly Methey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun, fast read that I really enjoyed. I’m a Sharon Michaels fan and this book didn’t disappoint. She writes interesting, quirky characters that draw you in. I look forward to reading all the books in this “Holiday” series. I’m hoping Angel the Dog is a regular!

[Shari Lane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joy Holiday is home. She has a new job. No one could guess that a Christmas celebration would be a mix of crime, mystery and pure fun. This is a great holiday read. I highly recommend it.

[Michelle Louise Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick and Easy

A quick fun read that sets the stage for the next two cozy mysteries. The cast of characters is clearly identified and the mystery begins.

[Brenda Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scrooges

So many jealous bad people who would do anything to ruin a good person trying to make the holidays brighter for everyone in town.

[Pastor McKeiver · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was like reading a slapstick comedy. I hope some of the characters carry over to the next in the series. I enjoyed reading about the Holiday family and the antics in Holiday Corner.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had mixed feelings about this book. It was a quick read and entertaining, but there really was no mystery to this mystery. Everything was pretty straight forward. Nothing really to figure out.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice, quick Christmas cozy murder.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute holiday mystery! This is a quick novella with a few cookie recipes included. I love small town stories.