An (un)Orthodox Christmas

by Ana T. Drew

Some believers observe Christmas in January.
Some cops work homicide at that time…

Provence baker Julie is headed to a charming Riviera village to meet the family of her gendarme boyfriend.
Gabriel’s folks can’t wait to get to know her.
Trouble is, he hasn’t told them she’s an amateur sleuth.
Nor has he warned Julie just how odd and rowdy they are, or that she’ll have to face them alone while he’s called out on a murder investigation.
Needless to say, she gets sucked into Gabriel’s family feud—and his case!
The latter suddenly explodes into a hot emergency.
A race against the clock is on.
Lives are hanging in the balance...

With a killer on the loose and Gabriel’s relatives on fire, can the duo keep it together to solve the mystery?

"An (un)Orthodox Christmas" is a fun whodunnit set in the deceptively peaceful French Riviera village of Cassis. This new mystery stands on its own within the Julie Cavallo Provence Mystery series.

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

126 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 25, 2022

About the author

Chanticleer Mystery & Mayhem Book Awards First Place winner, Ana T. Drew is the evil mastermind behind the recent series of murders in the fictional French town of Beldoc.

When she is not writing cozy mysteries or doing mom-and-wife things, she can be found watching “The Rookie” to help her get over “Castle”. She lives in Paris but her heart is in Provence.

>>> Sign up for her monthly newsletter to be notified when her next mystery comes out and get a free novella and a cookbook!

Reviews

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining mystery relationship listening 🎶🔰

This kindle e-book novella was free from Amazon prequel

This novella started with a family and friends. The story is about murder and a missing pregnant wife with three ladies working to solve the case. It all comes to a happy ending 😀 with family and friends.

I would recommend this novella and author to 👍 readers of French romantic family and friends relationships adventure mystery novels 👍🔰. 2024 👒😊

[Nancy (The Avid Reader) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Julie Cavallo, a pastry chef is very good at baking and owns her own bakery shop. Julie has also been known to solve a murder or two. In An (un)Orthodox Christmas a Provence Cozy Mystery set in the world of Julie Cavallo Investigates mysteries, Julie is taking a holiday. She is visiting with her boyfriend, Gabriel, and his family during the Christmas holidays.

Julie and Gabriel are having dinner with his parents when he is called away on a case. Julie not wanting to be left alone with his parents decides to tag along besides as with all of us Julie Cavallo Investigates mystery fans we already know that Julie is an amateur sleuth.

An (un)Orthodox Christmas was a fun sweet and cozy little Christmas murder mystery that kept me hanging on from the moment it pulled me into its world from the first page or more like the first Julie Cavallo Investigates mysteries book. It is a lot of fun following Julie when she is on a case.

Like all the books in the Julie Cavallo Investigates mysteries there are plenty of twists and suspense to keep those pages turning. Oh, and let me tell you An (un)Orthodox Christmas has some pretty big twists, twists that I never saw coming.

I like reading one of Julie’s stories as I feel as if I am right there with her helping her to solve a murder. Julie seems like a real person someone I have met before kind of deal.

I can’t wait to read more in this amazing world of Julie Cavallo. I recommend An (un)Orthodox Christmas to all crime-solving sleuths like our heroin Julie Cavallo! Grab your copy of An (un)Orthodox Christmas today!

[Meghan Hampton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gabriel and Julie's mystery solving days are still on, even while on vacation, celebrating the Orthodox Christmas. Are they able to solve the murder and save the woman? Will they help solve the family secret?

Such a good mystery telling story taking place in France. The different views and thoughts that Julie has as a civilian really bring a fresh perspective into the case.

Perfect book to read curled up on a cold winters night!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Caitlin C · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I would have enjoyed this book more if I had read the other ones in the series first. I felt a little at a disadvantage, not knowing the characters. I did enjoy the banter back and forth between Gabriel and his parents and how Julia jumped in to the investigation. They are visiting his parents in France for Christmas, which they celebrate in January. The local police asks Gabriel to help in their investigation and he loops Julia in on it.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Billie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a brilliant read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great suspense and found myself second guessing every thought I had continuously.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.

I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.

[Penny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Et voici un nouveau tome de lu. Je rattrape petit à petit le dernier tome de la série

Dans cette novella, Julie et Gabriel passent le noël arménien dans la famille de celui-ci. Bientôt, le petit ami de Julie est appelé pour une enquête...Julie aimerait participer, et tous deux enquêtent

C'est un peu différent, nous avons le point de vue de Gabriel, même si Julie reste le personnage central, au même titre que Gabriel

J'aime bien les novellas entre deux tomes de cette série, ce sont des histoires de Noël cosy, et qui finissent bien. Ici, une femme enceinte a été kidnappée, suite au meurtre de son petit ami. Par ailleurs, il y a une dispute dans la famille Adinian. Peu à peu, en tant que lectrice, j'ai espéré que ces situations se décanteraient..

La fin est tout à fait charmante, et j'ai apprécié le décor : le noël arménien à Cassis.
Je crois qu'il me reste deux tomes pour être à jour ;)

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good

Very good story with interesting characters and a surprise ending. I didn't care for the paranormal that showed up at the end.

[Juanita E. Arp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good story, and a delightful tale of misunderstanding. I can't wait to read more from this author. I received this book as a Free ARC copy to read and I voluntarily leave this review.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

🏖Slow start, great finish👍👍

4.5🌟 stars
I ended up really liking this short mystery set on the southern French coast. The "detectives" are a French policeman and his girlfriend who get wrapped up in a local murder investigation while visiting his family for an Armenian Christmas celebration in early January. I found the plot, with its discussion of diverse Christian Christmas traditions, a bit slow at first until the murder investigation took off.

Then policeman Gabriel and his baker/private detective partner Julie get new insights into the crime that really push the police investigation forward. It's not one of those mysteries where the investigators are competing and at odds with the local authorities; they build the case together and it moves quickly.

There's even a family mystery subplot that gets a lot less play but added a nice touch.

Good entertainment value and it's got me interested in more works by the author.

I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

[Shelly Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

An (un)Orthodox Christmas book was a fun sweet and cozy little Christmas murder mystery that kept me hanging on from the moment it pulled me into its world from the first page. Gabriel and Julie's mystery solving days are still on, even while on vacation, celebrating the Orthodox Christmas. Such a good mystery telling story taking place in France. The different views and thoughts that Julie has as a civilian really bring a fresh perspective into the case.

This is a brilliant read. Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start. Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great suspense and found myself second guessing every thought I had continuously. Can't wait to read what the author brings out next. Definitely Recommend reading.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[_JayyIsReading · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read.


Gabriel letting Julia assist in all of his cases was a little odd but they complemented each other.

The big family rift: Gabriel’s younger cousin Patrick being gay. Unexpected. Crazy how Gabriel’s cousin David and his wife Edgwige were mad at David’s mothers for so long because they thought she was cheating on her husband and sleeping with the mailman and the whole time it was really her younger son Patrick sleeping with him.

As far as the case, Vlads messy past of killing a local mobsters son finally caught up with him and his family hired his murder. How unfortunate. He turned his life around and left the mobster world, found a woman, had a baby on the way, just to wind up getting murdered.

[Alice Hazelbaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gabriel, Julie’s boyfriend, is taking her home to meet the family over Christmas. Gabriel’s family celebrates Armenian Christmas on January 7th, and it’s immediately obvious that they want their son married and having kids, so a bit of pressure! While there, Gabriel’s Commandant calls and asks him to investigative a nearby murder, even though he’s supposed to be on vacation. Between the funny family dynamics and the murder, Gabriel has his hands full, but Julie insists on accompanying him, not wanting to be left alone with his eccentric family. A crazy Christmas for sure! I received a free ARC of this book from BookSirens and I write this review voluntarily.

[Mary Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good fun cozy read despite the discovery of a member of a gang family being murdered. Gabriel is on holiday visiting his family and is asked to assist the local police. Julia, who is with him, joins as a civilian consultant.

I previously read another book in the series and enjoyed it, and this was another enjoyable read if you're looking for something light anf quick to read. A nice break from more dark books that I've been reading lately. I look forward to more in the series.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Delphia Von Heeder · Rating 5 out of 5]

An (Un)Orthodox Christmas is Book 4 in the Province Cozy Mysteries by Ana T Drew. I thought that this was fun book with quirky characters. Gabriel is a Police Capitaine in France with parents that want their only child home for Christmas. I found this fast paced story has a murder, kidnapping, fun extended family, and so much enjoyment for a holiday cozy. I had a smile on my face when I finished the book. I received an arc for free and am leaving my review voluntarily.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Julie Cavallo is going to a French Riviera town to meet her Gendarme boyfriend's family.
They know she's a baker, they don't know that she's also a private sleuth.
Nor that she and Gabriel is helping solve a murder and kidnapping while in town.
This is book 6 1/2 in the Provence Cozy Mystery series.
This is the first book I've read in both this series, or by this author.
The characters were fun to read, and there was a developed plotline.

[Jane Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Enjoyable read. Perhaps would have been better if I had read previous books in the series to get more background on the main characters. Mystery was well done and side story of why son would not talk to his mother was a surprise.

[Mickey Kay Troxell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick and easy read! I enjoyed it, not the gay stuff, but the story line. The characters were, of course, wonderful and continue to blossom through the series. It was different having it from Gabriel’s narrated instead of Julie’s. However, it still worked. I look forward to reading more from this author!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Lizz Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this novella with some of the characters I had grown to love in The Twelve Suspects of Christmas. This book can be read as a standalone. It is perfect for the holiday season with a lot of mystery, heart and charm. Twisty and satisfying. I look forward to reading more of Julie and the other characters adventures.

[Jerrilynne Evitts · Rating 5 out of 5]

An (un) Orthodox Christmas

I received this book as an Arc from the author and I’m leaving a voluntary review. I really enjoyed reading this. A French policeman and his girlfriend are celebrating Christmas with both families. They’re traveling to different homes. When they get to his he’s assigned to a murder for a few days. It’s an interesting story! Highly recommended!

[Melissa Basnight · Rating 3 out of 5]

Christmas mystery

Gabriel takes his girlfriend Julie to his parents house to celebrate Christmas and while they are there they help the local cops solve a murder and find the missing girlfriend. His parents and family are a fun group of people that are a fun aspect to the mystery.

[GuiltyPleasures · Rating 4 out of 5]

Julie and Gabriel—she’s a pastry chef and amateur sleuth, he’s a gendarme, and they’ve been a couple for several years. They’re going to spend Orthodox Christmas with his parents at the beginning of January when he gets pulled into a murder case where his parents live. So the two of them help the local police figure out the bad guy and rescue the kidnapping victim. A fun little cozy mystery.

[Helen Sanford · Rating 4 out of 5]

An (un)Method Christmas

An entertaining story, kept me I retested enough to complete it, I did not figure out who was the.murderer or what had happened to Sonia, or even why the families problem with estranged son/brother. I will read more of her work.

[R Grisham-Whitehouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

not very Christmasy but fun

This is an unusual book written strictly from a man’s perspective. It is a very quick read. The mystery is interesting but almost a subplot to family drama.

[Nan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fresh and light read

The story was smooth and easy to follow.
Light mystery read.
Short but well written.

First book I've read from Ana T. Drew.
I loved the author's writing.
I am now a fan.
Looking forward to reading Ana T. Drew's
other books.

[Michelle Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick read

The text is engaging and well-written. The characters are compelling, and the story is intriguing. I found it to be an enjoyable and thought-provoking read. of the paranormal added in.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very Very unorthodox Christmas, with lots of family, lots of motherly and grandmotherly baby questions and baby quotas, and lots of Armenian foods! Oh and a case to be solved.

Very quick read and quite enjoyable.

[V Dowdy · Rating 3 out of 5]

An (un )Orthodox Christmas is a holiday cozy murder mystery. The story is well written, and follows the plot well with accurate facts and information. I enjoyed this light read and blew through it quickly. I liked the skewed perspective of the story telling.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Gillian Griffis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

Love the Julie as the main sleuthing stories, can't wait for the next one but this novella from Gabriel's was so enjoyable. Thanks for a fabulous read.

[Van · Rating 5 out of 5]

cute, funny and intriguing

This was a great story, very interesting. Love the way the people worked together so that all turned out well and totally unexpected.

[Karin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who killed Vlad Vovich and why??? Mobsters??? I enjoyed this story and recommended the book.