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Mistletoe and Murder
One minute, probation officer Mallory Larsen is handing out hand-knitted Christmas gifts. The next, there's a gun at her head—and a bomb exploding. Fellow probation officer Shamus Burke saves her life, and she'll be sure to thank him for it…once she gets his assistance again. A girl's life depends on Mallory, and no one but Shamus can help her do what needs to be done. As the threats against Mallory escalate, she shows Shamus she won't back down on saving anyone—including him. But now someone's dead set on stopping them both from ever celebrating Christmas together.
224 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
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81 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
December 15, 2025
3.5 stars. This was okay, a lot of buildup that didn't feel like it went anywhere...the suspense wasn't that suspenseful, to me. Now for someone who likes moderate suspense that isn't too nailbiting, this would be a great read.
Characters:
Mallory was nice...but I didn't relate a whole lot to her, there was a lot to learn from her character in trying to see the bright side to every situation but she wasn't super relatable to me and the way her backstory worked into the plot felt kind of...flat at the end, in my opinion.
Shamus was relatable...sure, he was working through a lot of guilt, but I didn't feel like for him or Mallory we got to see much of that play out until the very end...and then it felt kind of rushed, just how I was feeling...
Evan would have liked to see more of him...
Romance:
A slow friends to more, but honestly for what Shamus had been through I felt like it was a little fast...like he's just suddenly interested in someone again because she's being nice? She'd been nice for the past month and he hadn't given her the time of day...what changed? I wanted a little more depth.
Language:
N/A
Violence/Gore:
There are some murders of side characters...some vague and non-descript injuries, mentions of a bloodied shirt and of bombs and explosions.
Overall:
This was an okay suspense read with a touch of the Christmas season...just not my favorite read. I'm off to read some of the other Christmas suspense books I checked out, wish me luck!
Recommend age 14+
Characters:
Mallory was nice...but I didn't relate a whole lot to her, there was a lot to learn from her character in trying to see the bright side to every situation but she wasn't super relatable to me and the way her backstory worked into the plot felt kind of...flat at the end, in my opinion.
Shamus was relatable...sure, he was working through a lot of guilt, but I didn't feel like for him or Mallory we got to see much of that play out until the very end...and then it felt kind of rushed, just how I was feeling...
Evan would have liked to see more of him...
Romance:
A slow friends to more, but honestly for what Shamus had been through I felt like it was a little fast...like he's just suddenly interested in someone again because she's being nice? She'd been nice for the past month and he hadn't given her the time of day...what changed? I wanted a little more depth.
Language:
N/A
Violence/Gore:
There are some murders of side characters...some vague and non-descript injuries, mentions of a bloodied shirt and of bombs and explosions.
Overall:
This was an okay suspense read with a touch of the Christmas season...just not my favorite read. I'm off to read some of the other Christmas suspense books I checked out, wish me luck!
Recommend age 14+
November 5, 2021
Good story, good mix of danger and suspense, I honestly did not forsee the ending which I enjoyed. Mallory seemed a little too effusive at times but I guess that was intentional. Over all, decent story. :)
December 19, 2018
An enjoyable enough Christmas time murder mystery, but nothing spectacular.
May 23, 2019
Three month dating period....
January 11, 2022
This book was a fun story with a pretty decent plot and some good plot twists. My only complaint is the character development, the characters in this book felt one dimensional. Still a fun and quick read.
March 25, 2014
One minute, probation officer Mallory Larsen is handing out hand-knitted Christmas gifts to her coworkers. The next, there's a gun at her head--and a bomb exploding. Fellow probation officer Shamus Burke saves her life, and she'll be sure to thank him for it...once she gets his assistance again. A girl's life depends on Mallory, and no one but Shamus can help her do what needs to be done. As the threats against Mallory escalate, she shows Shamus she won't back down on saving anyone--including him. But now someone's dead set on stopping them both from ever celebrating Christmas together.
3.5 stars. It was really good and had 4 stars...until to epilogue...then it lost some points.
Mistletoe and murder is, of course, a Christian fiction romance BUT it's actually a good Christian fiction romance! It's hard nowadays to find a Christian romance novel that actually has some decent, quality writing about it. But Florence Case manages to deliver, adding a twist to the end that actually had me wondering. Originally I just assumed that all the small hints that were dropped throughout the book were going to be part of a large story, secretly hoping the author was going to make a series about each of the siblings. But in the last 10% of the book (according to my ereader) she tied everything up in a neat little bow making this a pretty good stand alone book with a fast paced ending.
I don't know what people's fascination with the name Mallory is lately, but this makes the fourth book this month I have opened that has a main character named Mallory. That said, I liked Mallory as a character. She emanates the song from Life of Brian "Always look on the bright side of life!" Well She DOES try to always look on the bright side of life and be cheerful and kind to everyone, Mallory is no idiot. She's actually pretty smart and believable. She only makes one silly decision in the whole book and the author covers the why so well, she doesn't even seem that dumb for doing it.
Next is Shamus. Nice, not overly-used name for starts. Shamus is the wounded man, so fixed on punishing himself so something he's not really responsible for that he can't see what's right there in front of him and refuses to let anyone make him happy. Sounds like an emo teenager, I know, but he has good reasons that make sense to him, so he's completely believable. Kudos to Florence again! Enter Mallory, who immediately turns on the "look on the bright side and be happy" beam on him and despite himself, he comes out of his shell like a 'beautiful butterfly' (bugs life).
*Spoiler Alert*
My only issue with this book is the issue that I tend to have with all Christian romances, and that issue usually presides in the epilogue. Now this is my problem, two months. The two main characters have known each other for 2 months if you think about it. They really started talking to each other right before Christmas...SPOILER AHEAD...and he proposes on Valentine's Day. Do the math. That's two months if you apply the possible time generously. No one should ever propose after two months. Personal opinion, but seriously. Also, this means that his late wife died only 1 year, 8 months before said proposal. Think you would get over losing the love of your life in only 1yr, 8 months? Pretty sure I'd still be wallowing about like a wounded beast. My only beef with this book, but it's one of my major issues that I can't handle. TIME people, time. so I docked .5 of a star for it because it was the ending note and it left me feeling quite annoyed. Thinking I'm going to have to start skipping epilogues.
3.5 stars. It was really good and had 4 stars...until to epilogue...then it lost some points.
Mistletoe and murder is, of course, a Christian fiction romance BUT it's actually a good Christian fiction romance! It's hard nowadays to find a Christian romance novel that actually has some decent, quality writing about it. But Florence Case manages to deliver, adding a twist to the end that actually had me wondering. Originally I just assumed that all the small hints that were dropped throughout the book were going to be part of a large story, secretly hoping the author was going to make a series about each of the siblings. But in the last 10% of the book (according to my ereader) she tied everything up in a neat little bow making this a pretty good stand alone book with a fast paced ending.
I don't know what people's fascination with the name Mallory is lately, but this makes the fourth book this month I have opened that has a main character named Mallory. That said, I liked Mallory as a character. She emanates the song from Life of Brian "Always look on the bright side of life!" Well She DOES try to always look on the bright side of life and be cheerful and kind to everyone, Mallory is no idiot. She's actually pretty smart and believable. She only makes one silly decision in the whole book and the author covers the why so well, she doesn't even seem that dumb for doing it.
Next is Shamus. Nice, not overly-used name for starts. Shamus is the wounded man, so fixed on punishing himself so something he's not really responsible for that he can't see what's right there in front of him and refuses to let anyone make him happy. Sounds like an emo teenager, I know, but he has good reasons that make sense to him, so he's completely believable. Kudos to Florence again! Enter Mallory, who immediately turns on the "look on the bright side and be happy" beam on him and despite himself, he comes out of his shell like a 'beautiful butterfly' (bugs life).
*Spoiler Alert*
My only issue with this book is the issue that I tend to have with all Christian romances, and that issue usually presides in the epilogue. Now this is my problem, two months. The two main characters have known each other for 2 months if you think about it. They really started talking to each other right before Christmas...SPOILER AHEAD...and he proposes on Valentine's Day. Do the math. That's two months if you apply the possible time generously. No one should ever propose after two months. Personal opinion, but seriously. Also, this means that his late wife died only 1 year, 8 months before said proposal. Think you would get over losing the love of your life in only 1yr, 8 months? Pretty sure I'd still be wallowing about like a wounded beast. My only beef with this book, but it's one of my major issues that I can't handle. TIME people, time. so I docked .5 of a star for it because it was the ending note and it left me feeling quite annoyed. Thinking I'm going to have to start skipping epilogues.
October 31, 2013
Summary - One minute, probation officer Mallory Larsen is handing out hand-knitted Christmas gifts. The next, there's a gun at her head--and a bomb exploding. Fellow probation officer Shamus Burke saves her life, and she'll be sure to thank him for it...once she gets his assistance again. A girl's life depends on Mallory, and no one but Shamus can help her do what needs to be done. As the threats against Mallory escalate, she shows Shamus she won't back down on saving anyone--including him. But now someone's dead set on stopping them both from ever celebrating Christmas together.
This was a good mystery that definitely had a surprise ending. Definitely kept my attention as additional problems kept happening to Mallory and Shamus during their growing attraction.
This was a good mystery that definitely had a surprise ending. Definitely kept my attention as additional problems kept happening to Mallory and Shamus during their growing attraction.
January 5, 2010
This was a Harlequin-esce type book in which by being Christian based had no heat in it.
I found it disjointed and the heroine a little annoying and the heroe made to be too much of the tough guy with that piercing gaze type. There was not lead up for the plot and then the last 5 pages were like oh this is how it all happened.
I pretty much just wanted to keep skipping ahead to see if these two would ever say anything important to each other.
I found it disjointed and the heroine a little annoying and the heroe made to be too much of the tough guy with that piercing gaze type. There was not lead up for the plot and then the last 5 pages were like oh this is how it all happened.
I pretty much just wanted to keep skipping ahead to see if these two would ever say anything important to each other.
January 3, 2010
I bought this book because I loved the name of it. And it was fantastic! I never was able to get it all figured out, and things kept happening right to the end, when I thought it was done, something else happened, loved that! :) Though there wasn't as much reference to mistletoe as I would have preferred. :)
June 6, 2015
There were so many subplots and "bad guys" in this one you needed a scorecard to keep track of them all! A little confusing sometimes. And the final conclusion had me shaking my head in disbelief. Only 2 stars for the plot. I liked the main characters, though, enough to bump it up to 3 stars.
Note: This line of suspense/romance books from Steeple Hill are very simple, Christian and clean.
Note: This line of suspense/romance books from Steeple Hill are very simple, Christian and clean.
November 10, 2010
This is another great book from the love inspired suspense series. A great story of Shamus and Mallory. The story keeps changing, just when you thought you had it figured out "who dun it". Right until the last few pages. Great read. quick too!
September 8, 2016
I enjoyed reading this short novel which had several twists and turns in it. It provided good escape. I think the author could have developed her plot strands and her characters with more depth, but the novel held my interest.
May 5, 2012
a little too preachy for my taste.
June 18, 2016
Love Inspired Suspense.......Mallory and Shamus. I did not figure out the ending at all.
Read
June 5, 2018Lots of action from the beginning.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews