Mistletoe and Mayhem

by Christie Ridgway, Katherine Hall Page, Judi McCoy

In the tradition of Avon's successful anthologies, four of our brightest mystery and romance authors unite to bring us a wonderful collection of Christmas mysteries and tales of romantic suspense, with each author's unique style enriching this fantastic and seasonal compilation. Following the success of such anthologies as "The Further Observations of Lady Whistledown" and "Motherhood is Murder," we have now brought together the best of both genres in one delightful collection of Christmas tales. In the expert hands of four unsurpassed storytellers, "the season of giving" takes on an air of mystery. Get ready for a stockingful of shocking--a potent holiday punch spiked with surprises, a hearty dash of romance and a twist of murder!

The incomparable Christie Ridgway sends a shy, lonely teacher on a mundane pre-Yuletide errand that becomes the most daring, dangerous, and titillating adventure of her life. Award-winning mystery master Katherine Hall Page's plucky sleuth Faith Fairchild discovers a Christmas miracle that comes wrapped in deception. Judi McCoy's spirited career girl Claire St. Germaine receives a truly magical gift with very mysterious origins. And Rebecca Mayfield, the delightful creation of Joanne Pence, discovers the hard way that Santa isn't always a saint.

Filled with Christmas surprises, mystery, romance, and suspense, this will make the perfect gift for both romance and mystery fans.

Genres: Christmas, Anthologies, Fiction, Romantic Suspense, Romance, Holiday, Contemporary

384 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published November 1, 2004

Reviews

[L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mistletoe & Mayhem is a collection of four short stories. As usual with these types of books some are just okay and some are good or fantastic.
Out on a Limb was my least favorite of the four. A kindergarten teacher makes a costume out of Christmas wrapping paper to attend a party. She invited her neighbor to go with her but when she goes to pick him up for the party they both get held at gunpoint by a group of drug smugglers and the story goes on from there.
The Two Mary's features a new born baby boy left in the barn of a woman who raises goats. This story also has drug dealers, one of which is the baby's father, in pursuit of the birth mother who stole money from them.
The Twelve Frogs of Christmas was funny and the only one that was enjoyable for me. Every day for eleven days (so far) Clair St. Germaine has opened her door to a bullfrog that she has to kiss so he can return to human form. She quickly hands each of them $20, a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, puts them on her porch and calls a cab to take them to the bus station. This is observed by her neighbor who wonders why she takes the frogs inside her house and why is there a different man on her front porch every morning.
The 13th Santa is about Homicide Inspector Rebecca Mayfield having to investigate the death of a "Santa" on Christmas day since she's the only one on duty in her office. This one stretches things a bit.
Thanks to these authors for four sort-of Christmas stories, and while they weren't fantastic they were enjoyable.

[BarbaraH · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't usually like short stories and find I usually only like some in a book of shorts But Everyone of these was Great.

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are four novellas in this book, of which I read three. I bought it for the Katherine Hall Page story, The Two Marys, which was excellent -- her series heroine Faith Fairchild is on Sanpere Island off the coast of Maine at Christmas and an acquaintance finds a baby in her goat barn! Page resisted the temptation to make this too sugary-sweet and it was a very satisfying seasonal read. Joanne Pence also has a series, set in San Francisco, and I was surprised on reading the booklist at the end to realize that the story in this book has as its protagonist one of the secondary characters in the series. It's a charming and funny tale of a mobster and a cop "meeting cute" at Christmas, called The Thirteenth Santa. Nice San Francisco setting. Judi McCoy's offering was more of a fantasy than a mystery. The Twelve Frogs of Christmas involves a lonely jewelry designer, her handsome neighbor, her very unusual great-aunt from New Orleans, and a lot of frogs. It was a quite fun little romance. The fourth story, Christie Ridgway's Out on a Limb, I just couldn't get into. It places a kindergarten teacher on a boat with some dangerous people and a corpse, but I felt I knew how it would probably turn out.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two romance authors and two mystery authors have teamed up to bring readers this delightful collection of Christmas Short Stories.

“Out on a Limb” by Christine Ridgway
A quiet teacher runs an errand before attending the Christmas party only to have her life placed directly in danger. This story mixes romance and suspense into a fast read that will keep readers guessing.

“The Two Marys” by Katherine Hall Page
A novella in the Faith Fairchild series. A mysterious baby turns the town upside down with unanswered questions. This Christian mystery is a fun addition for fans of the series.

“Twelve Frogs of Christmas” by Judi McCoy
A unique take on kissing frogs to find a prince. This contemporary romance is hilarious, cute and adorable!

“The Thirteenth Santa” by Joanne Pence
A novella in the Rebecca Mayfield series. This is a prelude to what is to come in the series. A lot of characters add to this mysterious tale of the dead Santa.

Notes:
This review was written for the My Sister's Books bookstore.
This review was originally posted on the Ariesgrl Book Reviews website.

[David Caldwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Made up of 4 novellas. It was labelled as romance/mystery.All of the stories were short on mystery and the last was also short on romance.There were two small mistakes that were very annoying(at least to me). In the first story, the author states that were a lot of white napkins with the logo of a fast food place printed on them. Then she stated that they were from Taco Bell.Sorry but Taco Bell has always used plain brown napkins. In the second story, the author has one of the bad guys pull out his bowie knife and flick it open. Bowie knives are not folding knives and therefore can not be flicked open. To me these mistakes were like watching a movie and seeing a person walk by a window of a plane while it is supposed to be in flight. It destroys the illusion, and throws me out of the story. The best story was the third story, which was a delightful twist on the princess and the frog.

[Philip · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book at the Dollar store. Did not know that it was a romance...but I did enjoy the stories that was in the book. Especially the one about the girl that was kissing toads, her Aunt had cast a spell so that she would find a guy. But, her love was already living next door. It is not a bad book, it has some suspense, thrills and silly story line. All of the stories are written during the Christmas holiday.

[PrincessofthePage · Rating 1 out of 5]

I honestly cannot rate the entire book, only the first story which made me give up on the entire thing. I felt the story went no where and went there very slowly. Even when I tried skipping over the "slow parts" after a while, it was still slow. I was so frustrated that I put the book down and moved on to something else.

[Tracy's Place · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 out of 5

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read; in terms of food, this book is a cupcake--or four, as it is a compilation of four novellas, all with a Christmas theme. There's romance, mystery, fantasy--take your pick.

[Kristin R · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun little short holiday stories.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book.