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We Sold Our Souls

Grady Hendrix

8.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Book

Grady Hendrix, horror writer and author of Paperbacks from Hell and My Best Friend’s Exorcism, is...

Touch Of A Yellow Sun (Colors of Love #2)

V.L. Locey

7.0 (3 Ratings) Rate It

Book

It's been a rough couple of years for Marek Hafer, roaming hockey protagonist and pugilistic expert....

Contemporary M_M Sports Romance

Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2204 KP) rated Cozy Up to Christmas in Books

Dec 15, 2022

Being a Mall Santa Turns Complicated

Ed Belmont has landed a job as a mall Santa at a run-down mall in Pennsylvania. He’s managed to hold on to the job for a month, and is looking at his final week on the job. Unfortunately, dealing with kids, not Ed’s strong point, isn’t his biggest worry. Someone has been robbing convenience stores dressed as Santa, and the police think Ed might be the culprit. Then Santa robs the mall after hours. Can Ed figure out who is really behind these thefts?

Those familiar with the series will immediately recognize that Ed is the latest identity of our protagonist, who is in witness protection. I knew seeing him playing Santa would be fun, and I was right. Unfortunately, a sub-plot intended to also be funny made me more uncomfortable. I do like Ed and enjoy watching him deal with his newest struggles. The rest of the characters are a bit thin. The plot does wander a bit at times, but it comes together for an interesting climax. I do enjoy watching Ed solve things. And this is a fast read. Fans will enjoy seeing what Ed gets up to in this holiday entry in the series.

Kudos

Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2204 KP) rated Just Plain Murder in Books

Dec 2, 2018

It was Heavenly to Visit These Characters Again

In the time that shop owner Claire Weatherly has been dating detective Jakob Fisher, she has never met Russ Granger, the man Jakob counts as a mentor and father figure. Of course, it makes sense since Russ has retired and moved to Florida. He is back in Heavenly, Pennsylvania, for a visit, but before Jakob and Russ can reconnect, Russ is murdered. Distraught over the man's death, Jakob throws himself into solving the crime. Can Claire help him come up with any leads?

It's been two and a half years since we've been able to visit this community, and I hadn't realized just how much I missed it until I was reading the first page. I was immediately swept back into the peaceful state I find while reading this series. In keeping with a town next to an Amish community, the pace in this series has always been a bit on the slow side, but I did feel this book's pacing was slower than normal. Still, when the pace does pick up, we get a well-done plot. The real star has always been the characters, and I was thrilled to be able to visit them again. They are as wonderful as ever, and I enjoyed some of the developments happening in their lives.