‘Santa Claus Surprise’ by Tonya Kappes
Series: Holiday Cozy Mystery #8
Published: December 17, 2023
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Mystery, Holiday Cozy Mystery
Format: E-Book
Spice Level: None
Stars:
Synopsis
In the heart of Holiday Junction, where festive cheer and snowflakes blanket the streets, journalist Violet Rhinehammer prepares for the most anticipated event of the year: the Mistletoe Masquerade Ball. However, the holiday mood is deeply marred when a chilling mystery comes to light. The gruesome discovery of a man, brutally murdered behind the living manger scene in Holiday Park, casts a dark shadow over the town’s festivities.
As Violet delves deeper into the case, her journalist instincts kick into overdrive, unearthing a list of suspects that could fill Santa’s naughty list twice over. With the missing Winter Crest coin entwined in the heart of this mystery and potential suspects lurking around every festive corner, Violet realizes she’s racing against the clock.
Can Violet solve the murder and recover the coin in time to save the Ball and preserve the holiday spirit? Or will this Santa Clause Surprise be the one that leaves the town with more chills than cheer?
My Thoughts
Is the Marry Maker of Holiday Junction a killer? That is a question that some of the people asked themselves in ‘Santa Claus Surprise’. It is up to Violet and Darren to clear the Mary Maker’s name and help solve the case of why someone would get murdered.
Before I even turned the page Tonya Kappes had me hooked on the mystery that is surrounding this case. Tonya’s writing style when it comes to mystery is great and she even had me guessing someone else was the killer who I thought would never be a killer. I ended up wrong about that but that is the joy of mystery books trying to figure out who did it. She also can add some southern wit and charm in the book that always makes me smile when I read it, and that adds to the charm of Violet and the gang.
Seeing the relationship between Violet and Darren grow even more in this book was great to see and I can’t wait to see what the next book has in store for these two. Their personalities complement each other and you can feel the love and care they have for each other when you read the pages.
Even though there is something between Violet and Darren the sizzle level to ‘Santa Claus Surprise’ is none. When it comes to cozy mystery books I don’t ever expect to have any sizzle in it but the mystery that needs to be solved is a great read. With the mystery that had me turning pages as fast as I could I am giving this book 4 ½ stars. You will want to make sure that you pick up this book and read it between all the holiday festivities you will be doing.
‘Santa Claus Surprise’ was just released and is available on Amazon. If you are a Kindle Unlimited member it is included in your membership.
**I would like to thank Tonya Kappes for the ARC copy of this book. Getting the ARC Copy did not influence my thoughts on the book as they are all my own.**
The post Book Review – ‘Santa Claus Surprise’ by Tonya Kappes first appeared on The Lost Coffee Mug.
