“A Christmas Peril” by J.A. Hennrikus
“A Christmas Peril” introduces us to Sully (Edwina) Sullivan, Theater Cop, a former active duty detective in Massachusetts. Sully is now the managing director of the cash-strapped Cliffside Theater Company whose troupe is about to stage the iconic Christmas play, A Christmas Carol. But first, she has to keep Scrooge from quitting, while holding her ex-husband and an old boyfriend at bay. There’s also the matter of the murders.
In the five years since leaving law enforcement, Sully has not lost her sleuthing skills, so when an old friend becomes a person of interest in his father’s murder and needs Sully’s help, she agrees to look into the circumstances. It turns out that every single member of the family is hiding something. With big money, romantic intrigue, and a large company at stake, there is plenty of motive to go around and no shortage of suspects.
Her ex-husband, Gus, complicates matters just by being around, but he’s a lawyer for the dead man’s family, so he’s hard to avoid. Sully still has a soft spot for him, though, and any guy that can make her toes curl can’t be all bad.
“A Christmas Peril” is an absorbing peek behind the curtain at the world of theater production. Costumes have to last for years, tech rehearsals take longer than I would have thought, and the battle for Arts money is a continuing challenge. One of the characters says while half-kidding, (paraphrased so as not to give anything away) “We can’t kill the star. His name is above the title and we would have to refund the tickets.”
Can Sully’s savvy skills save her former boyfriend and the play from disaster? Will she be able to keep from adding her ex-husband to the rising body count? And, what about the murders?
Hennrikus has penned a complex, multi-layered plot that delivers jaw dropping surprises. I could have sworn one of the ‘obvious’ suspects did at least one of the deeds, but instead turned out to be guilty of something else.
I’m looking forward to a repeat performance from the personable core group of characters – some quirky, some serious, but always entertaining. You can pre-order book #2 in the series, “With a Kiss I Die,” now.
Please visit www.Jhauthors.com for more information about this Agatha nominated author and her other series.
The Christmas Mystery List – 2015
Christmas may be the most popular holiday topic for mysteries. When compiling this list, there were hundreds to choose from. Yes, hundreds. Do we, as readers, connect with the topic of murder at the holidays because our families and friends bring out the worst in us? Do the writers deliver a way for us to fantasize about doing in the dastardly boyfriend/cousin/landlord? Only you and your active imagination know for sure. 😉
This is a list of 50+ titles, so your favorite author/title may have been inadvertently left off the list. If you’d like to add more writers and their novels with a Christmas theme, please mention them in the comments below. Other winter holidays welcome as well. Click on the titles to find out more about each book.
Happy choosing!
Lydia Adamson….. A Cat Under the Mistletoe
Anne K. Albert….. Frank, Incense and Muriel
Susan Wittig Albert….. Holly Blues
Donna Andrews ….. Duck the Halls
M. C. Beaton….. A Highland Christmas
Rhys Bowen….. The Twelve Clues at Christmas
Lucy Burdette….. Death with All the Trimmings
Lynn Cahoon….. If the Shoe Kills
Tammy Cohen…..Dying for Christmas
Sharon Love Cook….. A Deadly Christmas Carol
Jessie Crockett ….. Live Free or Die
Deborah Crombie….. Water Like a Stone
Diane Mott Davidson….. Sweet Revenge
Krista Davis….. The Diva Cooks a Goose
Vicki Delany…..Rest Ye Murdered Gentlemen
Lynette Eason ….. Christmas Cover-Up
Linda Fairstein….. The Deadhouse
Amanda Flower ….. A Plain Disappearance
Joanne Fluke….. Plum Pudding Murder
Patricia Gligor….. Unfinished Business
Heather Graham….. The Last Noel
Sarah Graves….. Wreck the Halls
Andrew M. Greeley….. The Bishop and the Three Kings
Dashiell Hammett…..The Thin Man
Charlain Harris….. Shakespeare's Christmas
Carolyn Hart….. Sugarplum Dead
Jack Iams….. Do Not Murder Before Christmas
Michael Innes….. Christmas at Candleshoe
Melanie Jackson ….. Requiem at Christmas
Craig Johnson….. Death Without Company
Jennifer Jordan….. Murder Under the Mistletoe
Kate Kingsbury….. The Clue is in the Pudding
Edward Koch….. Murder on 34th Street
Joyce and Jim Lavene….. Treacherous Toys
William John Locke….. A Christmas Mystery
Jess Lourey….. December Dread
G. M. Malliet….. Death of a Cozy Writer
Margaret Maron….. Corpus Christmas
Leslie Meier….. Christmas Cookie Murder
Robert Nordan….. Death Beneath the Christmas Tree
Jemima Norton ….. The Mistletoe Bride
Katherine Hall Page….. The Body in the Sleigh
James Patterson….. Merry Christmas, Alex Cross
Louise Penny….. How the Light Gets In
J. D. Robb….. Holiday in Death
Elliott Rooseveltt….. The White House Pantry Murder
Jenna Ryan….. Mistletoe and Murder
Georges Simenon….. Maigret's Christmas
Susan Sleeman….. The Christmas Witness
Nancy Jill Thames….. Waiting for Santa
Rebecca Tope ….. Trouble in the Cotswolds
Elaine Viets….. Murder with All the Trimmings
Mary V. Welk….. A Merry Little Murder
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