Silent Nights Are Murder By Libby Klein
The holidays are never dull when it comes to Poppy, her Aunt Ginny and pals who reside in the quaint town of Cape May. Right now, there’s a lot of speculation between them. After a large Thanksgiving gathering, the 4 friends found a beautifully boxed engagement ring. But here’s the thing: each one of them was hoping they were the intended recipient of the ring accidentally left behind!
Poppy is perplexed by this new mystery and secretly is pondering whether the ring was intended for her. But put that aside! When her friend, Amber, from the local police station shows up at her door at 7 a.m., Poppy has a feeling this isn’t going to be good news. She’s right!
Amber informs her that a dead body has been found in her ex-boyfriend’s restaurant with a note attached: “get Poppy.” It’s a morning jolt – and not from the coffee.
Total chaos and madcap zaniness take cozy mystery fans through the holiday season with no shortage of entertainment and laughter. Poppy’s current boyfriend, Gia, has a family that has major meddling issues. Aunt Ginny is going overboard with the tacky holiday decorating.
Ginny is also throwing a tree trimming party. She’s inviting the same group that came to the original party in hopes that someone will be looking for the “left behind” engagement ring. After all, she’s in the running herself – ageism be banished – she’s ready to rack up another marriage!
But back to poor Poppy: She finds herself working undercover with the police at Tim’s (her ex-boyfriend) restaurant to get the inside scoop on the employees.
As Poppy begins her covert assignment, it doesn’t take long to discover every one of the staff is hiding something. Did one or more of them put the victim permanently on ice? And what do the garbled warnings from the homeless man outside the restaurant have to do with the murder? Could her ex-boyfriend really be a killer? Or perhaps it’s his crazed new fiancé who also happens to be his new business partner?
At Tim’s restaurant this holiday season, murder is the entree, and it’s served with sides of scary mobsters, hot tempered restaurant employees, an old ancestral diary, shady seafood business dealings, a misplaced ring and blackmail. But will Poppy be able flush out an elusive killer(s) and serve them their “just desserts?”
Yes indeed. There is a LOT going on in this holiday tale! For those cozy mystery fans who love a lot of action, humor and plenty of sub-stories, this book nails it! You won’t need to be dashing through the snow in a one-horse open sleigh to be laughing all the way. All you’ll need is a copy of Libby Klein’s Silent Nights Are Murder, featuring four hundred plus pages of a wily whodunit filled with madcap humor.
A copy of this book and cover photo were provided by Kensington Publishing.