Christmas Cocoa Murder
Christmas Cocoa Murder by Carlene O’Connor
Siobhán O’Sullivan’s hopes for a quiet Irish Christmas are dashed when the local Santa turns up dead in a carnival dunk tank of hot cocoa. Now instead of hunting down holiday gifts, she’s pursuing a heartless killer. Seems the dead Santa was no angel either, stealing neighborhood dogs to guide his sleigh. But was it his holiday antics—or worse—that led to his death by chocolate?
Christmas Cocoa and A Corpse By Maddie Day
When local businessman Jed Greenberg is found dead with a Chocolate lab whimpering over his body, the police start sniffing around Robbie Jordan’s country restaurant for answers. Was it something in Robbie’s hot cocoa that killed Jed, or was it Cocoa the dog? As the suspect’s pile as high as her holiday tree, Robbie attempts to get to the bottom of the sickly-sweet murder.
Death by Hot Cocoa by Alex Erickson
A Christmas-themed escape game seems like the perfect pre-holiday treat for bookstore café owner Krissy Hancock and her best friend. But when the host is found dead in a pool of hot cocoa, it’s up to Krissy and her team to catch the killer or escape before getting killed.
Series: Holiday Collection
Author: Carlene O’Connor, Maddie Day, Alex Erickson
Genre: Cozy Mystery/Holiday
Publisher: Kensington Books
Page Count: 354
Rating: 
In stores now a marvelous holiday collection from Kensington Books Christmas Cocoa Murder written by three of today’s best cozy writers in the industry.
This is a collection of three cozy stories all set at Christmas time with a theme of cocoa in each story. All three stories are well-written and highly entertaining. They are filled with the spirit of the season even when they are deep into murder.
With a terrific cocoa recipe at the end, the first cozy story, Christmas Cocoa Murder has an original plot with a murder taking place within a dunk tank filled with chocolate. It doesn’t take long for this story to unfold with numerous suspects, twists, and turns. There is a unique family bond between the main character, and her siblings, and readers will get a sense of how important family is during the holidays. The killer is unusual but not unexpected.
In the second story, Christmas Cocoa and A Corpse with Robbie from our favorite Pan ‘N Pancakes restaurant series, there is never a dull moment. Robbie is always involved in murder, and this time is no exception. When a rude and obnoxious customer and local businessman ends up dead after drinking Robbie’s unique cocoa blend, she jumps in to prove she and her cocoa had nothing to do with the man’s demise. This cozy story will keep readers guessing and turning the page to find out what will happen and who the killer turns out to be. As always Robbie, along with her sidekicks, reveals the murderer just in time to save the holidays.
Last but not least comes the third cozy story, Death by Hot Cocoa. A fan favorite, Krissy who owns Death by Coffee, once again becomes embroiled in a murder investigation. But this time there are no police to help her find the killer because she is locked in a room with him or her with no way out. Krissy, along with a group of people is stuck in an escape room game with nothing but their wits to outsmart a killer. The victim wasn’t necessarily liked, but someone took a dislike to an all-new low. Krissy saves the day in the end and keeps the Christmas spirit alive.
Each cozy story was a great read. All have plenty of action, a plethora of suspects, and exciting motives. It is a quick read and will leave readers asking for more. I am happy to recommend this book for this year’s holiday season.
Other books by some of these authors readers may enjoy are Maddie Day’s https://edithmaxwell.com/ “A Country Store Mystery” https://www.thecozyreview.com/when-the-grits-hit-the-fan/ and Alex Erickson’s https://alexericksonbooks.com/ “A Bookstore Café Mystery” https://www.thecozyreview.com/death-by-cafe-mocha/ or Carlene O’Connor’s https://www.carleneoconnor.net/ “An Irish Village Mystery” series.
About the Author(s):
Carlene O’Connor comes from a long line of Irish storytellers. Her great-grandmother emigrated from Ireland to America during the Troubles, and the stories have been flowing ever since. Of all the places across the pond she’s wandered, she fell most in love with a walled town in County Limerick and was inspired to create the town of Kilbane, County Cork. Carlene currently divides her time between New York and the Emerald Isle.
Contact Carlene: https://www.carleneoconnor.net/contact
Find Carlene on Social Media
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/carlene.oconnor.5
Maddie Day (aka Edith Maxwell) is a talented amateur chef and holds a Ph.D. in linguistics from Indiana University. An Agatha Award-nominated author, she is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America. She lives with her beau and two elderly cats north of Boston
As Edith Maxwell, she writes the Local Foods Mysteries (Kensington Publishing) and the Quaker Midwife Mysteries (Midnight Ink) and also writes award-winning short crime fiction.
Contact Maddie: edithmaxwellauthor@gmail.com
Find Maddie on Social Media
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/EdithMaxwellAuthor/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/edithmaxwell
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/edithmaxwellauthor/
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsiXJ-8Dc-kW0lvTV0mzPpw
Alex Erickson is the author of both the Bookstore Café and the Furever Pets mysteries. When he’s not writing, he enjoys spending his time gaming or playing music. He lives in Ohio with his wife, son, and three crazy cats.
Contact Alex: alexericksonbooks@gmail.com
Find Alex on Social Media
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/alexericksonbooks
Twitter – https://twitter.com/author138
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