Wreath Between the Lines
The holidays are Jenna Hart’s favorite time of year. As she’s decorating the Cookbook Nook for all the festive events, her imperious older sister makes a surprise visit, anxious that her husband’s been more naughty than nice. To make matters worse, her father’s good friend Jake shows up on her doorstep with a frantic report that his friend has been murdered, trussed with Christmas lights, and impaled with a tree star.
Worried that Jake was the intended victim, Jenna makes a list of suspects and checks it twice. Swapping her Santa hat for a sleuthing cap, she gets busy investigating Jake’s long-lost sister, his Grinch of a neighbor, and a stamp collector who covets Jake’s most treasured piece. When Jake himself is poisoned and nearly dies, Jenna knows she’ll have to do whatever it takes to corner the culprit before it’s lights out for Jake.
Series: A Cookbook Nook Mystery – Book #7
Author: Daryl Wood Gerber (Avery Aames)
Genre: Cozy Mystery/Culinary/Holiday
Publisher: Beyond the Page
Rating:
Daryl Wood Gerber has a knack for telling stories that make your mouth water and your mind to linger over pages filled with wonderful characters. She writes captivating plots, and her setting of Crystal Cove, California, is made for holiday celebrations.
In the seventh book in the series, Wreath Between the Lines delivers on exceptional entertainment, suspects that are fascinating, and a story that will keep the reader coming back for more. Although a part of a series, this addition can stand on its own. However, it is always fun to go back to previous volumes to get a better understanding of who the characters are and what has happened to each of them throughout the series.
Jenna Hart is worried about her customers at the Cookbook Nook, her employees, and her family. She cares deeply about all of them, but a few seem to bring out the detective in her. This holiday season, her sister, brother-in-law, as well as their teenage daughter are in town, and things are not as jolly as they should be. Then her neighbor and fathers’ friend, Jake, becomes a possible murder suspect after his friend Geoffrey is killed. Or worse yet, Jake could become a future victim. Jenna can’t keep her nose out of it and jumps into figuring out who killed Geoffrey when they may have really meant to kill Jake.
Jenna is a wonderful character. Many of us know someone just like her. She is driven by her need to make things right, which usually lands her in trouble. She is mostly happy with a few quirks to her character that makes her lovable. Other characters throughout the book add to the intrigue and fun factor. Readers will find at least one character that they can relate to within these pages. When the killer is revealed, readers will be happily surprised and delighted.
Wreath Between the Lines is a well-written story with characters that make you laugh, feel a bit of frustration for, and at times, imbues you with the Christmas spirit. The recipe book inside this book will have you running to your local bookstore to buy as many as possible, not to mention the recipes in the back that readers will want to try for themselves. The writing is smooth, characters are believable, and the plot seamless. I highly recommend this book and series to lovers of cozies of all types.
Follow the Cozy Review on Bloglovin’
Contact The Cozy Review
Leave a Reply