As the name implies this next book from the Victoria Square series is set at Christmas time. With the increased number of shoppers at Artesian Alley there comes increased crimes not limited to vandalism and shoplifting. Meanwhile Katie finds herself with a surprise visitor, her former Mother in Law, Margot. This just adds to the stress of the holiday season even before she finds herself mixed up in another criminal investigation. As if that isn't enough she has the opportunity to expand her business holdings and has an offer that makes it easier but has possible strings attached. All these decisions and a business to run and vendors to keep happy.
In addition to the business stressors there are plenty of personal anxieties as well. Katie isn't sure how she's going to do it all and keep here relationship afloat with Andy. The atmosphere of the small town at the holiday season is well written but at times the book feels like it has too much going on with a few too many subplots. They do help to show more of the characters' personalities but it does feel a bit overwhelming at times.
Hopefully the next installment will settle the story down a slight bit.
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Although I found this story to be an engaging read in the Victorian Square series for some reason this felt a bit forced. I think the story just didn't flow as well as it had in some of the previous books. I will say the characters were definitely honest in their representations of emotions people experience. The jealousy and anger that Katie and Andy experience in this book seemed realistic. The struggle with parental relationships between Vonne and Francine as well as Katie and Margot felt real. It is easy to visualize the square and its charming Dickensian events. All in all the series continues to hold my attention
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Challenge Prompts
The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:
- Library Love #LibraryLoveChallenge Book #87
- AtoZ #2021AtoZReadingChallenge #AlphabetSoupChallenge Y
- Finishing the Series #FinishingTheSeries2021 Victoria Square #5
- Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2021 Book #94
- Back List Reader #Backlistreader Book #108
- Calendar of Crime #CalendarOfCrime2021
- Cruisin thru Cozies Free choice #62
- Cloak & Dagger #CloakDaggerChal Book #93
- Craving for Cozies Book #79
- Medical Examiner Challenge 1 Toe Tags
- Beachcomber Challenge
- Crime Scenes
- Row 3
- Bar, store, restaurant
- Weapons
- Row 5
- Hands or fists
- Detectives- Katie
- Victims- Vonne
- Six Shooter Challenge Target #67a Shot #2
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