Gingerbread Cookie Murder (original 2010; edition 2011)

When Hannah Swensen finds her neighbor dead in his condo, she has a perfect excuse for snooping into the police investigation. Mike, her sometimes beau as well as a police officer, asks her to prepare snacks for the crime scene investigators. She goes all out and fixes an entire meal, figuring she can eavesdrop while they eat. All of the evidence is circumstantial, and when the police believe they have enough to make an arrest, Hannah is convinced they've got the wrong person. With the help of her other boyfriend, Norman, will Hannah be able to find the true murderer?

In another novella, part-time journalist Lucy Stone is upset when a cute 4-year-old boy is kidnapped right before Christmas. She has a soft spot for little Nemo. When she finds little Nemo's father's body in his car, with evidence that Nemo had been with him, she becomes very alarmed. Is Nemo still alive, and if he is, can she find him before Christmas?

The Hannah Swensen mystery isn't bad if you ignore the fact that Hannah and her sister tamper with police evidence, as is their habit. It's a wonder that Mike and Hannah's brother-in-law, Bill, still have jobs with the police department. They'd be in a heap of trouble in real life. The Lucy Stone mystery wasn't as well plotted as others I've read in this series. However, I really like Lucy and her family and I like to check in on them occasionally. I'm quite upset with her son, Toby, and his in-laws. What kind of son plans to take his parents' only grandchild on a Christmas cruise for the first Christmas he's old enough to appreciate? The families live close enough that, if the in-laws had stayed home, they could have all seen little Patrick on Christmas day. And to wait until just days before Christmas to tell your mother you won't be home? Well, that's just thoughtless.

I decided not to read the third novella in this collection. I haven't cared for the other Jaine Austen mysteries I've read. Why make myself read something I probably won't enjoy? Usually I'd feel compelled to read it anyway. This time I was able to talk myself out of it. ( )

I bought this book for two reasons: One is part of the $1 deal on my kindle and two I was looking for something fun to read for Christmas. I'm glad I got this.This really is a cute, light, christmassy read for the holidays. I was able to read it in one day and I had fun doing it. This book is a collection of three novella's all dealing with Christmas mysteries.The first novella deals with an annoying neighbor that winds up dead. Our lead character is accused of the murder at first but upon digging deeper, she realizes that the murderer is someone close to her!The second deals with a woman visiting her parents in Florida for Christmas. A wealthy doctor in the retirement community ends up dead during a community play which leads everyone to question which lady could be responsible. The dead doctor played a lot of them so it could have been anyone except the most obvious.And the third deals with the kidnapping of a young child from what the town considers to be questionable parents. Local reporter Lucy Stone feels for the boy and even the family until something about the entire situation doesn't make sense. What turns out to be a tragedy turns into a miracle.This is a collection of cute stories that while dealing with murder and crimes have a nice flair for the holidays. They remind us of the bad things about the seasons and yet, the good things too. If you need something fast to read, but fun for the holidays, this is it! ( )

I bought this book for two reasons: One is part of the $1 deal on my kindle and two I was looking for something fun to read for Christmas. I'm glad I got this.This really is a cute, light, christmassy read for the holidays. I was able to read it in one day and I had fun doing it. This book is a collection of three novella's all dealing with Christmas mysteries.The first novella deals with an annoying neighbor that winds up dead. Our lead character is accused of the murder at first but upon digging deeper, she realizes that the murderer is someone close to her!The second deals with a woman visiting her parents in Florida for Christmas. A wealthy doctor in the retirement community ends up dead during a community play which leads everyone to question which lady could be responsible. The dead doctor played a lot of them so it could have been anyone except the most obvious.And the third deals with the kidnapping of a young child from what the town considers to be questionable parents. Local reporter Lucy Stone feels for the boy and even the family until something about the entire situation doesn't make sense. What turns out to be a tragedy turns into a miracle.This is a collection of cute stories that while dealing with murder and crimes have a nice flair for the holidays. They remind us of the bad things about the seasons and yet, the good things too. If you need something fast to read, but fun for the holidays, this is it! ( )

The first story, "Gingerbread Cookie Story" by Joanne Fluke, was quite good as was the third story, "Gingerbread Cookies and Gunshots," by Leslie Meier. The second story, "The Dangers of Gingerbread Cookies", by Laura Levine, was skipped through. ( )

Christmas present (apropopos of the Gingerbread man theme.) Generally light-hearted and quick reads. Liked the inclusion of some recipes -- although most people will likely have their own favorites already in hand. As discussed by earlier reviews, the last story of the three is darker in tone than the other two. Also disliked that ending as being too deus ex machina for my tastes. ( )