Holly Jolly Homicide

Bouquets, Boughs, and a Body at Olde Jolly Hall
Six days before my wedding to Nick, we take a sleigh to tour our grand venue, Olde Jolly Hall--only to find a secret passageway and a very real body. Beatrice Harper, the elusive owner everyone thought was "off finding herself," is lying in the dark with her secrets.
Chief Superintendent Wiggles takes charge while the Hall family close ranks. Charles Harper is all chill and locked doors, the caretaker knows more than he says, and the accounts ledger looks like it's been trimmed as neatly as the wreaths. Between dress fittings, cake tastings, and keeping the gossip from reaching Claus Cottage, I start tugging at old threads: money gone missing, a family stain no one will speak about, and grudges tucked behind paneling.
Mrs. Claus steadies me, Nick keeps pace at my side, and Gilbert the house-elf battles seating charts with the intensity of a general. I need the truth before aisle time, because I refuse to say "I do" with a killer lurking in the pews.
Holly Jolly Homicide is the seventh book in the Candy Cane Hollow Christmas Cozy Mystery series. A warm, magical and clean holiday whodunit for fans of Hallmark-style cozies and anyone who wishes they could spend Christmas in Santa's own hometown.
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Praise for the Candy Cane Hollow Christmas Cozy Mystery series:
5 out of 5 stars "This Christmas cozy mystery series is by far the best I've ever read!"
5 out of 5 stars "Great characters and story lines. A definite read for any fan of cozy mysteries."
5 out of 5 stars "It's all things cozy, cute and Christmas perfection."
5 out of 5 stars "Simple and full of the type of Christmas magic that helps you escape your everyday problems."
5 out of 5 stars "A delight to read... built on all the wonderful coziness of Christmas Corpse."
5 out of 5 stars "Magical setting... the mystery was good and not easily solved."
5 out of 5 stars "So much fun, couldn't put it down... keeps you guessing."
5 out of 5 stars "Another fun book in this delightful series... Couldn't put it down."
5 out of 5 stars "What a delightful story... It is full of Christmas magic!"
5 out of 5 stars "This was an easy-to-read Christmas murder mystery... a happy ending."
5 out of 5 stars "This was a great read... The small-town feeling sounded wonderful year-round."

ONE PENNY A STORY, I called across the playground.
Entirely unusual, given how shy I was (and still am), for me to be shouting anything across a playground.
But there I was, a double-sided sheet of narrow ruled paper (I've always been kind of particular about the paper I like. Back then, narrow ruled. Now, grid.) in my hand, selling stories I hadn't yet wrote.
Every line featured a different title. I'd lay on my bed the night before thinking of them all, probably singing along to Boyzone songs as I did [hey, don't judge... I see you over there like you never thought you were destined to marry a boy band singer...].
My school friends could buy a Mona original for one penny. One penny!
They'd pick the title they liked, hand over their sweaty penny, and I'd write the story for them.
And I've never grown out of writing stories.
Now, I write cozy mystery stories from my den in the Peak District, and when I'm not writing them, I'm reading them.