Lost Claus

A Family Reunion on the Ice. Elf and Safety Not Guaranteed.
I'm meeting Nick's extended family for the first time in Candy Cane Hollow, and "big family" doesn't quite cover the Claus clan. There's cocoa on every table, names I can't keep straight, and a reunion tradition I wasn't prepared for: ice fishing on a frozen lake.
I'm determined to make a good impression. Then, during the family's grand day on the ice, one of them vanishes near an abandoned fishing hole and the celebration turns into a search. Chief Superintendent Wiggles calls it an accident, but I'm not so sure.
With Mrs. Claus steadying nerves, Gilbert, the house-elf, "helping" with snacks and theories, and Nick watching his family knot with worry, I follow a trail of frosty clues--old grudges, new rivalries, and the kind of secrets people keep even from those they love best.
We need answers fast before fresh snow buries the last footprints and the elf police cuff the wrong Claus.
A Lost Claus is the third 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.