Sunday 22 November 2015

Book Review - Santa Claus, Lies, and Murder by Sibel Hodge - Rachel Reads Randomly Book #9


As I mentioned on Monday, this week was the last of my Rachel Reads Randomly feature until the new year. I counted the votes eagerly, and they came in as follows. 

2 Votes for Holly's Christmas Kiss by Alison May
8 Votes for Christmas on Primrose Hill by Karen Swan
8 Votes for Santa Clause, Lies and Murder by Sibel Hodge

Due to it being a tie, it was my decision between the two winning books. I love reading your comments along with the votes, and the general consensus was that the Karen Swan will be brilliant and that we all love her previous books. Which are thoughts I completely agreed with. However the people voting for Santa Claus, Lies and Murder were doing it purely because of amusement of the title, or because something about the book drew them to selecting it. And so I thought I would choose that one, so that we can all see just what the book is about.... I do intend to read the Karen Swan, but I may take it on my upcoming Christmas holiday with me instead, so that I have one Christmas paperback to read on Christmas day, to remind me of London!

Amazon UK
Title: Santa Claus, Lies and Murder (Amber Fox Mystery 4.5)
Author: Sibel Hodge
Format reviewed: Ebook
Source: Purchased
Publisher: Wonder Women Publishing Limited
Publication Date: 5th August 2014
Rating: 5 Stars


The Bestselling Cozy Mystery Series is back with more adventures!

Santa has gone missing and the fate of Christmas is in Amber Fox's hands...

When the bones of St Nicholas, the original Santa Claus, are stolen from a special exhibit at the Natural History Museum on Christmas Eve, insurance investigator Amber Fox is hot on the thieves' trail.

Jinxed spells, freaky insects, and a sack full of secrets take Amber on a bumpy sleigh ride. But can she restore the relics back to their natural resting place and preserve the true spirit of the Yuletide Holly Days? Or is Santa lost forever?

If you are looking for something just a bit different with your Christmas reading this year, then this could easily be the book for you. Santa Claus, Lies and Murder, is a short (under 100 pages) cozy mystery novella, that is very easy to read, has a great selection of characters and just one mystery to solve. 

The bones of the original St Nicholas have been stolen from a special exhibit at the annex branch of the Natural History Museum on Christmas Eve. That's right some lowlifes have stolen Santa on Christmas Eve! But of course the question on everyone's lips is who and why?

Amber Fox and partner Brad, investigate the theft for their insurance investigation practice, despite knowing they won't be giving a payout. But because its Christmas they feel its only right to attempt to return St Nicholas' bones to their rightful place, if they can. 

As this is a cozy mystery, you have a limited suspect pool to go for, and their computer guy Hacker is very fast at getting all the background information required on the suspects. One of the more disturbing pieces of information he finds, is about a fetish belonging to one of the curators, that is giving me the heebie-jeebies, and scaring me a lot. 

If you haven't read any of the Amber Fox books before, don't worry this does work as a standalone, especially as its so short, all the focus is on the mystery, so the background on the main characters although mentioned very briefly, isn't really needed. As someone who hasn't read one of these books for at least a year (I think I forgot to keep checking for new releases), I remembered the basics of Amber, Brad and other recurring characters quite easily, which did help with my instant involvement. 

Santa Clause, Lies and Murder is a wonderful addition to this series, and its very rare that you get to read a book that mentions Santa being stolen. There is also some interesting information about the bones, and about Saint Nicholas himself, as well as some other artefacts that were displayed. I didn't work out the motive or the thief, and it did make sense, and was wrapped up rather nicely.  This whole story takes place over one day, making it a short and sweet, festive cozy mystery. 

My Rachel Reads Randomly feature will be back in January, and will be back to using all the books on my kindle as a basis. Thank you to everyone who has helped me pick the 9 books featured this way so far, and I hope you all continue to help make one of my book selections that bit easier, each week!

1 comment:

  1. Thanks so much for taking the time to read and review, Rachel! SO glad you enjoyed it. Big hugs :) xx

    ReplyDelete

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