In this latest book by Joanne Fluke, Hannah Swensen is recounting to her new husband Ross the tale of a murder that took place last year at Christmastime before he came back to Lake Eden. Lisa's husband Herb is working late and she is worried that something may be going on with the woman he is now working with, Phyllis Bates, his old high school girlfriend. To make matters worse, the mayor announces that Phyllis, and not Lisa will be Mrs. Claus to Herb's Santa.
The high school is putting on their annual A Christmas Carol and at the end, Santa and Mrs. Claus come on stage and the kids come and sit on Santa's lap and tell him what they want. At the rehearsal Phyllis shows up not in the outfit she is supposed to be wearing but in an outfit perfect for a stripper. And when the director decides to not end the production with Santa and Mrs. Claus hugging but with a stage kiss, Phyllis kisses Herb for real. And Lisa is there to see the whole thing as she and Hannah agreed to make the candy to sell for the concession stand and they were there to find out how much they sold last year so they could determine how much to make.
Later that night after eating dinner, Hannah and Lisa are walking back to their cars at the Corner Tavern when they see what looks like a mitten in a snow bank. So Hannah goes to get it and of course finds the dead body of Phyllis Bates. Lisa is naturally a suspect especially since she has no alibi for part of the time the murder could have taken place as she was alone at her house feeding her dogs and taking them out before meeting up with Hannah at the restaurant. But there are others who had it in for Phyllis, including the mayor's wife who just found out that Phyllis demanded that the mayor, with whom she was having an affair with, put her up in a condo.
At night, Hannah is visited by her dead father who shows her a scene from the recent past on one night and a scene from the present that she will be doing that day on another night all to help her solve the murder. The last one, a scene from the future will be a personal one. This is a sweet way to do a twist on the Christmas Carol story. I really enjoyed that aspect of it. And for those who are interested in the recipes, they include gingerbread pancakes, chocolate-covered mint cookies, red raspberry muffins, butterscotch crunch candy, cashew candy rolls, and more.
Link to Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_12?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=joanna+fluke+hannah+swenson&sprefix=joanna+fluke%2Cstripbooks%2C189&crid=3Q1672HXF1TES
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