Book 121, 2024

[chez_jae]

The Murder Before Christmas by Michele Pariza Wacek

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


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I finally finished reading The Murder Before Christmas last night. It wasn't a bad book; I've just been that busy. This is the first book in author Michele Pariza Wacek's "Charlie Kingsley" mystery series. I understand this is a spin-off of another series, but I never felt as if I was floundering for not having read the others. The main character is Charlie Kingsley, who creates custom teas and tinctures.

Charlie has a knack for curing what ails her clients with her teas, but she is not in the business of crafting love potions, not even for a young, pregnant, desperate woman who wants to rekindle her romance with her husband. Charlie sends Courtney on her way, but when she learns later that Courtney's husband died of poisoning, she begins to wonder if Courtney could have killed him. When Courtney's mother, Violet, comes to Charlie to ask her to investigate, Charlie reluctantly agrees. Soon she's questioning the victim's business partner, his alleged mistress, and his first wife. What Charlie learns is that there were many people who had a reason to murder the man, but only one of them went through with it.

This certainly had lots of twists and turns. Characterizations were okay. I would have preferred that the entirety of the narrative was not consumed with Charlie's investigation.

Favorite line: "Well, that was pretty unproductive. Unless you count yourself added to the suspect list. Then, it was definitely a win."

Basic mystery, three stars.


1. Does the mc work at/as one of the following: baker/bakery/sweet shop/tea shop/coffee shop, library/librarian, antique/vintage shop, book store, fashion/boutique, bed & breakfast? Yes, she sells teas
2. Does the mc live at her (or his) place of occupation? Yes, she sells teas out of her home
3. Is the love interest involved in law enforcement? (Police officer, sheriff, detective, PI, FBI) From what I could discern, yes
4. Does the mc have a dog/cat as a pet? Yes
5. Is the mc's BFF either a gay guy or a ditzy/zany woman? No
6. Did the mc find the body? No
7. Did the mc wind up in mortal danger at the end of the book? No
8. Is the mc's mother either: dead, absent, far removed, ditzy and dithering, or overbearing/disapproving/meddling? Yes, she's overbearing/disapproving
9. If mother is dead/absent, does the mc have another mother-figure (grandmother, aunt, mom's friend, or an older friend)? N/A
10. Is the mc child-free? (Either no children or else grown children--i.e. no small children to look after) Yes