Cecily and her husband Baxter run the Pennyfoot Hotel in Badgers End, not so far from London. While cutting fresh holly for the Christmas decor in the hotel's ballroom, Baxter and the head groomsman Samuel disappear. Even more alarming is the dead body that comes back on the horse drawn trap; the trap that should have been full of freshly cut holly branches. Hours later Samuel appears dazed, bruised, and with no memory of what happened. Cecily has experience solving crimes that give Police Constable Northcutt trouble and it seems that she's about to acquire even more. Cecily is determined to find her missing husband and she strongly believes that finding Baxter will also find the murderer. As the body is identified as Gavin Hargrove, who inherited his father's extremely generous fortune within the last few months, the most obvious place to begin inquiries is Whitfield Manor as it was Hargove's home. Gavin's cousin, Randall Thorpe, and his fiancee Naomi Kendall are in residence and both have their own motive for murder. A gambling syndicate, a roving band of Romany, and Samuel's slowly returning memory further distort the story of who killed Gavin and what happened to Baxter. Will Cecily's skills developed from past cases help her discover the truth now?

The story is set in the early twentieth century and seems historically accurate when it comes to occupations and social customs. There are a few oddball characters that defy definition, living outside social norms and doing it with enough gusto to help everyone behave less stiffly as well. The secondary storylines are just as engaging as the main story. Waiting to find out if Gertie the maid and Dan the butcher's assistant might go out on a date was almost as hard as waiting to find out what happened to Baxter. As the book draws to a close, the next book is being set-up with a peek at who might be the next two characters to pair off into a happy couple. That is if Cecily gets her way. Again!

Book Summary

While decorating the Pennyfoot's ballroom for a Christmas reception, Cecily sends her husband Baxter and stable manager Samuel into the woods to cut some fresh boughs of holly for the ballroom. An hour later their one-horse open carriage returns with the horse, the holly...and the unwelcome gift of a dead body. Baxter and Samuel are nowhere to be found. In what should be a season of celebration with friends and family, Cecily means to reunite hers and solve the mystery-even if a killer leads her in a merry measure.