The first in the Christmas Tree Farm series, this novel will be a great start to your Christmas. Make a cup of hot chocolate; settle down for the winter, because you will not want to put down TWELVE SLAYS OF CHRISTMAS by Jacqueline Frost until the mystery is solved at the end! I love the characters, as they are each full of personality and charm that make Mistletoe, Maine a place you would want to visit. Just don't get on the wrong side of any of the town people or you might just end up six feet under.

Holly White, yes that's her name, just moved back to her family's Christmas tree farm after her fiancé cancels their Christmas wedding plans. She is home now trying to pick up the pieces to her life and moved forward when a murder on her family's farm has closed them down for a bit on their busiest season. The murder weapon was a tree marker that has the new Sheriff Evan Grey looking at Holly's father as well as anyone else on that farm that had been arguing Margaret right before her death. Someone doesn't like the questions Holly has been asking around town as she is trying to find the murder on her own and clear her father and his employees' names as the murderer.

I love the creative names that Frost comes up with for the characters in what seems like a North Pole town. Everything has a jolly name to it such as Holly, her pet cat, Cindy Lou Who, and down to other characters such as Cookie that put you in the Christmas spirit. Even Frost's name fits with the Christmas Theme! This will be a cozy mystery favorite of mine and I can't wait for the next one to see what happens next in Holly White's life. The beginning gets you, the middle keeps you, and the end has you wanting more! TWELVE SLAYS OF CHRISTMAS by Jacqueline Frost should be the first thing on your Christmas list this season!

Book Summary

When Holly White's fiancé cancels their Christmas Eve wedding with less than two weeks to go, Holly heads home with a broken heart. Lucky for her, home in historic Mistletoe, Maine is magical during Christmastime―exactly what the doctor prescribed. Except her plan to drown her troubles in peppermints and snickerdoodles is upended when local grouch and president of the Mistletoe Historical Society Margaret Fenwick is bludgeoned and left in the sleigh display at Reindeer Games, Holly's family tree farm.

When the murder weapon is revealed as one of the wooden stakes used to identify trees on the farm, Sheriff Evan Grey turns to Holly's father, Bud, and the Reindeer Games staff. And it doesn't help that Bud and the reindeer keeper were each seen arguing with Margaret just before her death. But Holly knows her father, and is determined to exonerate him.The jingle bells are ringing, the clock is ticking, and if Holly doesn't watch out, she'll end up on Santa's naughty list in Twelve Slays of Christmas, Jacqueline Frost's jolly series debut.