sassykatt's review
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
jei_alexander's review
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
pam_sartain's review against another edition
4.0
The Christmas Thief is a story about the after effects of conmen, and how people who have been conned are left feeling restless and unhappy.
Opal won the lottery, and then was conned out of her $3 million by Packy Noonan. He gets caught and sent to jail for 12 years, but Opal doesn't get her money back. Packey gets out, and immediatley heads for the diamonds he hid in a tree, that is shortly going to be cut down and sent to the Rockerfeller Centre to be the christmas tree there.
Alvirah and Regan Reilly are on the case!
Opal won the lottery, and then was conned out of her $3 million by Packy Noonan. He gets caught and sent to jail for 12 years, but Opal doesn't get her money back. Packey gets out, and immediatley heads for the diamonds he hid in a tree, that is shortly going to be cut down and sent to the Rockerfeller Centre to be the christmas tree there.
Alvirah and Regan Reilly are on the case!
jacq03's review against another edition
3.0
I thought the concept was unusual and kind of fun, but it all felt sort of rushed (15 pages from the end I was wondering how it was going to wrap up so suddenly) and the leads that led to the mystery being solved were so improbable.
I was really distracted by the way there would be a character referenced in third person but thinking in first person for pages rather than just keeping it all in third person. It was too much.
Also, typo on the last page! :/
I was really distracted by the way there would be a character referenced in third person but thinking in first person for pages rather than just keeping it all in third person. It was too much.
Also, typo on the last page! :/
tomaind's review against another edition
3.0
Another Christmas mystery with the characters Regan & Alvirah. This was a good story, but I did not find it as interesting as some of the earlier Christmas capers with these two characters.
cmmilewski's review against another edition
3.0
Enjoyed The Christmas Thief. Good story and very quick read. Was perfect right before Christmas
kylielovesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars
I picked this up from Goodwill solely because it takes place in Stowe, Vermont which is about 15 minutes from where I live and it was a Christmas book.
It was a fun, quick cozy mystery and I enjoyed my time reading it. It was a little bit bland though. The characters were all just ok. None of them really stood out to me and I really didn't care much about their fates. The writing style was a little bit off in my opinion too. It just felt almost too simple, or like the author was trying too hard to explain every little thing. I'm not sure how to explain it. Some parts/lines just kind of annoyed me, like when one of the characters constantly thought something like "before we even left for Vermont, I knew something bad was going to happen."
The actual plot was fun even though it seemed a little far fetched. How coincidental is it that the one tree in the entire world that Packy Noonan decided to hide his $80 million worth of diamonds, was the tree that was being chosen to be cut down to be put in Rockafeller Center on the exact day Packy was getting out of jail and going to collect them? If you can look past that though, Packy, Benny and Jo-Jo are really fun, kind of goofy villains. I love all the mishaps they have trying to get the diamonds back.
This was definitely a really fun Christmas cozy mystery and I'm so glad I chose to read it this year!
I picked this up from Goodwill solely because it takes place in Stowe, Vermont which is about 15 minutes from where I live and it was a Christmas book.
It was a fun, quick cozy mystery and I enjoyed my time reading it. It was a little bit bland though. The characters were all just ok. None of them really stood out to me and I really didn't care much about their fates. The writing style was a little bit off in my opinion too. It just felt almost too simple, or like the author was trying too hard to explain every little thing. I'm not sure how to explain it. Some parts/lines just kind of annoyed me, like when one of the characters constantly thought something like "before we even left for Vermont, I knew something bad was going to happen."
The actual plot was fun even though it seemed a little far fetched. How coincidental is it that the one tree in the entire world that Packy Noonan decided to hide his $80 million worth of diamonds, was the tree that was being chosen to be cut down to be put in Rockafeller Center on the exact day Packy was getting out of jail and going to collect them? If you can look past that though, Packy, Benny and Jo-Jo are really fun, kind of goofy villains. I love all the mishaps they have trying to get the diamonds back.
This was definitely a really fun Christmas cozy mystery and I'm so glad I chose to read it this year!
jpmg2k's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
daybreak1012's review against another edition
3.0
Cheesy but still entertaining. The case itself, which wasn't all that mysterious since you know the story from all sides the whole way through, was unique enough. It's not the sort of book that will keep you at the edge of your seat by any means, but I was looking for an easy read, something seasonal to this time of year, and this fit the bill. I imagine at some point I may get around to reading more of the series beyond just the mostly standalone Christmas books.
bella_lettore's review against another edition
4.0
This was just another example of a nice short read that still has a story that felt rewarding in the end. I have been a fan of Mary and Carol's Christmas stories they just have a fun spirt about them, and what is even better this is probably one of the first that I've read that I do not completely hate or get annoyed with Alvirah.