impybelle's review against another edition
3.0
I gather each of these was previously published elsewhere but the only one I remember reading before was Leslie Meier's "The Christmas Thief."
I'm not sure if it's simply because I'm no longer as enamored of the Hannah books as I used to be, or if this one really is just kind of flat, but the Joanne Fluke offering "The 12 Desserts of Christmas" didn't do as much for me as I was expecting it to. It's a Hannah mystery that didn't really need to be one, as she could've easily just popped up maybe twice and had Julie solve her own mystery. As I'm sick and grumpy, I wondered who in their right mind would drive out to a boarding school (one I swear I never heard of before or since, given that this was published before Ross) pretty much every day in the lead up to Christmas? I get that cookies and sweets are usually better the day of and all, but given that this is a big order, allowances could've been made. And the boys should have absolutely been punished for what they did instead of getting off on a technicality so that they didn't have to truly lose the bet. Oof.
I still remember thinking Elizabeth Stone was being set up to maybe take over for her mother in the sleuthing department, at least in a spinoff capacity, when she went to work for the Cavendish Hotels... and I'm still disappointed that this never came to pass. Elizabeth here is kind and goodhearted without being much of a pushover, and still has enough sense to realize that the rich aren't better, they just have more money. I enjoyed re-reading The Christmas Thief and I still think it holds up pretty well. Which is good because I think it's the longest of the trio.
Nightmare on Elf Street by Laura Levine is a fun story that sends Jaine into elf hell in the desperate hope of getting another gig at the end of her stint in hell. Naturally a body crops up and Jaine needs to prove that she wasn't the guilty party...even though thanks to Prozac, she looks pretty bad. I do love Prozac and that's probably what's giving this collection an extra star.
I'm not sure if it's simply because I'm no longer as enamored of the Hannah books as I used to be, or if this one really is just kind of flat, but the Joanne Fluke offering "The 12 Desserts of Christmas" didn't do as much for me as I was expecting it to. It's a Hannah mystery that didn't really need to be one, as she could've easily just popped up maybe twice and had Julie solve her own mystery. As I'm sick and grumpy, I wondered who in their right mind would drive out to a boarding school (one I swear I never heard of before or since, given that this was published before Ross) pretty much every day in the lead up to Christmas? I get that cookies and sweets are usually better the day of and all, but given that this is a big order, allowances could've been made. And the boys should have absolutely been punished for what they did instead of getting off on a technicality so that they didn't have to truly lose the bet. Oof.
I still remember thinking Elizabeth Stone was being set up to maybe take over for her mother in the sleuthing department, at least in a spinoff capacity, when she went to work for the Cavendish Hotels... and I'm still disappointed that this never came to pass. Elizabeth here is kind and goodhearted without being much of a pushover, and still has enough sense to realize that the rich aren't better, they just have more money. I enjoyed re-reading The Christmas Thief and I still think it holds up pretty well. Which is good because I think it's the longest of the trio.
Nightmare on Elf Street by Laura Levine is a fun story that sends Jaine into elf hell in the desperate hope of getting another gig at the end of her stint in hell. Naturally a body crops up and Jaine needs to prove that she wasn't the guilty party...even though thanks to Prozac, she looks pretty bad. I do love Prozac and that's probably what's giving this collection an extra star.
ollie1976's review against another edition
3.0
Collection of 3 stories....first 2 were decent...4 stars...last one I didn't even finish
cj_mo_2222's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoy this type of light mystery collection for the holidays. This book includes stories by Joanne Fluke, Laura Levine, and Leslie Meier. All three are older stories, so anyone following the novels will know that things have progressed for the characters since the time of these stories. I have read some or all of the books in all three series, but the book would also be a great introduction for new readers. Happily, all of the stories were new to me, so I really enjoyed the book and would rate it 4.5 stars.
I have had mixed feelings about some of the newer books in Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen series, but this older story, "The Twelve Desserts of Christmas" is excellent. It's a mystery only in the loosest sense of the word, but it's still enjoyable. While providing Christmas desserts for boarding school students who aren't able to go home for the holidays, Hannah has to get to the bottom of why the budding romance between the two teachers staying at the school abruptly fades. There are no murders in this sweet story, just friends helping each other and plenty of recipes for Hannah's delicious desserts.
"Nightmare of Elf Street" by Laura Levine is my favorite of the three stories. When looking for a laugh out loud story, Levine never disappoints me. When trying to win a job writing ads for an upscale mall, Jaine Austen gets roped into filling in as one of Santa's elves. A bad situation gets worse when Prozac wreaks havoc at the mall while there for a holiday card photo shoot. There is a lot going on in this story, including a dead Santa with Jaine the prime suspect for murder. Jaine begins investigating to clear her own name and the story concludes with a hilarious, upbeat ending.
I have read some of Leslie Meier's Lucy Stone novels and I enjoyed this short story featuring Lucy's daughter Elizabeth as the main character. While filling in as the concierge at a luxurious hotel in Florida, Elizabeth is suspected of stealing very valuable jewels belonging to a high profile couple staying at the hotel. There is a large build-up to this even and I really liked seeing Elizabeth at work trying to cater to the whims of the rich and famous. When things start to go wrong, she calls her mother and Lucy and her elderly friend Miss Tilley travel from Maine to Florida to help. I had to suspend disbelief as Lucy encouraged her daughter to break the law in order to prove her innocence. After a dramatic but improbable series of events, the book has a good ending just in time for Christmas.
I received this book from NetGalley though the courtesy of Kensington books. The book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.
I have had mixed feelings about some of the newer books in Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen series, but this older story, "The Twelve Desserts of Christmas" is excellent. It's a mystery only in the loosest sense of the word, but it's still enjoyable. While providing Christmas desserts for boarding school students who aren't able to go home for the holidays, Hannah has to get to the bottom of why the budding romance between the two teachers staying at the school abruptly fades. There are no murders in this sweet story, just friends helping each other and plenty of recipes for Hannah's delicious desserts.
"Nightmare of Elf Street" by Laura Levine is my favorite of the three stories. When looking for a laugh out loud story, Levine never disappoints me. When trying to win a job writing ads for an upscale mall, Jaine Austen gets roped into filling in as one of Santa's elves. A bad situation gets worse when Prozac wreaks havoc at the mall while there for a holiday card photo shoot. There is a lot going on in this story, including a dead Santa with Jaine the prime suspect for murder. Jaine begins investigating to clear her own name and the story concludes with a hilarious, upbeat ending.
I have read some of Leslie Meier's Lucy Stone novels and I enjoyed this short story featuring Lucy's daughter Elizabeth as the main character. While filling in as the concierge at a luxurious hotel in Florida, Elizabeth is suspected of stealing very valuable jewels belonging to a high profile couple staying at the hotel. There is a large build-up to this even and I really liked seeing Elizabeth at work trying to cater to the whims of the rich and famous. When things start to go wrong, she calls her mother and Lucy and her elderly friend Miss Tilley travel from Maine to Florida to help. I had to suspend disbelief as Lucy encouraged her daughter to break the law in order to prove her innocence. After a dramatic but improbable series of events, the book has a good ending just in time for Christmas.
I received this book from NetGalley though the courtesy of Kensington books. The book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.
dogearedtatty's review against another edition
3.0
I read this as an advance copy through NetGalley, in return for an unbiased review. This has three short stories - Joanne Fluke was known to me, the others new. Fluke was predictable as always - it’s why I’d stopped reading her for a while, as you could almost have a checklist of things that would get mentioned in every single book (which gets wearing for the devoted reader after so many books), and also I found it annoying that Hannah seemed to juggle two boyfriends who were both OK with this. Nothing really changed with this book, except it hardly had any mystery at all, and largely seemed a vehicle to just share more recipes. Laura Levine was new to me, and fairly enjoyable - if with many preposterous moments. But as a cosy read, it worked. Leslie Meier’s short story felt like it had the most mystery I guess, despite no murder, with the theft of some jewels from a hotel. It felt like it had more substance to the characters, and although all the stories were about 33% of the book on my Kindle, this felt the longer, fuller story somehow, whereas the others felt short and fluffy.
linda48's review against another edition
2.0
A book of three Christmas-themed short stories: The Twelve Desserts of Christmas by Joanne Fluke, Nightmare on Elf Street by Laura Levine and The Christmas Thief by Leslie Meier. Let's go one by one.
The Twelve Desserts of Christmas is a typical story by Joanne Fluke which is inane with people who make you wonder how they can manage in the world. Ridiculous conversations, people who overthink the least little word, people who jump to conclusion, kids who are much smarter than the adults, etc. etc. And let's not forget that the world lives on sugar and chocolate without tooth decay or weight gain, except for Hannah who bemoans her weight in every book. If you are looking for recipes, they are in the story but you can find them all (except maybe the Double Apple Crisp) in other stories by the author. The worst story of the lot.
Nightmare on Elf Street is the best of the trio. With a lot of snark the heroine is hired as a Christmas elf in a shopping mall. Yes, it does remind the reader of David Sedaris' Christmas elf story, but it is still a good, quick read. And what's not to love about the main character having a manic cat named Prozac? I should read more of this author.
The Christmas Thief is an ok mystery (no murders involved) that takes place at Christmas in Florida rather than the usual Maine setting for this author and has Lucy's daughter, Elizabeth, as the focus. The story moves along ok with a few bobbles: When Lucy gets up at Noon, her mother and a Maine neighbor pay her a surprise visit since she will be unable to come to Maine for Christmas. Then they have dinner, which turns into lunch, which gives them the entire day to decorate the house and solve the mystery. Lucy goes into the storage room for her [sic] apartment - Is it Lucy goes into the storage room for Elizabeth's apartment or Elizabeth goes to the storage room for her apartment? Little things like this drive me nuts. And let me just say that Elizabeth is way too eager to give her home address to a man she's just met so he can pick her up for a date. C'mon! I know she grew up in a small town where everyone can trust each other, but she went to school in Boston, lives in Florida and should know better than that.
The Twelve Desserts of Christmas is a typical story by Joanne Fluke which is inane with people who make you wonder how they can manage in the world. Ridiculous conversations, people who overthink the least little word, people who jump to conclusion, kids who are much smarter than the adults, etc. etc. And let's not forget that the world lives on sugar and chocolate without tooth decay or weight gain, except for Hannah who bemoans her weight in every book. If you are looking for recipes, they are in the story but you can find them all (except maybe the Double Apple Crisp) in other stories by the author. The worst story of the lot.
Nightmare on Elf Street is the best of the trio. With a lot of snark the heroine is hired as a Christmas elf in a shopping mall. Yes, it does remind the reader of David Sedaris' Christmas elf story, but it is still a good, quick read. And what's not to love about the main character having a manic cat named Prozac? I should read more of this author.
The Christmas Thief is an ok mystery (no murders involved) that takes place at Christmas in Florida rather than the usual Maine setting for this author and has Lucy's daughter, Elizabeth, as the focus. The story moves along ok with a few bobbles: When Lucy gets up at Noon, her mother and a Maine neighbor pay her a surprise visit since she will be unable to come to Maine for Christmas. Then they have dinner, which turns into lunch, which gives them the entire day to decorate the house and solve the mystery. Lucy goes into the storage room for her [sic] apartment - Is it Lucy goes into the storage room for Elizabeth's apartment or Elizabeth goes to the storage room for her apartment? Little things like this drive me nuts. And let me just say that Elizabeth is way too eager to give her home address to a man she's just met so he can pick her up for a date. C'mon! I know she grew up in a small town where everyone can trust each other, but she went to school in Boston, lives in Florida and should know better than that.
scientificbookworm's review against another edition
4.0
The Twelve Desserts of Christmas
This is the perfect Hannah story for Christmas! I love that you got to see everything that the gang was doing around the holidays without having a murder at Christmas! I loved Julie and Matt's romance and was happy how everything turned out! This was a perfect way to start out Christmas Sweets!
Nightmare on Elf Street
Before this short story, I had not read any of Laura Levine's stories with Jaine Austen. This was a cute tale of Jaine working as an elf where Santa gets murdered! As far as this being a short Christmas cozy mystery it was very cute and a great addition to the book. Overall though, Jaine is funny but not my favorite amateur sleuth. She came across a little ditsy to me and she tells "white lies" which I really don't like in characters. Still glad I got to read this as part of the Christmas Sweets book though.
The Christmas Thief
This was a super cute cozy mystery about stolen jewels. I have not read any Leslie Meier stories but I do have to say I did like Elizabeth, Lucy and Miss Tilley. This story takes place at a very high end hotel in Florida around Christmas time. it was very interesting to read about how people in Florida might celebrate Christmas! This one definitely had me on the edge of my seat a little to figure out who actually stole the jewels and what really happened.
Overall I loved Christmas Sweets and would recommend you pick it up if you like cozy mysteries too! It is a nice way to read works by other cozy authors that you might not have read before. Even if you have read series from these authors it's really nice to see what the characters are up to in between their normal sleuthing!
This is the perfect Hannah story for Christmas! I love that you got to see everything that the gang was doing around the holidays without having a murder at Christmas! I loved Julie and Matt's romance and was happy how everything turned out! This was a perfect way to start out Christmas Sweets!
Nightmare on Elf Street
Before this short story, I had not read any of Laura Levine's stories with Jaine Austen. This was a cute tale of Jaine working as an elf where Santa gets murdered! As far as this being a short Christmas cozy mystery it was very cute and a great addition to the book. Overall though, Jaine is funny but not my favorite amateur sleuth. She came across a little ditsy to me and she tells "white lies" which I really don't like in characters. Still glad I got to read this as part of the Christmas Sweets book though.
The Christmas Thief
This was a super cute cozy mystery about stolen jewels. I have not read any Leslie Meier stories but I do have to say I did like Elizabeth, Lucy and Miss Tilley. This story takes place at a very high end hotel in Florida around Christmas time. it was very interesting to read about how people in Florida might celebrate Christmas! This one definitely had me on the edge of my seat a little to figure out who actually stole the jewels and what really happened.
Overall I loved Christmas Sweets and would recommend you pick it up if you like cozy mysteries too! It is a nice way to read works by other cozy authors that you might not have read before. Even if you have read series from these authors it's really nice to see what the characters are up to in between their normal sleuthing!
em_mcd's review against another edition
3.0
Some cute short mysteries. It’s hard to make a mystery into a short story
miss_alaina's review against another edition
3.0
This was cute but ultimately a waste of time. I adore Hannah Swenson, but I was greatly disappointed that her mystery wasn't a mystery at all, just a cutesy story about a random couple. The highlight for me in this trio of novellas was "Nightmare on Elf Street" by Laura Levine. Jaine Austen never fails to make me laugh out loud. I wish I had just read that particular story and skipped the others.
ellie31773's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25