Mistletoe and Mayhem

by Judi McCoy, Katherine Hall Page, Joanne Pence, et al.

An unexpected visitor is about to arrive with an unexpected gift ... Will it be something wonderful or woeful, rueful or romantic... or a little bit of everything? In the expert hands of four... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060732059
• ISBN13: 9780060732059
• Release Date: November 2004
• Publisher: Avon Books
• Length: 372 Pages
• Weight: 0.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.2" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Salute the Salt; Sugar's On the Lamb.

This is an exquisite collection of sparkling stories by four great authors. Each story highlights a uniquely delightful twist, resulting in seraphim-fresh starlight (compared to the typical slobbery stuff). I've rarely been drawn to short stories or books with collections of shorter works. When I take time to get into a book and memorize details, I like to stretch out for a while with that investment, which is why I seek series. But, I was pleasantly surprised that each of these stories was easy to get into, easy to read, and regularly called to me pleasantly to catch another bit. This type of collection is a great way to addict readers to each of the authors presented, which might be the plan! If it weren't for Joanne Pence, I wouldn't have overcome my prejudice against short collections and holiday sticky syrup, so I read her story first, and savored every quarter-inch of it. The Thirteenth Santa blossomed Rebecca & Richie from seedlings in the Angie & Paavo series, and the match making of this odd couple was perfecto! (Kissing fingertips in salute.). Rebecca was the perfect female to yank Richie out of the caricature woodwork and into the hot-light-reality of flesh-and-bones. Rebecca's displayed holiday loneliness, as she pranced around the precinct in solitary simplicity, shot an instant warmth into this reader, who had previously taken a mild dislike (as the author intended) of the female homicide inspector's romantic interference with Angie and Paavo. The 13th's humor was entertainingly dark enough to dim the usual garish Christmas glare of sweet & light, and it exposed perfectly the type of cloistered chuckles big city policemen resort to, to save their sleigh bells during holiday cheer, especially when they're on duty and everyone else seems to be lapping up the luxury of home. It was a hoot following Rebecca's periodically listing infractions under her breath, as Richie casually collected mini-crimes as her streetwise, unlikely sidekick. The violations were merely misdemeanors, so maybe that was why Rebecca couldn't build up any resistance or righteousness, and the hand cuffs stayed in storage. Or, maybe it was because she wasn't sure which way she'd use them once released from her (Pandora's) purse. Loved the funny, geriatric, non-generic Santas, aging with realistic loss of various faculties, but without loss of spirit, which made the fun poked at-and-with them delightfully tasteful, especially through the spyglasses of their hilarious Mafiosa attitudes and accents. Being half Italian myself I can connect with the banter... though I'm not connected myself (as far as I know). Who knows, maybe if I were connected my sci fi and mystery series manuscripts would have already been on the International bookshelves! Yeah, yeah. All in good time ... and company. The scene picked up to a higher plateau of tangy, balsamic spice, when Angie's "Momma Mia" (Serefina) brought the ingredients for edible gifts, and zapped the hil

A collection of intriguing and individually unique stories

Courtesy of CK2S Kwips and Kritiques This collection of intriguing and individually unique stories is bound to make for some good fireside reading at this time of year. In the first story of this collection, Out on a Limb by Christie Ridgway, readers meet Stacy Banks, an unassuming kindergarten teacher who never takes risks in her life. This year, just in time for Christmas, she decides to chance it and ask her sexy neighbor, Ryan, to attend a Christmas party with her. Clothed only in a dress made of wrapping paper, she heads down to the dock to catch him on his boat and invite him to be her date. Never could she have expected that this was about to become the most adventurous... and dangerous... night of her life. The action is flying high in this story, with adventure after adventure for Stacy and Ryan. There are shoot-outs, drug cartels, and crooked cops, all with plenty of romance to round it out. Readers will like that they are kept guessing for much of the story, trying to figure out who the bad guys are and if Ryan is one of them. All Stacy wants is to try something new and get a little adventure in her life by asking Ryan out on a whim. When she gets much more than anticipated, how she deals with it is amusing, and makes the reader realize she's got spunk, even if she suppresses it normally. The second story, The Two Marys, by Katherine Hall Paige, was probably this reviewer's favorite story in the series. Readers meet plucky Faith Fairchild who is called in to help a neighbor, Mary Bethany, who finds a newborn baby and a huge stack of cash in her goats' barn. Now Faith has to investigate to help Mary find the mother of the baby and why she felt it necessary to give up her child. This was a story that helps to remind people what this time of year is all about. The parallels between this Christmas story and the original Baby born in a manger are heart-warming. Mary's life is her goats and that's all she's ever wanted in life. When a baby is given over to her, she finds out maybe there is more to life then her little farm and Bed and Breakfast after all. The mother of the child is a down on her luck; a young woman who wants only for her baby to have a better life then she has. The ending to this story is sad in some ways, a balancing of fate in others, and happy as well. Readers will finish this tale with a warm fuzzy feeling that love is the reason for the season. The third story in this collection, The Twelve Frogs of Christmas by Judi McCoy, is a funny one, and the one paranormal story in the collection. Here readers meet Claire St. Germaine and Dr. Hugh Burton. Claire is a young woman making a go at her own jewelry design business who has temporarily taken on an additional duty of rescuing men sent to her as frogs she has to kiss to break the spell. Hugh is a professor at a university, whose specialty happens to be... yes you guessed it... frogs! When a rare and nearly extinct species that Hugh happens to be researching is sent to

TWO Wonderful romances

I wasn't crazy about the 2 mystery stories in this book, but I thoroughly enjoyed the romances. McCoy's 12 Frogs story was adorable, so creative I wished it had been a full-sized novel.