The Avid Reader: A Nutcracker Nightmare by Christina Romeril

A Nutcracker Nightmare

Book Summary

Hanna and Alex, owners of the Murder and Mayhem book and chocolate shop, are busy preparing for the Harriston High School’s reunion weekend. Neighbors will connect with old friends and perhaps try to avoid old foes. One person no one can avoid is Kyle, the former star quarterback, who is busy using his entire playbook to try and score with Hanna, even threatening her if she doesn’t play nice. At the reunion, Alex glimpses more drama than nostalgia as insults are flung around like a football at a Friday night game. The party is put on hold when Alex finds the dead body of none other than Kyle himself, bludgeoned to death by a nutcracker that the sisters admired earlier in the night.

Hanna quickly becomes the prime suspect—someone saw her slap Kyle in the face at the reunion dance. She’ll need her sister, their sleuthing canine, Watson, and their old friends and colleagues to help break this case wide open. While looking through old yearbooks and taking a stroll down memory lane, Alex uncovers a few secrets about Kyle, now, it seems like everyone had a motive to kill him.

But when the suspects start becoming the victims, Alex and Hanna know that they can’t melt under the pressure—they must find the killer before they become just another yearbook memory.

My Thoughts

A Nutcracker Nightmare by Christina Romeril takes us back to Harriston, Montana where twin sisters Alex and Hanna own Murder and Mayhem, a mystery bookstore that sells handcrafted themed chocolates. Each chocolate is named after a poison (an example is strawberry strychnine). While the series features twins, the story is told from Alex’s point of view. Alex and Hanna have a close relationship. They live together and work together. It looks like both sisters will have a chance at romance, but the path forward will be a rocky one. The murder takes place at a Harriston High School reunion where Alex and Hanna are providing chocolates. It was obvious who would die early on. The victim was an unlikeable fellow. Hanna finds herself at the top of the suspect list (of course) so Alex dons her sleuthing cap and dives into the case. There are plenty of suspects since Kyle, the victim, was a bully, a groper, and so much more. Alex’s investigative skills need work. When she questions people, it sounds like she is accusing them. Alex can be blunt to the point of being rude. The clues and suspects are repeated frequently (I got it the first time). The whodunit is neatly tied up at the end.

There are a number of characters in this story, and it can be challenging to keep them all straight (it made me want to set up a murder board). The contest in which Hanna is entering her chocolates and Kyle was to judge seemed to be an afterthought. Personally, I thought the mystery should have surrounded the contest instead of the reunion. The chocolate descriptions will have you craving bonbons and truffles (there are recipes for a couple of Hanna’s creations at the end). While chilly temperatures were mentioned, Christmas not so much. A Nutcracker Nightmare is the second book in A Killer Chocolate Mysteries. I believe readers would benefit from reading A Christmas Candy Killing first where there was more world building. A Nutcracker Nightmare is a killer cozy with delectable chocolates, a slayed sleaze, a sister as a suspect, romance troubles, an excess of suspects, and a hopeful heart.

A Nutcracker Nightmare is available from Amazon*. The first A Killer Chocolate Mystery is A Christmas Candy Killing. While A Nutcracker Nightmare was not for me, if the description appeals to you, I encourage you to download a sample to check it out for yourself. Thank you for stopping by today. I will be back on October 24 with The Twelve Books of Christmas by Kate Carlisle. It is the seventeenth A Bibliophile Mystery. I hope that you have a fun weekend. I am enjoying seeing the people drive by to view my front yard Halloween display. I have included some daylight photos below. You can see where the cemeteries guests are having a party to welcome the newest arrival who is in the reaper's coach. Take care and Happy Reading!