Hollyberry Homicide

Sharon Farrow

Sep 2020 · A Berry Basket Mystery Book 5 · Kensington

About this ebook

A cold wind is blowing off Lake Michigan, and murder is scaring the dickens out of everyone . . .

Considering her name, Marlee Jacob is an obvious choice for the role of Jacob Marley in Oriole Point’s production of A Christmas Carol. It’s just sad that the role has opened up because of the death of the elderly actor who’d originally been cast.

But Marlee, the proprietor of The Berry Basket, will do her best to keep spirits high—that is, until clues start mounting that there’s danger behind the scenes. There are accidents on set, the tree in the village square topples over, and worst of all, a body is found with a sprig of holly draped over it. If Marlee can’t wrap up the case, she may not have a berry merry Christmas . . .

Includes Berry Recipes!

Ratings and reviews

Hollyberry Homicide is the 5th A Berry Basket Mystery. It can be read as a standalone if you are new to the series. The author provides the relevant background information on Marlee Jacob. I thought Hollyberry Homicide was well-written with steady pacing. There is plenty going on in this book. Marlee is enjoying decorating for Christmas, The Berry Basket is doing a brisk business, she gets roped into playing Jacob Marley, and she has a variety of houseguests. Natasha is staying with Marlee while she waits for her new place to be finished. It sounds like it will be a long visit. Natasha is a show stealer with her over-the-top personality. The mystery was interesting. It becomes more of the focus in the second half of the book as the clues begin to mount along with the action and suspense. You begin to wonder if Everett’s death was suspicious (or did a ninety-five year old man just pass away on a bench). It all begins to come together and there is a great reveal scene. I enjoyed solving this whodunit. The ending will leave you smiling. Hollyberry Homicide is a jolly cozy mystery with holiday hot chocolate, learning lines, overload of ornamentation, a swaying spruce, and an amateur sleuth bent on sniffing out the suspects.

small-business, small-town, family-dynamics, friendship, amateur-sleuth, law-enforcement, investigation, cozy-mystery***** The first corpse was a wealthy 95 year old curmudgeon who always played Marley in the local production of A Christmas Carol, so everyone assumed that it was natural causes. Lots more about him came out after that and the play seemed cursed as players continued to have unexpected problems. The small but fairly affluent town had lots of secrets and divas to add to the mysteries that were as thick on the ground as the lake effect snow. A really good whodunit with some fun situational humor. I requested and received a free ebook copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley.

About the author

Sharon Farrow is also the co-author of the Agatha nominated Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins Mysteries written under the joint pseudonym D.E. Ireland. A freelance writer since her twenties, she has been published in mystery, fantasy, and romance; one of her short stories has been optioned for film. Sharon currently lives along the beautiful Lake Michigan shoreline where the Berry Basket series is set. Visit her online at sharonfarrowauthor.com, on Facebook @SharonFarrowAuthor, or Twitter @SharonFarrowBB.