Unwrap a Christmas Story

Lakeshore Christmas by Susan Wiggs is part of the Lakeshore Chronicles. Prim librarian Maureen Davenport is finally getting her chance to direct Avalon’s annual holiday pageant, and she’s determined to make it truly spectacular. But it might just require one of those Christmas miracles she’s always reading about. Former child star Eddie Haven can’t stand Christmas, but a court order from a judge has landed him right in the middle of the merry-making as Maureen’s co-director. Maureen and Eddie spar over every detail of the pageant, from casting troubled kids to Eddie’s original and distinctly untraditional holiday music. Is he trying to sabotage the performance to spite her? Or is she trying too hard to fit the show into her storybook-perfect notion of Christmas? This was a pleasant Christmas story. I read this author when she wrote historical romances and enjoyed those. This is my first modern day story by her. I think I picked this one up because the heroine is a librarian. And one thing the blurb did not mention was the fact the town library was due to close due to lack of funding. The town rich person wants his nephew to star in the pageant and for that he would establish the necessary funding. All Maureen has to do is cast the nephew, whether he is perfect for the role or not. This part hit really close to home. With the recent economic downturn, I can see a community having to decide between police, fire, or the library. And it seems that there is often someone who wants to put on a display of power and call the shots. One of best parts of this book is the fact that the denoument occurs at a fundraiser at the New York Public Library!

Holiday Grind by Cleo Coyle continues the adventures of New York coffee shop owner Clair Cosi. She is looking forward to the holidays and seeing her daughter Joy, who is studying at a culinary school in Paris. She’s also hoping to spend sometime with her new boyfriend, Police Detective Mike Quinn. However as often happens in Clair’s life, her plans go awry, starting with finding the body of a friend who is a traveling Santa Claus. She soon becomes embroiled in the case vowing to find out why her friend was murdered and who did it. Joy calls and says she’s staying in Paris and Mike is assigned a cold case that promises to keep him busy the whole holiday. She decides to focus on the case and in the process is stalked and attacked. Then she hears Mike is seeing someone else. Will things ever be merry and bright? Just in the nick of time, Clair, with the usual suspects—her ex-husband, Matt; her ex-mother-in-law, Madame; and her ever faithful baristas--unravels not only the Santa Claus murder but opens doors to Mike’s cold case. With every book, this series gets better and better. I love the interplay between Clair and her daughter and the way her ex-husband keeps popping back on the scene. Her romance with Mike Quinn is developing, but the appearance of his ex-wife is a bit jarring, if true to life. Madame is still one of my favorite characters, even though she only has a minor part in this book.

The Christmas Dog by Melody Carlson is another pleasant Christmas read. After all—any story combining a dog and Christmas, well, enough said. Betty Kowalski isn’t looking forward to the holidays. She just can’t seem to find Christmas in her heart. Maybe it’s because her husband is gone. Maybe it’s because she’s missing her grown children. Or maybe it had something to do with her obnoxious new neighbor, who seems to be tearing his house apart and rearranging it on the lawn. But when a mangy dog appears at her doorstep, the stage is set for Betty to learn what Christmas is really all about. Melody Carlson is primarily a Christian writer and the cover photo of the scruffy dog looking through a window caught my fancy. While the characters are pretty standard and stereotypical, this is a short and enjoyable read if you are looking to de-stress from the holidays.