Welcome to my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for Mistletoe, Mutts, and Murder (Samantha Davies Mysteries) by S.A. Kazlo! Today we are featuring a review of this latest entry (book six) in the series. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews, and more! There is also a Rafflecopter Giveaway for one paperback copy of Mistletoe, Mutts, and Murder! ENTER HERE!

Mistletoe, Mutts, and Murder (Samantha Davies Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery
6th in Series
Setting – The series takes place in Wings Falls, New York, a small town in upstate New York about 45 minutes north of Albany
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Gemma Halliday Publishing (December 3, 2024)
Digital ~250 Pages
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0D9ZKS19S

About the Book:

Christmas is coming and children’s book author, Samantha Davies, and her lovable dachshund, Porkchop, are caught up in the holiday festivities in beautiful upstate New York. Sam’s parents, Chuck and Barbara, who have been enjoying their retired life in sunny Florida, have flown into Wings Falls to spend the holidays with Sam and meet her new boyfriend, Detective Hank Johnson. Sam is also busy hosting this year’s Christmas party for the Loopy Ladies, Sam’s rug hooking group.

The Loopy Ladies know how to party and are enjoying an evening eating, drinking, and making merry… until Santa crashes the party. Unfortunately, this Santa is Sam’s next-door neighbor who her parents have had a long-running feud with. When not playing the local mall’s not-so-jolly old St. Nick, Leo Sayers is a newspaper reporter, and he announces to the group that he’s written a damning article accusing Sam’s dad and his close friend, Herb Feinstein, of some very shady dealings in their past. To preserve peace on earth—and among the Loopy Ladies—Chuck and Herb escort Leo from the party.

Only, not long after being sent on his way, Santa is found dead—lying in the snow, run over by a plastic reindeer, with a string of Christmas lights around his neck! Are Sam’s father and Herb now on the naughty list? If Sam can’t prove them innocent of murdering Santa, she’s afraid their stockings will contain handcuffs and a one-way ticket to prison this year!

 My Review:

This was my first introduction to Sam, the charming small town of Wings Falls and all the delightful characters who live there, and I adored it. It was just the escape I needed after toting boxes of Christmas decorations up the stairs and taking my teen to Target the day after Thanksgiving! I had zero issues following along, so if you’re new to the series, know that you’ll be just fine jumping in. I did download book one onto my kindle and am eyeing the rest of the titles. 

Sam is a wonderful main character, and her romance with Detective Hank Johnson adds just the right amount of heart-eyes to the story. The Loopy Ladies were a hoot – funny and loyal, and I wished I could join their group! And is it ok to say that one of my most favorite characters was Sam’s pooch Porkchop? What a cutie. I enjoyed meeting her parents and seeing Sam live in the house she had grown up in. 

The vivid writing, with attention to all the details of the season brought the setting to life. I was immediately drawn in and didn’t want to leave when it was over. There were many twists and turns as I tried to piece together the clues of who did Santa in. I didn’t guess it ahead of time, but I had a great time trying to figure it out. 

Such a lovely and fun holiday read. Just what I needed, and I highly encourage readers to make sure they add this to their seasonal to-be-read stack. Ignore all those boxes that now need to go back to the basement–I sure did, and I’m so glad!  

 About the Author:

Syrl, a retired teacher, lives in upstate New York with her husband and two lively dachshunds. She writes the Samantha Davies Mystery series, featuring Samantha Davies and her loveable dachshund, Porkchop. When not writing she is busy hooking, rug hooking that is, and enjoying her family. Her newest book, number six in the series is, Mistletoe, Mutts and Murder. 

Author Links: ~ Website ~ Blog ~ Twitter ~ Instagram ~ Facebook ~ Linkedin ~

Purchase Links: ~ Amazon ~ B&N ~ Smashwords ~ Kobo ~ 

TOUR PARTICIPANTS:

• December 2 – Sarah Can’t Stop Reading Books – REVIEW
• December 2 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
• December 3 – Jody’s Bookish Haven – REVIEW
• December 3 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT
• December 4 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT
• December 4 – Novels Alive – REVIEW
• December 5 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – CHARACTER GUEST POST
• December 5 – Frugal Freelancer – SPOTLIGHT
• December 6 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
• December 7 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
• December 8 – Cozy Up With Kathy – CHARACTER GUEST POST
• December 9 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
• December 10 – StoreyBook Reviews – CHARACTER GUEST POST
• December 11 – Sneaky the Library Cat’s blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
• December 12 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
• December 13 – View from the Birdhouse – REVIEW
• December 14 – Cassidy’s Bookshelves – SPOTLIGHT
• December 14 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT
• December 15 – Boys’ Mom Reads! – CHARACTER GUEST POST

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