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Saturday, October 7, 2023

Book Review: Jingled (A Charlie Cooper Christmas Short Story) by Deany Ray

This is a short, fun Christmas disaster turned to joy story.
Jingled (A Charlie Cooper Christmas Short Story)
By Deany Ray
Charlie Cooper Mystery #4.5

File Size ‏ : ‎ 2462 KB
Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 15, 2018
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07K1LWD2Y
Genre: Christmas, Two-Hour Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Short Reads
My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0.


This is a holiday SHORT story, but long enough for you to enjoy it with a glass of eggnog...or two glasses...*wink*
The holiday season has arrived in Springston…and at the Coopers’ house. Soft snow outside, creamy eggnog inside – it’s the perfect Christmas Eve for Charlie Cooper, the town’s most clumsy undercover detective.
Not to mention the yummy turkey, ham, sweet potato casserole, thick gravy and all the other delicious dishes made by Charlie’s mom for the whole family and Charlie’s two best friends and crime fighting partners, Marge and Celeste.
With such a perfect Christmastime in sight, nothing could really go wrong. Or could it? Well, there’s nothing like being held at gunpoint on Christmas Eve to bring joy into your heart.
When the food gets mysteriously ruined, the Christmas tree almost wrecked and apparently having a nice holiday feast just isn’t about to happen, Charlie wonders about that so-called Christmas spirit.
One thing is for Charlie will always remember this year’s holiday as “barely surviving Christmas at the Coopers’ house”.


Review:
Charlie Cooper is an undercover detective with her business partners and friends, Marge and Celeste. Charlie is looking forward to her friends joining her family for Christmas dinner. Charlie, whose cooking skills are minimal, has made a pie for dessert. Her mother, who is a wizard at food, has made a smorgasbord of dishes. The house is decorated, and everyone is ready.

The Cooper men, father and sons, are outside cooking chestnuts on the grill when things start popping. Next thing they all know, there appears to be an intrusion and attack on the festivities. Before the family and friends can sit down to the wonderful spread of food, one misstep after another takes the food to the floor.

Can Charlie figure out who is the culprit? And how will the family save Christmas dinner?

The story is full of quirky characters and humor from the outset. I realized that this is book #4.5 of the series but I was still able to enjoy the characters and the fun. The writing is straightforward and makes for an easy read. I was pleased that the disastrous dinner turned into a joyful event shared with more than expected. I expect that I will read more by this author and I recommend the story as a light, fun mystery that shares the joy of Christmas shared.

Source: I received this from the author newsletter sign up in June 2021. This qualifies for 2023TBR and 2023ebook goals.

2 comments:

  1. Love this cover! And I love stories with quirky characters! Sometimes short stories are the way to go when you've only got a small bit of time inbetween a busy day. Putting this on my TBR list! Have a great week! Suzanne@ Chick with Books

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sounds like a fun read!
    Mary @Bookfan

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