A Slay Ride Together with You

by Vicki Delany

If you enjoy cozy mysteries in small towns, but want a Christmas flair, then A Slay Ride Together with You is the perfect combination. 

The protagonist, Merry Wilkinson, owns a gift shop, Mrs. Claus’s treasures while her best friend from childhood, Vicky, owns Victoria’s Bake Shoppe. The story is told from Merry’s point of view, but Vicky plays a huge role as she is a wonderful pastry chef, is planning her wedding to Mark, the chef at The Yuletide Inn, and is writing a cookbook. Mark and Vicky are also restoring an old home that has garnered a reputation for being haunted.

Characters you will enjoy include three dogs with prominent roles. Vicky’s dog Sandbanks is an “ancient golden Labrador” who frequently sleeps through excitement. Merry’s dog is Matterhorn (Mattie), a faithful Saint Bernard. Alan, Merry’s boyfriend, adds to the canine mix with Ranger, his “overly active Jack Russell.”

Vicky is not sleeping well in her new home because of weird sounds all through the night. These noises come to a climax when Merry is visiting and someone knocks on the front door and then the back, disappearing before the doors can be opened. This is a cozy mystery, so expect a murder and lots of suspects including Vicky’s fiancé Mark. I have always found references to extended family members of an ever widening circle to be confusing. That turmoil happens to Merry also as she investigates the various people that might want the victim dead. There are inheritance and relationship issues that emerge too.

I enjoyed A Slay Ride Together with You and will jump at the chance to read more in this series. Delany has written several more cozy mystery series. One I particularly enjoy is the Tea by the Sea Mystery Series.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Rating: 4/5

Category: Mystery

Notes: 1. I started Delany’s Year-Round Christmas Mystery Series with #6. A Slay Ride Together with You is #7 in the series and I had no problem jumping into either book. I believe the setting of Rudolph, New York, with the nickname of “America’s Christmas Town,” is standard from one novel to the next and the characters recur, but Delany does a great job of giving background on the characters so the reader’s introduction to the series is almost seamless.

  2. Includes recipes for several cookies and a fall soup that Vicky makes at her cafe.

Publication:  September 24, 2024—Crooked Lane Books

Memorable Lines:

Mattie sat next to me, hoping for some lunchtime tidbit to drop. It never does, but he never gives up hope. A lesson for us all, perhaps.

Jim was a reverse Santa Claus. He made enemies and spread ill will everywhere he went.

Vicky and I had changed out of our wet clothes and were wrapped in sweaters and thick blankets against the cold that seemed to have penetrated into our very bones.