Silent Nights Are Murder

by Libby Klein

For once, Poppy McAllister is not the one to find the dead body, but that doesn’t mean she won’t be dragged into a murder investigation. Her cop friend Amber convinces Poppy to go undercover at her ex-boyfriend’s restaurant because the body was discovered in Tim’s walk-in freezer. In a previous book in the Poppy McAllister Mystery Series, Poppy decided to drop Tim in favor of a relationship with the handsome barista Gia who thinks she is gorgeous. Now as Poppy tries to help, she discovers that Tim’s new work and personal partner Gigi is pregnant with a due date set 9 months after Tim and Poppy broke up!

It is hard for Poppy to gain the trust of the restaurant staff and sort out the lies they tell. Most of them seem to be hiding some secrets. As Poppy explains to a frustrated Tim, “a killer will lie about their alibi.” Someone seems to have been messing with the books and the inventory also.

There are so many plots going on all at once. When Poppy was almost nine, her mother dropped her off with promises to return for her. She does—thirty-five years later—and checks into the Butterfly Wings B & B. Poppy and her Aunt Ginny, who helped raise her, spend time trying to figure out what Iris wants and how to get rid of her. Meanwhile, Figaro, Poppy’s cat, does battle with Christmas ornaments that appear to be birds, complete with feathers (until Figaro get ahold of them). Guests at the B&B enjoy a decoration daily murder scene villa setup by an unknown person at the inn. 

Aunt Ginny’s friends, the Biddies, add hilarious fun as there might be a wedding coming up and they want to be a part of it. Aunt Ginny, as usual, has some wack-a-doodle plans. In this case, the Christmas season calls for some competition.  Aunt Ginny is determined to have both the prize winning recipe and the house with the most Christmasy ambiance (think National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, but  on steroids). 

Gia’s son Henry is adorable and refuses to tell anyone what he is asking Santa for. As you read Silent Nights Are Murder, I think you’ll know what he wants for Christmas, but will Santa be able to deliver?

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

Rating: 5/5

Category: Mystery

Notes: 1. #9 in the Poppy McAllister Mystery series. It could be read as a standalone, but would be enjoyed more if some of the earlier books were read first. 

    2. seven gluten free recipes for Christmas goodies

Publication: September 24, 2024—Kensington

Memorable Lines:

There were three seasons to obsess about the weather. Tourist season—when guests considered it a personal failure on my part if it rained during their vacation. Hurricane season—because my creditors don’t care about safety cancellations, they just want to be paid. And Christmas season—because I was delusional enough to want snow like I was living in a Bing Crosby movie. Irving Berlin had set sixty percent of the country up for annual disappointment.

Flashing police-car lights blazed through the night, and the men tried to look like three normal guys waiting for a table. They looked as normal as a trio of gorillas in hoop skirts.

He ran his hands through his hair and looked like he was about to fry up a conniption and serve it with a big side of meltdown.