Review: A Christmas Peril by J.A. Hennrikus

Christmas will be here before you know it, and rather than scramble in November to create your must-read Christmas mystery list, we’re giving you an early one to start you off. Kerry Hammond is here to tell us about the first cozy Christmas mystery you can put on your list.

A Christmas Peril by J.A. Hennrikus is the first book in a new Theater Cop Mystery series. It releases in Paperback on September 8 from Midnight Ink publishers. The new cozy series features ex-cop turned theater general manager Edwina “Sully” Sullivan. Hennrikus is also the author of the three book Clock Shop Mystery series featuring clockmaker Ruth Clagan. The first book in that series, Just Killing Time, was nominated for an Agatha award. I thought it was about time I gave this author a try.

In A Christmas Peril, Sully is an ex-Boston police officer who left the force under a bit of a cloud. She retreated to her hometown of Treverton, Massachusetts and got a job as the general manager at the Cliffside Theater Company. Life has been moving along for the last few years, until her good friend is suspected of murdering his father and Sully is drawn back into investigating. This brings up all sorts of old memories of her past profession, and to make matters worse it also brings her ex-husband to town. Meanwhile, Sully is trying to juggle the theater’s production of A Christmas Carol, as her life gets more complicated by the minute and the suspect list continues to grow.

It was great to start the series with book one and get to know all the characters from the beginning. Sully is a likeable character and a great investigator. She often tries to get information out of the local police and when they won’t give it to her, she admits to herself that she wouldn’t have given it to her either. Being an ex-cop might be frustrating when she wants information, but it helps her understand the motivations of the local police and follow the investigation as closely as possible to unmask the killer.

I enjoyed this book and it would be a great addition to any cozy Christmas mystery list.

This book was provided to Mystery Playground by the publisher. The review is fair and independent.