A Christmas Peril is a fun story. It is also a cozy mystery. I recommend this book to all who love Christmas and a good mytery.

I found it very boring and flat, it didn't have much to it. I think in the case of a murder mystery I shouldn't be more concerned with the romance than the actual murder investigation but I was. I couldn't care for the characters at all, they were all the same to me, which was a bummer. I also found it quite predictable and I'm usually not the kind of person that figures out plot twists in advance, so this must mean something is off here.
I also was expecting more of a Christmasy feel to it, but to me for some reason it read more like an early spring read idk why. Maybe another title and cover art would have been a better choice because the book did not provide that feeling...like at all, so it was a bit misleading. Also, I just felt like it was a bit all over the place.

Now what was going for it? - you may ask seeing I gave it a 3* rating. Actually I was contemplating giving it 2, but decided on 3 because it did have some good things in it. I actually kind of liked the romantic tension between Sally and Gus. (However, I still think it should be an added bonus, not almost the only thing I found good about this book. Maybe next time, she should write romance, just a food for thought.)
The writing style was also good in my opinion, it was easy to read, that's why I could finish this fast once I actually picked it back up.

I'm not saying this book is the worst I've ever read or anything, don't get me wrong. But if you're looking for a good mistery I would definitely recommend going for another book. I personally won't read the rest of the series, I just can't be bothered. I couldn't connect with the characters in this one, found them flat and boring, so what's the point? Anyway, it was a fast and easy read, good for a very boring afternoon.

A great first in series! Not your typical cozy mystery. The main character being an ex cop gives her the background knowledge to help solve the murder but still technically an amateur sleuth now that she runs a small theater. I really enjoyed the theater element and it was evident the author did research in that area. Several twists and turns kept me guessing until the very end. I am eagerly awaiting the next book in this series!

I really enjoyed reading this book. Sully, an ex cop, returned home to take care of her dying father. After he died she stayed and began working for the local theater. This book is more of a traditional mystery than a cozy. The murder has taken place before the book begins. The head of a local wealthy family has been murdered. The two families were close at one time and Sully's childhood friend is suspected of the murder. The family enlists Sully to try and clear him. Sully's ex husband is now a family lawyer which further complicates her personal life. I liked the characters and the theater setting. The author does a very good job with the community theater background. The mystery was good and there were lots of suspects and twists and turns. Even though the book takes place during Christmas it can be read at any time of the year. I am looking for word to reading the next book in the series. Enjoy

A Christmas Peril is a Christmas cozy by J. A. Hennrikus. Former police detective Edwina "Sully" Sullivan has retired, albeit reluctantly, to her hometown of Trevorton, Massachusetts and has taken on the role of general manager of the Cliffside Theatre Company. The group is working through many obstacles to present their big winter money maker, A Christmas Carol.

As she is caught up in the drama of the theatre, a real life drama captures her. Estranged relative by marriage, Peter Whitehall is murdered and the family members, Sully's cousins, are the primary suspects as video surveillance shows no one else entering or leaving the house that evening.

When Sully is first asked to investigate she hesitates, but when her cousin Eric is taken in to the station, she reconsiders her position and decides to put her detective skills to work. What she didn't expect was to be working closely with her ex-husband, attorney Gus Knight, or that they would both be emotionally effected by this collaboration. Between the two of them, and working closely with local detective Regina Roberts, the mystery begins to unfold in ways that kept you guessing until the end.

I did enjoy this mystery set in a snowy Massachusetts small town at Christmas. It gives great closure and special hope for the future. I do recommend this book.

In A Christmas Peril, Sully has her hands full. This year’s Christmas Carol is turning into a disaster and her best friend is arrested for murder. One of the difficult parts of cozy mysteries is having a legitimate reason for the amateur detective to be investigating. Sully, however, is perfect. Yes, she’s currently a theater manager, but she had years of experience as a cop and it’s her best friend who is the chief suspect. she really has no choice but to get involved, and it certainly helps that the family has asked for her assistance. I liked her. She’s funny, loyal, smart, strong, but she’s also learned some lessons along the way. And she only manages to place herself in major danger once.

The dead man was not overly-loved, even by his family, but he was important in the community. The suspect list could have been long, but the only people who could actually have done it had to be in the house – family, servants and a close business partner. I thought I knew who did it, but then there’s a second murder and it gets complicated.

I liked the theater setting and the secondary characters, theater people and the Whitehall family were, for the most part, well-developed. I can see why Sully likes them, even the ones that are a bit tougher to manage. Sully’s ex-husband shows up and they get along well, but are still cautious with each other.

A Christmas Peril is clearly a seasonal mystery, but really there’s not much Christmassy to it, aside from the production of A Christmas Carol as the backdrop. It’s not overly festive, there aren’t decorations and presents. But it is a great start to a series.

This is your typical good old murder mystery. That is not a bad thing! It is the first book in the Theater Cop Mystery series. Edwina “Sully” Sullivan used to be a cop, but she gave up that life and is now running a theater in her hometown. Things have been going well and Sully has moved on from her previous life as a cop and as Gus's wife. Well, that is until her close friend, Eric, is arrested for killing his father, Peter Whitehall. She does not want to get involved, her life as a cop is behind her, but she has to help Eric. But, that is just the start of Sully's issues. Gus is now back in her life and he now has a friend Kate. The title is a bit misleading, but that is okay. I was looking for more of a Christmas tie-in. In fact, I waited a couple months to read this book thinking it would be very Christmas oriented. Yes, it is the holiday season and yes the theater is putting on a performance of A Christmas Carol, but other than those facts, there really is not much of the Christmas spirit. The season of the year was not integral to the story. I would have liked more of the holiday tie-in based on the name, but that is not a big deal and not worthy of more than this tiny mention. Not points off! :)
The cliffhanger did its job and darn it I want to know if he asks for one or two tickets?!? That alone gets me to give this a definite 4-star rating.

I picked up "A Christmas Peril" as part of my #HoHoHo RAT and it did serve the trick of reading something with Christmas undertones which wasn't over-the-top. However, while I think this is a solid first installment in a new cozy series, it didn't pull me in like I had hoped.

Edwina "Sully" Sullivan has moved back to her small hometown after quitting her job as a Detective and leaving her unfaithful husband. She immediately takes a job working for the Cliffside Theater Company as the primary manager, and has settled in to the job quite nicely. Just when the troop is getting read for their annual Christmas Carol run, a wealthy but not so liked individual in the community is murdered. His son and Sully's best friend is accused of doing the deed so Sully and her ex husband, who is also a lawyer, work together to clear Eric's name and figure out who really killed Peter Whitehall.

First, I need to say I think this book was written well enough. I really wasn't able to figure out the mystery until the very end and even then was only half right. That's always fun when reading a cozy mystery. I also liked a lot of the small town characters and especially enjoyed Sully's relationship with Regina, the detective assigned to the case. However, I don't feel this book needed a love-triangle, especially in the first installment, and for some reason, I never really connected to Sully. There is just something about her that makes her seem aloof. I couldn't see myself being friends with her in real life, and sometimes, it's that connection which makes me enjoy cozies.

For anyone who loves theater this would be an ideal book to pick up. There's just enough mention of the production and rehearsals to keep your interest and add to the overall depth of the book. I will probably pick up the next book in the series and see what the author does with the characters, as well as see if I end up liking Sully more eventually.

A Christmas Peril by J.A. Hennrikus is the first story in A Theater Cop Mystery series. Edwina “Sully” Sullivan has been the general manager of the Cliffside Theater Company in Trevorton, Massachusetts for the last five years since leaving the force (and her ex-husband). Sully is busy with preparations for their annual performance of A Christmas Carol, but she is taking time out to attend the funeral of Peter Whitehall. Peter’s son, Eric is a friend and Sully is tending the event for him. When Eric ends up arrested for Peter’s murder, Sully puts her detecting skills to work finding the real killer. Sully has her hands full with keeping the budget on track for A Christmas Carol, replacing an actor, dealing with Patrick King who cannot remember his lines and has a drinking problem (along with a huge ego), and finding Peter’s killer.

When I started reading A Christmas Peril, I went back to check that this was the first book. I felt like I was plopped down in the middle of a series. The book is very confusing in the beginning. It felt like the book was written out of order (with the beginning in the middle and the middle at the beginning). The pace of the story is a little too slow for my liking and it felt dated (like it was written for a different time-period). The book lacked flow and smooth transitions. Many of the same details are repeated frequently (after I while I could recite them by rote). Sully became fixated on murder (obsessed). Too much of the book is focused on conjecture and hearsay (Sully going over the same details). I solved the crime at Peter’s funeral (it should not be that easy). There are a couple of possible love interests for Sully in the story. I could have done with less “flirting” and a more interesting/engaging mystery. At the end of the story, there are dangling threads (it felt unfinished) and it was convoluted. The Christmas aspect was very light (almost non-existent). A Christmas Peril would have benefited from more editing/rewriting.

I loved the theater/former cop set up for the protagonist. That was unique and clever. I love this sort of mystery set up (wealthy family, patriarch is killed and family members are suspects), and this one was well executed with great twists. The solution left some unresolved questions for me which is why I didn't give this 5 stars.

I thoroughly enjoyed A CHRISTMAS PERIL!! It was an unusual seasonal mystery because the primary connection between the season and the plot was preparation for a production of A CHRISTMAS CAROL. There was minimal reference to the season otherwise. I found that refreshing since some seasonal mysteries focus more on the season than the mystery. Sully Sullivan is quite appealing!! Several of the mysteries I've read recently have gotten bogged down in the main character's introspection. I found Sully's reflections most often tied to her investigative methods and/or her relationships with other characters. I want to know more about the characters in this book, and I look forward to the next book in the series!!

This is a Christmas mystery without the decorations. The local theater group is putting on A Christmas Carol and murder comes onto the scene. Edwina "Sully" Sullivan has retired from being a cop and from her marriage and is now dealing with the backstage workings of the theater. Worrying about budgets and such is fine with her until her friend becomes the prime suspect when his father is murdered. So Sully does what any former cop would do...she starts her own investigation. I was pleased with the mystery and even more pleased when I was told that the author, J A Hennrikus, also writes the Clock Shop series of mysteries under the name Julianne Holmes, another series I have enjoyed.

The theater has always interested me. My son was in theater in high school and then in college. I loved going to the plays and watching the show. What intrigued me the most was the sets they made. They were so phenomenal and I couldn't believe they were built by the students. The book definitely brought back some great memories and I loved how the author described the inner workings of a theater. There is always going to be actors that disagree or financial backers who grumble when more money is needed and that sets the stage for a wonderful quest to solve a murder.

Sully has come back to her hometown to be general manager of the local theater. I loved her description of being very tall and maybe not as thin as she would like. I laughed at her shoe size because not many women have the foot of well I guess I will say big foot. I loved her character so much and found her dry sense of humor so refreshing. It's funny that she thinks she is retired from the police department. When someone is found murdered, the town seems to look to Sully to help out. The death of someone in the town turns up an assortment of suspects.

The dead person has a few family members I thought needed to take a chill pill. Either they were guilty of something or wanted attention. They sure did make for a great story and gave Sully a run for her money. She has to try to keep the Christmas play on track, while dealing with an ex-husband and a list of people of interest in the crime. I was very pleased to find out that I didn't guess who the killer was. To say I was a bit surprised is an understatement. The author has written a great book in the first of a series that will only get more intense with intrigue and characters that jump off the pages. I will be looking for the next in this series with anticipation.

I received a copy of this book from The Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour. The review is my own opinion.

Edwina Sullivan, called "Sully'' by her friends, has retired from law enforcement to be the general manager of the Cliffside Theater Company. Most of the time she just deals with the budget, backstage problems, and difficult actors, but this holiday season her worries become a bit more serious. Her best friend Eric is accused of murdering his father. Peter Whitehall was a very important man in town before he was shot to death. So now she is juggling the budget for A Christmas Carol, dealing with a Scrooge with a drinking problem, and investigating a murder..... It's going to be a perilous Christmas.

This is a promising start to the new A Theater Cop Mystery series. I like Sully as a main character. She has rebuilt her life following the end of her cop career and her marriage. Her love life certainly is complicated. Her ex-husband becomes a suspect during the investigation and all through the book he kept trying to talk to her about something....but never managed it. Then she has other love interests. The ending leaves it all up in the air....maybe the second book will see some things fall into line along those lines. But.....I wasn't reading the book to follow Sully's love life (past or present). The mystery is engaging and nicely paced. I liked the characters and the setting. And, the ending actually caught me by surprise. Nice! I liked it enough to read more books in this series.

I had hoped that the story would be a bit more holiday themed....but it was long on mystery with hints of Christmas, Scrooge and romance. Nice mix, even though I was hoping for a bit more Christmas theme. All in all, a nice read. I look forward to seeing how this new series develops!

J.A. Hennrikus also writes under the name Julianne Holmes (Clock Shop Mysteries). To find out more about the author, check out her website: https://jahennrikus.com/2017/09/10/found-in-the-wild/

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Midnight Ink via NetGalley. Opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

4.5 stars rounded up.

This was an absolutely delightful book! It didn't quite have the pizzazz I look for to push it up to a 5-star rating, it is a solid 4.5 in my opinion.

The characters in this series are great. There was only once where the main character did something absolutely stupid and unsafe. The rest of the time she was well-behaved. Obviously there are some risks in trying to solve a mystery, it just bugs me when the heroine goes off and does stupid stuff or disregards all thoughts of safety. The side characters were fun too. Everyone was well-developed and complex.

The plot line moved along quite well. I'd say steady-fast. It wasn't so fast that you couldn't keep up, but it definitely moved along. I had absolutely no idea who the villain was until it was revealed. Honestly, he wasn't even on my radar, so that was a great twist for me.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I look forward to the next installment whenever that might be!

*** Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC. I was not compensated for my review. All opinions and conclusions expressed are my own. ***

Fans of small town theatre and cozy mysteries will be delighted with this new series.
A Christmas Peril is book 1 it's always fun to start a series in the beginning.
The characters are charming. The town is charming.

I expected the crime to happen around the theme of the theatre but I was surprised that it was another story line altogether. Making for an interesting read.

The author weaves the story along with the production of A Christmas Carol keeping the reader interested and anticipating the end almost in a bittersweet way. I wanted to see how it ended.
But I knew it would end too soon. There was steady to the plot making it an easy read.

The story is full of twists and turns and a little romantic drama
when Sully's ex makes an appearance. There seems to be a few
embers still burning there. But there are a few sparks with an actor too. So there's a little triangle that Sully needs to figure out.

A new series on my list to read. Waiting for book 2.

I received a complimentary copy from Great Escape Tours

Retired cop turned theater manager Edwina “Sully” Sullivan should be focusing on her theater’s production of A Christmas Carol. After all, the name star they’ve brought in can’t remember his lines, and actors are leaving in frustration. But what has captured her attention is the murder of Peter Whitehall. He’s not only the wealthiest man in town, but also a distant relative and the father of her friend Eric. Thanks to his security system, the police know someone in the family is the killer. Despite her intentions, Sully gets drawn into the puzzle. Can she figure out what happened?

This is a wonderful start to a new series. With my love of A Christmas Carol and live theater, I was looking forward to it, and it didn’t disappoint at all. The mystery is a modern-day twist on the isolated house mystery, and it is strong, with some surprises before we reach the logical end. Sully is already a wonderfully developed main character. There are some strong supporting characters here, and I’m looking forward to seeing the rest grow as the series progresses.

A CHRISTMAS PERIL by J.A. Hennrikus
The First Theater Cop Mystery

Sully Sullivan may have given up her badge, but she retains her police smarts as her worlds collide.

After leaving the police force and her cheating husband, Sully returned to her hometown to become the general manager of the Cliffside Theater Company. But when well to do Peter Whitehall, a once friend of the family, is murdered his family request Sully look into things. To cure her curiosity and save her good friend, who happens to be the son of the victim as well as the primary suspect, Sully agrees. She finds herself sorting out a dysfunctional family and business while also trying to keep a disastrous production of A Christmas Carol on track. Add the return of her ex-husband, serving as lawyer to the family, and a former fling in to save the show, and Sully must use all of her police training and theater know how to solve the mystery before she becomes the ghost of Christmas future!

J.A. Hennrikus hits all the right marks in her first Theater Cop Mystery. Sully Sullivan is a tough protagonist with enough issues to make her endearing. While she doesn't carry a badge, Sully still has the heart and mind of a cop. She straddles more than one world, but is able to work well in both. Drama is heightened when two former loves come on the scene. Working with her ex-husband on the murder and a former fling in the theater, Sully has her hands, and heart, full.

The worlds of theater and law enforcement may appear incongruous at first, but they truly aren't as I, a former police officer with a degree in theatre, can attest! A CHRISTMAS PERIL is an intricately plotted mystery with fascinating characters. I look forward to the next act!

A Christmas Peril is the first book in a fun new mystery series. It focuses on Sully Sullivan, a former police officer who now manages a local theater. As she prepares a production of A Christmas Carol, she gets drawn into the mystery of a wealthy local businessman's murder.

This was a very enjoyable mystery! I was interested in reading it because I love theater. (I worked in theater in my 20's.) I also love A Christmas Carol. These aspects of the story were particularly enjoyable to me.

Sully is a great character - strong, brave, and resourceful. I enjoyed seeing her use her skills as a former police officer to solve a local mystery. The budding romance in the book was also a fun aspect.

There are a lot of characters introduced during the first few chapters, and I found them a little hard to keep up with initially. Once I got a few chapters in, though, I found the book hard to put down.

The book is well written, with well developed characters and an intriguing mystery. It moves quickly and is well paced.

I recommend A Christmas Peril for fans of cozy mysteries. Anyone who loves theater will especially enjoy this book.