Since I discovered Vicki Delany’s books (including those written as Eva Gates), she has quickly become one of my favorite cozy mystery authors. I always enjoy her layered characters as well as the vivid settings and well-woven plots she creates.

Silent Night, Deadly Night is no exception. It’s the first book I’ve read in this series – and it easily stands alone – but I enjoyed it so much that I am eager to go back and catch up. For starters, a year-round Christmas town? Yes, please! On top of that, a year-round Christmas shop/gift boutique in said Christmas town? Even more yes, please! I enjoyed the peeks at Merry’s inventory (including her Thanksgiving themed items) as well as what the other shops in town are selling and creating.

It’s not all holly and jolly though. There’s some serious tension within the book from a couple of different sources, and Delany excels at making it nearly palpable on the page. First, there’s the 40th-anniversary-college-roommates reunion that Merry’s mom is hosting. It doesn’t take more than a sentence or two for some thick-as-stew tension to clog the air when all five eclectic ladies (plus Merry’s mom Alina) are in the same room. Sniping (subtle and otherwise), jealousy, and cattiness abound. I disliked all five of them, and if I could have, I would have kicked them out for Alina way earlier than she did lol. In addition, in the midst of this reunion-gone-wrong-turned-murder-investigation, there’s a subplot involving Merry’s dad that raised the tension another notch or so.

All of this serves well to keep you riveted to the story, while also providing well-timed wit and coziness to pause the drama when needed. Merry is extremely likable as a protagonist, and her circle of friends and community are as well. Matterhorn “Mattie” – her endearing St. Bernard – is another highlight of this series, and I’d happily dogsit him anytime, on the page or in real life.

Bottom Line: Silent Night, Deadly Night by Vicki Delany is delightful and engaging from start to finish. Well-written and steadily paced, this story offers the reader an infusion of the holiday spirit as well as a layered plot that keeps you on alert. It’s the perfect blend of cozy and mystery, of wit and woe. The setting is vividly defined and inviting, and the characters are easy to love. Cozy fans, if you haven’t discovered this series yet you are missing out!

(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book)

Vicki Delany consistently delivers cozy mysteries that feature charming settings, likable sleuths and puzzles that keep the reader guessing to the last page. Add to that a little Christmas cheer and Silent Night, Deadly Night is the perfect read to get into the festive spirit!

Chick Lit Holiday Mystery

I have read a fair amount of cozy mysteries, and this one struck me as different right from the start. Honestly, at the beginning, it feels more like chick lit gone awry—which I loved, by the way! In fact, “chick lit” is much of the vibe of the entire story. Despite the title of the novel, this is more centered around Thanksgiving than Christmas. It just happens to take place in a town named Rudolph, where it's Christmas all year ‘round (but they do give a nod to the other holidays). The setup of the story is that the heroine's mother is hosting her college friends’ 40th reunion. Though they were friends back in the day and have kept in contact, they have not met in person since that time. I thought the author did a fantastic job showing how different each of these ladies was. Many writers tend to write an “old lady” stereotype or two (grumpy granny or “cuppa tea” granny), but each of these women is very different. The initial part of the story has much to do with their sniping and disagreements, which the author writes with a deft hand. The dialogue actually helps the story keep moving. The protagonist and her mother have to act as peacemakers, not quite what Mom imagined when she put together the weekend. While this book is part of a series, I had no problem understanding it even though this is the first book I have read of it. The author developed the mystery well, with lots of balls to juggle. I so enjoyed the town and the characters that I didn't really try to figure it out as I read and instead just went along for the ride. And what a delightful ride it was! The author also threw in some good twists, as I like to see in a mystery, and the end held more surprises than I imagined. A wonderful read by a new author to me, one whom I will look forward to reading again in the future. If you like the idea of chick-lit holiday mystery gone wrong, you will most likely enjoy this book as much as I did.

Another enjoyable year-round Christmas mystery. Delany has created a unique setting, with plenty of Christmas cheer and of course, murder.

This is book 4 in the Year-Round Christmas series and it can be read as a stand alone. Merry is preparing for Thanksgiving and helping her mother get ready for her a visit by 4 of her college friends. It's been many years since they have seen each other and now one is dead. The town of Rudolph is thinking of banning Merry's father from playing Santa Claus so she has to solve the murder fast. A good mystery and fun characters. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

It is Christmas year round in Merry's hometown of Rudolph, but with Thanksgiving just a week week away she is busy with her shop Mrs. Claus' Treasures. Her mom is reunited with college friends for the weekend. Their fighting and snippy remarks leave Merry wondering what her mom was thinking. When one of the friends is murdered, Merry investigates to save the Christmas season and her parents' reputation. This is the first book I have read in the series, but I had no trouble following along with the characters. The mystery was strong and the characters (except for the college friends) likable. I will definitely be reading more from the series.

From setting to characters and storyline, Silent Night, Deadly Night by Vicki Delany is a cozy mystery lover’s delight. As #4 in the Year-Round Christmas Mysteries series, it easily stands alone, but I recommend reading these stories in order for the utmost enjoyment.

As the series title indicates, Silent Night, Deadly Night is set in a year-round Christmas village named Rudolph, located in Upstate New York. The author vividly captures the sights, sounds and delicious aromas of Rudolph, making it a place readers would want to visit. Although Christmas is the main emphasis, stores still feature seasonal holiday displays – Thanksgiving in this story.

Merry Wilkinson is an appealing lead character who owns Mrs. Claus’s Treasures, a shop that specializes in locally made crafts and home decorations. And, of course, it’s located on Jingle Bell Lane, the main shopping area of this quaint village. Many cozy mysteries involve an animal of some type, but Merry’s beloved pet is an adorable Saint Bernard named Matterhorn (Mattie for short), who is perfect for a Christmas village.

The action – and tension – begins when Merry’s mother, Alison, hosts a 40th-anniversary retreat the weekend before Thanksgiving for five college friends who have maintained contact over the years, but never gotten together collectively before. Constance, Barbara, Karla, Ruth, and Genevieve are an eclectic group of ladies from varied walks of life and financial status. And just maybe their friendship hadn’t been as real as Alison remembered. A lot of characters are introduced at once, but the author does a great job in crafting these ladies so they immediately stand out and are identifiable. I found them intriguing and not so likeable, but was very interested in their backgrounds and history.

The bickering and pointed jabs among these ladies steadily propels the story along, with Merry and her Mom forced to act as peacemakers. For instance, Constance pretends to be generous, but uses her money as a way to put other people in their place. Ruth, who doesn’t have much money to spend, resents Constance’s offers to buy things for her. Karla, co-owner of a family business, resents the attitudes of Barbara, an environmental lawyer. And that barely cracks the surface with these ladies!

The murder mystery plot is well crafted with surprising twists and nothing is quite as it seems. Rather than trying to identify the murderer, I just enjoyed going along for the ride. The story is beautifully clean and has a little romance. I loved Silent Night, Deadly Night and will be reading more of Vicki Delany’s writing.

Highly recommended to cozy mystery fans everywhere.

I received a copy of this book through Great Escapes Tours. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

4.5 Stars

It’s the week before Thanksgiving and Merry Wilkinson’s mother Aline has invited her college friends to visit Rudolph, New York for a weekend. The get together is supposed to be a celebration of them all meeting and becoming friends forty years ago. In order to maximize the time the women have together, Aline has invited them to all to stay at her home. The six women could not be more different. “I must have forgotten that.” Indeed you have Mrs. Wilkinson. The women constantly try to one-up each other or put each other down. “Your friends aren’t nice.” No, they are not. But nothing could have prepared Merry or her mother for one of the women to die.

When it is quickly determined that the death was murder, the question becomes who killed the victim and why? “Secrets. Secrets. We all have secrets. Don’t we? Some new, some old. Some serious, some not so. What do we do to protect our secrets? How far would we go? Secrets, are at the heart of any murder. Uncover the secret, and you’ve found the killer.”

As Merry splits her time between working at her Christmas shop Mrs. Claus’s Treasurers and running interference between her mother and her “friends”, she’s attempting to help the police by finding out all she can about the victim and the other ladies. It seems a majority of the women are not who they seem or pretend to be. Could one of these so-called once friends be a murderer, or is the culprit someone closer to the victim?

Vicki Delany has written an incredible mystery! I was completely in the dark until the very end. One thing I loved was that Vicki wrote a story that I wasn’t in a rush to finish. Her writing allowed me to just sit back and enjoy the words on the page and where they took me. I was definitely surprised when the big reveal came. I have to admit that the introduction of the five friends made it very difficult to keep everyone straight. My biggest complaint about this story and now the series is Jackie. She’s Merry’s employee who has from the beginning of the series been irritating. It seems she’s only getting worse. Her narcissism is off the charts. Why Merry doesn’t make her life better and alleviate my reader irritation and fire Jackie is beyond me. Putting my feelings for one Jackie O’Reilly aside, I really hope there are more books in this series to come.

Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Daniele

The week before Thanksgiving in a year round Christmas town brings steady business, but it is also the “quiet before the storm” when the Holiday madness descends. Merry is excited for Thanksgiving, but first she must get through her retired opera singer mother’s college friends’ reunion weekend. Merry is surprised at how varied the friends are when they come into her shop but even more shocked when the spiteful, insinuating barbs begin to fly among the women. Things go from bad to worse when one of Aline’s guests dies, and everyone becomes a suspect. Rudolph is like most small towns and rumors about Merry’s parents’ involvement in the death spread like wildfire. A newcomer to town seizes the opportunity to unseat Merry’s father from his council position, and, more importantly, his role as the town’s Santa. Merry does all she can to save her family’s reputation and get to the truth.

I really enjoy this entertaining cozy series, and author Vicki Delany does a great job of making the Christmas themed town relevant no matter the season without it becoming too cutesy or a caricature of the holiday. Plus, the Christmas theme brings a constant undercurrent of happiness and celebration to the backdrop.

The characters are well developed and compelling, even those that are certainly unlikable. In Silent Night, Deadly Night, several new characters are introduced all at once, and I was initially worried that I would get them confused with one another, but each one is so individual, and Delany defines them well and quickly. Of the college friends, Rose, is the bright spot in this group of friends that are not really friends at all. Merry’s parents are prominently featured in this story, and I adore them. They are such opposites and so much fun. Merry is an insightful amateur sleuth, likable and relatable. And, of course, Merry’s dog Matterhorn is the best sidekick.

The victim’s cause of death is no surprise (in fact, this is the second book in a row I have read that utilizes it), but it fits well into the story and with the characters. The murder takes place in Merry’s parents’ house, instantly making me feel invested in the who and why of the mystery. The motives of the suspects are slowly revealed until Merry figures it all out, leading to a satisfying conclusion. The book moves along at a steady, quick pace.

Silent Night, Deadly Night is a worthy addition to the Year-Round Christmas series, and I look forward to many, many more adventures with Merry and crew. I highly recommend this book.

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*

Initially, I was not sold on this series, but as I've gotten into the books, they've gotten better and better. This one is no exception as Merry gets into yet another local murder, this one involving her mother's old college chums. Fast paced and thoroughly enjoyable, Delany has produced another winner!

Silent Night, Deadly Night
By Vicki Delany
Berkley
September 2019

Review by Cynthia Chow

In their goal of being officially designated as “America’s Christmas Town,” the town of Rudolph, New York celebrates the holiday throughout the year with its main street shops on Jingle Bell Lane specializing in yuletide wares. This week before Thanksgiving marks the beginning of when business truly heats up, and Mrs. Claus’s Treasures owner Merry Wilkinson is preparing to focus entirely on work for the next six weeks. Merry’s mother Aline, a former opera singer but still a bit of a diva, is anticipating the arrival of her five friends for their first reunion since they first met in college 40 years ago. Perhaps there’s a good reason that the women never remained close though, as it’s not long before they making snarky remarks about one another’s weight, relationships, wealth, children, and careers.

Merry and her mother hoped to smooth tensions over with a potluck dinner, one in which Merry forces her own bakery owner friend Vicky Casey to attend as a buffer. Unfortunately, the sly insults and catty remarks continue throughout the meal, right up until Karla Vaughn collapses due to a fatal peanut allergy reaction. With no one admitting to putting peanuts in one of their dishes and Karla’s EpiPen mysteriously absent, it doesn’t take long for Detective Diane Simmonds to declare it a suspicious death. With police warning the women not to leave town, Merry’s mother feels obligated in allowing her “friends” to remain as her guests despite their renewed hostilities and suspicions. The local newspaper’s lurid headlines have father returning early from a Florida fishing trip, just in time for them to learn of a plot to undermine his usual position as their official Town Santa. Infuriated by the attempt to oust Noel Wilkinson from the Santa Claus Parade and worried for her mother’s safety, Merry and her friends begin investigating the secrets the women have been keeping and the lies the continue to tell.

Despite the high body count, Rudolph continues to be an enviable town devoted to what is arguably one of the most beloved holidays. A former lifestyle magazine editor, Merry has found happiness and purpose back at home with her quirky, Christmas-obsessed family. Merry’s adorably huge Saint Bernard Matterhorn not only provides comfort and protection, he helps lead them to slobbery clues. An exasperating shop assistant, possible shoplifter, and multiple blackmail plots all jeopardize Merry’s normal goodwill-to-all-mankind outlook, but with the help of her friends and family Christmas has an excellent chance of being saved. Perfect for any time of the year, this complex mystery by the prolific author Vicki Delany delivers more than its share of laughs, plot twists, and realistically quirky characters.

Fourth in the year-round Christmas mystery.

It's almost Thanksgiving and Merry Wilkinson is looking forward to her favorite holiday, even though she lives in the year-round Christmas town of Rudolph, NY, which reinvented itself after industry moved out. Two of her three siblings will be home as well. Right now she's helping her mother Aline, a former opera singer, prepare her home for the visit of five old college friends, anticipating a happy reunion. Unfortunately, it's less than happy: the women are always quarreling with each other, one is a wealthy show off, one a high-powered lawyer, one a dipsomaniac, one not well off financially, one always complaining even though she and her husband have a thriving lumber business. And one of them, Merry has discovered, is a shoplifter, after a pricy necklace vanishes from her gift shop, Mrs. Claus's Treasures. Surely they'll be able to endure the backbiting for a few days?

And then Karla, the complainer with a deadly peanut allergy, goes into anaphylactic shock at the Wilkinson dinner table. Her Epi-Pen, which she carries with her everywhere, has vanished. Her death, then, can only be deliberate.

Once again Merry is faced with a mystery. I found this one a little hard to get through, not because it was bad, but because Aline's friends are just so toxic. Even after Karla dies they snipe at each other continuously. Plus, Sue-Anne, Noel Wilkinson's bete noire in the mayor's office, is making noises about Noel's annual role as Santa Claus again. A new man in town, Wayne Fitzroy, is angling for the job and talking about changing the town's image to have a more "adult" Christmas.

The mystery is easy to puzzle out if you pick up on the clues, and there's a relationship change in the story that I found quite appealing. I'm sorry not to have met Merry's siblings, however, and really want to see Chris and/or Carole and/or Eve show up in a future story. And oh, how I would like to visit a place like Rudolph some day!

This was another delightful adventure with Merry and crew in Rudolph, NY - otherwise knows as "Christmas Town".

I always love delving into this series. The characters are fun, the mysteries intriguing, and the setting delightful. Adding the mix of Merry's mother's old college friends makes for an interesting dynamic - especially since they all secretly hate one another, and one finally resorts to murder.

This was a satisfying addition to the series.

Merry loves Christmas, who wouldn't if you owned a year round Christmas shop in a town that makes its living as THE Christmas town of the USA? However, Christmas cheer is not going to help her mother or the cranky college friends that have come to town when one of them winds up dead. Merry also has to find a way to keep her dad's reign as town Santa unblemished as this latest tragedy seems happens right as someone seems poised to move in on St Nick.

This was a fun, cute cozy mystery! I love the theme throughout, and I will definitely be continuing with the series.

Silent Night, Deadly Night continues Vicki Delany's delightful Year Round Christmas mysteries. Merry Wilkinson's mother has invited her college friends for a reunion just before Thanksgiving in Rudolph, the Christmas village. Mayhem results when one of the guests drops dead from anaphylactic shock. Meanwhile her father may lose his role as Santa to the town due to dastardly machinations by a new village resident. Merry has to put on her puzzle solver's hat to find the murderer and whoever is shoplifting in her store. Enjoy this top notch cozy.

The busy season is getting started in Rudolph, NY where it's Christmas-time all year around. Things in town start picking up steam in the days before Thanksgiving and don't let up one bit til after New Year's Day. Merry Wilkinson is busy with her shop, Mrs. Claus' Treasures, but she's also helping her mother with a reunion of her college friends. It's the first time the entire group has been together in decades....but the visit is a disaster. The old friends constantly bicker among themselves and make snide comments to each other. It gets steadily worse until one of them is poisoned at dinner...and dies. Now it's not just personality conflicts....but murder. Merry is on the case to find out which one of the old friends is a killer.....

I enjoy this series! I love the holidays, and a cozy series centered around a town that celebrates the season all year around is just fun! What's not to love about a town where Main Street is actually named Jingle Bell Lane? So cute!

Silent Night, Deadly Night is the 4th book in Year-Round Christmas Mystery series. The story kept my attention from beginning to end. The mystery progressed at a nice pace and had me guessing about the killer's identity and motive. I wasn't too surprised at the ending/reveal....but felt satisfied. All in all, a very enjoyable cozy mystery!

Vicki Delany also writes several other mystery series including the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mysteries and the Klondike Mystery series. I will definitely keep reading the Year-Around Christmas Mystery books. Quirky, enjoyable characters.....a cute dog....and Christmas. :) Love it!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Berkley via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

Silent Night, Deadly Night is a cozy mystery set in the town of Rudolph, where Christmas is celebrated year-round. Merry Wilkinson owns a Christmas shop, and she grew up in the town. When her mother has a college reunion with five contentious old friends, one of the women ends up dead. Merry decides to solve the mystery.

I wanted to read this book because I enjoy cozy mysteries, love holiday theme reads, and have often thought it would be fun to own a small Christmas shop.

This is my first read in the Year Round Christmas Mystery series. Despite the fact that there is a large cast of characters in the book, I had no problem jumping right in and enjoying this book as a standalone read. The author did an especially good job at delineating the characters from the casual college reunion. They each had very distinct personalities.

I really liked Merry as a protagonist -- as a shop owner, daughter, and amateur detective! She is smart and plays the detective in a savvy way that does not put herself into unnecessary danger. She even has a lovable dog (a Saint Bernard), which is a plus in any cozy mystery for me!

I have already marked the other books in this series as "want to read" at Goodreads, and hope to catch up with the other books in the future. Silent Night, Deadly Night was an enjoyable holiday mystery, and will certainly please other cozy mystery fans.

One sign of a GREAT series is that no matter how long it has been since you read a previous book in that series, once you begin the latest book you feel like you have come home. You feel surrounded by friends. That is how I felt picking up the latest in Vicki Delany's Year Round Christmas mystery series. I very much enjoyed being back in Rudolph.

Friendship was supposed to be on the menu when Merry Wilkinson's mother, Aline, invited college friends for a weekend of reminiscing and relaxation. Although from extremely varied backgrounds and experiences, Aline's memories were very different from what this weekend revealed.
Full of subplots and tangled emotions, dark secrets and buried motives make this an interesting read.
It has elements of a closed house party mystery, with all the suspects under one roof, and a deductive reasoning and elimination puzzle, like a game of clue, it is not as simple as that could imply but oh so enjoyable!

It is the characters and their interactions that make this such a wonderful series.

Reunions aren’t all they are cracked up to be. Sometimes the past is best left in the past.
Silent Night, Deadly Night by Vicki Delancy is marvelously written story with compelling characters, a stunning setting and a perfectly plotted mystery. I can’t wait to read the other books in this series.

Merry
Merry Wilkinson is our sleuth and main character. She has a gift shop in Rudolph, New York where they celebrate Christmas all year. Since it is the weekend before Thanksgiving, lots of things are happening in preparation for the Christmas season, and Merry is extremely busy.

Things I like about Merry
• Matterhorn aka Mattie her St Bernard and the walks they take together.
• The way that she loves her town and wants to protect it from bad things.
• Merry’s love of her family is sweet.
• The way she sales locally made items in her shop, along with some other lovely things from the city.
• Merry’s ability to see the puzzle pieces and mentally put them together is outstanding.
• The fact that she doesn’t cook much and yet she doesn’t complain about it.

Mystery & Story
A few things are going on in this installment.

First, Aline (Merry’s mom) is having a college reunion with the five ladies that she met and roomed with in college. These ladies don’t get along, and they are all in different social classes. They bickered way too much.

Then Karla dies, and it is clear that it is one of the other ladies killed her. But who and why? Can a secret from 40 years ago possibly be the reason for murder?

There is also a coo to out Merry’s dad as the town Santa Claus. And Thanksgiving is this week, so Merry’s shop is preparing for the upcoming Christmas holiday. Someone is shoplifting in the town's shops. Oh, and the interim mayor may or may not be compromised by a blackmailer.

So, lots of things to keep the story moving right along.

5 Stars for Silent Night, Deadly Night by Vicki Delancy
My rating for Silent Night, Deadly Night by Vicki Delancy is five stars. I love this story so much that I couldn’t put it down and read into the wee hours of the morning. Then when I woke up, it was the first thing on my mind, and I told my mom the whole story over breakfast. So, this is a fabulous story, and I recommend it to all of you cozy fans out there.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the author. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Silent Night, Deadly Night by Vicki Delancy.

Anyways, until next time,
Karen the Baroness

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