Great holiday short stories from amazing Cozy Mysteries authors and their existing series. I highly recommend whether you have read the series or not, these read well as standalones and can get you in the holiday mood.

Three short Christmas cozies rolled into one.
I am a fan of the three authors and each one was so good I didn't want it to end.
Murder, Christmas and mystery galore make this a terrific read. Perhaps short stories are best when taking place during such a busy season. You can relax with one at a time~
You won't be sorry

I just loved reading Christmas Cocoa Murder.

The stories were just perfect to get you in the mood for the holidays. Each story was well written with well-crafted characters that you can't help but love and yes some hate.

If you love cozy mysteries then definitely get Christmas Cocoa Murder.

I'm including the synopsis because each deserves its own description.

CHRISTMAS COCOA MURDER by CARLENE O’CONNOR
Siobhán O’Sullivan’s hopes for a quiet Irish Christmas are dashed when the local Santa turns up dead in a carnival dunk tank of hot cocoa. Now instead of hunting down holiday gifts, she’s pursuing a heartless killer. Seems the dead Santa was no angel either, stealing neighborhood dogs to guide his sleigh. But was it his holiday antics—or worse—that led to his death by chocolate?

CHRISTMAS COCOA AND A CORPSE by MADDIE DAY
When local businessman Jed Greenberg is found dead with a Chocolate lab whimpering over his body, the police start sniffing around Robbie Jordan’s country restaurant for answers. Was it something in Robbie’s hot cocoa that killed Jed, or was it Cocoa the dog? As the suspects pile as high as her holiday tree, Robbie attempts to get to the bottom of the sickly-sweet murder . . .

DEATH BY HOT COCOA by Alex Erickson
A Christmas-themed escape game seems like the perfect pre-holiday treat for bookstore café owner Krissy Hancock and her best friend. But when the host is found dead in a pool of hot cocoa, it’s up to Krissy and her team to catch the killer—or escape before getting killed.

A great collection of cozy mysteries with a murder to solve around Christmas celebrations. Initially I was interested because I enjoy Carlene O'Connor's series about Siobhan and her Irish siblings. The other two were new to me, but enjoyable as well. A good balance and good collection of authors and stories. Highly recommend. Hard to put down, and especially enjoyable considering there are novellas here, but felt well rounded anyway.

Loved this book! It was so easy to read and took me no time to finish. The little twists in the storyline make it fun. Great writing and storytelling.

I enjoyed having three books in one. I'm very familiar with Alex Erickson's series and it was another great story (Escape room!) I'm glad I gave this book a try because it introduced me to two additional good series. I'll be looking into those other series. It was nice having three books in one based around the holidays.

This was a collection of three different Christmas themed cozy murders! They were fun and quick stories that had a great mystery in the middle of each of them. These are always fun quick reads where the reader does not lose their attention. I enjoyed the second two stories better than the first!

A book with three short mysteries each by a different author. All were well done.
I was familiar with the characters in the first two stories but had never read anything from the third author.
Christmas Cocoa Murder by Carlene O’Connor takes us to Ireland at Christmas. There is a dunk tank filled with hit cocoa of all things! Siobhan grows on you.
Christmas Cocoa and a Corpse by Maddie Day takes us to small town Indiana. The reason behind the murder is just sad.
Death by Hot Cocoa by Alex Erickson is the story with a cast of characters with which I am completely unfamiliar. This was a bit of a disadvantage because I wasn’t used to the “voice” of the main character.
I enjoyed visiting characters I know at Christmas.

Three Christmas Cozy Mysteries

Despite the way the title sounds, this is actually three Christmas cozy mystery novellas in one book that revolve around the theme of, you guessed it, cocoa! I thought the first one was probably the most inventive, where a Santa dies at a Christmas carnival in the hot chocolate dunk tank. I liked that this book was set in Ireland. It’s always fun to get a glimpse into another culture in a holiday book. I thought the second story was a little weak because it only had two people who could truly be the suspects, and it was really easy to figure out who the bad guy was; I want to work a little harder in a mystery! The third story is a locked-in story with people in a Christmas escape room. Plenty of suspects here, as well as a few surprises, but I didn't feel like the author exploited the potential tension that is inherent in a lockdown situation. These are all novellas, and of all the types of fiction, I believe that mysteries suffer the most when told in a novella form. Not only do the authors almost always seem to feel a need for an information dump—which always annoys me and happens here—but there doesn't seem to be sufficient time to build the blind alleys and red herrings that make a mystery the fascinating read that it should be. However, because this is a collection of Christmas mysteries, I won't judge too harshly. There are worse ways of spending a rainy December (or May, in my case) day.

Christmas Cocoa and a Corpse by Maddie Day is part of the Christmas Cocoa Murder anthology along with Carlene O’Connor and Alex Erickson. As I have not read the other authors or their series, my review will only focus on Maddie’s contribution.

When her boyfriend Abe’s father is questioned in the murder of his former business partner, diner/country store owner Robbie Jordan has no choice but to figure out who killed Jed Greenberg so that she and the O’Neill family can have a nice Christmas together.

Christmas Cocoa and a Corpse is a completely standalone read. Maddie has written the story in such a way new readers can enjoy it and get a sense of her writing. The story flowed well with some new characters being introduced and focused on. For me, I enjoyed the story but I just wanted more of it. Due to the length of the story, it was very easy to figure out who the killer was. The romance lover in me was excited to see that Robbie and Abe’s courtship has advanced and is still going strong.

I enjoyed this cute Christmas cozy. I was hooked from the beginning and didn't want to put it down. That's how interesting it is.

Here we have three enjoyable and festive Christmas cosies with a very chocolately theme! They are absolutely right for getting you into a seasonal mood. Each is a quickish read, and although sharing a few ingredients are all distinctly different, and thus the book is a nice introduction to three super authors. Despite the shortness, the mystery in each story is sufficiently developed to make it intriguing. The stories are atmospheric and entertaining, and well worth a read – at any time of year!

Since I only read two of the authors in this collection I'll only be reviewing their stories.

CHRISTMAS COCOA AND A CORPSE by MADDIE DAY
When local businessman Jed Greenberg is found dead with a Chocolate lab whimpering over his body, the police start sniffing around Robbie Jordan's country restaurant for answers. Was it something in Robbie's hot cocoa that killed Jed, or was it Cocoa the dog? As the suspects pile as high as her holiday tree, Robbie attempts to get to the bottom of the sickly sweet murder.

The mystery only has 2 real suspects so it isn't really hard to figure out who the killer really is. The characters are well written and well developed. It was nice to get a glimpse of how the characters all get ready for the holidays. I liked that Robbie and Abe get to spend the holiday together while also sharing spending time with each others families. I wish the mystery had been a little bit harder to solve since I had it solved after the introduction of the second suspect and a few clues that gave away who the killer was.

DEATH BY HOT COCOA by Alex Erickson
A Christmas themed escape game seems like the perfect holiday treat for bookstore cafe owner Krissy Hancock and her friend. But when the host is found dead in a pool of hot cocoa, it's up to Krissy and her team to catch the killer or escape before getting killed.

The mystery was well written and a little tricky to actually figure out with so many suspects. I liked how Krissy was able to use logic to solve the clues in her escape room and then to also logically solve the murder. I think it would have been read if Krissy had been with her best friend and business partner Vicki solving the murder instead of Krissy and Rita.

I received and ARC of this book from NetGalley and Kensington Books for my review.

Three wonderful novellas that are perfect in length for a busy holiday season. Most cozy readers will be familiar with the authors and the series and characters.
CHRISTMAS COCOA MURDER by CARLENE O'CONNOR is the first and is set in Ireland. It is book 4.5 in the Irish Village series.
CHRISTMAS COCOA AND A CORPSE by MADDIE DAY has a unscrupulous business man slipping on ice and dying. Was it an accident while walking a new puppy or did someone find his business deals were fake. Book 6.5 in the Country Store series
DEATH BY HOT COCOA by Alex Erickson is set in a Christmas themed escape room. Book 7.5 in the Bookstore Cafe series.
I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I love short stories that get me in the Christmas spirit and this book had three stories that did just that. My favorite story was Christmas Cocoa and a Corpse by Maddie Day. I thought using Cocoa has a murder weapon was perfect for a short story. Christmas Cocoa Murder was a interesting story that took place in Ireland and I enjoyed its quirkiness. Finally Death by Hot Chocolate had a great setting, that I didn't think would work for a Christmas Cozy but it was perfect. I loved the Escape Room and how it really became one of the characters. I highly recommend this delicious trio of cozy goodness

Overall I enjoyed these stories. The first one by Carlene O'Connor takes place in Ireland and involves dueling Santas. I had not read this author before but now I shall be going back to read her series. I loved the characters and the mystery was good. The second one by Maddie Day is a series I am very familiar with. I always enjoy a visit to South Lick, Indiana. The characters and the restaurant are always fun but the mystery could have been stronger. Since it was a short story I wish more time was spent on the mystery than descriptions of clothing. The third story was a locked room mystery and the weakest of the three. Unlike some other Holiday collections I have read I was pleased that all three were mysteries. Enjoy these Christmas Cozies

Christmas Cocoa Murder by Carlene O'Connor, Maddie Day, and Alex Erickson contains three cozy novellas that are a part of the following series: An Irish Village Mystery series, A Country Store Mystery series and A Bookstore Café Mystery series. I thought they were three entertaining Christmas cozies. They are all well-written and full of Christmas spirit. The three mysteries were interesting with various levels of complexity. The escape room mystery was my favorite, and I particularly enjoyed the description of the escape room puzzles. I have read books from all three series, so it was not a problem for me to read each story. I already knew the characters plus the settings. Maddie Day has my favorite writing style. It is like conversing with old friends. I like how hot cocoa played a part in each story with Christmas Cocoa Murder featuring it in a unique way (a dunk tank). We get to enjoy Christmas festivities in three different towns from two countries. I especially appreciated that all three stories featured intelligent female protagonists who are resourceful and do not break down at the sight of a dead body. I am glad that Kensington puts out these holiday novella collections and I hope that they continue to do so. It is a chance to catch up with our favorite series and solve a mystery (a definite bonus in my book). Christmas Cocoa Murder has three cocoa connected conundrums, a swarm of suspects, many missing mutts, sharp sleuths and copious Christmas cheer.

BOOK REVIEW⠀
BOOK: Christmas Cocoa Murder
AUTHOR: Carlene O’Connor


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A mystery with a holiday setting! That’s what you can look forward to with this novel. The beginning starts out very intriguing...and includes a dunk tank of hot chocolate. Sound delicious? Not so fast. There really is murder in the air.

I thought the book was very creative for a mystery novel. Plus it is set in Ireland so it adds to some culture that I don’t know about (but should considering my heritage). I will say though that I spent a little bit of time looking things up because I wasn’t clear of terminology. But it is easily discernible.

If you like holiday mysteries, give this one a go!

Synopsis (from Goodreads):
Siobhan O'Sullivan's hopes for a quiet Irish Christmas are dashed when the local Santa turns up dead in a carnival dunk tank of hot cocoa. Now instead of hunting down holiday gifts, she's pursuing a heartless killer. Seems the dead Santa was no angel either, stealing neighborhood dogs to guide his sleigh. But was it his holiday antics--or worse--that led to his death by chocolate?
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I received this book for review purposes from NetGalley. ⠀

My rating: 3 of 5 stars, I liked it.

I honestly got this book for the Maddie Day story. I enjoyed it very much. It's always fun to visit South Lick, IN and Robbie's Country Store.

The Carlene O'Connor story actually made me want to go back and read some more of her series. I'd only read the first few before this short story. Now I want to know more about Siobhán and her family, though the whole Macdara thing at the end was slightly baffling.

The most surprising story was Alex Erickson's. I've not been able to really get into his series, so the fact that I really liked this literally locked room mystery was a bonus, since I almost didn't even bother to read it!

Christmas Cocoa Murder is an anthology of cozy mysteries revolving around cocoa. I really enjoyed each story. It will leave you wanting to get the holidays started with a cup of cocoa.....or maybe not.