I love Christmas themed cozies and a teddy bear shop is a new concept to the theme. Too bad it was the third book. I was trying to start a new series without having to read the prior installments, and felt that was a mistake here. It was a fun read, but a little predictable. I knew who the killer was early on as well, but still enjoyed the book, hoping I was wrong at the end.

The Silver Hollow Annual Tree Lighting and Festival of Lights Parade is coming up soon in the small Michigan town. Residents of Silver Hollow are rushing to make sure all of the events, floats, and people are in place. As the rush for the annual holiday festivities comes calling, the Silver Bear Shop and Factory is even busier this year. As the winners of the Teddy Bear Keepsake Contest, Sasha, Maggie and the entire group of family and employees is in a rush to complete the orders for their winning "Beary Potter" bear. Plus, they have to plan the annual holiday party and their Uncle and Aunt are also getting remarried the same day as the party. On top of all of the festivities, as the town is preparing for the tree lighting and parade, Sasha's mom along with Sasha's ex-husband and his girlfriend, find Cal Bloom in his parade mascot costume dead right before the parade is due to begin.

Cal looks like he's been electrocuted and if he was, why didn't anyone see him get hurt? Plus, he's found on a bench a distance away from the activity. How did he stumble all the way to the bench in a town full of activity and no one see him? Sasha knows there's more to the story about the death of Cal, this year's parade Santa Bear. Sasha had no plans to "investigate" until her mother, good friends with Cal's wife, asks Sasha to help. It seems Cal's wife is a suspect and her mother doesn't believe it's possible for Cal's wife to commit such a heinous act.

As Sasha puts her sleuthing cap on and begins her search, it appears that more than just his wife has means, motive and opportunity. Family secrets are divulged that no one, including Sasha's mom, were aware of, making Cal's wife and his daughter numbers 1 and 2 on her list. However, family members aren't the only ones moving up the list as Sasha beings digging deeper into Cal's life.

A clever who-done-it, Have Yourself a Beary Little Murder kept me entertained and engaged in the story. Meg Macy delivered a well-written story with a unique setting in a fictional small town in southeast Michigan. As a lifelong Michigander I enjoy a good story, in any genre, that is based in my state. The author mentions Starbucks in Mount Pleasant and I might just happen to be very familiar with that particular city in Michigan. I always love it when I recognize locations in a book because I've been there, lived there, or worked in the town/city.

I enjoyed the personalities of each character introduced to us in the book. The book was descriptive well developed, allowing me to visualize the elements of the story, characters, and locations. The characters and situations were believable and the pacing of the story was steady. I enjoyed Have Yourself a Beary Little Murder, found the mystery interesting, the characters likable, and the story's pacing to be on target. I love the Shamelessly Adorable Teddy Bear Mystery series by Meg Macy and I look forward to book 4 in the Teddy Bear Mystery series.

Have Yourself a Beary Little Murder is the third book in the Teddy Bear Mystery Series! We meet up again with Sasha and her friends during the holiday season and the mayor winds up murdered—electrocuted.

I really love the concept/theme of this cozy. The teddy bear factory is so cool and I get this warm nostalgic feeling every time I read this series. Besides that, I really love the closeness between Sasha and her family. It feels very real and adds a certain charm that many other cozies lack.

The mystery itself starts up very quickly and keeps a very fast pace. Some might find it too fast, but I felt like it added a certain intensity to the storytelling, making it a real page-turner.

Overall, a great addition to a really fun series!

OMG - teddy bear mysteries! How had I not heard about this series before?! I loved it. All of it. I went back and read the first 2 books after only getting halfway through this one so that I could read them in order and it was so worth it.

Sasha and her sister Maddie are thrilled that the Silver Bear Shop and Factory has won the Teddy Bear Keepsake Contest, which means they get to produce a holiday specialty toy, a wizard bear named "Beary Potter." Promising to be just as magical is Silver Hollow's annual tree-lighting ceremony and village parade. Only one hitch: the parade's mascot, Santa Bear played by Mayor Cal Bloom is missing.

After a frantic search among the floats, Bloom is found dead. When the outfit is removed, it's clear the mayor's been electrocuted. Who zapped his honor and then stuffed him into his Santa Bear suit? While the police investigate the grisly crime, Sasha attempts to track down the murderer herself, with some help from the Guilty Pleasures Gossip Club. Can they wrap up this case in time for Christmas or will Sasha meet her own shocking end?

The author doesn't waste any time in giving us our murder victim, which gives us a mystery with plenty of suspects, clues, twists, turns, and plenty of red herrings that will have you guessing who the killer is until the edge of your seat conclusion. The author gives us characters that are well developed, entertaining, quirky, and unique, you will find yourself liking some characters and disliking other characters.

I really don't like how Digger Sykes lets his personal feelings about people decide how he works a crime so that he can find a way to make the people he dislikes r disagrees with look like the guilty party when they are completely innocent no matter what the crime may be. I'm getting really tired of Maddie always acting like she'd the only one who seems to be doing any work when everyone else in the family has been doing their fair share and more to get all the bears put together so the company's orders would all be shipped out on time.

I did like how the author concentrated more on the mystery than the romantic relationship between two of the characters like some other authors do. I also like Sasha who is strong, independent, loyal, and level headed woman who is willing to help in what ever way she can. I look forward to reading the next book Wedding Bear Blues to see where Sasha and Jay's relationship is heading, I hope that they will be taking their relationship to the next step since they seem so prefect for each other.

I received an ARC of this book from Kensington Books through NetGalley for my honest review.

Great Characters and Town But Mystery Not the Focus

I had read none of the previous books in the series, but I like the world the author has created in this small town, from the characters to the businesses to the traditions of the town itself. This can certainly be read as a stand-alone, as I did not feel lost at all reading the book, though the town and its residents are so charming that I may want to go back and check out the other books.

This book did suffer from one fault that I see quite often in cozy mysteries. One difficulty, I think, of writing a good cozy mystery is balancing the cozy aspect and the mystery aspect. Sometimes authors spend so much time setting the scene and exploring the characters and their interrelationships that the mystery can be effectively put on the back burner for long stretches. I felt like that happened at times in this book. The author set up the mystery aspect well, with the victim having plenty of potential suspects for the crime due to the life he led before he died. The mystery really starts off as a blank slate as there is no clear first suspect. This is unusual in mysteries in general and certainly cozy mysteries. Usually—when someone gets involved as heavily as our heroine does—she, a relative, or a good friend is among the first suspects. But I felt the mystery was weakened somewhat by all of what went on with the characters and the town aside from the murder. All in all, though, I did find this book enjoyable, though it was more due to the excellent characterization and community than the mystery.

Have Yourself a Beary Little Murder by Meg Macy is the third book in the Teddy Bear Mystery series. Sasha is thrilled that her family's store, Silver Bear Shop and Factory, won the Teddy Bear Keepsake Contest. Now in addition to all of the other holiday busyness, they are producing the specialty bear. Sasha finds herself in the middle of another mystery when the man in the Santa Bear costume, the town's mayor, is found dead. This is a nice holiday themed cozy with plenty of things happening. The mystery was not the strongest, but I enjoy the setting and characters of this series.

This was a perfect Christmas story wrapped with a intriguing mystery. This is one of my favorite series and I loved all the Christmas happenings at the Silver Bear shop and factory. I enjoyed that the murder wasn't clear cut and the cause had to be investigated and Sasha was trying to find the killer without trying to clear a suspect who was already sitting in jail. The only thing I didn't enjoy was the story line with Sasha and Jay, it didn't add to the story. I would highly recommend this book and this series

This is book 3 in the Shamelessly Adorable Teddy Bear Mystery series. It's Christmas and the Silver Bear Shop has won a contest to produce a Beary Potter Christmas ornament. Sasha and Maddie are busy with the production when the Mayor is found dead wearing a teddy bear costume at the Silver Hollow Christmas Tree lighting. A good Christmas cozy in a small town with the Gossip club willing to help with the case. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Although I haven't read the first two books in this series, I was able to follow along easily. Sisters Sasha and Maddy own a teddy bear shop and factory in Silver Hollow, and everyone is working overtime to keep up with production and shipping their special new contest-winning plush toy, "Beary Potter." Meanwhile, each business in town is taking part in the tree-lighting ceremony and parade. So when the mayor - who dresses as Santa Bear for the event - is found dead right before the parade, Sasha knows she needs to do something when the police seem to assume he died of natural causes.

Town gossip goes into overdrive as Sasha learns the mayor was a drunk and a womanizer. It turns out plenty of people had motive to kill the mayor, not the least of which is the local election's sore loser. Sasha needs to multitask to keep her business on track, deal with her family, and solve the mystery.

It's a fun story in a quaint town that I'd love to visit. The community event was a fun idea and the bear store/factory is an interesting setting.

My one complaint is that there were too many spoilers regarding previous installments in the series - not only who was involved in the crime(s) but who committed them and what the punishment was.

The Silver Bear Shop and Factory won the Teddy Bear Keepsake Contest and Sasha Silverman along with her family are thrilled even though it means that along with their normal workload at Christmas time they will also be producing a wizard bear - Beary Potter. When the annual tree lighting ceremony and Christmas parade are preparing to start, Santa Bear is nowhere to be found. The Silverman's start the hunt and find the Mayor in the Santa Bear costume - dead - apparently electrocuted.

Feeling the need to clear up how the Santa Bear was killed, Sasha starts her own investigation. Not sure that the premise of Sasha trying to solve the murder really floats well here, but I do love the stories that have all the bears!

Title: Have Yourself a Beary Little Murder



Author: Meg Macy



Series: Shamelessly Adorable Teddy Bear Mystery book 3







Pages: 304



Genre: Cozy Mystery



Rating: 4 stars



Publisher: Kensington Publishing



Have Yourself a Beary Little Murder is a Christmas cozy featuring a teddy bear called “Beary Potter” and a murdered Santa Bear. This is the 3rd book in the Shamelessly Adorable Teddy Bear Mystery by Meg Macy.

I mean who doesn’t love a cozy about teddy bears. As the third book in a series it’s hard to talk about many of the characters and other aspects of the book without giving spoilers for the first two books in the series. But it is a quick read like most cozies. If you haven’t read the first too books in the series, Bearly Departed, and Bear Witness to Murder I recommend checking them out.





I received a copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

Have Yourself a Beary LIttle Murder by Meg Macy is a very nice Christmas cozy mystery. Sasha and her sister Maddie are thrilled that the Silver Bear Shop and Factory won the Teddy Bear Keepsake Contest. They get to create a holiday specialty toy named “Beary Potter.” Unfortunately, they can’t find the parade’s mascot, Santa Bear, played by Mayor Cat Bloom. He is eventually found dead. Sasha decides she is going to help solve this mystery before Christmas. Nice Christmas cozy mystery in a friendly town with warm characters. I enjoyed this book very much. Thank you to Net Galley for providing an advanced reader’s copy of this book.

I found this the first in a new mystery series very enjoyable to read and finished in one day. The mystery was predictable but the characters are interesting and make it worth reading

Have Yourself a Bearly Little Murder is the third installment in the Teddy Bear Mystery series featuring Sasha Silverman, manager of the Silver Bear Shop and Factory located in Silver Hollow. It's Christmas time and the Silverman family is delighted that their "Beary Potter" has won the grand prize in the Teddy Bear Keepsake contest and the orders are pouring in which means everyone is working overtime to get the bears manufactured and shipped in time for the holiday.

Sasha's mother Judith, who recently moved back to town has been elected to organize the annual tree lighting ceremony and village parade. Judith isn't too happy though when she can't find Santa Claus, aka Mayor Cal Bloom. Recruiting Sasha to help her find the missing man, Judith and Sasha find him slumped over on a park bench, apparently the victim of electrocution. There's only one problem - there is no electricity anywhere near the dead man.

Judith urges Sasha to track down the killer and together with her sister Maddie and close group of friends, Sasha finds herself trying to wrap up the mystery before Christmas descends upon Silver Hollow. A fast paced plot, plenty of suspects and a well developed cast of characters, will certainly put you in the holiday spirit. It was also refreshing to have the focus on the mystery and not Sasha's love life. I do however, urge you to read this series in order to get a better understanding of the Silverman family.

I received an advanced copy of Have Yourself a Beary Little Murder from NetGalley via Kensington Publishing. While not required to write a review I am happy to offer my honest opinion.

Have Yourself a Beary Little Murder
By Meg Macy
Kensington
November 2019

Review by Cynthia Chow

The Silver Hollow Annual Tree Lighting and Festival of Lights Parade attracts visitors from all around Southern Michigan, and it’s only one of the holiday events being celebrated in the tourist-friendly town. Having recently won a Teddy Bear Keepsake Contest, the Silver Bear Shop and Factory is promoting their Beary Potter Keepsake wizard bear along with the theme of “The Magic of Christmas.” Having moved back from Ann Arbor after a painful divorce, Sasha Silverman thrilled to help her family’s teddy bear business flourish, offering additional teddy bear repair clinics and special tours. Mayor Cal Bloom even dons a “Santa Bear” costume and serves as the mascot for the parade, but his recent re-election has some contesting the result with very little goodwill-to-all-mankind holiday cheer. When the bear-costumed-clad mayor is found dead on a bench before the parade, only Sasha’s father quickly stepping in to be a more mundane Santa Claus prevents a Grinch-like disaster for the children.

While the investigating detective reminds Sasha what happened the other times she meddled in murder – namely, nearly become a victim herself – her mother demands that Sasha clear Cal’s wife of suspicion. Despite early declarations that the mayor died by natural causes and that such a beloved man could never have been murdered, evidence quickly mounts indicating not just that Cal Bloom was murdered , but that there are a surfeit of suspects with motivations for wanting the mayor dead. Accusations of inappropriate behavior, hefty life insurance policy, disgruntled rival candidate, and discontent within the Bloom’s Funeral Home business all have Sasha juggling her investigation with a just-as-full holiday teddy bear production schedule. A Teddy Bear Cookie Bake-Off Contest, Bear-zaar sale event, and the re-marriage ceremony between her Aunt Eve and ex-husband all make for a to-do long enough to rival’s list of children naughty or nice.

This third in the appropriately named Shamelessly Adorable Teddy Bear Mystery series is perfect for the holidays, filled with descriptions of tasty Christmas meals, delicious cookies, and of course cleverly cute teddy bears. Suspects and plot twists abound, making the final reveal a surprise to even the most jaded mystery reader. Cookie contest saboteurs, a meddling mother, and an ex returning with a new fiancé and a massive ring threaten to make a Scrooge out of Sasha, but her supportive sister and friends keep her buoyant throughout the chaos. Boyfriend Jay Kirby even ventures through the snow to visit her from up north, although the woodworking classes he teaches away from Silver Hollow are forcing her to make decisions on their future. A thoroughly satisfying ending delivers the emotional moments one needs during the turbulent holiday season, ensuring that this is indeed an adorable and very witty Christmas mystery read.

Who doesn't love teddy bears especially at Christmas. I really enjoyed this cozy mystery. The characters are well developed and likeable. The plot was good and the mystery satisfying. I liked this book very much and will read the following books in the series

Have Yourself a Beary Little Murder by Meg Macy is the third installment of the cozy Shamelessly Adorable Teddy Bear Mystery series. Each book of this series like most cozies contains it’s own mystery within that will be solved so they can be read as a standalone or in any order if choosing to do so. However, there is some character development that carries over book to book for those reading in order.

The first book of this series introduced Sasha Silverman who after her divorce became the manager of the Silver Bear Shop and Factory which is like a build a bear type of business. Sasha’s parents own the bear factory in the town of Silver Hollow but had retired from working the business turning over the day to day operations to Sasha.

Now Sasha and her sister Maddie are working hard to produce a special bear for the holidays after the Silver Bear Shop and Factory had won the Teddy Bear Keepsake Contest. With a whole holiday festival happening in Silver Hollow things have been rather hectic but when the town mascot Santa Bear is found murdered Sasha finds herself again investigating.

The setting in this series is one of the best things about it, a small town family owned shop that makes and sells teddy bears and caters events centered around them which gives a rather fun vibe. As usual though I sometimes find these a bit slower paced which perhaps could be from a lack of overly quirkiness I enjoy but they are still solid cozy reads in which I’d rate this time at 3 1/2 stars.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

As a teddy bear collector, I love reading this series. The latest installment does not disappoint. Sasha is once again caught up in a murder investigation when the mayor winds up dead before the annual Christmas parade and tree-lighting ceremony.
Along with the murder mystery, which is as well done as always, we get a good look at the holiday festivities in Silver Hollow, Michigan. The usual cast of characters are all present, and readers of the entire series are getting drawn deeper into their relationships. Sasha's mother is one character who irritates me throughout the book...but she is written to be that way, so kudos to the author. :)
Solving the murder was not easy for me in this story...I had no clue who, why or how until the reveal. It was well worth the wait, and was quite a "shocking" surprise!

This is a sweet and charming Christmas-themed cosy mystery. I liked several of the characters, the plot is well developed and I kept guessing who the murderer was until the very end.