I really enjoyed Murder at the Christmas Cookie Bake-Off. I love the main characters in this series. Lindsey Bakewell is a great protagonist. I loved that we got more of her best friend Kennedy and Lindsey's parents in this book. The murder mystery was very clever with a lot of red herrings. I also loved the little mystery surrounding Mrs. Nichols. I can't wait to read the next book in this series.

I girl bossed too close to the sun and grabbed too many NetGalley requests. Now here we are three years later, still waiting for a review. Well, here is what I have right now.

I tried really hard with this one. I really did. Unfortunately, it did not work for me. It would be rude and a disservice to rate this as I know several others really enjoyed it.

It is not for me and I had to DNF (did not finish) for reading reasons. I could not connect with the plot of the characters at all. I did not and could not force myself to read it as I picked it up and put it down several times, but could not get into the book.

I appreciate the opportunity, but it is not going to be one I will recommend going forward.

Thank you again for my gifted copy.

Dollycas's Thoughts

Lindsey Bakewell is excited to bring her "sugarplum visions" to life at her Beacon Bakeshop and Cafe. She has bought a ton of lights to make her lighthouse merry and bright. She has wonderful ideas to fill her shelves with holiday treats but she still needs to hire a new assistant. When she finds out about a town-wide cookie bake-off, and that every shop owner needed to create a signature cookie so shoppers could vote for their favorites, culminating in a live bake-off with a celebrity judge, she swoons at the amount of extra baking it will entail. And that was before orders for cookies from other shop owners started to flow in. 

Felicity Stewart owner of The Tannenbaum Shoppe, where every day is Christmas, is willing to do anything to win The Great Beacon Harbor Christmas Cookie Bake-Off. She has even arranged for Chicago celebrity food critic Chevy Chambers to judge the live bake-off event. Sadly, before the winner can be announced her friend, Chevy, is found under the mistletoe, covered in cookie crumbs from Lindsay's signature cookie and dead as a doornail.

Lindsey is going to need all the help she can get to catch the Christmas Cookie Judge Killer. It's a good thing her parents and her BFF Kennedy are in Beacon Harbor for the holidays and her hunky boyfriend/neighbor Rory is home from his ice fishing trip. If the town has any hopes of having Happy Holidays they all have to work together before all the cookies crumble and killer gets away.

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I was so happy to get back to Beacon Harbor and the Beacon Bakeshop and Cafe. It being Christmastime was just icing on the cookies. With Ms. Hannah's descriptive writing style, I was transported right there to witness Lindsey's tumble into a snowbank. Her giant Newfoundland, Wellington, looking on. The town lit up for the holidays and all the humor, hijinx, and crazy things leading up to the bake-off. Along with all the aftermath as Lindsey tries to find a killer. 

Ms. Hannah has created dynamic characters who feel genuine. Lindsey is a fun protagonist. I loved that she has "sugarplum visions" like me. Lindsey's best friend Kennedy always has her back, but sometimes goes off with her own ideas. Lindsey has a close relationship with her parents. Even her mom, ex-supermodel, Ellie Montague, came up with a plan and took part as they all worked to catch the killer. Rory too, was all in. I also enjoyed meeting Carol Nichols, Lindsey's new assistant. She is one special lady.

There are a few mysteries in this story. The question is -  are they connected? I enjoyed that solving them was a team effort. Lindsey, Rory, and Kennedy meet to discuss theories and make plans while Lindsey's parents get together with their friends to do the same. It isn't long before they are all working together and Mrs. Nichols joins in too, even though she was on the suspect list for a bit of time. It was so much fun following the cookie crumbs along with them as clues started to fall into place. I was kept guessing right up until the end.

The story's ending was heartwarming and I highlighted these lines from Mrs. Nichols. "Christmas happens as it will. There is no right way to celebrate. It's about joy." She is right. It's all about JOY! that you feel and share with others.

Murder at the Christmas Cookie Bake-Off is a very entertaining holiday mystery filled with Christmas spirit, cookies, and events to keep those pages turning. I have become invested in these characters including Captain Willy Riggs, the town of Beacon Harbor, and the Beacon Bakeshop and Cafe. I escaped right into this book and I can't wait to escape into Murder at the Blueberry Festival and spend some summertime with the residents of Beacon Harbor.

Beacon Harbor, Michigan, idyllic because of its new bakeshop cafe inside the lighthouse with the most delicious variety of Christmas cookies around. Bakeshop owner Lindsey Bakewell is doing everything right and has an outstanding customer base but is she also hiding something when her cookie is the one found in the hand of the murder victim?
With business booming a few days before Christmas and supplies in the display cases running out daily, she simply can't keep up even though she is known as the best baker around.
When she gets word of a Christmas cookie bake off competition, she knows she must join in. After all what cook/baker doesn't want to prove they're the best at their craft?
Boy was the competition judge a slimeball! He flirted and more with the ladies in the competition and they thought they'd win because of it. This competition really pits the competitors against one another, and they take it very seriously. Now when the judge is found dead under the mistletoe with a note on him and Lindsey's competition cookie in his hand it seems pretty obvious who his killer is. There are a lot of suspects and Lindsey is out to super sleuth her way out of this one, she can't have her reputation going down the drain. This kept me guessing as there were so many who would have had a reason to do this to the judge I found out as I was reading. While this was a cozy mystery that I really enjoyed, I also enjoyed reading about all the Christmas baking as well. The many, many varieties of sugary delicious treats kept me reading and imagining myself making some of these for holiday treats. I enjoyed this book a lot and will read the next in the series soon.

Pub Date 05 Oct 2021
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

Murder at the Christmas Cookie Bake-off is the fourth book in this series. I highly recommend this cozy mystery to all readers,

I really loved this book in a new to my series and author. I can't wait to read the next one. The characters and location really add to the plot. This book keeps you guessing until the end.

Such a great story!! I love this series, the setting and the characters are incredible! There is just something magical about a Christmas themed Cozy Mystery and in this case, there was a little Christmas magic.

This book had that popular bake off show theme with a twist, a twist of murder.

thank you netgalley & kensington books for this gifted ARC!

MURDER AT THE CHRISTMAS COOKIE BAKE-OFF is a small-town cozy mystery set in the christmas season. while cozy mysteries aren’t my favorite genre, i enjoyed how festive and descriptive this story was, especially when it came to the baked goods and day-to-day running of a bakery. there were several red herrings to keep us guessing how the murder mystery ended. as with any cozy mystery, the story was kind of cheesy, repetitive, and unbelievable at times. the author included recipes for the desserts featured throughout the book, which i found to be a really cute touch. this is technically the second in the BEACON BAKESHOP series, but i read it as a standalone and didn’t ever feel confused or lost.

This was really good and funny. I haven't read the first one, but I'm glad I read this one at Christmas.

This was an enjoyable holiday mystery that was well written with well developed and well written characters. There were a couple of characters that didn't really need to be in the story I thought since they didn't add anything to the plot of the mystery. I look forward to reading the next book to see what kind of mystery the characters get involved in.

This is the second book in the Beacon Bakeshop cozy mystery series and it was even better than the first! Such a fun setting and it was made even more engaging being set at Christmas time. I love the characters and I was kept guessing until the very end when the killer was revealed. A clever whodunnit and enticing cookie recipes were also included which is also a plus to any cozy mystery!

Cozy mysteries have a special place in my heart and this was just a wonderful read, right up my alley! Looking forward to the next book by Darci Hannah.

Felicity, the town’s Christmas queen, comes up with the idea of a cookie bake-off. The judge is a celebrity from Chicago without scruples who ends up getting killed.There is no shortage of suspects for Lindsey and friends to explore. Lindsey’s parents come to town and that adds to the season. Lindsey’s new assistant baker is very mysterious. Great writing and pretty humorous at times. Love the characters in this series.

Fun And Fiesty…
The second Beacon Bakeshop Mystery series finds Lindsey in fine form, ready to make her first Christmas in the town a grand one. The bake off competition, however, becomes a fierce one and it soon turns to murder. Can Lindsey solve a crime as well as she bakes? Fun and feisty, this is an enjoyable and entertaining mystery with a colourful cast of characters.

Christmas is a busy time for everyone, especially bakers who need to create their scrumptious goodies at o’dark hundred each morning. Surely with all that free time Lindsey can enter a baking contest as well as providing local businesses with cookies to use as their offerings during the event (for a fee, she is running a bake shop after all). Lest not we forget that this is a cozy mystery so you know someone is going to end up on the naughty list. Oh, and then there is Lindsey’s desire to plan and pull off the perfect Christmas holiday with family and friends in her new home. But hope springs eternal and her Christmas wish might just come true when a mysterious visitor shows up in time to lend a holly jolly hand, or is it more nefarious than that??? Great story, so many red herrings (you really need a journal to keep them all straight), supportive friends and a little mistletoe mischief. The story flowed nicely and made sense every step of the way, much like a well-crafted Christmas cookie recipe. Speaking of recipes, this story comes complete with yummy recipes both sweet and savory.

This is the second in the Beacon Bakeshop series, and is a fantastic cozy mystery. You can read this one without having read the first, though you will miss out on some character development. I really enjoyed following Lindsey as she follows the clues to figure out the twists and turns in this mystery. As a bonus, there are some recipes included at the end!
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for an advanced reader copy of this book for an honest review.

Synopsis:

Tucked away inside an old lighthouse in Beacon Harbor, Michigan, bakeshop café owner Lindsey Bakewell is ready to make her first Christmas in town shine bright. But her merry plans crumble fast when murder appears under the mistletoe...

With the spirit of the holidays wafting through the Beacon Bakeshop, Lindsey thinks she has the recipe for the sweetest Christmas ever--winning the town-wide cookie bake-off. Unfortunately, striving for a picture-perfect December in Beacon Harbor is a lot like biting into stale shortbread. Low on staff and bombarded by visits from family, Lindsey can barely meet demands at work, let alone summon the confidence to face fierce competition...

Self-appointed Christmas know-it-all Felicity Stewart is determined to take the top spot in the bake-off, and she's not afraid to dump a little coal in everyone's stocking to do it. Just as the competition heats up, everything falls apart when the judge is found dead--and covered in crumbs from Lindsey's signature cookie!

Solving a murder was never on Lindsey's wish list. But with her reputation on the line during the happiest time of the year, she'll need to bring her best talents to the table in order to sift out the true Christmas Cookie culprit.

Review:

The characters are well rounded and well developed. Lindsey has agreed to take part in the Christmas Cookie Bake-off, even though she is very busy. While she is participating in the event, someone is killed. She feels like she needs to find the culprit, and she needs to do it fast. She will have help from some of her friends and her new baking assistance, Mrs. Nichols. There is just something special about her.

The writing style flows smoothly and the book is a fast easy read. The author is very talented in her descriptive writing and had me feeling like I was watching all the action taking place. The mystery
was well plotted and was not easily solved.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy mystery. It will be interesting to see what happens next.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher, Kensington, and NetGalley, which I greatly appreciate.

This is a great cozy mystery with a perfect setting and a wonderful cast of characters. Sure it's a great Christmas read, but it's also a great anytime read. Highly recommend.

I received a free copy from the publisher. My review is voluntary and my opinions are my own.

Even though I have not read the first book in the series, I enjoyed the second one. I will definitely go back and catch up with Lindsey Bakeswell and the other residents of Beacon Harbor. I liked the setting of a bakery in a lighthouse and the ghost of the former lighthouse keeper. The characters are well developed and I enjoyed getting to know them. There were lots of twists and turns and clues sprinkled throughout. These made for a fun and interesting read. Make sure you aren’t too hungry when you start reading this book or you’ll be digging in the pantry for some cookies!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing Corporation for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

The second book in the Beacon Bakeshop series (and the first I've read) is a quirky fun mystery with lots of twists and turns. Darci Hannah does a great job embedding quirks into her characters without being showy or obvious. Her main character Lindsey is likable and has a lot of personality with just the right amount of exasperation to not be annoying.

I read a lot of cozy mysteries and this one was a great Christmas read. It had enough Christmas magic and busy-ness to ring true, but still had a twisty mystery to solve. This one did keep me guessing. I'll likely go back and read the first in the series soon.

Thank you NetGalley for the electronic review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Rating: 4 stars