This was a quick fun Holiday read. Mel is an ex LA cop who is now running a BB in the mountains. When one of her guests is murdered she sets out to solve the crime. I liked the characters and the small mountain town setting. Since the book was short the mystery was solved quickly. Overall it was a enjoyable Christmas Mystery

After being injured, police officer Mel starts a new career as the owner of a B&B. This was a short read, and that equated to the mystery being easy to solve and the story line being cut short. The characters are likable and I can see this being developed into a good series given a longer book length.

Injured doing her job as a police officer in Los Angeles, Mel O'rourke moves in with her sister and helps run the Babbling Brook Inn. She's starting to enjoy small town life and decides to enter the town's Christmas cookie contest. When 2 people die attending a yoga retreat at the Inn the local police are reluctant to call them murder. Mel decides to investigate and stirs up a lot of bad feelings. This is a shorter cozy and I figured out the bad guy fairly easily. It was a good story that held my interest. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! It was such a quick read but kept me sucked in from the beginning! And I guessed the murderer correctly but not the twist! Great read and definitely fun for the holidays!

This story is great has lots of interesting characters and fun details. It’s a wide variety of mystery, intrigue and some rom com fun. There’s a good mixture of mystery and holiday whimsy.

I love this fun cozy. Mel O'Rourke leaves the LAPD after sustaining an injury. She moves to a quiet mountain town and opens the Babbling Brook Inn. She decided to sign up for the towns Christmas Cookie Contest. After one of her guests turns up dead she is willing to believe it was natural causes until another guest dies. Even after the local sheriff tells her to stop her investigation, she doesn't because she thinks that maybe her own life is in danger.

I read this book in one sitting. It's a quick, easy and fun read. I like Mel and the other guests and citizens of the town.

This book zips along and has all the elements that I love in Christmas-themed cozy mysteries. You have a Christmas Festival that has a cookie contest, you have cocoa and coffee, a B&B a cozy little town--this one is in the mountains, there is snow and there is of course a murder.

I read the book in two sittings, I enjoyed that in this story the protagonist Mel is a retired police officer, this makes her sleuthing and her investigating seem second nature. She has a new business and she needs it to be successful--a common theme in both Hallmark Christmas movies and Cozy Mysteries.

A big mystery for me was the cookies. I have never heard of Starlight Mint Suprise cookies, not knowing if Marla White made them up whole cloth or if they were a thing, I did my googles and found that they are a thing.
So Retro!

Overall 4 stars, I liked Mel alright, the Christmas theme was on point, and some nice red herrings were all part of this fast-paced- mystery!

After injuring herself on the job as a Los Angeles cop, Mel O'Rourke leaves the force battered both physically and mentally. Looking for a fresh start, she moves to a quiet mountain town and opens the Babbling Brook Inn. Excited for her new life, Mel decides to participate in the town's holiday cookie contest, but her newfound joy crashes when one of her guests turns up dead in her lobby.

Mel is tempted to attribute the death to natural causes, but when another guest dies, her cop sense kicks in. The local Sheriff tells her to stand down, but with her own life in danger, Mel won't back off. With everything on the line, she has to push through her own fears to catch the killer before more bodies drop, perhaps even her own.

This was a super fun Christmas novella to read over one evening. Set in a small wintry village, our protagonist (a baker and hotel owner who used to be a cop) finds a dead body and is convinced that they have been murdered.

She is then on a countdown to solve the mystery before the village Christmas biscuit contest in order to save her business! I would reccomend this for a super quick, christmasy (but still action packed) mystery book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced readers copy.

An enjoyable cozy mystery novella that I enjoyed. It's entertaining and the solid mystery kept me guessing.
I liked the festive atmosphere and the characters.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

It’s fluff. A quick read, but not much substance.

New B&B owner and former LAPD cop, Mel O’Rourke gets quite a shock when she finds one of her guests dead in front of the fireplace. It could be a heart-attack, but her cop training tells her not to rule anything out. She calls local police, and is told to store the body some place cold, because the police won’t be able to make it up the hill for another day or two because of the snow.

I wonder why not start with calling a physician? Granted, the man is dead, so a physician can’t do much, other than establish cause of death. But if it’s naturel causes, the police are pretty useless too.

It’s at one third of the story that Mel suggests to call a physician. By that time a police officer has arrived and he nixes the suggestion. He’s sure it was a heart-attack. And apparently, he can sign death-certificates.

Then another of Mel’s guests is found dead and Mel starts to really worry what this will do to her business. Headlines about two dead guests are surely going to scare off the typical B&B clientele. Mel decides she must dig into this investigation and soon she finds a connection between the two dead guests, and one of the town’s people. But he’s too cute to be a killer, right?

Mel is a former cop, now the owner of the Babbling Brook Inn. When she finds a guest dead in front of the fireplace in her lobby, her instincts won’t let her believe it was a simple heart attack.

The Starlight Mint Surprise Murder is a fun, Christmassy novella. Mel is a good character, smart, tenacious. She’s afraid the death will scare guests away from her inn, so decides she has to do some investigating with the help of a local restaurant owner, Jackson, and the town doctor. At the same time, she’s trying to perfect her grandma’s cookie recipe for the town’s contest. A good cozy mystery sleuth always has to juggle real life and solving the crime.

I was suspicious of the killer pretty quickly and it turned out I was right. That didn’t stop me from enjoying the book though. The clues are well-placed and the story moves along quickly. We had a couple of suspects and Mel tries to stay suspicious even of the people she likes.

I love a good Christmassy novella, especially one that involves a murder or two and cookies. I don’t think I’ve ever actually had a starlight mint surprise cookie. I may have to try making them, but maybe leaving off the walnut. I did find one recipe that calls cornflakes instead, so I might try that.

The Starlight Mint Murder Surprise by Maria A White

A Short Xmas book, but not your normal warm fuzzy feel book, except with who dunnit feel.
Book synopsis -Mel injures herself at her job of a cop in LA. Mel leaves the force and moves to a small isolated town and looking for a fresh start, and she opens the Babbling Brook Inn. Excited for her new life, she participates in the town’s holiday cookie contest, but her newfound joy goes up in smoke when one of her guests turns up dead in her lobby.
Book synopsis -Mel injures herself at her job of a cop in LA. Mel leaves the force and moves to a small isolated town and looking for a fresh start, and she opens the Babbling Brook Inn. Excited for her new life, she participates in the town’s holiday cookie contest, but her newfound joy goes up in smoke when one of her guests turns up dead in her lobby.

What has happened to the dead person found in lobby?, there are a few twists and turns, as another body is found, is there a link between theses bodies?

I enjoyed reading this short novel if you like who dunnit murder mysteries especially at Xmas time. I wouldn’t say it was a Christmas book, apart from the cookie contest and gingerbreads mentioned. However it is a short enjoyable book if you enjoy murder mysteries too.

4 stars from me.


I would like to thank Netgalley and publishers for allowing me to read the book.

An interesting story though not my favorite book. But someone will who likes this type of book., that while not my cup of tea someone will enjoy it.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle by The Wild Rose Press, Inc. and #NetGalley for my honest opinion. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Short and fun cozy mystery.

The Starlight Mint Surprise Murder by Marla A. White was an enjoyable and short cozy mystery. It was pretty easy to figure out who the killer was but the author created a likable main character and an interesting cast of characters.

Fun short story filled with all kinds of Christmasy bits of snow, cookie baking and a Christmas festival. Lots of great humor and a decent mystery. I'd be interested in visiting these characters again.

I think because it was so short, I never really got a feel for why the murder actually happened. Most of the characters seemed a little disconnected from the story, so I didn't feel very invested in the who/why/how of it all. I also have thoughts about the title. The cookies had very little to do with the story. I know there was a competition, but I'm not sure why??? Also, the cookies themselves weren't actually made with starlight mints. She addresses this in the story and says that the name is misleading. I guess I just don't understand it.

Cute short story that was fast paced and easy to read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.

This was a cute short story and a nice way to wrap up a busy weekend.
After being injured in the line of duty as an LAPD officer, Mel moves to a small town to recover and live a simpler life. It doesn’t end up working out that way when a dead body is found in her new B& B, the Babbling Brook.
The characters were like able and though the mystery was fairly easy to solve, it was still intriguing to see how it all played out.
Thanks to The Wild Rose Press and Netgalley for this Arc in exchange for my review.