This was a delightful book and beginning of a new series. What made this book so different from other cozies is the sleuth is actually twin sisters. Alex and Hannah have a great chemistry when solving the murder and having two sleuths meant more ideas and sleuthing. The book takes place in Montana but I didn't really fall in love with the town, yet but I think as the series goes on it will come alive. A great Christmas cozy and a great start to a new series

A Christmas Candy Killing is the first in a new shopfront cozy series by Christina Romeril. Released 11th Oct 2022 by Crooked Lane, it's 304 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook format. Paperback format due out in 4th quarter 2023 from the same publisher. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is a promising start to a comfortable easy-to-read small-town "shopfront" holiday cozy with a pair of appealingly intelligent twin female protagonists who own a shop featuring everyone's favorite combo: chocolate and books. An elderly neighbor who claims that a real-life killer has taken up residence in town turns up murdered and so the sisters are soon on the case to solve the mystery and clear their names.

As with most cozies, the emphasis is on the characters and the puzzle. The crimes are described off-scene and without being too graphic. The language is clean and there's no gruesome content. The subplot threads are skillfully entwined into a satisfying climax and resolution. Although I do confess I figured out "whodunnit" before the end, I still enjoyed it very much. I'm looking forward to the next installment in the series (due out in late 2023).

Four stars. Definitely one for shopfront cozy fans. It's full of book and series name drops and it's always fun to find new authors to follow. The author has also included an intriguing detailed recipe for pear ganache bonbons, including instructions for everything from tempering the chocolate to making the forms and the pear ganache to fill them.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Chocolate, books, and a little side of murder. What is not to like? I am not an avid reader of cozies, but I always admire their covers and pun-worthy titles, so when I saw this one was available, I was happy to request it.

The setting was so cute and perfect, I really enjoyed the setting and characters. As a German, I also enjoyed the little additions of German thrown in as Christmas always reminds me of Germany. I am not a chef, but seeing the addition of recipes at the end was also a nice touch. The mystery was satisfying and believable, as by the end I could see how the clues were there all along. Overall, a nice debut and I will continue to look for more books by Romeril.

Identical twin sisters Alex and Hannah are the owners of Murder and Mayhem, a mystery bookshop that sells their famous poison-themed Killer Chocolates. Shortly before Christmas, their neighbor, Jane, confides to Alex that a murderer from a true-crime show has taken up residence in the village. The next morning, Alex shows up at Jane’s house to watch the show, but instead discovers Jane's body, with a box of Killer Chocolates nearby. The sheriff quickly zeroes in on two suspects: Alex, a beneficiary in Jane’s will, and Zack, a handyman who was seen leaving the crime scene. But Alex maintains her innocence and sets out to find the true killer.
This was a great first-in-a-series cozy mystery. I loved the idea that a bookshop sells chocolate. It would be wonderful to visit. Alex is a wonderfully likeable sleuth who solved the mystery using her intellect and observational skills. I can’t wait to read the next one in the series. Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the advanced reader’s copy. This review is my unbiased opinion.

Thank you to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for this ARC. #netgalley #achristmascandykilling

I got a chuckle out of reading this book! I love the background of it twin sisters at a murder mystery little shop with themed poisoned chocolates! I had a lot of fun reading this book. For me it went fast and I didn't want it to end. I look forward to reading more.

This one was more of a 3.5, but I rounded up. It took me a while to get into this one. To the point that I started it and put it down several times. I requested the ARC because I love cozy mysteries, I have an identical twin, and I love chocolate. This book should have been perfect. And once I got a couple of chapters in, I started enjoying it and finished it fairly quickly. I can't really pin down why it took me so long to get into it. Maybe because having the candy named after poisons really didn't appeal to me.

Overall, it had all the pieces of typical cozy and had a fun story.

Thank you to the author and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Chocolate and Poison. What a combination!

The candies don’t really have poison in them. They are just named after lethal substances like Poison Pear Ganache and Strychnine Strawberries, and they are called Killer Chocolates at the Murder and Mayhem mystery bookstore and candy shop at the heart of Christina Romeril’s debut mystery whodunit A Christmas Candy Killing.

Alex and Hannah, identical twins, own the shop in Montana. Anna runs the book end of the business while Hannah is the chief chocolatier. It’s Christmastime, and Linda, a neighbor, tells Alex that the killer on a reality crime show might be living in their town. Alex goes to the Linda’s house to see the recording, only to find the woman…dead…and a box of Killer Chocolates.

One of the best ways to introduce an amateur sleuth in a new cozy mystery series is to have the murder victim be someone close, whose death demands justice that local law enforcement doesn’t seem to provide. Or (even better) to have the sleuth-in-waiting be a prime suspect, forced to use the skills of a detective to solve the case and prove their innocence. Alex is hounded by the police who have lots of evidence they think points to her, so she has to find the real killer.

Linda had told her suspicions to the town’s leading gossip, so everyone had heard about it, which meant anyone in the whole town could be the true suspect. This wasn’t the first time she claimed somebody in the town fit the profile she saw on reality television, so people didn’t pay much attention to her accusations…unless a real killer thought she was getting too close to the truth. Linda ran the gardening society, so her killer could have been one of her rivals for the job. Several club members raised poisonous plants, so maybe it was one of them. Linda had arguments with others, had she accused the wrong person…who was the right person?

While more and more circumstances link Alex to the crime, she digs into the past of the town, bringing up secrets some people don’t want known. Will she stop the killing? or become another victim?

Romeril lays out the clues, but they are subtle. This box of chocolates is a treat, and there are recipes and tips at the end to inspire the future chocolatier, but not the future poisoner.

A cleverly crafted plot and candy….what could be better? I love this series and look forward to the next installment.
Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

A Christmas Candy Killing is a deliciously sweet start to Christina Romeril’s new ‘Killer Chocolate’ cozy mystery series, featuring twin sisters Alex and Hanna, the owners of Murder and Mayhem, a mystery themed bookshop that serves up delectable chocolates with poison themed names. A well paced mystery with red herrings throughout, a perfect setting for a murder mystery and a cast of quirky likable characters, this one packs in all the elements necessary for a perfect holiday themed cozy mystery. Bonus for me was the activities of the Sleuth Bookclub and the recipes at the end of the book!

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance digital copy of this book. This is my honest opinion.

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra

A Christmas Candy Killing by Christina Romeril is the first book in the delightful Killer Chocolate series. Delightful because when one incorporates chocolate into a story…well…enough said (at least that is my opinion 😊). But seriously, this cozy mystery set around the holiday season is filled with mystery, intrigue, a couple of interesting twin amateur sleuths and a myriad of other town folks with “interesting” past lives.

The crux of the story is that the beloved, local septuagenarian, Jane (who everybody loves – or do they?) was murdered. The person to discover the body of Jane was none other than one of the owners (a twin in fact) of a mystery bookshop named Killer Chocolates. Alex Wright discovered Jane’s body as a result of a pre-arranged meeting between Jane and Alex to discuss the potential of Jane having discovered, through a televised true crime show, that a local resident was indeed a murderer prior to moving to Harriston, Montana. As Alex discovered the body (and it turns out she is also a major beneficiary of Jane’s estate – unbeknownst to her actually) – she is a prime suspect in Jane’s murder. To make sure she is not accused of the crime – Alex and her twin Hannah must team up and “chat” with the residents of Harriston to find the actual culprit. Now – if you are a fan of cozy mysteries – this is not uncommon – having amateur sleuths trying to solve the murder(s) that occur. I think the bit of twist for this series is that the sleuth is a set of twins.

Love the name of the twins mystery themed bookshop -> Murder and Mayhem. The twins also sell home-made chocolates as well, with fillings named after poisons often used in literature like their December’s featured chocolate Candy Cane Coniine (a subtly flavored white-chocolate peppermint ganache with crushed candy canes in a white-chocolate shell. Each month, the bookshop will feature one of their Killer Chocolates in conjunction with a mystery novel. A splendid marketing idea! So in between running a burgeoning new business – the twins work at solving the murder(s). As the story unfolds – we learn of a second murder… and time is running out for Alex, especially since the list of suspects is being whittled down and Christmas is fast approaching.

The clues unfolded in such a manner that it was not until close to the end of the book that I actually figured out who the real murderer was. Just the way I like my mysteries 😊. I found the portrayal of the myriad of townsfolks very entertaining and at times really good red herrings to the story. I was surprised as to how much detail we got for each potential suspect, which provided depth to the residents of Harriston.

Another aspect I quite enjoyed was that the twins were not too young nor too old at age forty-five – characters with some life experience, still looking for Mr. Right and getting started with second careers – a reflection of today’s world. Individuals still scoping out what life has to offer and open to all possibilities and adventures. This is especially true as Alex, as a young adult, had originally considered going into law enforcement but her mother discouraged it as an inappropriate career so that Alex went into finance instead. And now after all these years – she was finally pursuing one of her passions.

As a debut novel by this author – I found the story had all the necessary ingredients for an entertaining cozy mystery that captured my interest and held it throughout the reading of the book. I love discovering new to me Canadian authors who write in one of my favorite go-to genres for entertainment. I highly recommend A Christmas Candy Killing for those readers who like cozy mysteries, chocolate and Christmas. Settle in for a pleasant and entertaining read.

Really fun read with lots of twists and turns. Excited to read the next in the series! Love that identical twins are the MCs.

This is a fun and entertaining read and a promising start to a new series.

I loved the idea of a mystery bookshop which also sells poison-themed chocolates. The characters are three-dimensional and likeable (Miss Watson is adorable) and the mystery progresses at a nice pace. Being German, I also enjoyed the German expressions thrown in here and there (I am curious to know how they are pronounced in the audio version 😃).

All in all, it was a great read and I am looking forward to the next installment in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of the book.

A Christmas Candy Killing by Christina Romeril was a fantastic cozy mystery to read on my way to visit my daughter over Christmas. The main character, Alex, helps solve the murder of a school teacher. Alex owns a bookstore and her twin sister makes chocolates with a killer spin. There are plenty of suspects to include Alex, too. I love the writing style of the author as her work is enjoyable to read with just the right amount of description. The book was festive and even has a treat for arising chocolatier at the end. Thank you to Ms. Romeril, Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this wonderful holiday mystery!

Alex and Hannah are sisters who run a bookshop that is mystery themed (ADORABLE!!) called Murder and Mayhem. They also have some chocolate sales that have names align to the theme that are named after poisons! Just with this yes sign me up!!

Alex's friend Jane is found murdered, and Alex gets the bookclub motivated to figure out who the killer is and give Jane some justice! During the time Alex is trying to find out who does it bad things happen left and right, her actions not being the best choice some times, but all in the effort of helping Jane in the end.

A cute quick Christmas mystery that is all you can ask for! 4/5
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

Thank you to Netgalley, Christina Romeril and publisher for the ARC of this book

Sorry for the late review on this one but I saved it until December!

This was an enjoyable book and perfect for the Christmas season. The chapters weren't too long and the story was entertaining.

DNF @ 20%

Alex and her twin sister, Hanna, have a mystery book shop and chocolate making business with chocolates inspired by deadly poisons. During one of their Sleuth book clubs, Alex’s friend Jane pulls her aside to confide that she believes a person in their small village is a murderer based on a true-crime show she had watched, and asks Alex to come to her house the next morning to discuss further. When Alex arrives, she finds her friend dead and a man running from the property, and is left wondering if there really is a murderer in their midst.

The premise is very interesting and I like the idea, but I can’t deal with the writing. It’s very repetitive and characters over explain in the dialogue to the point where is doesn’t really seem like something an actual person would say and feels robotic. If you can get past the writing, this book is pretty interesting and fun, but it’s not for me.

A Christmas Candy Killing
by Christina Romeril
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I read this the week after Christmas and loved it! I was hooked right away and enjoyed guessing who the killer was. So many secrets to weed through! I cannot wait to see what is next for Alex & Hanna.

This is the first book I’ve read by Christina Romeril and it won’t be the last. I enjoyed her writing style and her perceptive eye on village life and the secrets held within.

The Sleuth Book Club holds meetings at Murder and Mayhem: Killer Chocolates and Bookshop, run by Alex and her twin sister, Hanna. When elderly club member Jane hints to Alex that there may be a killer hiding in their village, Alex isn’t sure what to believe. Jane is an aficionado of true crime TV and it won’t be the first time she’s accused a neighbour. When death enters their lives, Alex has to take it seriously- especially as she’s one of the prime suspects.

This was a well written story, with interesting characters. I enjoyed it.

I was given this ARC to review.

I loved that the characters were older! When Hanna and Alex first started talking about Tom, I assumed the age difference was over 20 years. It was interesting to find out that Alex is in her 40s. I like that. I did think that there were too many characters, and at times, it made the story feel a little clunky or hard to follow. I had to go back and look up who certains characters were. The poison-themed chocolates were fantastic! What a great idea for a mystery bookstore!

“A Christmas Candy Killing“ by Christina Romeril the 1st instalment in the "A Killer Chocolate Mystery" series. This is a great start to a new series, reminds me of Joanne Fluke Hannah Swanson series.

Their chocolates are to die for—but things aren’t so sweet when a real killer comes to town

Twin sisters, Alex and Hannah, owners of a mystery bookstore, in small town Montana, that also sells poisoned themed chocolates. A friend and elderly neighbor confides to Alex about her suspicions that a fellow villager is a murderer, as seen on a true crime show, but that friend and neighbor is soon found dead. Naturally, the twins need to investigate.

It was entertaining, full of twists and turns and I didn’t completely guess whodunnit until Alex and Hannah did. plus all the descriptions of the chocolates made my mouth water.

I highly recommend this series to all my cozy loving friends and I can’t wait for book 2 to come out!

I requested and received an advance readers copy from NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books. All thoughts and opinions are my OWN.