I was so excited to read this book as a huge Agatha Christie fan, but it unfortunately fell short for me. The pace was off to me. I had a hard time coming back to the story- it did not engage me. I also felt like the characters fell flat for me and I didn't feel a connection to any of them.

This is such a fun cozy book for the spooky season. The characters are really what make this story enjoyable. If you love Agatha Christie this is a book that will fulfill that Christie vibe.

This one was definitely not for me. The dialogue was quite cringe. One reviewer mentioned that it was trying too hard to be cutsey. I think that is accurate. It made me wonder who actually talks like that? At one point there is some comment when a book is rung up incorrectly about the price being like housing prices in Colorado...$27k won't even buy a cardboard box there so it just made me wonder why it was even mentioned.
I wasn't able to finish this. I didn't care about any character and wasn't invested in finding out whodunit.
Thank you, Netgalley, for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for a free and unbiased review.

This was a well written cozy mystery. I thought the characters were well written and easy to like I also loved that the setting had to do with a bookstore, those are my favorite. The mystery itself was good and easy to get through.

After a disastrous ending to a long-term relationship, Ellie returns to her hometown in Colorado to run the family mystery bookshop with her sister, Meg. But soon after arriving back home, the two sisters witness a murder (kind of) from the gondola that takes residents up and down the mountain. The deceased turns out to be a criminal exiled from town out on parole--who had been in their bookshop earlier that day. When one of their bookshop employees disappears and their shop is broken into to steal a book the victim had left behind, the sisters set out to solve the crime and find their friend. But a new chief of police, a gossip columnist, a movie star, a nosy neighbor, and an adventurous love interest all throw a wrench in their path to discovering the truth.

I really enjoyed this first-in-a-series cozy mystery and am somewhat befuddled by its below average star rating. I was a bit thrown off by the title (defintiely was thinking Italian gondola boat and not ski gondola) and I think the chapter titles were a bit spoilery, but it was otherwise quite fun with a clever solution. The characters were all a bit over the top, but that's half the fun in a cozy mystery, and the narrator did an excellent job giving them all a voice. I'm glad I listened to this book on audio and think I will listen to the second one, as well.

Thanks to PRHA for my ALC and Berkley for my eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 stars - 8/10

If you are looking for a cozy mystery, this book is for you! I love the Agatha Christie references also
Many thanks to the author, Random House and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

A fun and wintery cozy mystery series starter! Enjoyed the references to Agatha Christie and other Golden Age mysteries.

This was such a cute and cozy read and I enjoyed it. It just wasn't one that I feel will stick with me. It was just okay.

I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

Apparently, I am on another one of my cozy mystery kicks and I somehow managed to find another debut at that! Dead and Gondola by Ann Claire was a light breezy read that held my attention the entire time and made me laugh almost constantly. I was a big fan of all of the various quirky characters, and of course, how would the bookstore cat Agatha not be my favorite of all? I was also really excited that this is set in my current home state of Colorado, and Claire definitely had the mountain village vibe down pat. It was a fun addition to have 2 sisters doing the sleuthing and I loved the family aspect of the story as well.

I also found the audiobook to be very enjoyable and was very satisfied with the narrator. Morgan Dalla Betta seemed like the perfect fit for the voice of Ellie, and I would absolutely be pleased if she continued as the narrator for the entire series. I can't say that I was super shocked by anything that happened, but it also wasn't completely unsurprising either. I enjoyed the balance between humor and mystery, and I don't think this was a bad debut by any means! I can't wait to see where the other books in this series go and how Claire develops these characters.

Dead and Gondola is a cozy mystery about sisters Ellie and Meg, the next generation to run their family's bookstore, The Book Chalet, in snowy, mountainous Colorado. The Christie family is unrelated to the famous author but has a deep love of her mysteries and named the cat Agatha in her honor. Ellie and Meg, along with their grandmother and Meg's teenage daughter can't help but stick their amateur sleuth noses into investigating a murder when it comes too close to home.

It all starts with a pretend seance at a book club meeting, a mysterious stranger hanging around the shop, and a death on a gondola while the Christie sisters hover just behind on the next one in line. They can't help but put their detecting knowledge to use in the real world, especially when their dependable employee Ms. Ridge leaves work suddenly and disappears. Is it all connected? And who can they trust? A break-in at the bookshop where Ellie also lives puts them further on edge, especially when the only thing missing is the murder victim's personal effects that the sisters had hoped to return to him and which the police want as potential clues.

Some bright spots go beyond the mystery, which is a bit surface-level. There's a side character Glynis, the potentially queer lady who does search and rescue and rushes to beat her neighbors to shoveling like it's an Olympic event. And there are some ruminations on the foibles of returning home as an adult, even when you're happy about it. The Christie family is also a charming and wholesome group, so it was easy to cheer for them to succeed beyond the general desire to see justice done. For dedicated cozy mystery readers, this book is a can't-miss read. Thanks to Bantam for my copy to read and review!

3.5-4 star rating.

Bookish cozy mystery fans will enjoy this new series Ellie Christie and her sister Meg (no relation to the famous author). Ellie has recently moved home to run her family's bookshop and a visitor has come up dead. Ellie and her sister attempt to solve the murder.

I haven't read many by Christie books, but I think this series does a good job referencing the famous author and using bits from her book to solve the mystery.

You have all the characters any good story should. From the grumpy cat to the town gossip and in between you will find a character you love.

The storyline was interesting and I liked that it was a light read. I usually don't try and guess the murderer and I think if I had tried I wouldn't have guessed this one.

If you re looking for a cozy mystery with Agatha Christie vibes this is a good choice. Agatha Christie fans will enjoy the references made to various mysteries written by the author.

This is the first in a series by this author and I will be reading the series as they become available.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

This was a cute cozy mystery, and it was fun reading about the idyllic town, the fantastic bookshop, and the quirky townspeople. I haven’t read Agatha Christie, so I don’t know how closely this followed her style, but it was fun that the characters kept referencing her books and life and were trying to be like her sleuths. I’m glad this is the beginning of a series, because it will be fun to revisit this town and see what the sisters are up to next.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

3.5 stars!

I honestly haven't read many mysteries so I was excited about this one. I liked the sprinkle of comedy, the friendships, and the small-town vibes. I honestly did not expect the Cici reveal, but I did expect who the murderer was after a few interactions (but I wasn't really sure until the very end). Honestly, this was a fun read, and now I want to read more mysteries.

Super cute cozy mystery. My first by this author, and she had me wanting to visit a quaint little town in the mountains of Colorado. Minus the death

This was a really cute, sweet, well-done story with a wonderful, atmospheric setting that really made me feel like I was intimately there. I look forward to seeing where this series goes as I always love a good mystery with interesting, multi-faceted characters!

Many thanks for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Dead and Gondola by Ann Claire. Pub Date: November 1, 2022. Rating: 4 stars. Set in a small mountain town in Colorado, this is the story of sisters who own a bookstore together but somehow get caught up in a murder that happens on the gondola that leads up to their bookstore. This is a cozy mystery filled with family, books, a grumpy cat and a murder in the thick of it all. I absolutely adored the writing of this novel and it felt like a warm blanket with a nice cup of tea to be reading it. I think I may read the second one in this series because I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this one. If you are a cozy mystery reader, definitely pick this one up. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review. #netgalley #deadandgondola

Dead and Gondola, book one in Ann Claire’s Christie Bookshop Mystery series was just the happy I needed after I had put away our Christmas decorations. There’s always that little bit of a let-down when something festive comes to an end. While I love that New Year feeling, I do miss the pretty lights of Christmas. This mystery was just the snowy, wintery escape I needed. And I have book two waiting for pick up at the library as I type this!

Ellie Christie has recently returned to her small Colorado hometown to run her family’s historic bookshop with her older sister, Meg, and their bookshop cat, Agatha–and a little help from her niece and grandmother. The Book Chalet is a Swiss-style hamlet accessible by ski gondola and a twist mountain road. It’s a relaxing and cozy oasis that this reader would love to spend hours in.

All isn’t well, though, when a man is found dead on the gondola, and a rockslide throws the town into lockdown. And this isn’t just a random person – this was the mysterious man who visited the bookshop earlier. What are his ties to the community and who could possibly be to blame? Ellie and Meg pull out their best Agatha Christie hacks to help solve this perplexing crime.

This book is a warm, wintery hug. I loved Ellie and Meg and their relationship so much. Their grandmother was adorable with her knitting and naps and the teenage niece was perfect (I can say this because I’m now a mom of a teen, ha!). I love stories that show the love and relationships between the generations. The descriptions of the setting were also a little bit of armchair travel–I felt like I was there and needed to bundle up while reading. Such a great start to a new cozy mystery series. Can’t wait to run by the library tomorrow and pick up book two!

Here’s the thing: I am not really a fan of cozy mysteries. I’m willing to experiment with almost all genres, but I should know myself well enough to recognize that I cannot really make solid commitments to the books in this one. When Ballantine kindly offered me an e-galley of Dead and Gondola, what I should have said was, “No, thanks,” but I apparently mistook myself for someone who does like cozy mysteries. I downloaded the e-galley and came to my senses when it was too late. Because of this, I have procrastinated on this story for entirely too long.

Isn’t it funny that I actually liked it?

I enjoyed this more than most of the others I’ve tried in this genre. I enjoyed it so much that I’ve already put the second book in the series on hold at the library. (Because, yes, I procrastinated long enough for a second book to be written.)

The vibes in this - a bookstore, an introverted protagonist, a cat named Agatha, and a murder to solve - are just perfect. It’s corny in all the right ways, and it actually succeeded in making me laugh from time to time. There are plenty of characters to be suspicious of and, while I correctly set my sights on the true culprit somewhere along the line, I was never certain, and I didn’t have the motive figured out. There were also other surprises to discover along the way. Plus, the writing in this was much better than I’d expected, which I’m basing on past experience. It’s clear I’ve attempted to indulge in the wrong cozy mysteries before.

So, in an unexpected turn of events, I finished this Christie Bookshop mystery in two days, and I’ll gladly visit this quirky setting again in the future.

I am immensely grateful to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for my copy. All opinions are my own.

The cover is absolutely gorgeous!! A great cozy mystery. The characters were sointeresting and very likable. This book is the definition of the perfect cozy book.