This cozy mystery by Ann Claire is full of mountain hometown characters and literary quips. It was a lot more detailed in its descriptions of the town and people than I realized, and so it read less like a mystery than a drama. The writing is good and the characters had a lot going on. It wasn't my favorite but that is probably due to me not expecting so much of the town life.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

What more could a mystery reader want?
   The setting is a mountain town called Last Word that comes complete with a charming bookstore, The Book Chalet, which is owned and operated by the Christie sisters. Their house cat, Agatha, is the constant observer of meetings of the Mountains of Mysteries bookclub. You get the theme early on.
   The collection of characters in the town are all ardent readers of various genres and all seem to travel with a book either in their pocket, bag or purse waiting for any opportunity to indulge their addiction.
   Then the best thing that could possible happen befalls this town of sleuths…… a murder. They  incorporate all the various means of investigation they’ve ever read to discover the identity of the murderer; each with their own theory and not afraid to chase those suspicions down.
   A clever incorporation of all things “Christie” that keeps you engrossed and smiling throughout the book, not to mention the pony in a puffer jacket.

The cover itself and the description immediately drew me to this book. It's an absolutely beautiful cover for a cozy mystery. Which I am a big fan of a good cozy mystery, especially one that is a series.

When starting the book, I loved the MCs and the mystery itself. As the story when on, I often found myself confused at who was who because there are so many different characters introduced right from the beginning. I like the backstory, the cozy cat and the mystery of this mysterious man being killed. I did have the murderer picked out almost immediately, but there were plenty of other things that kept me guessing.

I think this was a good start to a mystery series that introduces a lot of characters in this small town. But there was something that just didn't keep me wanting to read this one. It felt too drawn out and a little boring at times. If you are a fan of Agatha Christie, give this one a chance but I do wish that it was a little shorter.

Dead and Gondola is a cozy mystery with a punny title set in a small Colorado town where a murder occurs on a gondola. It's also a loving commentary and homage to the novels of Agatha Christie.

It is in the latter that the book finds its charm. By weaving the story in and out of Agatha's well-known tropes, the author elevates the book from a simple whodunnit to a fun piece of metafiction.

I look forward to seeing the author move on with the series (and maybe play around with tropes of other famous mystery authors).

Dead and Gondola by Ann Claire

Fun from start to finish, this story will draw you in from the first chapter. The Christie sisters, Ellie and Meg, run a popular bookstore in a Colorado ski town. They come from a mystery loving family and set out to solve a murder seemingly related to their book club.

The characters are delightful and you’ll accuse every one of them until the end when the killer is revealed. Cleverly written, all events are plausibly linked and you’ll find yourself smiling at the author’s humor.

I highly recommended for a book club read and Agatha Christie lovers, and I’ll rate this novel a five stars. Many thanks to #RandomHouse and # NetGalley for this ARC for my review.

💡Book Spotlight💡
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Thank you so much @penguinrandomhouse and @netgalley for the advanced copy of Dead and Gondola. This book series follows the Christie sisters, who you guessed it, solve mysteries. They even have a spunky cat named Agatha 😂and appearances from some of the other beloved characters in Agatha Christie novels! Be sure to get it where books are sold asap, it’s the perfect spooky season story!
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Summary; Ellie Christie is thrilled to begin a new chapter. She’s recently returned to her tiny Colorado hometown to run her family’s historic bookshop with her elder sister, Meg, and their friendly cat, Agatha. Perched in a Swiss-style hamlet accessible by ski gondola and a twisty mountain road, the Book Chalet is a famed bibliophile destination known for its maze of shelves and relaxing reading lounge with cozy fireside seats and panoramic views. At least, until trouble blows in with a wintry whiteout. A man is found dead on the gondola, and a rockslide throws the town into lockdown—no one in, no one out.

He was a mysterious stranger who visited the bookshop. At the time, his only blunders were disrupting a book club and leaving behind a first-edition Agatha Christie novel, written under a pseudonym. However, once revealed, the man’s identity shocks the town. Many residents knew of him. Quite a few had reason to want him dead. Others hid secrets. The police gather suspects, but when they narrow in on the sisters’ close friends, the Christies have to act.

Although the only Agatha in their family tree is their cat, Ellie and Meg know a lot about mysteries, and they’re not about to let the situation snowball out of control. The Christie sisters must summon their inner Miss Marple and trek through a blizzard of clues before the killer turns the page to their final chapter.
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"Dead and Gondola" has all of the elements of an entertaining and fast paced read. Skillfully entwined in this little gem of a mystery are two sisters with the last name of Christie, a cat named Agatha, a colorful mountain village, and an oh so colorful cast of characters almost all of which have a motive for murder. Engaging characters and writing made this book one of my all time favorite fun mysteries. Who did it? You'll have to read the book and find out for yourself!

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A pair of sisters take over the family bookstore and find themselves investigating a murder. A fun read.

By no means is this groundbreaking or earth shattering, but it brought me alot of joy to read and I found it very fun

If you’re looking for a great snowy weather cozy this is the book for you. Claire’s not only written a cast of incredibly likeable well-written characters, especially Ellie and Meg’s Gram, who’s a hoot but I love the Swiss-style Colorado hamlet and its gondola. Claire’s also penned a mystery that’s perfectly balanced and will keep you guessing to the end and I thought the Agatha Christie homage’s were a spot on addition. This is the first in the Christie Bookshop series and I can’t wait to read more.

I received this eARC thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Bantam in exchange for an honest review. Publishing dates are subject to change.

I really liked this “cozy mystery”. I liked all the characters and kept looking for clues so that I could figure out who the killer was. I’d love to find a bookstore just like this one! I’m happy to see that it’s first in a series.

Things I love:

Book stores
Mysteries
Cats
Agatha Christie and anything Aggie adjacent
Hot Chocolate

Needless to say I was all in on this one and not at all disappointed. It's so very clever and the characterizations were superb.

Thank you to the publisher for gifting me a copy. It is my pleasure to write an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for this Arc!!

I fell in love with this cozy mystery immediately and I can't wait to read more!

Snowy Colorado ski town, a wonderful book store Book Chalet, a crime solving cat, Italian hot cocoa... how could I not love this? It's perfect for curling up by the fire or under a blanket with a hot drink. Especially if anyone knows how to make Italian hot cocoa because that sounds so good!

The Christie sisters have no real relation to Agatha Christie that they know of but they and their family have been huge fans for a while. Owning the best and only Book Chalet in this wintry wonderland little ski town puts them in the perfect position to solve a murder when one actually happens. The Christie family plus the other oddball citizens, who take their mysteries seriously, make the perfect team. And, did I mention this is just the most perfect of perfect chilly/rainy day reads??? Because yaaaas!

Out November 1, 2022!

3.5 stars. This is the quintessential cozy mystery! There is the cozy little bookshop setting in a cute little town, the feline friend, and the perfect mix of humor and mystery. The plot is good but seemed a little long to me. It dragged a little in the middle and I had trouble keeping interest. I did like the little tidbits of information on Agatha Christie. It’s definitely worth the read and entertaining! I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a free copy.

Mysteries and thrillers are some of my favorite genres, so I was looking forward to reading this one. And, throw in the fact that the main characters own a bookshop and that is all the better.

The Christie sisters are on a gondola ride and the man in the gondola in front of them is murdered. This is unusual in and of itself, but add to the fact that he was in their bookstore recently and you have a fun little mystery on your hands.

I did feel that there were parts of the story that could have been wrapped up a little more quickly ,but all in all it was a solid read.

I love all things mystery and Agatha Christie so this book was great fun to read. It took me a bit to get into it but once I did, I read like a wild woman. The characters made me want to move to Last Word and hang out in the bookshop and knit and read with them. I will recommend to friends, book club and family.

Ellie Christie has recently returned to her tiny Colorado hometown to run her family’s historic bookshop with her elder sister, Meg, and their beloved cat, Agatha. Perched in a Swiss-style hamlet accessible by ski gondola and a twisty mountain road, the Book Chalet is a famed bibliophile destination known for its maze of shelves and relaxing reading lounge. At least, until trouble blows in with a wintry whiteout. A man is found dead on the gondola, and a rockslide throws the town into lockdown—no one in, no one out. The victim was a mysterious stranger who’d visited the bookshop. At the time, his only blunders had been disrupting a book club and leaving behind a first-edition Agatha Christie novel, written under a pseudonym. However, once revealed, the man’s identity shocks the town. When the police narrow in on the sisters’ close friends, the Christies have to act. Although the only Agatha in their family tree is their cat, Ellie and Meg know a lot about mysteries and realize they must summon their inner Miss Marple to trek through a blizzard of clues before the killer turns the page to their final chapter.

This is a marvelous first novel and beginning of a new series. I am already anxiously waiting for Book 2. As most books in a new series, a lot of characters are introduced, and I had to stop to remember who someone was on more than one occasion. The writing was excellent, making it hard to believe that this was a first book for the author. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book and will be watching for the next one.

I think I've learned that "cozy mystery" just isn't my genre.

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy Dead and Gondola. So much of the writing was unnecessary and just bogged down the story. I started counting how many adjectives were in a sentence, rather than enjoying the flow of the story.

Also, I understand the joke at having the sisters be Christies, but it just reminded me (as the reader) why Agatha Christie is the master.

I'm not really one for cozy mysteries, but the ties to Agatha Christie in the summary drew me in. Ultimately though, this just wasn't for me. Don't get me wrong, it's a fun, quirky mystery with plenty of plot twists, but I think I'll stick with the darker psychological thriller style of mysteries.

If you're into cozy mysteries though, give this a try. It is really cute.

This was a sweet cozy mystery, with sisters acting as detectives after a murder happens. I loved the sister dynamic and that I didn’t guess things along the way - but i never felt incredibly invested in the story.

Nothing was wrong, I just don’t know that cozy mysteries are really my thing!