Dead and Gondola (Christie Bookshop #1)
Ann Claire
Bantam
Publication Date: November 1, 2022
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Imagine you live on a mountain in a small, snowy Colorado town named Last Word. Imagine a generations-owned bookshop, built of oak logs and expansive windows, offering breathtaking views of the snowy mountain scene. A bookstore with rows and rows and nooks and crannies for book-lovers to indulge their love of books. Add a cat named Agatha, after Ms. Agatha Christie. That’s the setting for this wonderful cozy mystery. I’m hooked already.

Ellie, Meg, and Gram Christie run the Book Chalet. Ellie lives in the loft upstairs while Meg, her daughter, Rosie, and Gram live at the bottom of the mountain. A free gondola line provides transportation up to the small hamlet and down the mountain to the larger village below.

It’s book club morning at the Book Chalet and the quirky members begin to arrive. Exactly at eight o’clock Morgan Marin arrives, a retired Hollywood legend who has settled in Last Word and now runs Shelf Indulgence, an online book club. She shows up in full flapper gear dressed as the main character (Emily Trefusis) of tonight’s mystery book, Agatha Christie’s The Sittaford Mystery. She also has brought props, including a Ouiji board. Her assistant, Reneé Claude stomps in after her.

Then there is Ms. Ridge, who has worked at the Book Chalet forever. She begins the book club at exactly 8:00 am, as she is known for her punctuality. Other members include Piper Tuttle, a gossip columnist and Emmet Jackson, a cowboy poet with a handlebar mustache.

Ms. Ridge begins the club discussion, but Morgan Marin quickly takes over and produces the Ouiji board and announces they could recreate the séance scene from the murder mystery. During the séance, the cowbells over the front door clang even though the shop is closed. The Ouiji board is spelling out “dead man.” Ellie goes to find who entered the shop, but instead bumps into Ms. Ridge who is carrying a coffee pot on a silver tray. Ellie returns to the book club and a stranger shows up, saying what a wonderful view. But, he doesn’t leave until Emmet Jackson speaks more forcefully to him. Later, the women notice that Ms. Ridge is gone and there is no coffee in the carafe. Where did she go? What happened? Who is this strange man?

The next day, Ms. Ridge doesn’t show up for work and this is worrisome because she is always punctual. And, the strange man is sitting in the lounge; not reading, just waiting for someone special named Cece. He spots a woman in red and dashes over to her and then he disappears, leaving his satchel behind. Agatha, the Book Chalet’s cat, decides to rest on it. The sisters can’t resist peeking inside on the pretense of looking for his I.D. They find post-its, one which says, “Love is, indeed, a terrifying thing.” They speculate he may be a writer, but then they find an original signed copy of Agatha Christie’s book written under the name of Mary Westmacott. Realizing this is a valuable treasure, they decide the stranger will definitely return for his book, so they place it safely under the counter.

After they close the shop, they walk to the gondola to go down to Gram’s home for dinner. Meg grabs Ellie’s hand and points to the stranger getting into a gondola car. They rush into the following car to see if he wants to return to the store for his satchel. But, he doesn’t get off at the base and the car begins back up the mountain. The gondolier stops the gondolas to find out why he didn’t disembark. He finds the stranger slumped in the car. He finds a dead man. “D-e-a-d m-a-n.” Did the séance predict the stranger’s death? Or, did he die of natural causes? Is it murder? And the game is afoot (For you Sherlock fans)! Oh, and to make matters worse (better for us readers), a rockslide has blocked the road out of town! The killer must be trapped in the village! A “locked village” mystery!

I loved the characters in the book. Gram, Rosie, Meg, and Ellie were the main characters. As was Ms. Ridge. The settings were beautiful and easy for me to identify with from my skiing days. The length of the book is spot on and it’s an easy read. It’s a cozy, cozy mystery and if that’s your cup of tea (or hot chocolate), I recommend Dead and Gondola to you. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publishers for the electronic advanced reader copy. The opinions are my own

PS Did you know Agatha Christie was the first European woman to surf?

I don't read hardly any cozy mysteries but I am recently dumped and in the dumps and I just tore through this title. I loved it! So cozy! Thank you for the ARC, it made my day better.

This is a fun, light mystery centered around a bookshop in Colorado, with a general theme of vintage crime novels. There are the usual quirky villagers, the plucky heroine and her sidekicks, and the requisite kitty cat.

All the cozy boxes are ticked, but what gets a recommendation from me are the capable writing, decent plotting, generally witty dialog (I especially loved Gram!) and the first round of character development in this series debut. This is one to watch.

Who says a cozy mystery can’t keep you cool in the middle of the summer? This book had me dreaming I was in a snowy, and cozy town. It was exactly what I needed for break from the July heat. Maybe my AC helped too. But I want to claim it’s all the book plots doing 😏😉

Ellie and Megan Christie are two sisters who just took over the family owned bookstore. The bookstore is a famed spot in a small mountain town in Colorado. A cozy spot with warm fire places, a rad sounding book club, and plenty of spots to curl up and read. Sounds heavenly right? It is until a mysterious book store guest crashed the book club, leaves behind a first edition book, and oh winds up dead! Now both mystery loving sisters need to save their friends and try to solve the murder.

What I loved:
- The Christie family’s love for Agatha Christie. I thought this added a fun, and cute layer to the story. The whole world for this story is a book lovers dream. I kept getting heart eyes over the book store description!
- I loved almost every character! They were all easy to keep up with because of their distinct personalities. But our MC, Ellie, was very relatable and like able. I also could relate to her want/need to read at any chance
- The sister bond between Ellie and Megan was adorable. I also loved their Grandma and her antics.
- The murder mystery was fun and easy to follow along too. This one will keep you guessing.
- Also, lots of laughs! This one definitely had a nice bit of humor.

I just really loved the town of the Last Word, and it’s residents. This was the perfect cozy mystery! I cannot wait for more in this series. Also, this totally made me crave Italian hot chocolate ( I may have looked up a recipe). I might just have to blast the AC and pretend I was in this snowy town. Excellent weekend read. 4.5 stars out of 5! Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Dead and Gondolanby Ann Claire is an intriguing cozy mystery.

The plot is tightly woven with characters who are not only likable but entertaining.
Fantastic character development and plot with the depth to entertain for hours!
The characters were enjoyable and it was interesting to see the dynamics of each one.
The setting described by Claire is amazing honestly.
The details of the plot are very well executed and every chapter left me with a compelling need to read more.

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Random House/Bantam,
Thank you for your generosity and gifting a copy of this approved eARC!

I'm so glad that I took a chance on a new author to read this book. It is a great cozy mystery with a wonderful and unique locale. The complexity of the mystery makes it more substantial than the typical cozy mystery. There is a fun cast of characters, and I enjoyed all the twists and turns in the plot. I found myself engrossed in the book, promising myself I would stop reading at the end of the chapter, but needing to continue with the next. I hope that the author will make this into a series. I highly recommend it to mystery lovers.

What a great first mystery novel. The story had a great series of twists and turns and kept you guessing right up until the end. The characters were ones that were easily relatable. I could totally relate to the main character Ellie and her love of books and readings. I can't want until the next book.

The Christie Sisters, fifth generation caretakers of the Book Chalet in Last Word, Colorado, with a cat named Agatha (of course!) star in the first book of the new and very charming Christie Bookshop series. Cozy mysteries just love bookstore locations and what’s cozier than a shop reachable only by gondola (think about the gondola between Telluride and Mountain Village in Colorado or the funicular to the St Regis from Deer Valley, Utah), with book clubs that are more like performance art (not just themed foods from the story, but dress up assignments) and true “book club commitment” means snowshoeing to the meeting. Of course we have quirky characters and then enters a quirkier strange Book Chalet visitor who mysteriously leaves behind a “Mary Westmacott” (an esoteric Agatha Christie book written under a nom de plume ) and ends up dead after the gondola ride down. Since the suspicious, mystery obsessed sisters, Ellie and Meg, were following the victim in the next bubble car, they become involved as witnesses — and they have a lot of theories as they get further involved. Ellie, the protagonist, wonders about poisonous tree frogs (none that she knows about in the Rocky Mountains) and stealthy acrobatic assassins scooting along cables to break into the victim’s gondola. Yes, Ellie is delightful and so is the book.

This will be just the book for a wintry or rainy afternoon of easy reading. You can feel yourself smiling as the plot unfolds. There are many references to Agatha Christie, so this book is perfect for her fans as well. The conclusion even wraps up the way most Christie books do — with all the suspects gathered as Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple explain how the murder was committed and by whom and why. Anxiously awaiting the next installment!

Thank you to Random House Publishing -Ballantine/Bantam and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review! 4 stars!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO Some blue and hazel ones, but no green.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): Considering the location, most everything is under snow.

If you enjoy a good mystery, especially one laced with humor, this one is for you. Ellie Christie has returned to her hometown in the Colorado mountains to help her older sister, Meg, and Agatha Christie, the cat, run the family business, the Book Chalet, a popular bookstore for locals and tourists. Tonight the Chalet's book club is holding a seance when they are interrupted by a mysterious stranger who comes into the store and when leaving it's discovered he left a satchel with a first-edition Agatha Christie novel inside. During his disruption of the book club, Ms. Ridge, the only other employee of the bookshop, walks out of the store and doesn't come to work for the next several days.

Later when Ellie and Meg are heading to their grandmother's house for dinner, they see the mysterious stranger getting on the gondola, so they hurry to get on too, hoping to catch up to tell him he left his valuable book. As the gondola begins to move, they notice the stranger has collapsed in his seat. They guess he either fell asleep or passed out, or perhaps is even drunk. The gondola attendant makes a phone call that is overheard proclaiming "I've got a problem. There is dead guy on the gondola!"

Nobody in town recognizes the dead guy although everyone is shocked when his identify is finally made known and that the cause of death is murder. The Christie sisters join in the search for the killer as well as looking for the still missing Ms. Ridge who has disappeared, leaving her car in the garage.

There are many twists and turns along with an interesting cast of characters in this intriguing and story.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book. All opinions and comments are my own.

This is a cozy mystery set in Colorado, complete with a cat named Agatha, for Agatha Christie, a book club that specializes in Christie novels, and a murder and missing person mystery in a small mountain town.

It's light, easy reading. It will likely make an engaging series in the future. Ellie and Meg Christie run a family bookshop that's famous for being both friendly and a pleasure to shop.

A mysterious stranger sets everyone astir, particularly when he's found dead on the aerial gondola that serves the town as transportation and recreation access. A friend disappears and nobody knows her fate. Is she dead in a snowdrift, gone into hiding, or is she the one causing all the chaos?

Dead and Gondola by Ann Claire is a great cozy mystery that is the first, in what I expect will be, an exciting new series: A Christie Bookshop Mystery.

I really enjoyed this first installment. I like Ellie and Meg Christie, the Colorado location, the historical bookshop theme, and the adorable feline, Agatha.

The murder/mystery was creative, kept my interest, and balances nicely with the introduction of the characters, town, and setting up the overall theme and feel of the series. There seems to be plenty of material to be able to be used for future installments. I also like the cute interwoven theme of the quintessential mystery and the talented author Agatha Christie. A nice and playful inclusion.

I most certainly will continue reading this series and recommend it to others that enjoy cozy mysteries.

5/5 stars

Thank you NG and Bantam/ Ballantine Books for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 11/1/22.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this novel. I am rating this book based the stars due to lack of time to leave a full review. #NetGalley #DeadandGondola

Sisters Ellie and Meg Christie have taken over the family bookstore, the "Book Chalet" in the mountain town of Last Word, Colorado. Their assistant Ms. Ridge usually leads the book discussion, but this snowy, November night, semi-retired Hollywood legend Morgan Marin is also attending and suggests a seance which fits an event in the book. A man comes in who isn't part of the book group and acts rather odd and he is asked to leave as the store is closed. The next day he comes in again and brings his own satchel with a first edition Mary Westmacott book. Later, he is seen stumbling unto the gondola car in front of the sisters as they are trying to give him back his satchel. Unfortunately, he is dead by the time his gondola reaches the base town and the sisters find themselves investigating when their assistant disappears. The author creates a great location in the mountaintop and the characters she introduces are interesting, including the animals and the "Christie" theme is fun. I look forward to book two. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.