Stalking Around the Christmas Tree is the fourth installment in the Christmas Tree Farm Mystery series set in Mistletoe, Maine featuring Holly White and her family’s Christmas Tree Farm “Reindeer Games”.
This installment finds Holly trying to juggle all her commitments including wrapping presents for the toy drive, hosting her family’s annual Christmas farm games, keeping up with orders for her handmade jewelry business, writing her family’s Christmas cards, and hosting ballerinas from the touring Nutcracker play at her Farm’s Inn. All of this while preparing for her wedding to the love of her life Sheriff Evan Grey. The last thing Holly needs on her plate is another murder to investigate, but that’s just what she gets when one of the ballerinas is poisoned to death.

As a lover of the series, I was excited to immerse myself again into the magical Christmas world of Mistletoe. It’s like coming home for holidays to visit with old friends. The characters are funny and well written, and I love how the author enchants you with her detailed descriptions of Christmas time in Mistletoe. From the outrageous fun of the annual Reindeer games to mouthwatering sweets cooked by Holly’s mother at the Hearth. And to top it all off not only is there is a murder mystery to solve, but one of the beloved characters is in danger of her past threatening her future. There is a lot in this book to keep you hooked and speeding reading to the end!

I highly recommend reading the whole series, and I eagerly await future adventures of Holly and the Reindeer Games crew.

Thank you to NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books and Jacqueline Frost for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely love this series and was thrilled to see another released! An absolute perfect read to get you in the holiday mood. Please continue to write more!
Thank you netgally for the chance to read and review this one!

I enjoyed this book. I really like the setting and all the characters. I’m not that keen on the ballerina part, it was obvious that the killer is part of the troop as no one of the town people who have a reason to kill her. I also thought it was obvious as to why Courthey wasn’t posting. The wedding is great. #StalkingAroundtheChristmasTree #NetGalley

I absolutely love this series and always look forward to the next book. Mistletoe, Maine, is a place that I would love to visit, if not live there. From the minute you start reading, you're transported into this quaint little town with all the great and quirky people. If you haven't read this series, you don't know what you're missing..

Stalking Around the Christmas Tree was a wonderful mystery and romance as all of the books in the A Christmas Tree Farm Mystery series are. Beautiful, touching, sad, warm-hearted and a one tough mystery. Jacqueline Frost does it again! A must read for cozy mystery fans.

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane for allowing me to read and review Stalking Around the Christmas Tree. It was another delightful book in a series that I love, A Christmas Tree Farm Mystery.
#NetGalley #CrookedLane #AChristmasTreeFarmMystery #JacquelineFrost

Stalking Around the Christmas Tree is the fourth installment in the A Christmas Tree Farm Mystery series set in Mistletoe, Maine and featuring innkeeper Holly White. Christmas is right around the corner and so is Holly's upcoming wedding to Sheriff Evan Gray. But before she says "I do", Holly has to catch up with a million chores around her family's Christmas Tree Farm; Reindeer Games. She has presents to wrap for the toy drive, reindeer games to host, her handmade jewelry to finish and ship, Christmas cards to write and deliver and also keep an eye on the Inn full of ballerinas.

For the past three years a murder has taken place at Christmastime in Mistletoe and Mayor West is determined that the town's reputation not be ruined forever. So he's encouraged local businesses to chip in the money to bring "The Nutcracker" ballet to town before the dancers perform their final show on Christmas Eve. All seems to be going well until the star of the ballet is discovered dead inside the snow globe she's riding in atop a parade float.

Determined not to let another murder ruin her upcoming wedding, Holly sets out with the help of her BFF Caroline to "pointe" out the killer. But while Holly is trying to figure out who killed Tiffany, she also is tasked with discovering who is stalking Evan's sister Libby. Libby has recently returned to town after testifying against a terrifying criminal, and she's afraid one of his men may have tracked her down and are seeking revenge.

A great addition to the series! A fun afternoon read no matter the season. I look forward to many more adventures with Holly and the Reindeer Games cast.

I received an advanced copy of Stalking Around the Christmas Tree from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. While not required to write a review I am happy to offer my honest opinion.

A great christmas themed cozy mystery! These are probably my favorite types of cozies and while it's not the holidays right now I still loved reading this one!

I am SO glad that this series continued and I hope there will be more~

I love the character development in this series - we started with Holly coming home with a broken heart and now she has found her true family. It's so hard to write this without giving away anything, but I'll try my best.

Libby is back in Mistletoe, after testifying against a gangster, but very forlorn and afraid as she is worried she is being stalked because of it. She ended things with Ray and is retreating into herself and Holly is determined to find out what's going on.

We see Caroline find a little romance in this story, but first, Caroline's father, Mayor West, is trying to get people to see Mistletoe as a fun, SAFE destination after three murders in as many years, so he has petitioned to get a ballet company to come and perform the Nutcracker and appear in the local parade. Well, the ballerina is found dead at the parade, so Holly is determined to figure out what's going on there too.

During all of this sleuthing, Holly is still helping her family with the Reindeer Games AND Evan is trying to keep her safe so they can get married! Needless to say, Holly catches the killer and is able to get married. She doesn't save Libby, but Cookie and her group of friends (the Swingers - it's funny, but even funnier that this group of gals doesn't get why it's funny) save the day for Libby.

I should also mention that the annual Theodore the goat is prepped and Cookie is hoping to find Theodore a wife!

This story is a perfect holiday read, but it's also a pretty perfect Spring read as well. The characters are great, there are happy endings all around, and I'm wondering if Holly and Evan's honeymoon will be full of love or a mixed blessing of love and murder.

5 stars.

I received an arc of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book started out promising. I loved Holly and Evan's relationship. I thought it was cute how he was protective and the fact that he let her be herself. I enjoyed reading about the side characters like Cookie, Libby, Ray, and Caroline because I felt like they brought a lot of charm to the town of Mistletoe. Overall I felt like this was a cute concept however...

The plot was super predictable, the twists were really easy to spot, I felt like there wasn't a super thriller effect because most of the book concentrated on the characters rather than the mystery. I felt like the end of super unrealistic with how Libby's stalker was captured.

I though the book took too much time concentrating on the cute town, the people, the couple and not enough on developing the mystery.

Holiday Havoc
Ms. Frost’s Christmas Tree Farm series is a fun one that never fails to entertain. This book has us attending Holly and Evan’s wedding along with the busy Christmas season at the farm. The town has sponsored a ballet troupe to present The Nutcracker, pushed by the mayor...and a performer turns up dead.
Natural or Murder? Since she was staying at Holly’s inn, she just can’t stay out of it.....and something is going on with Evan’s sister Libby. She’s avoiding everyone and that’s odd for her.
We follow along in the hunt for clues and answers, chasing red herrings as well as bona fide clues. I thoroughly enjoyed the tale and await the next.
I requested and received a NetGalley ARC to peruse gratis and offer my opinion in the same.

Loved reading this book and series. 1 of my favorite authors. If you haven't read her books yet. I highly recommend doing so.

I didn’t like this book unfortunately. It was ok, but the plot didn’t really grab my attention. I wasn’t all that interested in the wedding details. It also felt like there was too much focus on everyone’s love lives. It was a little boring to me.

This is the fourth in the series. It just gets better and better. In this episode, inn keeper Holly White is trying to run the Reindeer games while her mother does a podcast/video cooking segment with her best friend. Also, she and Evan are just a few days away from their wedding day. Someone is stalking Tiffany, Evan’s sister.

While there is a lot going on in the story, the main ballerina in the visiting Nutcracker show dies. Holly gets involved and things go sideways.

The story is fast paced and had many moving parts. The stalker is the suspect I couldn’t pin down. The rest was well-weaved throughout the story.

I highly recommend the book if you like strong women, strong men and their ability to work together.

I was given an advanced copy by Netgalley and am not required to leave a positive review.

It’s always a joy to return to Mistletoe, and this visit is no exception!
Holly White is preparing for her wedding and hosting the ballet corps for a production of The Nutcracker. But something is bothering her soon-to-be sister-in-law, and then the ballet corp’s Clara is dead in the snow globe carrying her during the parade. Holly is determined to help her almost sister and try to find out who murdered the ballerina.
As always, the town of Mistletoe is decked out for Christmas, and there is love and joy on every page. Holly makes it clear how much she cares for her family and friends, and they would do (and do!) anything for her. The author makes you feel the cold and snow as well as the warmth of hearth and home. Other than one odd reference to daylight savings time, this is a well-written story, without a lot of repetition from previous books in the series. Though I’ve read and enjoyed all the books in this series, this book can stand alone (though any reader would enjoy the whole series).
The author clearly loves her characters! They’re active, involved, humorous and caring. If only we could all live in towns like Mistletoe.

I have really enjoyed this series in the past. This entry was probably the weakest. There was a lot of attention paid to the preparation of Holly's wedding. The actual mystery having to do with the death of a ballerina felt just thrown in there. Holly didn't even know her, other than to say hello. She had no motivation to get involved. There were very few suspects and even those we hardly saw or got to know. Then the ending reveal with that was silly. I don't want to give a spoiler, but it was ridiculous. There was also another side mystery involving Evan's sister that just adds confusion to the mix. I enjoy the characters, I just wish this one had more mystery development.

I received a free copy of, Stalking Around the Christmas Tree by Jacqueline Frost, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Holly White is an inn keeper and amateur mystery solver. Can she solve the mystery before her wedding? I really enjoyed this book, Such a wonderful cast of characters. A really nice Christmas mystery.

This is my favourite Christmas series, so when I saw the ARC was available on Netgalley, I didn't care that it's March and decided to read it ASAP!
*spoilers for previous books in the series*
Holly is eagerly anticipating her Christmas Eve wedding to Evan, which is coming up next week! But living in Mistletoe means she can't dedicate her time to preparing for her wedding as it's the busiest season at Reindeer Games, her family's Christmas Tree Farm, and in the Christmas-themed town. As the town celebrates Christmas with tourists everywhere, the Mayor has organised a ballet, and the ballerinas are staying at the inn Holly manages. But for the fourth year in a row, a murder is committed right in the lead-up to Christmas, and Holly again begins investigating - this time to ensure the murderer is caught before her wedding and honeymoon!
I am a huge fan of the author's writing (she has more books published under different pen names!) and once again her books did not disappoint! Her books are all the perfect definition of a Cosy Mystery and nothing makes you feel more festive than a book where everything is Christmassy! I love all the characters and enjoy reading how their lives have changed in the year between each book. I could not recommend this series enough - though most readers would probably prefer to read it in November or December lol.
Thank you so much to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for this ARC of this series I love

With her wedding quickly approaching, Holly is hosting one last group at the Inn. This times it's the ballerina's that are in town to perform The Nutcracker, and the town is excited to see the holiday classic. To build up the excitement, the lead ballerina is riding on a float in the local parade. Only she's found dead inside the snowglobe she was riding in and now Evan has a murder to solve before the wedding.

Being a couple, and being nosy, Holly can't help but try to dig into what happened. Her excuse is that the young woman was staying at her inn, so she feels some level of investment. However, there's also wedding that is mere days away and nothing is going to stop Holly from marrying Evan, if she can help it. But can they figure out whodunit before their big day? Or will Holly scare the killer into striking again? Do they or don't they?

I LOVE this Christmas themed series, regardless of the time of year! Each entry not only brings on a happy, holiday vibe, it brings an awesome whodunit along for the ride! Please, keep this one going for a long time, because it's something I look forward to, just like the holiday itself!

Stalking around the Christmas Tree is another wonderful book. The ballet is in town and brings with it a murder and a cast of suspects. The path to trying to figure it out takes a turn when Libby finally tells what’s been going on with her. The two tales kept me guessing. The ending was spectacular. I felt like I was right there at the wedding!

I think it’s the first cozy mystery I read and it’s not for me. Too cozy. I couldn’t finish it. Stopping at 50%, so giving it a 3-star purely arbitrarily.