I discovered this series in 2022 and quickly devoured all 3 books during the holiday season. This book did not disappoint either. A good mystery thrown in with all the holiday vibes you could want. I love the quaint holiday games feature at the Tree Farm. If only this was a place you could visit in real life.
My only complaint about this book was I thought the side-storyline of Libby's stalker was a bit distracting. I think this could have been a plot for a book by itself. This series will be an automatic read for me.

Anything and everything written by this author is gold. I love having a series that I can pick up when I need a little Christmas spirit and cozy feeling!

The Christmas Tree Farm Mystery series is one of my favorites.
I just love this series, in one of the previous books it focused on the Christmas tree farm, it was such a wonderful book. Now there is a gift shop/bakery and its totally Christmas related. How can you go wrong with a town named Mistletoe. Mistletoe is in Maine, with lots of snow there's no worries about the town's folks getting into the holiday spirit.
Inn keeper Holly White is one busy lady, the ladies from the Nutcracker ballet are staying at Holly's Reindeer Games Inn while practicing for their big show and on top of that she's planning a wedding this Christmas. When a ballet dancer is discovered dead the investigation starts.
When it's discovered that the ballet dancer is hiding more than a few things could those secrets have led to her death? I remember Sheriff Evan Gray in the other books, now he's about to be a married man with his Christmas wedding. With a terrible murder to investigate right before their wedding will Evan and Holly's wedding plans go on as planned or will they blow away in the freezing cold wind?
I'll be on the lookout for more books in this intriguing holiday mystery series.

Pub Date 17 Oct 2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

Stalking Around the Christmas Tree

by Jacqueline Frost

You can’t ask for a more Christmasy setting than the town of Mistletoe or the tree farm called Reindeer Games sporting an inn run by Holly and a café named Hearth featuring Holly’s mom as owner and creator of delicious baked goods.

The mayor of Mistletoe convinces the state conservatory of ballet to perform The Nutcracker to bring in more tourists and turn the town’s reputation around following three years in a row of murders at Christmas time.

When the leading ballerina playing Clara is murdered, Holly gets involved. After all, many of the ballerinas and the ballet master were staying at her inn. Will the murder or a forecast of heavy snowfall interfere with Holly’s nuptial ceremony with Evan, the town’s handsome sheriff? Read Stalking Around the Christmas Tree to find out!

Rating: 4/5

Category: Mystery, General Fiction

Notes: #4 in the Christmas Tree Farm Mystery Series, but can be read as a standalone. I had read #1 and #2, but not having read the third did not hinder my understanding or enjoyment of this one.

Publication: October 17, 2023—Crooked Lane Books

Memorable Lines:

His worry was a physical thing traveling with him everywhere, a palpable energy gathered on his shoulders. I did what I could to comfort him, but the truth was that he wouldn’t relax again until the killer was caught, his sister was confirmed safe, and all the extra people left town.

She’d been raised for moments like these and groomed to follow in her father’s footsteps. A career in politics was first choice; marrying well was second. It was no wonder her parents nearly lost their stuffing when she’d chosen to bake cupcakes for the hoi polloi instead.

My head spun a little at the number of things she managed on a regular basis. The busier she was, the more satisfied and unstoppable she became. I was whatever the opposite of that might be.

Stalking Around the Christmas Tree by Jacqueline Frost has readers traveling to the charming town of Mistletoe, Maine. The story focuses on the characters, the town, and the character’s relationships. Holly White is getting ready for her wedding and Christmas while taking care of her inn and helping with the annual Reindeer Games. Her to-do list is quite lengthy. We get to hear about the items on Holly’s list often. There is no way that one woman could accomplish all the items on Holly's list unless they were the Flash. Cookie is a delightful character. I hope I am that lively when I am that age. Cookie shows that it is helpful to have friends in the right positions. There are two mysteries in Stalking Around the Christmas Tree. A ballerina who is playing Clara in The Nutcracker dies during the town’s Christmas parade and Libby, Holly’s friend and her fiancé’s sister, has a stalker. Holly, of course, cannot resist investigating the death of the ballerina. The details of the mystery are mixed in with everything else. There is so much going on (cards to be addressed and mailed out, a large stack of toys to be wrapped, Reindeer Games, wedding plans, and so much more) that the story is stressful (it gave me a migraine). The death of the ballerina was expected since the ballet and the ballerinas were mentioned often. There really was no reason for Holly to be investigating the murder except for the fact that the victim was staying at her inn. There are a limited number of suspects and we do not get to learn much about them. The whodunit can be solved long before the reveal (which was inane). The identity of the Bunheads blogger can be untangled with little effort. I wish the mystery had some unexpected twists and less banality. The way they caught Libby’s stalker had me rolling my eyes (it was unrealistic). I had trouble getting through Stalking Around the Christmas Tree. The lengthy, detailed descriptions had me skimming. I wish the pace had been peppier (instead of dashing through the snow, I was slogging my way up a mountain). Stalking Around the Christmas Tree is the fourth A Christmas Tree Farm Mystery. It can be read as a standalone, but it will take you a little time to understand the connection between the characters. Stalking Around the Christmas Tree is a character centric cozy with a lengthy to-do list, imminent nuptials, a slain ballerina, an impending snowstorm, a bunhead blogger, sheriff’s sister stalker, and a cheerful Christmas.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for my copy of Stalking Around the Christmas Tree by Jacqueline Frost in exchange for an honest review. It published October 17, 2023.
Another great installment in this series, I just have to say that I love how the characters develop and that their lives change and progress, rather than stay stagnant in their relationships. I love the Reindeer Games, and Cookie is a hoot! I'll be waiting for the next one!

Another cute installment in the this poor, unlucky town - a Christmas town that transforms into a winter wonderland every December, only to be cursed with a murder in town every year!

And here we are again, Holly, part owner with parents of a tree farm, inn and restaurant. It's cute, the way the town gathers together. But the murder every year is pretty ridiculous. I liked getting to know Libby better and her struggles.

I do think these stories read well on their own and, even though each one references a few clues to the murder the year before, you don't have to have read it to enjoy the story. It gives you enough info so you are caught up.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

This book is set in a year-round Christmas destination: Mistletoe, Maine. It's a week before Christmas, and that means it's a week until Holly White marries her love, Sheriff Evan Gray. (Was it intentional to give them color names?) As part of this year's holiday celebrations, Holly's best friend Caroline's father, the mayor, has managed to get a regional ballet company to offer several performances of The Nutcracker. The ballet troop is participating in the holiday parade when the dancer playing Clara drops dead. Holly is determined to help Evan solve this so that their wedding can proceed unhindered. But that's not the only dangerous situation in town: Evan's sister Libby is being menaced by a stalker, and it's likely to be related to the mobster she testified against. This storyline is very distracting. Although I thought this book was not written as well as "Have Yourself a Deadly Little Christmas:" there are weird words usages ("Hugged her abusively"--not sure what the author intended here), typos, and grammatical errors (Evan scrubs his hair when he's running, or rubbing, his hand over it to think; the word discontent used as a verb, etc.). I was reading a galley and there were quite a few missing hyphens and some formatting problems on the Kindle. My main objection was to Holly; by three-quarters of the way through the book, I actively disliked her. It's not just the complete disregard of Evan's requests to please stop investigating and let his team do their job, it was the concomitant implication that Holly thinks she's better at it than him. And the setting was too reminiscent of a Hallmark Christmas movie for me--so saccharine that it was unbelievable. There are named Christmas stockings for all the guests hanging from the fireplace in the Inn; okay, they buy them in bulk so it's cheaper than you think and Holly adds the names herself. OK, Holly is the only employee at her family Inn and does all the cleaning, etc. herself and still has time to fill dozens of her online jewelry store business orders (I actually liked her having a second job when the book began; it sets the story very cleanly in a contemporary setting when so many people have online side gigs.). But she cranks the heater for warmth and then, in the same sentence, cracks the window open to inhale "the clean oxygen-drenched air." (insert grimace here at that description.) There are times when characters say things to each other that came across as patronizing to this reader ("That was smart of you." "I stood, unable to be cool, listen to Evan's advice, or ignore my instincts any longer."--which meant, that she abandoned her mother when her mother needed her emotional support in order to run after a suspect.). Apparently there is a murder here every Christmas, just in the Vicki Delany series; not sure anyone would want to visit at that time, then. The assumption by the local small townspeople that being from out of town is enough reason to be suspicious of them reminds me that small town living is not the paradise these cozy mysteries make it out to be. I could go on and on (a calendar can be photographed, edited, printed, and mailed in one week--Christmas week? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!). But then I hate the overly-sweet Hallmark Christmas movies, so this book left me cold. Cozy mystery readers who want a fairly clean mystery (there's an implication that Evan spent the night, but the characters are aghast that Caroline might have slept with her new boyfriend and she's quick to assure them she hasn't) and a super-sweet ending will enjoy this book.

Stalking Around the Christmas Tree was the perfect, cozy Christmas mystery for cozy mystery lovers looking for something Christmasy.

This cozy mystery is set in the small town of Mistletoe, Maine. Our main character, Holly White's, family owns the Christmas tree farm, and Holly runs the Inn on the farm property. It's the week leading up to Christmas, and Holly has an inn full with the members of a ballet company in town to perform the Nutcracker. But, when the principal dancer is found dead, Holly can't help but try to figure out what happened.

I loved the setting of this story, and the secondary cast of characters are amazing. The mystery was very intriguing. In fact, there were two mysteries to solve in this one. And the romance.....

Oftentimes, in a cozy mystery, the sleuther can be a real thorn in the local law enforcements side. But, sometimes, that turns into an attraction, which turns into a relationship. That is one of my favourites in a cozy, when the amateur sleuther ends up with the good-looking small town sheriff or detective. In Stalking Around the Christmas Tree, Holly is a week away from her wedding to the local sheriff. The two met, you guessed it, during a murder investigation. But, will a Nor'easter predicted to bring in 4 ft. of snow put a damper on their plans, or will it be the latest murder in Mistletoe??

Stalking Around the Christmas Tree is the 4th in the Christmas Tree Farm Mysteries, but it can definitely be read as a stand-alone.

I definitely recommend this one to cozy mystery lovers.

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for an advanced digital copy of this book. My opinions are my own.

thank you netgalley for letting me review this book.

This was a cute murder mystery where a member of the community has to figure out who killed someone in the ballet. There are many twists and turns throughout the book. I did not want to put this book down.

#stalkingaroundthechristmastree #netgalley

I wish I had the next installment! Reading this one made me want to dive right in. Jacqueline Frost (Julie Anne Lindsey) does an amazing job with this series. I love how the characters and their relationships grows with each book. Well done!

Thank you NetGalley for providing me a review copy for exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars = Good+

I loved being back in this world again - the Christmas activities and Holly's family and friends were so fun to read about. The mystery, in my opinion, took a backseat to the town and people and holiday theme. And while I enjoyed ALL of that, I felt a bit short changed on the mystery. We didn't really get a sense of the victim at all, and the suspects seemed to pass across the page without a lot of depth to them.

I believe series fans will enjoy spending time with Holly and company again. And newcomers could probably pick this up without any issues, but I think the mystery will feel like a small part of the story, which could leave some readers feeling like they missed out.

This was a very enjoyable, cozy mystery! It's book four in the Christmas Tree Farm mystery series, and I hadn't read the first three before I read this one. The author does a wonderful job introducing the characters and filling the reader in on their histories. I didn't feel lost at all and had no problem reading this as a stand-alone.

Stalking Around the Christmas Tree is a quick, light, and entertaining holiday read. The characters are likable, and the mystery is well thought out. The stakes are low enough that you get those cozy Christmas vibes.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is the fourth book in Jacqueline Frost’s Christmas Tree Farm Mystery series – I’ve loved reading them as they have been released and this one was no exception.

I think the characters and setting are really important in these sorts of cosy mystery stories and series, and I love that Frost gives us a strong sense of the town of Mistletoe while still giving her characters a lot of space to live and breathe through the story. I really felt like I get to know a bit more about Holly through each of the books, and I also feel like there isn’t so much backstory, and so many characters, that you would feel lost jumping in on book 4 of the series.

In terms of the actual mystery, it was really a typical cosy mystery and done well. The way Holly finds herself involved makes sense, and I found the ending satisfying.

As always with the Christmas Tree Farm Mystery books my favourite thing was how Christmassy and warm it all feels – I would love to spend a Christmas with Holly and her family in Mistletoe.

Overall I think this is a fun and accessible read for anyone looking for a cosy Christmas book, and would recommend picking it up if you’re looking for sweet festive (murdery) book.

I really wanted to like this book, but Holly is really unpleasant at times. She has no real reason to investigate this time around, which makes for a disjointed story. For someone who is supposedly so busy she has plenty of time to run around town butting into everyone’s business. Maybe Holly will mature a bit more in the next book.

5 out of 5 stars. I loved this book! I am so glad that we got book #4 in this series. The mystery was very good and well crafted. The characters and the town and the tree farm and everything there are what make this series so enjoyable. I look forward to see what new Reindeer Games the author comes up with in each book. I also look forward to whatever antics Theodore gets up to next.

Innkeeper Holly White is juggling wedding prep (to her fiance Evan Gray the local sheriff) and the Christmas tourists at the Reindeer Games Inn in Mistletoe, Maine. So when a ballerina guest is murdered during the town's parade, Holly finds herself in the middle of the investigation. Several suspects include the Rat King and the ballet choreographer. And someone is threatening her friend and future sister-in-law Libby, too. Can Holly solve both mysteries before she becomes the next target?
I enjoyed this cozy mystery. It's clean with no profanity and only mild sexual innuendo. And I'd like to visit Mistletoe, Maine!
The mystery kept me guessing. But it wasn't so engaging that I felt eager to keep reading.
Even though this is the fourth in a series, it could stand alone. I would have followed the storyline better if I had read the previous installments.

An enjoyable holiday installment in the Christmas Tree Farm Mysteries written by Jacqueline Frost. It's the perfect time of year to devour these seasonal books because you get the wonderful spirit, great ideas for decorating and cooking, and you have a curious whodunit. In this one, the ballet is featured prominently, as well as our protagonist's wedding the local sheriff in a small town in Maine. Loved the holiday cheer and definitely made the day super fun. Looking forward to another one next year.

This has every element of a perfect cozy mystery to me. The setting of Maine is so delightfully cozy, and winter time adds to that tenfold. The pacing, plot, and characters are all equally as charming and well done. Despite not being first in the series, I never felt lost in the story. I can't wait to get into the others in this series!

I really enjoyed this mystery. This series is one of my must reads and the latest adventure with Holly and the crew had me guessing throughout the story. I loved the side story of Holly’s wedding and the secondary mystery surrounding Libby. This was unputdownable!