This is what I would categorize as a cozy mystery novel. Set in my one of my favorite states, Maine, in an imaginary town called Mistletoe. These books, (this is number 4), all have a mystery that occurs around Christmas the towns most popular time of the year.
Holly White is the main character, and Innkeeper of the family complex. She has a front row seat to the murders in her town. Aided by her family, friends, and her now fiancée Sheriff Evan Gray, she seeks to solve the deaths each time.

While watching the local parade to showcase the performers of The Nutcracker Suite, the primary dancer is found dead in the "snow globe" meant for her to perform in. This ballet troupes' appearance in a local theater is the culmination of an entire year's worth of effort for the local authorities and one of the big tourist draws, so finding her murderer is imperative.

Throw in a couple of other storylines, a big snowstorm, and oh yes, her wedding to Evan, and Holly has her hands full. While not officially an investigator, she has access to a couple of suspects, the room that the dancer was staying in, and her own good sense to enable her sleuthing.

This was an enjoyable story, and I will look forward to more Christmas Tree Farm Mysteries.
Opinions expressed are strictly my own. Thank you to netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for this ARC.

5/5 stars: This is the newest entry in Frost's Christmas Tree Farm Mystery series, which is set in Mistletoe, Maine and takes place during the holiday season. I adore the small town holiday-filled atmosphere of the Inn and Christmas tree farm and get a kick out of the Reindeer Games hi-jinks. Frost's characters are incredibly likable and Holly's relationships with her friends, parents and her fiance, Evan, are genuine and delightful. Oh and one must never forget feisty rescue cat, Cindy Lou Who. Most importantly, Frost's mystery perfectly balances the clues, red herrings and suspects and will keep you guessing until the end. Some tough topics are discussed, take care and check CWs. This is the fourth book in this B&B Cozy Mystery series, to start at the beginning check out Twelve Slays of Christmas and catch up on all the festive fun and oh yeah... crimes.

I received this eARC thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books in exchange for an honest review. Publishing dates are subject to change.

its like your good ol mystery with nothing out of the box happening but its set around christmas which is my favourite time of the year so a three star will suffice i suppose

Tis the season to solve a murder—and innkeeper Holly White knows she’ll have to make her list and check it twice if she wants to catch the killer

Omg I loved it! It was extra special recognizing friends names from the cozy community. I love this series and hope that Julie can write more in the series next year or in 2025.

What a great story to get us in the Christmas spirit. I love reading books about Christmas all year long. I loved the characters and want to be friends with Holly, Evan, Libby, Ray, Cookie, Carolyn, Samantha etc. as with most of Julie’s books you fall in love with the characters. Holly has so much going on between running her family's Inn, getting her jewelry orders mailed, hosting Reindeer games, getting married on Christmas Eve, and now the murder of the lead ballerina Tiffany Krieg!

The mystery is interesting and well plotted, and had just enough twists and turns to keep you engrossed in the story till the end. We also had the sub-plot of who was terrorizing Libby.

I recommend this book to all my cozy lover friends.

I requested and received an Advanced Readers Copy from Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is book 4 in the Christmas Tree Farm series. It's Christmas in Mistletoe, Maine and the farm is busy. Also Holly has a full hotel with tourist in town for the parade and the ballet troupe presenting the Nutcracker. When the star ballerina is killed during the Christmas parade the town is upset. Holly discovers that Tiffany had more than a few secrets. She finds out that the star of the show had a super fan that no one knows anything about. And the show’s understudy slips some other intriguing information Holly’s way: not only was Tiffany secretly seeing someone romantically, but there seems to be more than one rat in this company. Will this be an end to tourism in Mistletoe?

Another great Christmas mystery for Holly to solve.
Can Holly solve murder before her wedding.
Very good story with drama,mystery,twists great characters and romance.
Really enjoy this series.
Voluntarily reviewed.

When you live in a town called Mistletoe, Christmas is a big thing! For inn-keeper, Holly White, it has always been that way as her parents are the owners of a Christmas tree farm and the inn she manages. This year, her December guests include a ballet company, in town to perform The Nutcracker, and her future in-laws, there for her Christmas Eve marriage to their son and local sheriff, Evan Gray. Over the three previous festive seasons, there have been murder investigations for Evan and Holly to deal with, but it couldn't happen again, could it?

After a body is found with links to the Reindeer Games Inn and her soon to be sister in law begins struggling with problems she won't share, Holly knows she has to help Evan find his killer at the very least. With the weather starting to close in and the annual Reindeer Games about to begin, will this be one Christmas killer too many for Holly at her favourite time of year?

The fourth book in the Christmas Tree Farm Mystery series is my first, but I was in no way disadvantaged by this fact, and I loved every word. Holly and Evan are brilliant main protagonists, but their supporting cast often stole the show! What’s not to love about a family friend trying to find a bride for her housemate Theodore the goat? I really hope there will be more of this excellent series ready for next Christmas.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Crooked Lane Books, but the opinions expressed are my own. This is a fun read set in a winter wonderland that will grace any Christmas tbr book list. Highly recommended.

A murderer on the prowl in the heat of the season, what a way to spoil the Christmas vibes. The storyline was great. I love the Mafia Baby Mama drama, which created the green eye monster. This cozy mystery was a delight to read. It was intriguing and captivating, with a romantic edge.

I didn’t read the previous book in this series and felt completely lost. The characters were more like charictures to me . Not real and almost comedic. I had no interest in the story and mystery. The relationship between the main characters was very casual. It took me 5 settings to read the book. I do think if I had read the book prior I may have felt differently.

Jacqueline writes another fun mystery with Holly. Even though Holly is gearing up for her wedding day, this sleuth must help solve this murder before her wedding to the Sheriff.

This one will keep you guessing and turning pages!

Title: Stalking Around The Christmas Tree
Author: Jacqueline Frost
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Publish Date: 10/17/23
Rating: 5 stars

I love this series and thought this was a wonderful addition to it. Holly has so much going on: running her family's B&B, hosting Christmas games, getting married on Christmas Eve, and now a murder. Will Holly get everything done, find out whodunit, and get to the church, err barn, on time? Maybe with a little help from her friends and family.

So fun and cozy and Christmasy. I was hooked from the very first page. I adore all the characters in this series, and can't wait to read what happens next.

Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias or favor or expectation.

I love a great, make you feel good cozy mystery. and this book brings it all to life. With Christmas right around the corner and a wedding to plan what can possibly go wrong. This has a great story line that is easy to follow. This author brings the town, the places and people all to life. You feel like you're in the book hanging out with the people. The cozy Inn brings you right in and you really want to be there. I loved this book.

Oh, rats! Holly has her work cut out for her this time. With her wedding fast approaching, as is a major winter storm, she's also dealing with an inn full-up with a ballet company, holiday games to play and officiate, and the troubling behavior of soon-to-be-husband Evan's sister, Libby. Then Tiffany, the lead ballerina for the town's presentation of The Nutcracker, is killed. Who did it? One of the other ballerinas, or maybe the company's ballet master, George? Tiffany's online fan, or, wait, was she even the intended victim? Holly doesn't have time to think, to be honest, but she still can't help getting involved in the case, even after receiving threats.

Overall, I found it a fun read but wasn't quite as taken with it as I'd expected to be. Seemed to get bogged down with excessive descriptions of, say, clothing or hair styles, at times. Now, true, I loved every tiny detail at the end but, well, took me awhile to get to that point. Holly is likable although, quite frankly, I question, one, her common sense of darting out alone to confront a potential murderer, and, two, that she blew off parts of her mother's big moment being filmed to chase after said suspect. That left me annoyed at her for quite awhile. She also seemed to continually be distracted by thoughts of the murder. Never mind she'd barely spoken to the victim. She was fully invested in investigating. Investigating against Evan's attempts to detour her, btw.

The secondary plot involving Evan's sister was interesting. It did showcase Libby's ultimate maturity, however, and the bond between Evan and her. As for the involvement of Holly in that situation, she seemed largely sidelined and a bit overly dramatic as she thought about the case although, in her favor, her pestering Libby may have ultimately been the key to guiding Libby to share the situation with the already worried Evan. Mind you, all this is going on for Holly at the same time as the holiday festivities, wedding planning, addressing and signing cards, officiating at a snowman hat throwing contest, and watching the advance of the impending winter storm as her wedding day approached. Then there's the quirky friend who becomes an ordained minister to perform, no lie, a wedding for her pet goat. And, oh, the repeated comments about the toy drive coordinator looking like Santa and being able to seemingly make things happen. That said, the final scene is wonderfully described and reminds us all of the magic of people coming together to make the impossible happen.

Thanks #NetGalley and #CrookedLaneBooks for the dose of Christmas. It was a fun story and I loved how it incorporated The Nutcracker into the plot.

Cozy Mystery at Christmas.

This is a cozy mystery with lots of Christmas. Which is great for me since I love Christmas and mysteries. Everything that is going on in this book is about Christmas. There are reindeer games which really sound fun for a community. The town is called Mistletoe and the main character is Holly. There is holiday cooking, parades and the Nutcracker going on during this story. And if that is not enough, there is also romance, a wedding and a murder.

The latest Christmas Tree Farm mystery finds Holly about to get married. However, before she can do that, a ballerina ends up murdered and her future sister-in-law reveals she is being stalked. Holly must solve these two mysteries so that her wedding will be perfect.

Another good entry in this series! I would recommend reading the others before this one otherwise you won’t get some of the character points referenced here. I am curious to see where Holly’s mysteries go from here/if they continue. We’ve seen her return home, recover from heartbreak, and now marry the man of her dreams. I wouldn’t be surprised if Frost leaves it here. However, I hope there are more because I’ve enjoyed this series from the start!

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Winter always puts me in the mood for cozy mysteries (even more so than the rest of the year). Jacqueline Frost’s Christmas Tree Farm Mystery series are consistently my top ‘winter themed’ cozies, absolutely perfect for the time of year.
Holly and the whole town of Mistletoe are back for two big events – a performance of The Nutcracker by a high profile, ballet troupe, and Holly’s wedding to sheriff Evan. Of course, there’s a body to throw a spanner in the works, one of the ballerina’s, which isn’t the sort of publicity Mistletoe is looking for. I do love when long-running cozy series acknowledge the unlikelihood of their murder town, and STALKING AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE does that, giving Holly the motivation to meddle in a mystery that’s not as close to home as previous instalments have been. There’s also a secondary plotline, that’s been working through the last couple of books, of Evan’s sister Libby, and a criminal threat that’s now followed her from Boston to Mistletoe.
This fourth instalment wasn’t quite as quick to grab me as the earlier books – possibility because we didn’t get to really know much about the victim the way I’d have liked – but the characters all remain a joy to spend time with and Mistletoe is, as always, the sort of holiday ideal I’d love to visit.
An enjoyable read, and still one of the best cozy series around. Long may these books be on my holiday reading!

I always look forward to new titles in Jacqueline Frost's Christmas Tree Mystery Series, and this one especially had me looking forward to it as I loved that the plot was going to revolve around a traveling Nutcracker Ballet company coming to stay at Holly's family's inn. As someone who adores this series, cozy mysteries, and the Nutcracker, I couldn't wait to dive right in.

I will say that I don't personally recommend reading this title without having first read the previous three, as you'll be spoiled for a lot of the plot otherwise. Stalking Around the Christmas Tree takes readers back to the beloved Reindeer Games Christmas tree farm, where we are once again catching back up with Holly and her wonderful parents. Holly's been a busy bee planning her Christmas Eve wedding to the local town sheriff, Evan Gray, while still trying to handle everything else already on her plate. Already feeling overwhelmed, she can't believe when another murder happens during the holiday season in her beloved hometown, and together with her friends, she'll stop at nothing to see the truth be brought to light.

With delightful romance and suspense elements, characters that have come to feel like old friends, and a mystery that will keep you guessing right through until the end, the fourth installment in this fan favorite cozy mystery series is another winner in my eyes, and I had a hard time wanting to put it down.

Aside from the well developed mystery, and the swoon worthy romantic bits between Holly and Evan, I also loved how readers were treated to more of Libby and Caroline's stories, and how the Nutcracker tidbits added another interesting layer to an already complex plot.

Overall, I ended up enjoying this one, and while I wouldn't say I loved it quite as much as the first three, it was still a wonderful cozy mystery, and one that I'd definitely find myself recommending to anyone who is a fan of this genre.

I hope the author has more titles to come in this favorite series of mine.

Final Rating: 4/5.

Thanks so much to Crooked Lane Books for allowing me to advance read and review this title!

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary advance reader copy of this novel from the publisher (Crooked Lane Books) via NetGalley. I was not required to give a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my own, and this is my honest review.

Step into the world of Mistletoe, where the setting is beautiful and murder just so happens to occur around Christmas-time each year.

As Holly prepares for her wedding day, she finds herself entangled in the murder of ballerina visiting for a production of The Nutcracker.

The mystery had me guessing until the end; well written and with a delightful cast of characters.

The setting makes me want to cozy up with a cup of peppermint hot chocolate beside a Christmas tree, even in August.

Any cozy mystery fan will be delighted by this book.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book and provide my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed this one! A true cosy Christmas mystery. Slightly predictable in parts but it was everything you would want from a festive, cosy quick read. I haven’t read any other books in this series but didn’t feel I was missing anything. I also now want to visit Mistletoe!!

Holly is really busy. She's working on the Reindeer Games for her family's Christmas Tree Farm's annual promotion. She has a bunch of ballerinas staying at her inn. And she's planning her wedding to the sheriff at Christmastime. Additionally, her good friend is acting strangely. When she couldn't get any busier, the starring ballerina dies during the Christmas parade.

This is a fun cozy mystery. It's part of a series of murder mysteries that take place at Christmastime in a small town. And Holly is in the middle of the action. Very clean story so everyone can read and enjoy it. Even though it's part of a series, with recurring characters, the reader will have no problem getting into the story.

Fun read for Christmas.