The annual Jingle Bell Stroll is a popular event, but this year it ended with the fatal stabbing of Santa Claus. Hope has blog posts to write and baking to do, but she plunges herself into the investigation, juggling it with the busy holiday season. I've been reading the Food Blogger mysteries since the beginning of the series and this book further develops the relationships between the characters. Pick this one up if you're looking for some holiday cheer and mystery.

Both Goodreads and NetGalley let me down on information here, so just to be clear, this is actually the seventh book in the Food Blogger Mystery series and I haven't read the rest of the series, so my opinions might be different from those of returning readers.

Overall, I enjoyed A CORPSE AMONG THE CAROLERS and I think Sennefelder did a really good job of providing a little relevant backstory while keeping the book as accessible as possible for new readers. There's a hefty cast of regular-feeling characters in this small town (understandable by a seventh installment) and I did struggle a little to keep up with who everyone was and their connections to each other. I also felt like I, personally, was missing a little of the context that would have made the friendships, romances etc really pop.

I did however adore the atmosphere. Sennefelder has done a fantastic job of working in festive holiday staples to create that traditional Hallmark small-town Christmastime ideal. The novelty of the Jingle Bell Stroll, the chill of the tree farm, and the warmth of the kitchen as Hope works on delicious Christmas themed bakes all came through in a tangible way. I'd have liked to have seen a little more of the 'food blogger' element of the series come though in the story (although there is a nice scene where Hope works on some promotional material) but I can understand that that probably took a backseat to making this particular instalment as festive as possible, so it's a reasonable adjustment.

Reading A CORPSE AMONG THE CAROLERS gave me a nice taster of the Food Blogger Mystery series, and I enjoyed it enough that I'll happily go back and read the first instalment. Hopefully the 'food blogger' aspect will come through more in those less 'themed' books, and I'm interested in trying them out.

A good cozy mystery, with a really strong festive atmosphere, A CORPSE AMONG THE CAROLERS isn't a bad place to enter the Food Blogger Mystery series, and I suspect returning readers will enjoy it even more.

Hope is fully overloaded this Christmas season. She is determined to make everything perfect for her boyfriend and his girls. She plans many activities to include the annual caroling stroll. Then a body shows up and now she needs to add detective to her plate. This is such a fun read and a great series.

Culinary Cozy Mystery that follows a a Connecticut food blogger turns sleuth after discovering the man who'd volunteered to play Santa stabbed in the back after caroling.

5/5 stars: This is the seventh entry in Sennefelder's Food Blogger Mystery series which is a Culinary Cozy Mystery set at Christmas in Connecticut and features a food blogger who turns sleuth after discovering the man who'd volunteered to play Santa stabbed in the back after caroling. With virtually the whole town present, the list of suspects seems endless but it doesn’t take long to narrow in on the victim’s bitter and vindictive ex-wife, along with his new wife, who may have been after his money. After unearthing a clue that suggests the dead man may have been hiding a sordid past, she's soon closing in on the killer. With plenty of twists and turns, Sennefelder has masterfully crafted a mystery that deftly balances the suspects, clues and red herrings and will leave you pondering the whodunit until the final reveal. Heartfelt and humorous, Sennefelder's writing and character work are brilliant; the characters are well-rounded and complex while remaining incredibly likable. This has long been a favorite series and it's a joy to catch up with Hope, Ethan, her investigator boyfriend, and his daughters, her friends and family and all the folks of Jefferson. And of course, one mustn't forget Hope's pets: Bigelow, the rescue dog, her fluffy white cat, Princess, and everyone's favorite Rhode Island Red hen Poppy. Oh and I simply adore the ending! Prepare to get hungry; the food descriptions are mouth-watering and all the recipes included sound absolutely yummy. Additionally, I love all the cozy holiday vibes throughout the book; Sennefelder always know how to set the scene. While you could read this as a stand-alone, you'll gain so much more by reading the series from the beginning; so be sure to pick up book one, The Uninvited Corpse. A great read, highly recommend!

I received this eARC thanks to NetGalley and Beyond the Page Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Publishing dates are subject to change.

Hope’s food blog is going well and she is busy getting ready for Christmas, but she always finds time for the Jingle Bell Stroll. A lovely tradition the whole town participates in. A night for caroling and friendship.

Until she stumbles onto a body. Santa’s body. With a knife in his back.

First look says it may be the ex. She’s pretty bitter. My money was on the stepdaughter! But there were plenty of suspects to go around as the entire town was there.

Hope digs into the crime and finds Santa may not have been the jolly old soul they thought. Motives are everywhere and the past will come back to haunt some of them.

Always a pleasure! And there are yummy recipes!!

NetGalley/ Beyond The Page Publishing November 12, 2024

The author set the mood taking Hope along a stroll through a festive Christmas shopping village. Unfortunately, she was also setting the stage for murder and that Christmas shopping trip served to introduce the main suspects and "victim". The author does a nice job of painting a picture of a somewhat idyllic town where everyone is anxious to carol and enjoy the together time. Santa, after having stuck his black book in his mouth, served to keep the parade moving until he couldn't. Someone killed Santa or Mitty.
From there we learn that Hope and her sister Claire fine themselves in the center of another mystery. Hope is described as a good woman anxious to build a family with her boyfriend Ethan and her girls. Despite that she is a bit reckless never shying back from jumping into an investigation. She is so entrenched as a amateur sleuth that the police warn her but don't warn her not to investigate. The victim's family wants and does not want her help. She is also described as having al lot on her plate with baking, a food blog, a cookbook, the holidays and family. Therein lies the part I found tough to deal with, she is too reckless. Her becoming a victim herself would hurt her future family. I look at Heather a touch differently than other readers. When she chastises Ethan for the girls being present and frightened by what happened, I disagreed. Her concern for the girls came from a good place but anyone could have stumbled onto the victim. Her cavalier attitude while investigating could have put her in a bad place with Heather. Speaking of Heather, the author showed a tremendous amount of growth with that character.
Overall, it wasn't a bad book. It was just a touch slow and it was a touch difficult to connect with Hope and her motivations and what she was willing to risk. I have not read any of the other books in the series and may to see if that changes my opinion.
Overall I would put this book at 3.4 - 3.5.
Thanks to NetGalley and Beyond the Page Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC.

A CORPSE AMONG THE CAROLERS is the seventh book in the Food Blogger Mysteries by Debra Sennefelder. Filled with holiday cheer, the jingling of bells, the ho-ho-ho-ing of Santa, sweets, and… murder… the reader is in for a treat with this newest release! With the annual Jingle Bell Stroll right around the corner, food blogger Hope Early is looking forward to creating new memories with her beau and his two young daughters. I love the character development Hope has gone through over the course of the series and the changes in her life. She not only cares deeply for her family and friends, but gives back to the community by fostering small business ideas and opportunities for those in need. While this book can be read as a standalone, if you appreciate getting to know the core characters, you’ll want to start at the beginning. Ms. Sennefelder has done a remarkable job bringing each one to life on the pages, and their individual personalities and quirks make the reader unable to resist their charm. The Christmas spirit is on full display as well with a merry winter wonderland, and you’ll want to curl up in front of the fire with a glass of eggnog while reading to enjoy the mood.

But, unfortunately, someone disrupts the celebrations by stabbing Santa in the back. When Hope discovers the dead Santa, holiday festivities take a back seat to finding the culprit. Hope’s insatiable curiosity and her quest for justice drives her to ask questions and pry into the victim’s background. It doesn’t take long to find a plethora of suspects with the man’s ex-wife and new wife heading the naughty list. While Hope may be a bit pushy in her snooping, I did like how she asks for help from her close friends. I especially like that one of them is a retired mystery author, who offers gossip and advice on hunting down clues. As Hope narrows down the lists of suspects, tension and danger rises until the edge-of-your-seat reveal. Lest the reader forget it’s the Christmas season, the story’s heartwarming conclusion is wrapped up with a giant bow and left a huge smile on my face with the anticipation of what’s next in store for Hope!

I was provided with an advance copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

"A Corpse Among the Carolers" is the 7th book in Debra Sennefelder's "A Food Blogger Mystery" series. Visiting Jefferson, Connecticut especially at Christmas was a pleasant escape.

I love Hope as she is real and I have become invested in her and what is happening around her. I like her family and friends, Claire, Jane, Drew and of course Ethan (ex Police Chief boyfriend) and the dynamics between them all. Don't get me started on her dog Bigelow, Poppy the chicken and Princess the cat!

There was life changing moments in this book, as Hope and Ethan make some decisions about the future. I like how the author portrays Heather I. This book and look forward to see how she grows. With a few suspenseful moments as well as some lighthearted ones, but with plenty of twists and turns to keep us entertained. I did suspect the killer but I started second guessing myself as there was plenty of suspects.

I recommend this book and I cannot wait to see what’s next for Hope in this series and I look forward to reading the next book ...

I requested and received an advance reader copy of this book from Beyond the Page and Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I would like to thank Netgalley, Beyond the Page Publishing and Debra Sennefelder for the E ARC of this book.
This is book 7 of the Food Blogger Mystery series, I have not read any of the previous books and in many ways you don’t need to, to enjoy this book.
Hope Early is getting into the Christmas spirit but knows she has so much to achieve before Christmas day, can she do so? No matter how busy she is, she always makes time for the town’s annual Jingle Bell Stroll. Everyone in the town comes out and they make their way through the street singing carols. Everyone has a wonderful time and this year is no different until the last stop, where Hope finds the body of the town’s Santa with a knife in his back. Who could have wanted him dead and why?
As hope and the town’s police grapple with many suspects, it is Hope who finds a clue to Santa’s past that may unlock the whole mystery. With the help of her friends she sets about finding the true, but could doing so put her own life at risk?
This was a good read, great characters with an engaging plot. I liked that we got not just the mystery but seeing Hope in her day to day life, her family and friends. I liked her boyfriend and his children, they added to the story for me. I loved the foodie aspect of the book and love that we got recipes at the end. I will be going back to read the previous books in this series.

This one's just okay for me. I like the characters, but the plot and Hope's solving of it feels kind of convoluted. And the food blogger thing and social media content feels sort of randomly emphasized here and there, and then ignored for large chunks of time, so it doesn't feel authentic. I guess this series just isn't my cup of tea.

Review copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

"A Corpse Among the Carolers (A Food Blogger Mystery)" by Debra Sennefelder is probably best read after having read the other books in the series and recently having read them. I found myself having trouble following along and I think it's because it's been awhile since I've read the other books in the series. There's some things going on for the overall story that just need the background to best appreciate them.

The mystery starts when the man playing Santa at a caroling event seems to have fallen asleep during the singing. Only, he's not asleep. Luckily he wasn't discovered until the kids seemed to be out of sight of him. Hope gets sucked into figuring out what happened to him. I honestly think this time she really shouldn't have and totally don't blame the mother of her boyfriend's kids for not really wanting her around them. She keeps putting herself in danger and not thinking about how her actions to track down a killer could put the girls at risk too. Also, if she's so key to their family know what would it do to the kids if one of these days a killer actually did get her too? Yeah, she's starting to annoy me a bit with her recklessness.

Good mystery surrounding a murder. Well written, easy to follow with lots of potential suspects. Enjoyable characters, although the main character continually puts herself at risk, that got annoying especially since her boyfriend has children that rely on her. Otherwise pleasant setting and well crafted murder mystery that sends our sleuth into many directions. Christmas theme running in the background makes a white snowy scene mixed with the holiday cheer a bright spot in the mystery. NetGalley and be publishers provided an early read for an honest review.

A Corpse Among the Carolers is the latest entry in the Food Blogger Mystery series. I've been reading this series from the beginning and have enjoyed all of the entries. Hope is an easy character to like which allows the reader to overlook her penchant to be a busybody at time. This often leaders her right into the middle of a murder investigation. I do love the growth in the characters from the first book until now. This has a plot that moves swiftly as there is a lot going on with many layers. The mystery will keep the readers attention with some surprises along the way.

This book is set during Christmas so if you are looking to get into the holiday spirit this one is sure to get you there. It can be read as a stand alone even though it is part of a series. Although, I do like to read a series from the first book because a lot of my enjoyment is getting to see characters like the ones in this series grow and develop. I will be back for as many more books as the author plans to write in this series.

Hope, Hope, Hope, geeze you get yourself in a lot of hairy situations lol. As always, a great read. Hope just cannot seem to keep her curiosity in check, even though she tries. And this one really had a lot of layers too it. Not only is she trying to kick off her brand-new cookbook, finish up the renovations on her new kitchen space, as well as bake, decorate, and blog her way through the holidays but she has murder on top of that too!! How's that for multi-tasking lol.

I was really worried after the last book that she was going to again make her best friend Drew, and his family upset again but thank God, cooler heads prevailed. And I really enjoyed that there were multiple mysteries in this one. Just when you think something starts to click into place, oh, well we have another mystery to solve on top of that one!

I absolutely love Christmas books, especially Christmas cozies. And this one is really fantastic. Although, all I can say is that Hope may need a vacation after this one lol. And oh my gosh, Ethan, I really thought he and Hope were finished. I was all ready to go on the 'we hate Ethan' train when that ending happened. It's about time, Ethan! You had us all worried lol.

And that part with Heather?? Oh man, I thought my heart had stopped. I couldn't believe the growth that had come from her. I'm so thrilled about this turn of events. It makes things so much easier for everyone. I just love these books. Hope is so dang easy to like. She's friendly, puts her heart out there, really does just want to help even if she is a first-class busybody lol, generous, and kind. I'm hoping there will be more of these books in the future. I highly recommend!

Thanks to Net Galley, the publishers, and to Debra Sennefelder for the ability to read and review this book. All opinions are honest and are completely my own.

Christmas is an even busier time than usual for food blogger Hope Early, she has a houseful of people coming for dinner on Christmas Eve plus all her other responsibilities to deal with. Of course, that doesn't mean she is going to miss any of the planned festivities in Jefferson, or the activities she's arranged with boyfriend Ethan's two young daughters. So when she discovers a body during the Jingle Bell Stroll she's sure she will absolutely, definitely, be able to fit in finding clues alongside the police as well as everything else, won't she?

I was able to read an advanced copy of this thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Beyond the Page, but the opinions expressed are my own. I always look forward to a new title in this series from Debra Sennefelder and I really enjoyed the Christmassy theme. The recipes at the end all sound delicious and the hot chocolate idea is something I'd really like to try. It gets 5 stars because I love Christmas cosies and was nowhere near guessing whodunit!

A Corpse Among the Carolers takes place in Jefferson, CT. The time is the Christmas Holidays. Hope Early is the main character who is a food blogger. She owns Hope from Home. Claire is her sister and owns a pet shop called Good Day, Good Dog. Ethan Cahill is Hope's boyfriend. He use to be the police chief but is now an investigater. He is divorced from his ex, Heather, and has two daughters, Molly and Becca. Matt Royden is a defense attorney. Ethan sometimes works for him.
f
Hope is going to the Snowflake Holiday Market to do some Christmas shopping. The market has vendors selling Christmas items. Lexi Hewitt is the church secretary who is running the market. Her sister, Claire has a booth. Brody Fitzgerald who owns Antique Alcove has a booth along with his mother, Ruth Fitzgerald who makes beautiful Christmas ornaments. She is divorced from Mitty Fitzgerald. Brody is now running the store as his father, Mitty, has retired. Mitty is now married to Nora Fitzgerald. Alena Smedley is Mittiy's step-daugher and is a co-worker at the store. Drew Adams is Hope's best friend and a reporter for The Gazette Newspaper.

Hope and Drew are leaving the building when they come across Mitty Fitzgerald and Ralph Lang arguing. Ralph believed Mitty sold him a fake antique Higganum Lamp. Drew had to step between them to break the argruement.

Molly is excited about the Jingle Bell Stroll. She has hired Mitty to be the santa. She arrives early for a setup of desserts, etc. She is worried about Ruth and Nora as they are both volunteers. At one of the tables they start a dispute. The stroll begins with Mollie and Becca joining her. Ethan will be late as he has some business he needs to finish up. Hope and the girls catch up with Claire. Drew sees them and joins them. They do the stroll ending up at the Inn in town. Hope sees Mitty sitting on a bench looking like he has fallen asleep. She goes to check on him and finds him dead with a knife in his back. She hears a noise behind the bench and saw a shadow of a person but cannot telll who it is. She calls the police. Detective Reid is the main detective and arrives at the scene.

This is where the story takes off. There is so much going on that I will leave it to the reader to enjoy to the surprising ending.

I really enjoyed the book. I think that this probably will become a series. I enjoyed the main characters in the town and look forward to reading the next book.

Thank you NetGalley and Beyond the Page for this ARC.

amateur-sleuth, blogger, cozy-mystery, culinary, family-dynamics, family, foodie, friends, friendship, small-business, small-town, Christmas-season, local-law-enforcement, Connecticut, pets, relationship-issues, relationships, relatives, antiques, murder-investigation, RECIPES, verbal-humor, unpleasant-suspect****

Hope has become a fixture in the small town in Connecticut where she moved following a career in NYC. The story has well-developed realistic characters including family and friends and a mystery with lots of twists and red herrings. At the annual community sing event she finds the body of a local man dressed as Santa. Evidently he was not beloved by all and there were even postmortem accusations that he had been selling fake antiques. An excellent cozy!
I requested and received a temporary ebook from Beyond the Page Publishing via NetGalley. Thank you!
#FoodBloggerMysteriesBk7 #CozyMysteries

I received a free copy of, A Corpse Among the Carolers, by Debra Sennefelder, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Going Christmas caroling is so much fun, whether you can carry a tune or not. In this book they have a Jingle Bell Stroll, where the town comes together to sing Christmas songs. Hope a food blogger is feeling very festive, until someone kills Santa. This is a good mystery, i especially loved the recipes in the back of the book.

This is a fun cozy holiday mystery and though it is part of a series you can read it as a stand alone . I have read a couple of books in this series and greatly enjoy the writing style and characters they are interesting and the story as a whole is easily able to hold your attention and become invested. I look forward to reading more by this author .

Thanks to NetGalley and Beyond the Page Publishing for this ARC. This is my honest review .

3.5 stars
This is a fun, entertaining read. Hope is a smart, complex, interesting, strong, entertaining characters. It’s fun spending time with her and the other characters in the story again. The secondary characters added to the fabric of the story. I enjoyed the mystery and how it played out. The Christmas holiday season added to the atmosphere of the story and Hope’s character. The story is easy to read and get into.

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