This is the first book by this author that I have read. It was an easy read. I read it over a 2 day period while waiting at a hospital for my husbands treatments to be completed. Positive story with characters that I "cared" about by the time the book ended. I will certainly look for more of her work to read. ( )

This is book two in a series featuring minister’s wife Aggie Sloan-Wilcox, who cannot help but snoop whenever she feels her family is threatened. This time a Christmas Open House is overshadowed by a family reunion got awry. Without consulting her, Aggie’s mom, Junie, has invited a former foster sister to join the festivities. Ginger has always been a manipulative liar, and her target was always the youngest sister, Sid. But they are adults now, and Ginger arrives with her new husband, and tales of her success as a TV personality and cookbook author. Sid’s old jealousy won’t be easily assuaged, however, especially when she catches Ginger kissing her boyfriend. A screech, a shove, and a shattered punch bowl quickly end the party. But before Ed and Aggie can help everyone arrive at a reasonable truce, Ginger turns up dead, and Sid is the logical suspect.

This is a pretty typical cozy. I like Aggie and Lucy (her best friend and sleuthing sidekick). In fact I like all the recurring characters and wouldn’t mind knowing more about them. However Richards took a very long time to set up the relationships in this book; the murder doesn’t happen until page 90, and not much exciting happens after that. Still, it’s a fast read. There are plenty of suspects and clues, including some red herrings to lead the reader astray. I definitely guessed the murderer several times (each time wrongly), before all was revealed. The ending felt rather anti-climactic, however.
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We get to see more of Aggie's family. So it makes sense that she is who she is. They are a lovable, kooky lot. ( )

This is one of those books that I just never really "got into." I'm not sure if it was because I tried reading it too long after Christmas, if I was in the mood to read a different genre, or if it was a genuine disinterest in the book. It really surprised me because I've read some of Richards' Appalachian books and really liked them. In this book, Aggie, a minister's wife, sets out to investigate the death of her foster sister in an effort to free her sister from suspicion. I am not going to rate this book because I can't really say that I enjoyed it, but I'm not sure that it was really a plot issue. I think it was more of a "reading at the wrong point in my life" issue.

Opening Sentence: "...Given a chance to make a Christmas wish, most people ask for peace on earth..."

With the yellow crime scene tape finally gone from their front porch after the end of "Blessed is the Busybody", Aggie Sloan-Wilcox and her minister husband think they can resume their lives. That's why in an attempt to put that whole finding a naked body on the front porch thing behind her, She is hosting a Christmas open house for everyone in the congregation. Unfortunately her two sister's and her mother are coming - and her mother brings the despised "Ginger" with her. Ginger is a foster sister who has a way of making enemies wherever she goes. She manipulative and controlling while appearing sweet on the outside and Aggie's sister, Sid, was at the receiving end of most of the nastiness.

When Ginger turns up dead in the Nativity scene - Sid becomes the main suspect. Aggie is not sure that the police understand that Sid could not possibly be a murderer so she decides to look into the case herself.

I love this series - Emilie Richards combines unique believable characters with a page-turning plot and lots of humour. Love the series!!!! ( )