A very cute introduction to both Tara Holloway and Megan Luz (and Sgt. Brigit!). Kelly has a very great and humorous voice and she's careful to make Tara and Megan distinct characters. I adored their Christmas romance plotting, loved Megan's adventures in patrolling the mall, and of course I loved Sergeant Brigit! Because of this I'm looking forward to reading the Tara Holloway series and diving into the new Megan Luz series.

(Provided by publisher) ( )

This is a short novella in the fabulous "Death and Taxes" series.
I love the whole series and have eagerly read each book as soon as it came out. This one is no different. It's shorter and Christmas themed, but is filled with humor, romance and fast paced action.

Diane Kelly's book are fantastic. You can't help but root for Tara as she fumbles her way through the case and gets from difficult situation to more difficult situation. The book is hilarious, a must read. Even better than the Stephanie Plum books ( )

This is a short novella in the fabulous "Death and Taxes" series.
I love the whole series and have eagerly read each book as soon as it came out. This one is no different. It's shorter and Christmas themed, but is filled with humor, romance and fast paced action.

Diane Kelly's book are fantastic. You can't help but root for Tara as she fumbles her way through the case and gets from difficult situation to more difficult situation. The book is hilarious, a must read. Even better than the Stephanie Plum books ( )

This is a short novella in the fabulous "Death and Taxes" series.
I love the whole series and have eagerly read each book as soon as it came out. This one is no different. It's shorter and Christmas themed, but is filled with humor, romance and fast paced action.

Diane Kelly's book are fantastic. You can't help but root for Tara as she fumbles her way through the case and gets from difficult situation to more difficult situation. The book is hilarious, a must read. Even better than the Stephanie Plum books ( )

I'm a big fan of this series and this was an adorable holiday novella that could very well stand alone outside the series. Tara is the only character in the novella from the series - everyone else is new to this novella. It's also very Christmassy so if you're in the mood for a light, fun, action-y little novella, this one might be just the thing.

The author deviates a bit this time; the story is written from three different POV's. Tara's, Megan's - a police officer whose beat includes the mall the story takes place in, and Brigid, Megan's K-9 partner. Appropriately, three things about this deviation kept me from liking this story more:

1. I don't like alternating POV's
2. I don't like talking animals
3. Megan's POV used bullet points. Not a fan. Not in my books.

I got about a third of the way through the story when I started to think the multiple POV's could be an introduction to a spin off series; there was too much background information about Megan for her to be a one-off. Hmmm....

Sure enough, once I got to the end of the novella, there's an announcement that a new series will feature Megan and Brigid starting June 2014. Points 1 and 2 will not have me jumping to add this series to my lists, but I'll keep an eye out for reviews, because Diane Kelly can write! I love her style and her humour.

It's hard to say what was really the main plot in this novella - there's the background setup for the new series; Tara is investigating possible IRS tax fraud on the part of a jewellery wholesaler, and there's the small issue of a matchmaking project Tara, Megan (and Brigid) take upon themselves. Doesn't really matter - it's a fun story with a happy ending full of holiday spirit. Just what the doctor ordered. ( )