Murder by Death

An excellent story, with a nice little twist at the end.

Donna Andrews knows how to write a cozy Christmas mystery that isn't merely set at Christmas time: it actually has Christmas spirit.  So amidst the vandalism, the fights, and the dead body, there's also cooperation, family, Christmas trees, presents, snow, lights, carols, and Dickens.  I closed this book feeling happy and in a Christmas mood.

I'll admit it's not quite as good as last year's Christmas mystery Duck the Halls but trying to best a book that has both holiday spirit and a surfeit of skunks is sort of hard to do.  There are fewer animal antics in Nightingale, and because of that, I think, less humour overall.

Still, a great read, a great mystery and very Christmassy.