As the Christmas Cookie Crumbles: A Food Lovers’ Village Mystery

In Agatha Award–winner Budewitz’s inviting fifth Food Lovers’ Village mystery (after 2017’s Treble at the Jam Fest), Merrily Thornton returns home to Jewel Bay, Mont., after a nearly two-decade absence, which included a short stint in prison for pleading guilty to embezzlement from Sally Grimes’s children’s shop, where she worked part-time in high school. With the exception of her mother, most of the townsfolk welcome Merrily back; she’s even hired to help with the books at her school chum Greg Taylor’s building supply store. But when the store’s bank deposit comes up short and a stash of cash is found in Merrily’s desk drawer, it appears she hasn’t learned her lesson. When she’s found murdered, it looks as if someone decided to teach her one. Erin Murphy, the manager of Murphy’s Glacier Mercantile, takes time to investigate, even though her greatly anticipated Christmas Eve wedding to Adam Zimmerman is just three weeks away. Clean-as-a-whistle dialogue, endearing characters, and a solid plot make this cozy a winner. [em](June) [/em]