In the town of LONGLELEY, sisters Bernie and Libby own the store and catering service, A Little Taste of Heaven; they are so well known that they are invited to compete in a cook off on the Hortense Calabash show. Six caterers are given ingredients chosen by the hostess and are supposed to make an entire meal out of them. The winner gets twenty thousand dollars which is donated to their favorite charity. On the first day of taping, the contestants hear a noise; they rush in to find Hortense dead on the floor, a Christmas ornament wedged into her throat.

The police discover that the stove’s gas line was cut and Christmas ornaments were placed in the oven. When she opened the door, the oven sparked a causing a mini explosion. The police agree to keep Hortense’s death quiet while they and Bernie and Libby search for the killer. Although Libby and Bernie solved homicides in the past (see A CATERED MURDER and A CATERED WEDDING), this murder has them stumped because all the contestants had a reason to kill Hortense except themselves.

A CATERED CHRISTMAS is a lively and entertaining amateur sleuth mystery filled with plenty of red herrings, unexpected twists and turns and deliberately planted false clues. The two sisters and their father engage in witty dialogue that will have readers chuckling out loud. The plot is believable, the characters are portrayed realistically and there is enough action to keep readers turning the pages to find out what happens next.

Harriet Klausner