Welcome to Advent Reads!
This is an event I have had on my blog for several years running now. Each evening I feature a different holiday themed book. Think of it as your Book Advent Calendar! I post a variety of holiday books including romance, children's, middle-grade, mystery, paranormal, and I try to find some that are other holiday celebrations than Christmas too. I hope you will stop by each evening to see what new book I have for you!
Synopsis: "Colorful Christmas lights dapple the family homes in the idyllic lakeside town of Sweet Haven when Jennifer Dean, a young librarian at the local elementary school, is brutally murdered. There are witnesses and her boyfriend Travis Blake confesses to the crime… but something doesn’t quite add up. Blake is a third generation Army Ranger, awarded the Silver Star for his heroism in Afghanistan—how could a beloved son of this tight-knit burgh commit such a grisly deed?
As a community of military families a few miles down the road from an Army base, no one in Sweet Haven wants to investigate a war hero like Blake, not even the top brass at the police department. In steps Cameron Winter, a rugged and lonesome English professor haunted by the ghosts of his own Christmas past, whose former lover asks him to prove Blake innocent. The Sweet Haven murder reverberates in his mind, echoing a horrific yuletide memory from his youth, and Winter knows there are darker powers at play here than a simple domestic dispute. If he can solve this small-town mystery, just maybe he can find peace from his inner demons as well.
The thirty-sixth novel by two-time Edgar Award winner Andrew Klavan, When Christmas Comes is a seasonal tale of tradition, family, and murder; its chilling twists are best experienced curled up beside a burning Yule log."
My Review: I have been seeing this book everywhere lately, so I decided to give the audio book a shot. I have been reading more mysteries this year, but let me clarify that with staying I have been enjoying Cozy Mysteries, which are much different from this book as I discovered. This was more of a mental thriller/mystery than I was used to. It did have a bit of sentimentality around Christmas and holiday memories, but it takes a backseat roll in the story. If you are more into this style of book, I would recommend reading a print version as opposed to the audiobook as there are a lot of jumps in timeline and settings that aren't defined well while listening. I also found the main character a bit icky in the way he constantly pictures himself in romantic situations with nearly every female he interacts with, it got a bit uncomfortable for me.
My Rating: All in all, this was not a good fit for me, in genre, characterizations or format but those who are looking for something not so cozy for the holiday season it might be a good fit. For me personally I give it a rating of Two Paws.
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