Deadly Decorations

A Christmas Shop Mystery

By: Kathleen Suzette

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Welcome to Christmas Village, where holiday cheer meets unexpected danger...

After her divorce, Charlotte Crandall seeks solace in the one place that always brought her joy as a child—Christmas Village. With its twinkling lights, festive atmosphere, and a new temp job at a charming Christmas shop, Charlotte hopes to rediscover the magic of the season. But on her very first day, her boss turns up dead, and suddenly, Charlotte finds herself at the center of a holiday murder mystery.

Now, with suspicion snowballing and everyone in town whispering about her, Charlotte enlists the help of her crime-solving cousins, Mia and Christy, from Pumpkin Hollow. Together, they must untangle the clues, navigate town gossip, and catch a killer before Charlotte’s holiday getaway turns into a permanent stay behind bars.

Christmas Village might be filled with seasonal magic, but it’s up to Charlotte to prove that her first day on the job wasn’t her last!

Christmas Murder Mystery

This was a cozy murder mystery about building friendships after a divorce. Oh yeah and also a mean manager that ends up dead after being hit in the head with an iron rocking horse. Anyhoo it’s about Christmas and the gift of giving. You be the judge 🫠

The narration was hilarious

I found this book on Audible, and it was included with my subscription. I’ve been laughing all morning. The book itself is not funny, but the narration is. It’s narrated using virtual voice - a computer generated narration. I was surprised to hear that AI narration is capable of different inflections and tones because I was expecting it to sound very robotic. What it is not so great at, though, is pronouncing the word “latte.” So far the main character has asked for a “lat,” a “lotty,” and a “latty.” 🤣🤣🤣 There is a character in the book named Lila, which was pronounced exactly as you think it would be in one sentence, but in the next sentence, she was “Leela.” The ending was so sudden and left a few questions unanswered. You do find out who the killer is, but nothing else really gets wrapped up.

Is this book going to win a Pulitzer? No. But is it cute, an easy listen, and also unintentionally entertaining? Yes. It’s very short - 2.5 hours. And it’s gotten me through panic cleaning before my pest control appointment that I forgot about today.