Reviews

Curtains on A Christmas Carol: A Cozy Mystery by Luke Swanson

bayjones's review against another edition

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5.0

Brilliant

4.5 ⭐️ rounded up.
Im not a theatre kid. Im not a person who seeks out watching A Christmas Carol every year.

Teena is the perfect lead character. Her transformation throughout Curtains was beautiful, and each character held so much life in them that I was rooting for them all at one point or another. Luke does a fantastic job with Percival who plays Scrooge, a character who embodies this role even in his day to day life. I hated him, I loved him, I pitied him, I rooted for him. Usually I can guess the “who” in a “who dun it”, but it took me almost as long as the character to figure out the antagonist. This truly was a cozy Christmas story, with the added element of mystery that kept me wanting more.

My only critique for this novel is I wished the action began a bit sooner. We don’t get to the mystery until about 30%, I would’ve liked to see it around 20%. Overall, I am beyond happy and pleased with this book!

madoc_mattox's review

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emotional funny inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective fast-paced

5.0

A wonderful cozy Christmas mystery about love, loss, and acceptance. This was a beautiful story that had us wondering who did it, what's the gossip, and appreciating the lessons we could all learn from Miss F. 

krystafig's review

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lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.5

If you’re looking for a cozy, cutesy, Christmas mystery this holiday season, look no further.

As I read Curtains on a Christmas Carol, I felt like I was watching a Hallmark Mystery in my head. This book has the small town vibes, the peek behind the curtains of theater productions, and the cozy mystery sleuthing all mixed for some light whogonnadoit entertainment.

As a fairly avid mystery reader, I VERY MUCH appreciated that several of the typical “but why not just do XYZ?” were addressed and it didn’t feel like this completely unrealistic or far fetched story.
I also appreciated the insight in to what happens in getting a production ready in the theater, because while I have seen several plays, I’ve never seen the behind the scenes! I appreciated the peek at what goes into a play like this but without feeling bogged down in the details.

Overall, a fun way to get into my Christmas spirits with a well known tale woven in with an amateur sleuth mystery.
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