Another Review at MyShelf.Com

Publisher: Worldwide Library
Release Date: November 1, 2004
ISBN: 0373265093
Awards:  
Format Reviewed: Paperback
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Genre:   Mystery / Anthology
Reviewed: 2004
Reviewer: Brenda Weeaks
Reviewer Notes:  Christmas Theme
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The Last Noel
By Linda Berry, Catherine Dain, Steve Brewer, Mat Coward

    "The Last Noel' is a Christmas anthology of mystery and mayhem with storylines that run from Mall humor to social issues. There's a little something for everyone.

SANITY CLAUSE by Steve Brewer
      Bubba's wife wants a laptop for Christmas. To pay for it, Bubba becomes a Funnel-cake-eating secret agent (Santa guard at the Mall). When a Santa is murdered on his watch, Bubba is fired. When someone else hires him to investigate the murder, his Christmas season gets even wilder. It's witty mayhem at the expense of multiple Santas and Mass Malls. It's my favorite read in the bunch.

FINDING CHARITY by Catherine Dain
    This one is told in first person by lead character Faith Cassidy, a therapist with Hollywood-type cats. Charity, a hooker, sees a dead body in the trunk of a silver car. She goes to Faith for help and when Faith refuses to help, Charity wishes her dead. Karma boomerangs and Charity is abducted by the driver of a silver car. When Faith witnesses the abduction, she works the case and gets herself into one heck of a fem-jep situation. One can't help but cheer her on.

DEEP AND CRISP by Mat Coward
     This is the only British mystery in the set. It's about an anti-Christmas group. While ignoring Christmas tradition and playing hide-and-seek in the park, a member of the group is "conked on the head with Yule log." Was it a group member, a frightened dog walker, or a Christmas enthusiast getting revenge? DCI Don Packham and DC Frank question all involved while going on with their holiday traditions. This complicated mystery is an armchair reader's delight.

THE THREE WISE WOMEN by Linda Berry
    Officer Trudy and Chief Hen are back. Ogeechee, Georgia is "no longer black and white." Hispanic citizens have settled in the small town and murmurs of the change are negative. When a young black man is found dead and a young Hispanic man missing, cultures rumble. Trudy and Hen work the murder case. Trudy also takes interest in an older case, and finds a parallel between the two. The mystery is the main focus of the storyline but as usual, I enjoy watching Ogeechee and its citizens grow.