It¿s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at the Bellissimo Resort and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. The trees are trimmed, the halls are decked, and Davis Way Cole¿s grandmother is there to play in the Winter Wonderland Senior Slot Tournament. This year¿s theme: The Nice List. All is merry and bright until Granny Dee meets an elf who belongs on the naughty list. Maybe even the downright … nasty list.With nothing more than a lifetime of memories, the sounds of the season, and what she can find in the pockets of her Rudolph jogging suit, can Granny Dee save Bianca Sanders from the rotten elf, and in the process, save Christmas?Granny Dee may try to save Christmas, but trust me, of all the characters in this non-stop page-turner, Granny Dee steals the show.
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Always enjoy these books ….
Such an enjoyable short story. I laughed so hard at Davis’ Granny. She is such a hoot. But she’s definitely still sharp at her age. Perfect story to get you into the holiday season. If you haven’t read any of the Davis Way Bellissimo Casino series, this would be a great way to get started.
This is a great series, if you read one you will keep wanting more. Exciting and interesting characters. Each book is better then the last. Gretchen Archer and the Davis Way Series does not disappoint.
This is an over-the-top funny cozy mystery that can be enjoyed any time of year! I love how seniors can say almost anything and maybe not get away with it…but nobody wants to argue with them! This short story is written from the point of view of Davis’ Granny Dee, visiting for the holiday season and ready for the Winter Wonderland Senior Slot Tournament that will take place later this day.
Davis, her husband Bradley, and their twin daughters live upstairs from the Bellisimo Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. Bradley is the “boss” at the casino. Bianca and her husband, who owns the casino, live in the very upstairs luxury suite. Everything one could want for a Christmas celebration is at the casino, including a lifetime snowman village and the Rockettes performing their Christmas Spectacular show.
Dee goes up to Bianca’s to get her and her son for the private photographs each family is having of their children with Santa. She barges into the penthouse, as is her way, and marches past the staff into Bianca’s bedroom to find Bianca gagged and tied to what looks like one of two huge white thrones in the enormous white bedroom. She is being held captive by – an evil elf? An elf who was not there to help Bianca’s son see Santa Claus. An elf who had planted a bomb to Bianca. As Dee says, “What we have here is a pickle” (location 205).
I love this short story, beginning to end. This is the first of Gretchen Archer’s novels I have read, and it has planted the seeds of interest for the rest of this series. Dee is a feisty woman, and her granddaughter Davis has a bit of spunk herself to so effortlessly care for twin toddlers. Granny doesn’t have a very high opinion of Bianca, so her treatment of the giant elf is a bit surprising. She sees a whole new side of Bianca now, proving how deceiving appearances can be. I highly recommend Double Deck the Halls, whether you have read any of the Davis Way Crime Caper books or not. If one likes to laugh through their cozy mysteries, visit a Biloxi casino, and enjoy Christmas tales at any time of the year, this should be your very next purchase.
From a grateful heart: I won a copy of this book from the Julie Mulhern and the author and was under no obligation to give a review.