As the Moonlight Magnolia Agency revisits old memories on Christmas Eve, Granny Reid takes the reins back thirty years to the 1980s—back when she went by Stella, everyone’s hair was bigger, and sweaters were colorful disasters. But murder never went out of style . . . Christmas has arrived in sleepy McGill, Georgia, but holiday cheer can’t keep temperamental Stella Reid from swinging a rolling … swinging a rolling pin at anyone who crosses her bad side—and this season, there are plenty. First an anonymous grinch vandalizes a celebrated nativity display. Far worse, the scandalous Prissy Carr is found dead in an alley behind a tavern. With police puzzled over the murder, Stella decides to stir the local gossip pot for clues on the culprit’s identity . . .
Turns out Prissy held a prominent spot on the naughty list, and suspects pile up like presents on Christmas morning. Unfortunately, the more progress Stella makes, the more fears she must confront. With a neighbor in peril and the futures of her beloved grandchildren at risk, Stella must somehow set everything straight and bring a cunning criminal to justice before December 25th . . .
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Looking back a few decades, to a difficult time, we discover how Granny Reid became responsible for raising seven children. This is a heart felt story of taking responsibility, of loving family so strongly you will do whatever it takes to assure them the best life possible. This is also a tale of forgiveness and hope. There is danger and mystery, and a few laugh out loud moments.
A story of a town and a family that makes a lasting impact. Maybe a Christmas miracle or two.
This is a terrific book. The mystery story was interesting and entertaining, but more importantly the characters and their secondary stories were exceptionally engaging. You find yourself really rooting for things to work out for Stella and her grandbabies. This is the first book that I’ve read by this author. I enjoyed it so much that I’m hunting down the books in her Savannah Reid series. My wife read it and enjoyed it as much as I did. I hope this author does more books starring Granny Reid.
Murder in Her Stocking is the first Granny Reid mystery, and it’s the first book I’ve read by G.A. McKevett. I loved the uniqueness of this cozy mystery. This story is set in the 80s and visits Stella Reid and her grandchildren during the Christmas season. There’s been a murder and Stella is trying to help the sheriff solve it. In addition to that, she is dealing with her daughter-in-law Shirley mistreating her seven children. There was a great deal of character and story development taking place outside of the mystery. This read a lot like an inspirational/women’s fiction featuring a mystery. Murder in Her Stocking dealt with heavier issues than you would typically find in a cozy and made for a solid story.
The story is tender and full of Christmas magic. Being set in Georgia, there was plenty of Southern sayings and some had me laughing out loud. I am looking forward to visiting with Granny Reid and her grand-angels again.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley to read in preparation for a book tour. My opinion is my own and isn’t influenced in any way.
In this first book we are introduced to characters we are familiar with but are taken back thirty years to when they were kids and Granny was much younger. It’s Christmas time in McGill, Georgia and the Reid children are staying with their Granny Reid while their mother is off partying. When the local nativity scene is vandalized and people are upset Granny has a feeling she already knows who the culprit is but not why he did it. Knowing that the vandalism must be fixed she comes up with a solution that should make everything better. While in the midst of fixing the nativity a scream rings out into the night. Granny immediately sends two of her grand kids for help while she checks out the situation. She comes across a young woman, Prissy, who is at deaths door. Prissy is known as the town whore and has no problem sleeping with married men. The list of suspects starts out small but when Granny realizes just how many married men the young woman has been with it seems never ending. Follow along as Granny tries to figure out who the killer is and at the same time keep her grand kids safe from a neglectful mother. Will she be able to find a killer? Will her grand kids pay for her wanting to take care of them? Dive in and answer these questions and more. What a great start to what I hope is a long running series filled with characters I already love!
I can’t find the right words to explain how much I loved this book. A grandmother’s love, a murder, and a bit of fun and friendships made this book an unexpectedly fantastic read.
Murder in Her Stocking by G.A. McKevett was much more than the cozy mystery I was expecting it to be. This book had so much depth and while it is definitely plumb full of mysteries, there are also a lot of very serious moments, and some focus on abuse of different types. I can tell you that is not what I thought I was going to get, but it was a pleasant surprise to get something with so many important topics mixed in. It is set in the 1980s but didn’t quite feel like it, and there are a lot of things that will transcend the years for the reader. I didn’t put together that this series is a spin off from the author’s Savannah Reid series until today, so I feel like I should dig into that one next before moving on. I did get the sense I was missing quite a bit of backstory, so I think it might be best to have read the other series first.
Even though I did feel like I was missing things, this book was still good as a standalone/beginning to a new series. I loved Stella and quite a few of the other characters, and the grandchildren were all so endearing. I also LOVED the setting of McGill, Georgia and was excited that this was Southern fiction on top of being both mysterious and heartfelt. There are some laugh-out-loud moments mixed in which I appreciated, and I felt like I was wrapped in a warm blanket while I was reading it. I did listen to the audio, which is narrated by Mil Nicholson, but I think I might go with reading the other books unless they are narrated by someone else. She did a good job but there were ‘mouth’ sounds that I could hear that bothered me.
Overall, Murder in Her Stocking is an enjoyable if sometimes sad read, and I will now be going back to the Savannah Reid series so I can relate myself with that storyline before coming back to these. If you like kickass grandmas who solve mysteries, this would be a great one to check out!
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an advance review copy of this book, all opinions and thoughts are my own.
SO MUCH BETTER THAN THE SAVANNAH REID SERIES! When’s the next one coming out?
As always, G.A. McKevett’s characters come to life. “Granny” Reid has been an integral part of her “Savannah” series as a background character and now she has her own series, beginning with Murder in Her Stocking. While this might not be my favorite McKevett book, I enjoyed it.
While I’ve wanted to try them for some time, I’ve never read the Savannah Reid Mysteries by author G. A. McKevett. So, when I was given MUDER IN HER STOCKING to read, I wasn’t sure I could follow it.
Stella “Granny” Reid is as formidable as I’ve heard her granddaughter Savannah can be. I’m thinking even more so. When it comes to solving this story’s whodunit, Granny throws herself into it and gets the answers. By the end of the book, I was out of breath trying to keep up with her!
This cozy trip back to the 1980s was well written with just the right balance of mystery and fun. One never distracted from the other. And the fast pace made MURDER IN HER STOCKING a quick read.
For Savannah Reid fans, I think this book is a must read for you.
What a good start to a series. Excellent character development. Can’t wait to see what is next. It has southern charm throughout the book. I used the audio book and enjoyed it. I would recommend this book.
I enjoyed meeting the characters when they were younger! I love all her books.
Good holiday book
Melancholy. Whispering through my mind while I was reading was sadness, it wasn’t overwhelming, but nothing about Granny and Savannah’s childhood was good other than the fact they had each other and a few good friends (and one or two of Savannah’s siblings).
I like getting to see how the Moonlight Detective Agency started out and why. Liked Granny getting some more page time. I just wished there had been a little more light. The ending was positive and filled with love, but ultimately more sad for me (you have to read to possibly understand why I felt that way).
Definitely interested to see how the author develops this series.
I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.