Tenth in the USA-Today and Kindle Top-Ten bestselling Leigh Koslow mystery series!Frances Koslow was ecstatic to have her humble abode chosen as stop #3 on the Holiday House Tour. Then everyone drank the cider.When Leigh’s parents’ house becomes a last-minute substitution on the regional garden club’s famous Holiday House Tour, Frances Koslow is thrilled. But the tour is tomorrow, there’s work to … tour is tomorrow, there’s work to be done, and Frances’s dwindling and aging “Floribunda” chapter is in dire need of reinforcements. Worried about her mother’s blood pressure, particularly as sisterly tensions rise over Leigh’s Aunt Lydie’s upcoming Christmas Eve wedding, Leigh steps in to make sure the tour runs smoothly.
But perhaps Leigh isn’t the ideal choice for the task. Not when a fortune cookie has just portended the return of her infamous “bad karma.” Not when everyone knows the real reason the Floribundas have declined is because every remaining member is a whackadoodle. And not when someone’s idea of Christmas spirit is to add a little something extra to the sweet cider punch.
One dead Floribunda later, Leigh struggles to keep her family calm in the midst of swirling suspicions, flying accusations, and dubious warnings of biological warfare. But when someone threatens to silence her own all-too-curious daughter, mother-rage kicks in. Nobody is ruining Leigh’s family’s Merry Christmas. Not even her family.
Praise for the Leigh Koslow Mystery Series:
NEVER BURIED
“A funny, fast-paced, clever, and unusual mystery that will have readers clamoring for more. Edie Claire writes with style and dash. Sheer delight.”–Carolyn Hart
NEVER SORRY
“Edie Claire is a bright new addition to the mystery world. Along with appealing characters and a blessedly lucid writing style, she delivers a solid plot that keeps the pages turning.”–Margaret Maron
NEVER TEASE A SIAMESE
“The fifth installment in this excellent series, and perhaps Ms. Claire’s best yet. The characters and relationships are superior, written with heartfelt compassion and wry wit.”–Romantic Times
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Cute story with a surprise ending.
I had a hard time putting this book down.
The plot to this book is so hot you’ll burn your fingers turning the pages. A quick and easy read that you won’t put down till you finish it.
cheers
mrbrush
Great rainy day book!
I loved this book, especially in time for the holidays! A wonderful who-done-it without having to solve the mystery in one night! The characters were well written and you felt like you were a fly on the wall, trying to figure it out right along with the characters. I can’t wait to read the next installments!
Interesting characters and a fun read
I enjoyed this book immensely
In “Never Mess with Mistletoe” by Edie Claire we meet Leigh Koslow Harmon, her husband and eleven year-old twins, her mother Frances Koslow, the rest of Frances’ family and the seventy and eighty year old members of Frances’ Pittsburgh garden club, the Floribundas. Most of the Floribunda women have known each other for years, all except for their president, Olympia. Frances Koslow is very excited because her house has been chosen to represent Christmas in the 1970’s as part of the local gardening clubs’ Regional Holiday House Tour. Almost every person in her club, as well as well as those in Leigh’s immediate family. are given chores to make this tour a successful event. Her 11 year old daughter Allison is asked by Frances to be security, watching for anyone who might be stealing things from her house. Allison, very interested in mysteries and crime solving, observes all the goings on and writes what she sees or hears in her notebook. Readers get to view the quirks of each of the Floribundas and how they treat each other. Several of their husbands also drop in to see if they can help out. The tour goes very well until a police officer arrives to shut the event down because a call has come in to the police station about a possible anthrax finding at Frances’ house. The Floribundas wonder if their rival club, the Flying Maples, called in the anthrax scare to sabotage the tour. The tour participants are quickly emptied out of the house. Then Lucille, a very sick member of the garden club who has had to bring her assistant Bridget to the event to take care of her, keels over, dead. Most of the Floribundas start to feel sick, thinking Lucille has died from anthrax and they are affected too. Readers wonder if Lucille died from one of her many ailments or if she was poisoned after drinking the punch or eating the cookies that the Floribundas personally made for the event. Then Lucille’s son, Bobby, comes into the house and starts to scream at Bridget for killing his mother. Leigh learns that someone had taken Allison’s notebook which has the sequences of exactly what went on during and after the tours. I am sure that readers will enjoy the book as much as I did, finding themselves laughing at some of the goings on of the Floribundas and will be surprised by the ending.
Fun read but not a series I will continue to read
I liked te charcters and the way they mingled and the throught proecess of the main charter! CW
A dysfunctional women’s club plus a one-of-a-kind extended family keep this cozy mystery moving. I’ll be looking for another book in this series.
Unexpected plot revealed, mistletoe was a small part of the story. A possible murder amid a bevy of “mature” women added some drama.
It was enjoyable to read – a mild murder mystery
I really enjoyed this story, it was funny and entertaining. It was also very unpredictable.
fun read!
Mayhem and murder intersect Leigh Koslow’s life during the holiday season, and she struggles to solve the mystery before her daughter becomes a target for the killer. An entertaining read.
I enjoyed the “older” ladies. Great characters – I know people like that! Different plot! Didn’t guess the ending.
A story of a small town busybody Garden Club
Crazy, but fun.
The descriptions of the ladies in the garden club were hilarious. I think I know them now.