If you love small towns, endearing relationships, food, animals, and a touch of murder, you will love this new mystery series by Kathi Daley, author of the popular Zoe Donovan Cozy Mystery Series.Set in the small town of White Eagle Montana, the series features Tess and her dog Tilly, who spend their days delivering the latest gossip along with the daily mail. When a close friend is murdered they … murdered they join forces with the new Veterinarian in town to sleuth out the truth behind the shocking murder that is rocking the community as it prepares for the annual Christmas Festival.
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Kathi Daley has given us all a Christmas treat! This is book one, The Christmas Letter, A Tess and Tilly Cozy Mystery. Tess and her wonderful dog Tilly live in the small town of White Eagle Montana. Tess is a local gal that carries the mail to the residents in town. She is a friend to all the town folks and shop owners and she checks on them every day as she brings them the mail. Tess delivers the mail to a 92 year old man and finds him murdered in his house. After calling her brother on the police report she rescues a kitten that is caught in fishing line. She takes the kitten to the new very handsome vet and takes him home. Yes that would be Tilly! So we now have a murder, a new kitten and a new handsome vet. Tess suddenly is very busy before Christmas as she tries to help solve the murder. She has a wonder friend that is a computer genius helps her. I am fond of all the new characters. If you have not read Kathi Daley’s work before, this is a great series to start with. Where is Book 2? – I cant wait!
About the book:
A cozy mystery series featuring family who are friends and friends who are family. Set in the small town of White Eagle Montana, the series features Tess and her dog Tilly, who spend their days delivering the latest gossip along with the daily mail. When a close friend is murdered they join forces with the new Veterinarian in town to sleuth out the truth behind the shocking murder that is rocking the community as it prepares for the annual Christmas Festival.
This is the 1st in this series I love the series and just found that I have never read the 1st book.
I absolutely loved this book the characters were great! The setting was brilliant! I loved the Suspense part of the book. I love how this all turn out. And I love all the cats and dogs.
This is the second series by Kathy Daley (after her Whales and Tales series) that I’ve started this year and it is as much of a winner as Romeow and Juliet. Wonderful small town setting, likeable main protagonist and solid supporting cast of secondary characters. And pets, cats and dogs both. Looking forward to continuing on with the series and seeing what direction the mystery of Tess’s father goes in.
When Tess Thomas, the local postal carrier, stumbles upon a dead body, she calls her brother, a cop. The top suspect quickly becomes Tess’ best friend’s boyfriend. Tess agrees to investigate the murder.
Daley has given us a charming protagonist who is both strong and likable. The believable plot is well constructed. The small town setting is inviting. And there’s a Christmas tree. What a joy.
Recommended to any cozy mystery fan looking for a festive holiday read.
I enjoyed this book as I do all Ms. Daley’s books. Her characters are real and people that are very easy to envision with depth to them. I found Tess being a mail carrier interesting, which helps her interact with many people, which keeps all kinds of possibilities open for future books. The mystery was excellent and kept me guessing and I will continue on with this series.
I love just about everything Kathi Daley writes. I read all of her books except for the Seacliff High series, as it’s for teenagers. She writes with compassion, humor, and none of the foul language, gore, or explicit sex that many authors feel is necessary.
The Christmas Letter is the first book in the Tess and Tilly Cozy Mystery Book series. Tess’ friend is murdered, and she is determined to figure out who did it. She teams up with Tony, and secrets start to come out. Will she be able to solve the crime and free her best friend’s boyfriend? It’s easy to get absorbed in a book by this author, and this was no exception. I highly recommend this book, and I am looking forward to the next one in the series.
Another great new series by Kathi Daley!
I love all of Kathi Daily books
This is the first book in the new Tess and Tilly Cozy Mystery series. This book is filled with the elements of a cozy mystery including suspense, romance, humor, love, friends and family, and a sense of community. The setting is perfect for a Christmas mystery: it is snowing outside, there are festive decorations on Main Street, every light post has a green wreath with a red bow, and there are red and white lights strung across the main thoroughfare. Residents are looking forward to the Friday tree lighting and the Winter Carnival, which takes place between Christmas and New Year.
Tess Thomas is a mail carrier for the United States Postal Service in the small town of White Eagle, Montana. While delivering mail, Tess and Tilly, her dog and work companion, find Pike Porter, White Eagle’s oldest resident, dead in his cabin from a gunshot wound to his back. Tess’s job allows her the opportunity to talk to others while trying to solve this crime, along with help from a few friends. Secrets from the past are revealed and the killer’s identity is exposed.
As always, Mrs. Daley’s writing flows smoothly, and her setting and relatable characters make for an extremely enjoyable and quick read. I really look forward to reading the next book in this series.
“The Christmas Letter” earns 5+/5 Entertaining Beginnings…and Murder!
Ok, the temperatures are well on their way to zero, but Tess Thomas does not let that slow her down from “the swift completion of [her] appointed rounds.” Yes, she is the local postmistress, and alongside Tilly her dog, she delivers letters, packages, and a bit of gossip. But, murder, too? At her final stop for the day Tess and Tilly discover a little kitten tangled up in fishing line and…a dead body on the floor! Wow, just what fans enjoy the most, and Kathi ‘delivers’ with her signature clever mystery and more than one holding onto secrets. The murder rocks the small community, and when her BFF’s boyfriend Donny, who is also Tess’s own former boyfriend (that’s an interesting twist), is arrested, Tess works methodically with friends and family to uncover the truth, always putting someone into jeopardy, and ending with a “What? I didn’t see that coming!”
Kathi’s characters are always entertaining and very important in her work. She gives us a tight knit group of family and friends in a small town with everyone looking forward to the Christmas Festival…her holiday settings are always very popular. There’s Tess’s widowed mom who owns the neighborhood café with Tess’s aunt and brother Mike who is a police detective and BFF Bree who runs the local bookstore. Intertwined are quirky shop owners, uppity entitled, and romance! Kathi must be a romantic herself to do so well matching the perfect partnerships. The old veterinarian has retired and his son Brady has taken over the practice: handsome, funny, and just what the doctor ordered. I highly recommend Kathi Daley’s work and especially this new series.
We start off meeting Tess and her dog Tilly, Tess delivers the mail and along the way she interacts with quite a cast of characters. When she comes across the body of an older friend while on deliveries one day, she is saddened and wonders who could have wanted him dead. She isn’t going to get involved but when her best friends boyfriend is arrested she feels she should help in anyway that she can, even if he turns out guilty. Things start to heat up when Tess realizes that there is a secret that needs to be unearthed and she enlists the help of long time friend Tony, who happens to be a computer expert. Follow along as they move from one clue to the next in an effort to find out who killed Pike and why? What a wonderful beginning to a fun new series. There are so many great things, animals, and people happening in this read but I don’t want to give it all away. Not to mention Tess has a secret of her own that she is working on. I can’t wait to see what happens next!!!
The Christmas Letter is the debut novel in Kathi Daley’s new Tess and Tilly Cozy Mystery series and it’s an awesome and delightful read. The writing style flows smoothly and Ms. Daley provides great background information about the characters and the town. The characters are well rounded and affable and the mystery well plotted. As with all her books, Ms. Daley has provided readers with a clean, fun read, caring and compassionate characters, an intriguing mystery to try to solve, and lots of adorable dogs and cats. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading well-crafted cozy mysteries.
Welcome to the small community of White Eagle, Montana. Tess Thomas was born and raised in White Eagle, has one brother, Mike, who’s a member of the White Eagle Police. Her father died in an accident when she was fourteen and her mom, Lucy Thomas, co-owns a café, Sisters’ Diner, with her aunt, Ruthie Turner. She likes to hike in the summer and ski in the winter, volunteers at the animal shelter, and is a book club member at her best friend, Bree Price’s bookstore, the Book Boutique. She isn’t currently in a relationship because she dumped Donny Dunlap after she realized he paid more attention to Bree than he did to her. Tess works for the United States Postal Service, and even though the weather can be cruel in White Eagle, she enjoys delivering the mail and visiting with the town’s residents and business owners on her route. Tess has a special relationship with her dog, Tilly, who accompanies her while she’s delivering the mail. Although he doesn’t receive a lot of mail, one of their favorite stops is Pike Porter’s cabin, but on their most recent visit, they found him shot in back in his bedroom. When Mike arrests Donny for Pike’s murder, Bree begs Tess to help her prove his innocence. Neither Tess nor Bree have any experience investigating crimes, but they decide to start asking questions and snoop around Pike’s cabin. Tess asks her other best friend, Tony Marconi, who she met in the seventh grade, to help her.