Melanie Travis needs a little peace from her busy life
this Christmas. But the usual holiday hubbub is a joy
compared to the killer surprise she finds tucked underneath
the tree . . .
With a demanding teaching job at Connecticut’s elite Howard
Academy and five poodles scampering around the house,
Melanie barely has energy for the upcoming Christmas rush.
But she unwraps an unexpected challenge when her brother and
ex-husband, elated by the recent success of their country
café, make a spontaneous bid on a dilapidated pine tree
farm. Although the ten-acre lot had been a popular seasonal
destination while the original owner was still alive, it’ll
take some sprucing up—and a small miracle or two—before the
neglected place is in shape for December.
Unfortunately, the impromptu business venture goes cold when
the group discovers a purebred Maltese whimpering in the
snow-covered grove—right beside a dead body. Pete, a
squatter who camped out on the land, apparently met his end
after a fallen fir tree branch knocked him on the head. But
as Melanie and Aunt Peg investigate Pete’s history and the
terrible habit that cost him everything, it’s clear his
death was no accident. Now, Melanie must run through a
flurry of likely suspects and muzzle a dogged murderer in
time—or she’ll be next on someone’s deadly list.
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