Merry Wilkinson has returned to her hometown of Rudolph, New York and opened a gift shop with uniquely crafted gifts and decorations. She is excited about the annual Christmas parade. Merry grew up in an unusual family. Her father, Noel, has been the town Santa for years. Her mother is a former opera star who teaches singing to local children.

Someone sabotages Merry's float, disqualifying her from the best of parade voting. A reporter from a prestigious magazine in Britain is in town interviewing all the town businesses with the promise of a nice article supporting the town's celebrations. After a party held in his honor, Merry is stunned to stumble across the reporter's body in the park. The investigation will put a crimp in the holiday celebrations. When the death is labeled suspicious, Merry's friend Vicky's shop, the bake shop that catered the party, is closed for a couple of days during their biggest business opportunity of the year.

As small acts of sabotage are perpetrated during the next few days, Merry and Russ, a local reporter start trying to discover who would want to destroy the town's reputation and businesses.

Ms. Delany has started a promising new series with REST YE MURDERED GENTLEMEN, the first in A Year-Round Christmas Mysteries. Merry is a local who made it in New York, but has returned to her home to start a new life. Her familiarity with the locals and the small town give her some unique insights into what might be going on. She seems to be developing a relationship with one of her artists, but Russ, the reporter helping her investigate, is doing his best to interfere. Merry is torn between what she wants and what she needs to accomplish.

I really enjoyed the characters in REST YE MURDERED GENTLEMEN. The Rudolph and the animosity between another small town figure into the idea of who might have done this, but even Merry is surprised when the killer is exposed. The villain came as a complete surprise to me since I purposely try not to figure out the identity of the killer.