The Holidays are approaching and Harborside, Maine landscaper Kinsley Clark is busy creating kissing balls to decorate the town. She’s hoping to infuse the holiday spirit with her Christmas decorations on Main Street and beyond, but there’s a grinch in Harborside by the name of Chris Chesterfield, and he’s making things difficult. Chesterfield is on the town council and is fussing over Kinsley’s decorations. When a boat parade turns into a night of revelry and then a dead Chris Chesterfield, Kinsley realizes she had better find the killer fast before the local detective sets her sights on her in MURDER UNDER THE MISTLETOE, the second Mainely Murder Mystery by Sherry Lynn.   

On the night of his murder, Chris was seen arguing with a man at the bar. Later, Chris was found bobbing in the freezing harbor waters. Could the man from the bar be the killer? As Kinsley starts her investigation, she learns Chris had several enemies, including an angry neighbor with a wounded dog, a local businessman turned down for his new venture, a wife who seems unaffected by his death, and a sneaky twin brother. The only clue seems to be a red scarf with green paint on it. As Kinsley and her best friend Becca continue to search for a motive, they overhear something incriminating at a local Christmas party. As they continue to follow the clues, Becca and Kinsley face a power outage, a second attack at a local business, a truck pursuit, and the unveiling of an unlikely suspect.

MURDER UNDER THE MISTLETOE is the perfect holiday cozy filled with Christmas revelry, mystery, and small-town charm. From the beginning, readers will be whisked to Maine in the winter, with a decorated Main Street, boat parade, and Christmas parties. Kinsley and her BFF mystery-solving sidekick, Becca, make a good pair while tracking down clues. Kinsley also has a love interest, Pete O’Rourke, a local bar owner on the harbor. The holiday spirit is infused throughout the mystery and adds to the ambiance, while the Maine winter elements of snow and power outages up the suspense. Well-plotted and executed, the mystery flows effortlessly with several suspects and motives to keep readers guessing. Kinsley is a fun and interesting character, who is also dealing with the mystery surrounding the deaths of her parents, a storyline which will continue into future books.  Grab some holiday cookies and cocoa and enjoy this trip to Maine in MURDER UNDER THE MISTLETOE.  A recipe and craft are included!