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MWSA Review
Home for the Homicides by Rosalie Spielman is set in New Oslo, Idaho, where townsfolk prepare for Christmas and the first Running of the Grinches. Even Magnus the Moose gets in on the festivities by twice eating Army retiree Tessa Treslow’s truck decorations.
Another book in the Spielman series, Home for the Homicides follows Tessa and Aunt Edna as they prepare for Christmas and try to catch the real-life Grinch threatening New Oslo. The trouble escalates from broken storefront windows to stolen toys, firebombing, and murder. Tessa and Edna must find the culprit before Christmas is ruined.
Tessa organizes a citizen patrol for the town to catch the person responsible for attacking the businesses in town. She finds a clue at each of the sites that ties each event together. In a small town, where everyone knows each other, who could do these things to a neighbor? Tessa and Aunt Edna spot a stranger who seems to be around whenever there’s a crowd. Who is he, and why is he in New Oslo?
Home for the Homicides is a fast-paced cozy mystery with lots of twists and turns that will keep you guessing. Even though I’ve read some of the other books in the series, I still appreciate the cleverly named businesses and quirky named people like the Bimbeaus. Rosalie Spielman can always make me laugh!
Home for the Homicides is a book worth curling up in front of a fire to read.
Review by Nancy Panko
Author's Synopsis
It's Christmastime in Army retiree Tessa Treslow's small Idaho hometown of New Oslo, but someone is determined to play a grinch this season and is robbing local businesses of their holiday cheer!
In the midst of preparing for the first annual Running of the Grinches, a fundraiser to support the Sergeant Santa Toy Drive and the local historical society, a string of unfortunate incidents hit the townsfolk hard. It starts with broken windows then progresses to car theft, assault, and arson—each instance accompanied by a clue that clearly ties the crimes together.
Tessa organizes a watch patrol for New Oslo, and during her first shift she helps rescue a victim from a fire. Unfortunately, it is clear to Tessa that the woman was already dead before the fire was set. Did the arsonist accidentally kill her...or is something more heinous and less in the spirit of the season at hand? It's up to Tessa to find out before tragedy strikes again!
Format(s) for review: Kindle Only
Review genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller/Crime
Pages/Word count: 255 / 70,000