Deck the Halls and Hide the Evidence--Before the Nutcracker Stroll Unwraps a Scandal
Married life in Candy Cane Hollow comes with monogrammed stationery and a calendar full of cheer. This week it's the annual Nutcracker Stroll: my sister August is running the show, The Cracking Curio has window displays taller than me, and cocoa-and-cinnamon air on every doorstep.
Then Ambrose Pearce, the town's fiercest Nutcracker collector, doesn't answer her door. I find her body among her antique figures and the Stroll turns from festive to fearful. Chief Superintendent Wiggles takes charge, but something's off. Ambrose had been warning people about stolen Nutcrackers and a theft ring working the region, and now her rivals would rather talk tinsel than truth.
With Mrs. Claus steadying the town, Nick juggling Santa training, and Gilbert the house-elf spotting details everyone else misses, I follow a trail of cracked bases, swapped labels, and collectors with gothic tastes and very neat alibis. If a ring is stealing our history, I'm not letting them hide behind twinkle lights.
We need answers before "Open" signs flip to "Closed" for the Stroll.
Nutcracker Conspiracy is the eighth book in the Candy Cane Hollow Christmas Cozy Mystery series, a warm, magical, and clean holiday whodunit for fans of Hallmark-style cozies and anyone who wishes they could spend Christmas in Santa's own hometown.
