Publisher: Berkley
Released: November 3, 2015
Source: Review copy from the publisher
Rating: ★★★★

In Rudolph, New York, it’s Christmastime all year long. But this December, while the snow-lined streets seem merry and bright, a murder is about to ruin everyone’s holiday cheer…

As the owner of Mrs. Claus’s Treasures, Merry Wilkinson knows how to decorate homes for the holidays. That’s why she thinks her float in the semi-annual Santa Claus parade is a shoe-in for best in show. But when the tractor pulling Merry’s float is sabotaged, she has to face facts: there’s a Scrooge in Christmas Town.

Merry isn’t ready to point fingers, especially with a journalist in town writing a puff piece about Rudolph’s Christmas spirit. But when she stumbles upon the reporter’s body on a late night dog walk—and police suspect he was poisoned by a gingerbread cookie crafted by her best friend, Vicky—Merry will have to put down the jingle bells and figure out who’s really been grinching about town, before Vicky ends up on Santa’s naughty list.

REST YE MURDERED GENTLEMEN is a fun cozy mystery set in the quirky town of Rudolph, New York. In Rudolph, it’s Christmas all year round, which brings in a steady stream of tourists — until a poisoned cookie kills a journalist doing a feature on the town. Who would want to crush Rudolph’s Christmas spirit and hurt business? It’s up to shop owner Merry Wilkinson and best friend Vicky (the baker of the bad cookie) to figure it all out.

This is the first book in the Year-Round Christmas Mystery series, and the author did a great job setting the foundation for the series, introducing readers to the cast of characters, and crafting a puzzling mystery. In the end, the culprit surprised me, but also made sense.  There was plenty of humor throughout the book that had me snickering. This would be a great read any time of year for lovers of Christmas-themed cozies.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.