#68 Sugarplums and Scandal by Dana Cameron, Mary Daheim, Lori Avocato, Cait London, Suzanne Macpherson, Kerrelyn Sparks

My Rating: 6 out of 10 stars

"All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth" by Lori Avocato
When nurse-turned-investigator Pauline Sokol decides to bring a bit of Christmas cheer to a helpless old man, she unwittingly discovers misdeeds of a Scrooge-like local dentist.

This was a cute little story. Not much of a mystery in and of itself, but apparently the Pauline Sokol Mystery series from which these characters are drawn is a fairly successful cozy mystery series. She reminds me a bit of Stephanie Plum. Characters were well drawn and the story imparted a nice sense of Christmas spirit despite it's brevity.

"The Lords of Misrule" by Dana Cameron
Modern detection techniques are called for on Christmas Eve in an elegant eighteenth-century English manor when murder and grand theft get thrown in amidst the Christmas cheer.

This was another cute little mystery. I didn't care for the 18th century setting as much as I do for contemporary settings, but the mystery itself was entertaining, the characters interesting, and it held my interest throughout.

"The Ghost of Christmas Passed" by Mary Daheim
All the wacky relatives are together for the holidays at Judith McMonigle Flynn's bed and breakfast—but a murderous, uninvited "ghost" may dampen the Christmas spirit.

I really couldn't get into this one and found myself paging ahead to see when it was gonna end! LOL I had a difficult time relating to the main characters or the situations they faced, possibly because they were quite a bit outside my age range, and the supposed "ghost" wasn't even really a ghost at all! :-( So overall, this was just a large group of family and friends, whose names I couldn't even keep track of, getting together on Christmas and getting a little surprise. Ehhh... *shrug*

"Partners in Crime" by Cait London
When a well-meaning do-gooder lets a mysterious man into her life, she must discover if he's protecting her—or stalking her.

This cute little mystery wasn't too bad, though it wasn't my favorite of the bunch either. It was like a cozy mystery and love story rolled up into one. At least it was interesting enough to hold my interest throughout. :-)

"Holly Go Lightly" by Suzanne Macpherson
A handsome hero's plucky late fiancée won't leave him be until he completes her unfinished mission on Earth.

When the ghost of his old girlfriend starts haunting him on Christmas Eve, Nick is led to discover a holiday secret that has been hidden from him for years. This was another good story: a little bit romance, a little bit mystery, but a good holiday story overall.

"A Very Vampy Christmas" by Kerrelyn Sparks
Coming home for the holidays takes on new meaning when a newly turned vampire discovers his own Christmas miracle.

This one was the best of the batch! It was also the longest at 86 pages so perhaps that had something to do with it. :-) This is the story of Don Orlando de Corazon, "the greatest lover in the vampire world" from the DVN soap opera As a Vampire Turns, and his discovering who he really is. Don Orlando was a minor character in the previous Love at Stake novels, and I recognized many of the other characters from the full-length novels as well, though its certainly not necessary to have read them before this; this story can easily stand alone.

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