Book Tour & #Giveaway for A Christmas Peril by J.A. Hennrikus

Welcome to my stop on the Book Tour, presented by Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours, for A Christmas Peril by J.A. Hennrikus.  Please leave a comment or question for J.A. to let her know you stopped by.  You may enter her tour wide giveaway by filling out the Rafflecopter form below.  You may also follow all of the stops on the tour by clicking on the banner above, the more stops you visit, the better your odds of winning.  Good Luck!

A Christmas Peril

By J.A. Hennrikus

A Theater Cop Mystery, Book 1

Publisher: Midnight Ink

Release Date: September 8, 2017

Genre: Cozy Mystery/Female Sleuth

Length: 288 Pages

ISBN: 978-0738754154

ASIN: B0755NC138

Buy Links:  Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Midnight Ink | Google Play |  IndieBound

About the book:

Sully Must Get Her Childhood Friend Off the Naughty List Before They’re Both Scrooged.

When Edwina “Sully” Sullivan’s life imploded, she left behind her job on the police force and her unfaithful husband to start a new life as the general manager of her hometown theater, the Cliffside Theater Company.

For five years, she focused on budgets instead of crime and kept the Cliffside running alongside its mercurial artistic director. But when her childhood friend is suspected of killing his father, no one is looking for another culprit. So, in between keeping A Christmas Carol on budget and Scrooge sober, Sully dusts off her investigative skills to find a murderer. Her two lives collide when her ex-husband arrives on the scene to play lawyer and she’s forced to confront her past in order to save her present.

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About The Author

J. A. Hennrikus is the author of the Theater Cop Mystery series. As Julianne Holmes, she writes the Agatha-nominated Clock Shop Mystery series for Berkley Prime Crime. Hennrikus blogs with the Wicked Cozy Authors, is on the board of Sisters in Crime, and is a member of Mystery Writers of America. She is also an arts administrator who lives in Massachusetts. Visit her online at www.JHAuthors.com.

Webpage – https://jahennrikus.com/

Wicked Cozy Authors Blog – https://wickedcozyauthors.com/   

She tweets under @JulieHennrikus, and am on Pinterest and Instagram, and have a page on Facebook. I also blog on Live to Write/Write toLive, and I blog on Killer Characters on the 20th of each month. 

A former cop, the local community theater and a dead businessman take center stage in A Christmas Peril, the first book in J.A. Hennrikus new cozy series, the Theater Cop Mysteries.  A likeable lead character, good secondary characters, a solid mystery and a smidgen of romance kept me turning the pages from start to finish.  If you like cozy mysteries, the theater or even just “Holiday” productions, this is a series you will want to check out.

Ms. Hennrikus did a great job developing her characters.  I especially liked Edwina “Sully” Sullivan, the main character, right from the start.  A divorced former cop, Sully has a solid, if not well paying, job as the general manager of the local community theater and is an established member of the community.  After all she grew up in the area and came home to take care of her ailing father.  While Sully is very likeable, I will admit that I was very curious as to why she quit her job, as a cop, five years ago and what caused her divorce.  Especially since we meet "Gus" , her ex-husband, and they both seem to have feelings for each other.  When a local businessman, who is distantly related, is killed, Sully finds herself being drawn into solving the mystery of “who done it’ while at the same time getting the theater ready for its annual production of “A Christmas Carol”.  Her hands are definitely full as she tries to keep her best friend, and the businessman's son, out of jail while dealing with an alcoholic "Scrooge" and the theater's director, who thinks spending more money on props will help their sinking production. 

The secondary characters are also well developed and they brought a lot of color and depth of the story.  They added a lot to the story. The mystery is well written and there are plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing who the killer is and why the businessman “had to die’.  Plus the light touch of romance adds yet anther twist to the story as there seems to be a "romantic triangle" developing between three of the characters.  

The plot is well paced and Ms. Hennrikus voice as an author is well established and very enjoyable to read.  On a side note, this is the first book I’ve read by this author under either of her nom de plumes, and I will certainly be checking out her other books. I enjyo finding new cozy series to try out. 

Will Sully discover who killed the local businessman and keep their joint famiies out of jail? Will Sully discover why her ex-husband is suddenly hanging around?  Will she find out just what it is "Gus" feels he needs to tell her?  And will this year’s production of “A Christmas Carol” go off without a hitch and raise enough money for the community theater’s summer plans?  You’ll have to read A Christmas Peril to find out.  I really enjoyed it and look forward to reading the next book in this series.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Crowns

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FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley for a fair and honest review.  My review is solely my opinion, and my opinion alone, of the reading material provided.