What a fun cozy mystery! I enjoyed the characters immensely! I wish I had people like that I was close to in real life. There was humor and heartwarming moments throughout the story. If you're looking for a holiday mystery that is easy and a joy to read, this book (and any in the series!) is an excellent choice!

I chose to read this book for the month of December while I’m focusing on Holiday-themed books. I have to say, I was hoping for more of a cozy feel from this cozy mystery, but I never quite received it. This book feels much more like a drama than a cozy mystery. It was a quick read, but the story never drew me in. There were a lot of characters to try and keep straight, and the books reads as if it’s part of a series, but I’m not sure if it actually is.

It is set during Christmastime, and while there are some references to it throughout, the book never feels like a holiday story.

Overall this was a cute, quick story but I would skip if you’re looking for a true cozy mystery!

This is a mystery that involves the supposed suicide of one of the main characters past lover. The suicide took place over 60 years ago. When new evidence comes to light that it may have actually been murder, she enlists the help of her friend who is trying to become a private investigator. A very cute read

Thank you to NetGalley and Ana T Drew for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my review.

It started great but I lost interest in the middle where it dragged slowly. I was expecting more Christmas than the book had. It wasn't for me.

This is a cozy murder mystery, set around Christmas in France. It looks like it might be a festive offshoot from a series where our main protaganist, an older lady who isn't so keen on being old, wants to become a private detective. She is 'hired' by another older lady who is looking for answers about a mysterious death. This follows both of the characters as they work out the 'who dunnit'.
Personally, I didn't feel like the actual mystery part was done enough. We had a lot of religious breaks in this book and some parts of the book that could have been cut a lot shorter than they were.
The writing was easy to read and it was a quick read but I feel like either I have missed some of this series and it makes no sense, or I just wasn't completely hooked on the characters.
Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC.

I simply love the cover of this book and that is why I requested an early copy.

It did not disappoint! I was quickly drawn into the story and the adventure of the two ladies who begin sleuthing a suicide from 60 years ago and find out that a recent death may be connected.

It is a fun, easy to read adventure with a little Christmas thrown in!

If you like cozy mysteries with a Christmas twist, pick this one up!

I was hoping for a cute Christmas cosy mystery but despite the cover and title this just didn’t hit the mark.
The two main characters were a bit too far on the irritating caricature of “old people”, there were too many small side characters and the plot was convoluted.

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for providing and advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I still have some 25 pages to go, but I don’t care who the killer was and how the mystery(?) ends. The present tense narration is making it harder to read. Rose is super-annoying. I found her completely tactless. Everything is so convenient. She just calls up the suspects/ witnesses and everyone is willing to talk to her and give her enough material to help her come up with bizarre conclusions. At one point she sends a mail to the suspect and tells why she suspects him. And he even replies. 🤦‍♀️. At this point the rating dropped from 2 to 0.75. And I stopped reading when they were all having their super-cute christmas-y get together. I couldn't just take in so much of sweetness.

I didn't know Doga was actually a thing and I wish I hadn't known about. Just because there is a downward dog pose, someone got this idea I guess. There is also a Bhujangasana (Snake pose), Marjarasana (cat pose) and Gomukhasana (cow face pose). I just hope no one gets the idea of Coga, Caga or Snaga.

When the case under investigation is some 60 years old, you might be concerned that evidence has been lost, and more to the point that witnesses are no longer around. But that didn't deter Annie and Rose - well, not too much anyway.

Annie has never really got over the death of René, her fiancé 60 years ago, and despite having had a happy marriage and a family, she still senses that his death was not the suicide it was claimed to be. So she "hires" Rose, a PI in training to investigate.

Now, Annie and Rose are polar opposites: Annie suffers with her arthritic knee and Rose (not one to admit to her real age) is a yoga fan, her limbs and mind more supple and adventurous than Annie's. The contrast in their personalities couldn't be more stark, and their different attitudes - both set in their ways - often impact their progress, causing some terse moments between them that puts their ability to solve the case at risk.
Yet, with the help of their families (and shared romance between their offspring) they rub along together well enough to crack the mystery of Renè's death and to prove Annie's instincts right.
The cold case, however, is not as cold as you might expect, with many similarities to present-day political shenanigans that cannot be ignored and which, when seen in conjunction with the past, help to solve the mystery and deliver justice to the past and to the present.
I enjoyed the charming setting in France and the Christmas traditions that occurred as the case unravelled.
An enjoyable read, an off-the-wall sleuthing partnership, and a captivating cosy tale.

DNFed at 54%. The blurb and cover made me believe that this would be a fun Christmas vacation cozy read. However, the book I began to read was vastly different from what I expected.

There are a few points that I did really like. I loved that the main characters were older ladies. The premise was alluring as it involves a postcard before Christmas from a deceased fiancée. The fiancée had passed away years ago, believed to have murdered someone else and then committed suicide. The letter leads our main character to try to discover the truth about what happened all those years ago.

This book is very hard to follow. Memories of years past are told in present tense. The point of view is third person, and there are a lot of characters here. It's hard to keep track of who everyone is. It may have been better if told in multiple points of view, clearing some of the confusion. There are details that are not mentioned until 36% of the way into the book that should have been explored earlier (spoiler: there is a dog that is an "emotional support animal" at 36% that was not mentioned since the travel began.) The plot is not logical, it feels like there are just random destinations here and there. Finally, there are few cozy scenes (as this is supposed to be a cozy mystery) and very little about the past relationship, letter (and main character's feelings), etc. I felt like the plot shifted just to attempt putting more Christmas into the story. In a way that didn't work.

Overall, this was a let-down for me. Maybe my expectations were too high because of the great premise that was not delivered on.

Thank you to NetGalley for the free ARC. I am leaving my honest review voluntarily.

In 1961 Annie Malian is in love with a man she knows is out of her league. Before they can marry he dies under suspicious circumstances. Now, at 84, Annie receives information that may finally solve his murder, but she needs an accomplice. Rose Tassy is an amateur sleuth and the grandmother of her granddaughter's boyfriend. It doesn't matter they don't exactly get along. What follows is sleuthing trip to Paris with two octogenarians solving a murder.

I DNFed at 42% I was hoping this was a cosy Christmas murder mystery. But there’s nothing cosy or Christmasy about this book. The main characters are unlikeable and frankly a bit narcissistic while I loved the concept of two elderly ladies solving a murder they just were not likable. I found the movement between murder suspects to be confusing and asking myself “how did we get here?” Overall I did not enjoy this book like I thought I would.

Annie is determined to prove her long-dead love did not die by his own hand. She seeks the help of Rose Tassy, another elder who is working toward getting her PI license. But when Rose hesitates to take her case, Annie makes her an offer, and they set out to find out who killed Rene and why.

They travel through France seeking answers, including visiting a tycoon, Rene's family, and a retired gangster. Are they going to be able to find the truth? And what will Annie do if he did actually kill himself...

I wanted to read this story because I love mysteries, and also Christmas. I must tell you that while it does take place at Christmas, there is very little in the story that actually alludes to it, and what is done seems rushed.

I didn't really care for either of the main characters; Annie is a prude and judgmental toward everyone; Rose is twice as self-centered as Annie and narcissistic. Both of them together were very hard to read about. But the two elderly women manage to make it through to the end, with a resolution in hand.

But the resolution felt odd, and none of the characters were fully developed; everyone save Rose and Annie were just bits and pieces of the plot. When the killer is finally discovered, we really have learned very little about them. Such is the way of this book; the writing seemed disjointed. I hate to give mediocre reviews, but the book did not flow. There were too many characters and most of them didn't really need to be included. In fact, if there were less, this might have been a very good book.

Unfortunately, I cannot offer a better review. However, I do have a different book by this author, and I will read that one to see if anything improves.

Unfortunately, I could not get into this book and couldn't finish it. The characters were rude and annoying. The book didn't actually feel like a Christmas story at all and the cozy vibe that I thought I would get was absent. Not for me.

I was disappointed in this book. It was not what I was expecting. The description and cover intrigued me, the pages in between did nothing to capture my attention.

This book was ADORABLE. Seriously so heartwarming and brought me a lot of smiles. It is not filled with a ton of Christmas but that was okay with me. It was well sprinkled in there. ALSO, I loved the baking references as well. You can tell the author is passionate about it and has a lot of knowledge on this. Was just a super fun addition to the story.

4 stars

This was not the cosy little Christmas mystery I expected from the cover. In fact, I felt there was very little Christmas in the book, and only a couple of cosy scenes. I found the mystery dragged on and then was solved in about two sentences at around 85%. There was too many people involved, lots of travelling, and it was all a bit confusing with convenient little elements. Flashbacks were also included in present tense and that could get confusing too, and I'm glad other reviews picked up on this. I also didn't really like anyone - early on it states "It took Annie months to come to terms with her youngest grandson’s homosexuality, which she’d learned about last Christmas. She isn’t ready for more disruption in her life just yet." alongside a few other bigoted remarks that just felt completely unnecessary and added nothing to the book except me hating the main characters. Unfortunately this wasn't the kind of book I wanted from the cover and premise, but it was a quick read. Thank you to netgalley for the arc.

This cozy mystery is about two senior women from France who team up to solve a murder /suicide cold case from 1961. Annie Mallian is 84 but she still grieves the loss of her first love, René Chantome. He was the main suspect for the murder of his college roommate, Gregorie Lacaze. Days later René had been found dead in his bath tub with his wrists slashed. A note was found that said “Sorry”. Annie has never believed that René killed his roommate or that he killed himself. It just wasn’t his character. Now all these years later she seeks help from sleuth Rose Tassy to look dig up old clues and clear Rene’s name of these murder charges. Rose and Annie aren’t really friends but together they tackle this cold case to prove Rene’s innocence. Although the odds are stacked against these two amateur sleuths they are determined to find out what really happened all those years ago.

Although I enjoyed this mystery I didn’t completely get drawn int the story. The mystery was solved eighty percent into the book but then after that I seemed to lose interest. The very ending shed light on what the law inspectors had found out about the murders. Readers do get to see how the French celebrate Christmas.

Readers who enjoy cozy mysteries and women’s fiction about Paris will like this book.

I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions expressed here in this review are entirely my own.

#TheTwelveSuspectsofChristmas #NetGalley

The Twelve Suspects of Christmas weaves a compelling mystery around Annie, an octogenarian determined to unravel the decades-old murder of her fiancé, Rene. Partnering with the witty private detective Rose, Annie embarks on a journey through a maze of characters, although I feel as if the abundance of these hampers their depth and doesn't let you get to know them. Despite the festive title, Christmas plays a minor role, and the promised 12 suspects fade into the background. The narrative, however, sparkles with humour, offering light-hearted moments amidst the dark shadows of the past. Exploring themes of friendship, family and first love, the novel crafts a heart-warming tale that transcends its mystery roots. While the plot may stumble with its plethora of characters and holiday promises, the poignant reflections on enduring bonds make it a delightful read.

Grannies, gangsters, murders—and a rollicking journey across France!
The Twelve Suspect of Christmas by Ana T. Drew is a fun mystery with elderly protagonists who travel from Provence to the Riviera searching for answers to why Annie's fiancé committed suicide years ago. A very fun read that keeps one's interest until the end.