Lizzy is a successful author trying to find a small town where she can be pretty much anonymous. She ends up in Harperstown, South Dakota. She's only in town a few days when she is arrested for stealing Christmas decorations. This is when Lizzy meets some of the other characters in this book. Lizzy does take awhile to warm up to. She doesn't want to associate with the townsfolk. But as with most small towns, everyone knows everyone, and everyone's business.
I started to warm up to Lizzie when Mavis was introduced. Mavis is a dachshund who lived in the house Lizzy purchased. As a dachshund owner myself, I think the author described dachshund behavior exactly. Mine also loves to talk as Mavis did. I will say that Mavis was my favorite character in the book.
Lizzie does grow on me as the story unfolds. And the mystery brings a number of suspects. I definitely recommend this cozy Christmas mystery. I have given an honest review after receiving an ARC of this book.

Cozy mystery about an eccentric writer named Lizzy who escapes her spotlight lifestyle to move to a small town where nobody knows her. She is not feeling welcome in the town, as many of the residents are mean, petty gossipers. Someone keeps breaking into her home, and there is a murderer on the loose. A small dachshund shows up inside of her house, it turns out, the little dog belonged to the previous owners who are now dead. She immediately bonds with the dog Mavis, who is unusually smart. Mavis may be able to read, and speaks at appropriate times, which is adorable. I laughed every time Mavis spoke. Mavis assists Lizzy in solving the mystery, along with the Captain of the police department and his canine. The story is a little far fetched at times, but still charming.

Missing: The secret tunnel explanation (unless I overlooked it). I also had a cringy feeling about the growing relationship between Lizzy and Jason, who thinks she looks just like his sister. Om... he may have inappropriate feelings for his sister if he is so drawn to a woman who could be her twin.

Thank you Netgalley for approving me to read this book!

Lizzy, a famous author is on the run. She's dealing with sudden fame, bad friends and a failed relationship. So, what does she do? She moves to a tiny town where she knows no one and can hide away with no human contact. This doesn't last long. Becoming a suspect in a murder kind of ruins anonymity. Here she finds friends and maybe a kind of peace that she needs.
Oh my gosh, I really enjoyed this book! Lizzy doesn't seem to likeable when the story starts but then boom, you just understand her and love her. Mavis? The best part of the book! The sheriff and Holly are great characters. Helpful and non-judgmental. All and all, this is a great book if you like cozy mysteries. I can't wait for the next book.

This is a very clever mystery. I haven't read anything by this author before, but I really enjoyed it. Lizzie clearly has had a very rough time in her life. At first glance, she comes off as prickly, unapproachable, and even a bit stuck up. However, with patience in reading the story, you find out that she really has a heart of gold.

There is so much stuff that happens in the beginning that it almost gets frustrating. And just when you feel like you're getting to the point of wanting to pull your hair out, then BOOM! Here comes all of these things that start happening right after another.

I really enjoyed the sheriff and his sister. They were not quick to judge but were quick to help. It would have been so easy to just lock up Lizzie and let it go. However, they didn't do that. They trusted what she said and trusted their guts and thankfully all of the mysteries were solved.

Fantastic book. I really enjoyed it, and I highly recommend it.

Thanks to Net Galley, the publishers, and to Alice Kanaka for the ability to read and review this book. All opinions are honest and are mine alone.

Lizzy just wants to find a quiet place to write and become anonymous. She is quickly finding that the very small town of Harperstown, SD is not the place to go incognito, Neighbors are spying on her and everyone else is gossiping about her. However, something unthinkable happens and it gets even worse.

This story made me curious early on, but I was not too sure how I felt about the main character, Lizzy. That changed as the story and character developed and we learned more about Lizzy's past. The more I knew about Lizzy the more I liked her. The story also throws in a lot of unexpected happenings that kept me engaged and always trying to figure out what is really going on.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A cute holiday story with an enjoyable story, sympathetic characters and tons of seasonal tropes. Curl up and enjoy!

Lizzie is a new author who has moved to a very small town to hide out from sudden fame and a failed relationship. All she wants is anonymity, no interruptions, and peace and quiet to work on her new book. But her neighbours have other plans whether for good or ill and, with only a few days until Christmas, she finds herself the recipient of food gifts and invitations as well as the subject of a great deal of gossip. And as if all that isn’t enough, when a murder is uncovered, she finds herself a suspect. Now, she has no choice but to come out of her self-imposed isolation to find the real killer.

Winter Wonderdach is a fun Christmas cozy mystery with a likeable and smart female protagonist and an interesting mystery. I did feel that the end seemed stretched further than necessary even after what seemed like an already satisfactory wrap-up. Still, it was a enjoyable read and I would likely read more by this author in the future.

Thanks to Netgalley and Victory Editing Netgalley Co-op for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review

I confess that it took me a while to warm up to the heroine, Lizzie. She seemed to be unapproachable and only interested in interacting with people who provided her with food, such as the bakery and the diner. Slowly she did grow on me. On the other hand, her neighbor, Holly, was just the opposite being friendly and outgoing. I enjoyed Holly's adventurous spirit.

The mystery is smoothly paced with several red herrings and twists and a limited number of suspects. Small town secrets and gossip keep the story moving forward as Lizzie unwillingly becomes more involved as a murder occurs at her new home and the police are looking at her as a suspect. Engaging mystery with a little chaos and fun moments as Lizzie becomes more involved in her new community.

Winter Wonderdach is a cozy mystery complete with a dead body, a reclusive author, a ghost, a new dog and a topsy turvy life. Lizzy seeks to escape a life that feel out of control especially with her sudden fame as an author. Moving to a very small town she becomes enmeshed with a dead body and is soon being questioned by the police.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Not too heavy and full of interesting characters (including a new dachshund), watching Lizzie navigate her way through the labyrinth of ups and downs, all lead to a most satisfying read.

Boy, what a first Christmas in her new town Lizzie has. Complete with a dead body. Not a good start for someone who seemingly just wants to be left alone.

This one grew on me as I read. Quite frankly, I wasn't taken with main character Lizzie as the story opened. I couldn't quite figure her out. Reclusive and preferring it that way, it seemed, she greeted each friendly approach rather abruptly. Not really rude but not open, either. I want to at least like the main character of books I read, so I wasn't at all sure about this one. Slowly, however, as I read, it became apparent why Lizzie behaved as she did, shutting people out. Forced to make forays out for food, she initially connected to those with food connections, albeit she rather abruptly turned close neighbor Holly away at the door. Who'd have guessed they'd become best friends?

The mystery was far more complicated that the usual whodunit, although that is where my interest really began to pick up. That's when Lizzie's writer persona first began to emerge. Given her tendency to think of things as potential scenes, it was even at first confusing whether Lizzy's discovery of the body was real or something her writer mind had dreamed up that stuck around into her fuzzy waking moments. Oh, it was real. Very real. Even worse, it was just the beginning. Given how quickly small town gossip spreads, it's no time until Lizzy is the talk of the town. Never mind no one really know her. Stories were made up, shared, revised, twisted, and shared repeatedly. The good news amongst the break-ins and strange noises in the house was the appearance of adorable little Mavis, who'd belonged to the late owners and had been missing for some time. Mavis brings Lizzy and Holly together, so to speak, and Holly's tendency to want to know things seems likely to get them in trouble with the police. Maybe it's a good thing Holly's brother, with his dog Harvey, is the top cop in town? Doesn't stop him from following the rules of course, even when it comes to jailing Lizzy. You'll love how she passes her time in the lonely, sterile jail cell. Ah, writers.

Anyway, those are just the highlights. Small towns have secrets. Secrets and grudges. They also have snoops and quirky characters. There are some fun, humorous scenes that help you get to know the main cast of characters better. And, oh, how the gossip flies. That said, Holly is a good friend and, hmm, her brother is kinda good looking. Can Lizzie overcome past fears and the strange start in this small town to find a family of friends? Does she even want to? Maybe life would be safer is she stays hidden away with just her dog? My thanks to #VictoryEditingNetGalleyCo-Op and #NetGalley for this early intro to Lizzie and her maybe new life. I'm assuming this is going to be a series and despite my slowness getting into the book, ultimately enjoyed the read and hope to meet them all again, especially dogs Mavis and Harvey.

#WinterWonderdach #NetGalley was just the book I needed to read yesterday.
I was immediately drawn to the cover and title, and the description sounded perfect.
Lizzie needs a break from her life, so she buys a house, in the middle of nowhere, and plans to hide, no reason to interact with people at all.
Even though Lizzie is determined to stay hidden, events happen that turn her life upside down.
There were so many laugh out loud moments, including her indoor roller rink, and why she didn't have heat or hot water.
This is an excellent cozy mystery and I'm hoping there's more to come.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.
5 Star Review