The Fruitcake

Publishers Weekly/Book Life Review

Orr's excitable mystery finds Holly Kelly, newly transplanted to swanky neighborhood Laguna Palms with her husband and triplets, on the hunt for friendship and fun amid a flurry of country club outings, parties, and a yearly Christmas fruitcake exchange designed to bring the neighbors together. When that holiday tradition goes south—starting with the homeowner's association president, Patty, choking to death on a missing Lego piece baked into the neighborhood's very first fruitcake exchange—it sets off a series of murders that seem accidental at first but quickly stew with bizarre coincidences.

After the second exchange inadvertently ends in the death of resident Harry's elderly uncle, finance guru Greta muses "This is the second Christmas Eve death in the past two years. Maybe we should end this fruitcake exchange thing." Despite those misgivings, the eccentric neighbors continue the tradition, eventually culminating with Holly's delivery of a Havana fruitcake to the Hudson sisters—though her premonition that something bad will happen proves true ("I don't trust women who don't wear makeup" she gripes on her way to deliver the cake). Orr (author of The She Shed) delivers the twisty narrative from multiple perspectives—and timelines—mixing death, disappearance, and captivity into the finished product, and keeps readers guessing until the very last bite.

"In the end, it's the chaos that leads to the order we seek," the story quotes, and despite some lumps in the batter thanks to the non-linear structure, readers will be pleased with the gripping denouement. Bloodshed, atonement, and suspense tangle together to produce a savory mystery, emboldened by Orr's sprinkling of neighborhood legends (the land, stolen from the area's indigenous tribes, is thought to be cursed) on top. It's obvious Orr relishes page-turning riddles, but the ample reflection on the intergenerational events that shape a person's life add a richness to this holiday treat.

Takeaway: Butterfly effect neighborhood murder mystery built on a tasty Christmas tradition.

Comparable Titles: Paula Hawkins's The Girl on the Train, Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects.