Rest Ye Murdered Gentlemen (Year-Round Christmas Mysteries Book 1)

3 1/2 stars (rounded up to a 4) to Vicki Delany's Rest Ye Murdered Gentlemen, her debut novel in the "A Year-Round Christmas Mystery" series. Some people love Christmas so much that they need an entire book series dedicated to it; and if you're one of those people, you'll enjoy this one even if you're reading it at Halloween!StoryRudolph, New York, a small town on the southern shores of Lake Ontario near the Canadian border, was named for someone who turned out to be not-so-name-worthy in the end. The town mayor, Noel Wilkinson, suggests telling everyone it was named after the famous reindeer and thus, Christmastown is born -- except, there are a few of these towns across the country and the neighboring towns aren't always thrilled when their town is suddenly considered second rate. When a semi-famous writer stops in Rudolph to publish a piece in a widely-read magazine about all the wonders of the Christmas village, he quickly sets the town a buzz... but when he turns up dead after eating at a local restaurant, Rudolph gets a bad reputation. Was it a neighboring town hoping to steal the glory? Was it a current resident with a unknown grudge? Or was it a personal vendetta from some outsider that just happened to occur in Rudolph?Merry Wilkinson and her family and friends of Christmas-loving lore are on the case so they can protect their income and their town from utter disaster. Along the way, we meet her opera-loving mother, Santa Clause double dad, best friend who is accused of the murder, two eligible bachelors for Merry to choose from, a former frenemy police officer, the newly transported Chicago detective, a quirky mayor, a bitter neighboring store owner, a rival-politician and the fun-loving staff of Merry's high-end Christmas decor shop. With a few side-stories about each of the main character's personal lives, a new series all about the wonderful world of Christmas is born. In the end, Merry solves the case and makes friends with the police so she's ready to solve another one in the future.StrengthsFor a debut novel, it gives a really well-rounded summary of the town and characters. For readers new to the cozy mystery genre, it will be the perfect intro. Characters and setting are clear and vivid. Multiple suspects for the whodunit. Several backstories dropped with different angles to continue on in the future. And if you're a fan of holidays, this one will make you smile. I was slightly worred that the Christmas theme could be annoying (I love Christmas but an entire book series?); however, Delany offers a good balance of story and setting so you can tune out or in as much of the descriptions as you want.WeaknessesThere are a few holes in the story or pieces of the plot that should have been more tightly addressed. Merry doesn't quite seem like someone who would give up her life in NYC and come back home just because of a situation with her boyfriend and job. I would have expected her to try to find other jobs in NYC but this whole area is covered a bit too quickly. When she does come back home, it seems like everyone just forgets she left Rudolph and everything picks back up again. I understand small town atmosphere, but I think a little more focus could have been added here.Final ThoughtsThere are a lot of mystery fiction books and authors to choose from, and once you settle into the cozy sub-genre, you still have a lot that could spark your interest. This one has a very clear theme that will either hook the audience or it will not. If you are a fan of holidays or Christmas or anything that comes with it, then you've got a good series to get started with. The author has just published the second in the series and I will be reading it later this week. Definitely worth continuining on...

I've now read all 4 of the Year-Round Christmas Series (and have preordered Book 5) and I absolutely love them. Love the characters, the setting, the mysteries, the FOOD, the dogs - everything. These books are just what I needed in this depressing time we are living through. The plots are really good and keep you guessing with just enough edge to keep you wanting more, more, more! Much better than the average cozy series. Highly recommend.

What likable main characters, Merry Wilkinson and her pup, Mattie, a 30lb Saint Bernard. Not to mention, Merry's parents, Noel the town's Santa Claus, and her Mother, a retired Grand Opera Diva. Then, let's not forget Merry's best friend, Vicki, a Baker. Then, to add spice to the mixture, Merry has two beaus...Alan, the Toy Maker, and Russ, the Town's reporter.Added to the cast of many, is the location chosen...Rudolph, New York. Locally known as Christmas Town, New York. The town celebrates Christmas all year round. Famously becoming known for it's two annual Christmas parades...July 25th and Christmas Season.Murder lurks on the well decorated streets and when Rudolph's main chance to receive international recognition hits, the murderer strikes via a Gingerbread man...? Yup, that's right.This is a season to rejoice when the killer gets caught...and will leave you eager to read more and more about this town (which I think I may want to move to,) and see what else befalls the characters. By the way, I vote for Alan as Merry's main beau. Enjoy!

I really enjoyed this book, it's off to a good start for a first in series. I love the whole idea of a town with year around Christmas, this would be a place that I would to visit. When Merry finds the body of a man who is supposed to be doing a story on the town, eyes turn to her friend. I found it refreshing that Merry wasn't a "I must jump in there and solve this" character. She wants to help and I love that the detective wasn't an in you face type, I really liked her quite a bit. The characters are all likable, I love Merry's father, but who wouldn't he's the town Santa, not to mention ex-mayor who comes across a strong steady character. The mystery was excellent, thought out and came to a sensible conclusion, it had me guessing until the end. I will definitely continue on with this series.

Merry Wilkinson owns Mrs. Claus Treasures, in the town of Rudolph, NY known as Christmas town. It is a quaint little town where her Father, Noel, plays Santa, and use to be the previous Mayor. Her Mother was a professional singer and teaches singing and goes thru the town caroling. Vicky is her BFF and owns a sweet shop. Russ who runs the paper in town is new to the area. The current Mayor is Fergus Cartwright. The people of the town are trying to get their name known throughout the region as the Christmas Town, since that is how the town thrives. They are having there Christmas Parade and a Journalist from England, Nigel Pearce shows up to do a feature in the Journey Magazine.As you can guess someone is murdered and could this event could ruin the town. It is a fun who dun it. I had many suspects, but hard to figure out who was the killer.

What a marvelous debut in a new series promising to deliver Christmas year round. In Rudolph, New York, the self-proclaimed Christmas Town, everyone loves the holiday and gears their businesses toward becoming a stellar tourist destination. Merry Wilkinson has deep roots, she grew up in town, plus her father portrays Santa Claus. Merry doesn't think much of the tractor malfunction causing her float to be delayed in the semi-annual Santa Claus parade. But when a visiting reporter winds up dead, and other strange things occur, she quickly becomes involved in the investigation. There are so many shops and townspeople, plus a nearby rival town called Muddle Harbor, that Delany should have plenty of stories to tell. I look forward to reading more about Merry!

Rest Ye Murdered Gentlemen by Vicki Delany is the first book in A Year-Round Christmas Mystery Series. First off, what a wonderful cover! I don't always speak about the covers of books when I am writing a review, but.. I just had to mention it. There's something that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I love Christmas, and even though I've read this in August, it does put me in the Christmas spirit!Merry Wilkinson had lived her dream, with a great job in the big city. But she's since moved back home to Rudolph, New York, aka "Christmastown" where she is the owner of "Mrs. Claus's Treasures" a wonderful store filled with beautiful creations made by local artisans. It's Christmastime all year round in Rudolph, and we find ourselves in the Semi-annual Christmas parade (Because they have it every 6 months, can't forget Christmas in July!) and the tractor that is supposed to pull Merry's float has been sabotaged! And she was a favourite to win the best float prize this year. When she stumbles across a body in the park, her best friend Vicky is implicated in the murder and it's up to Merry to figure out who the real murderer is, and if all these strange happenings around town are related or just a string of coincidences... Can Merry discover the truth before the Grinch steals Christmas from Christmastown?What a great start to a series! The characters are fun, quirky and very likable. I was able to picture myself transported to Christmastown, wandering through Merry's shop with the beautiful glass ornaments, hand made train sets and beautiful jewelry. The mystery was fun to try to solve, there is no shortage of suspects, and I was left guessing right until the end and I still got it wrong! Filled with lots of truly laugh out loud moments, I didn't want to put this book down, and would have finished it all in one day had I not started it later in the day.This is definitely going to be a series I will be following, and I am looking forward to the next installment!

Loved it! Having read and enjoyed Vicki Delaney's Klondike series and being extremely disappointed when I tried the first of her Molly Smith series I really didn't know what to expect. However it is that time of year and I'm kind of searching around for some new Christmassy mysteries so I it was time to jump in and am I ever glad that I did. This is a rollicking good mystery with fabulous characters, so many suspects and red herrings that there is no way to guess the perp until the big surprise at the reveal and with a solid and satisfactory ending. You can definitely count me in for some more visits to Rudolph enen though I really don't like that much snow. I highly recommend this book for everyone's Christmas reading list and it may even get to be an annual tradition.

The introduction started a little slow and boring, but when the Story finally hit, it got better and better. I enjoyed the story line and characters very much and am looking forward to reading the following books of the series.Christmas and winter gives the story a really nice surrounding where the chosen characters fit in perfectly.

For someone who loves Christmas as much as the character of Merry, I was delighted to find this series. Besides the Christmas theme, it is a great story with interesting characters. I am looking forward to the next one.

This was a nice cozy mystery. The setting was nice and descriptive. It kept me guessing until the end. Although the protagonist seemed to be a bit cateless.