Iron Canuck Reviews & More: Review Tour: The Twelve Suspects of Christmas by Ana T. Drew with an excerpt, a giveaway, and my review

The Twelve Suspects of Christmas

by Ana T. Drew

GENRE: Cozy Mystery

BLURB:

Grannies, gangsters, murders—and a rollicking journey across France!

It’s January 4, 1961, and Marseilles housemaid Annie Malian is in love. It’s also the day her fiancé René takes his life under peculiar circumstances.

Many decades later, an old Christmas postcard addressed to Annie arrives, and all her doubts come flooding back.

At 84, there’s no time to waste!

Annie enlists the help of Rose Tassy, an eccentric retired teacher and amateur sleuth.

Thus begins an unforgettable journey from Provence to a quaint village in Picardie and then on to the sparkling Riviera with a detour through wintry Paris.

Amid yuletide festivities, Annie and Rose navigate perilous terrain. Their list of suspects quickly grows. Was it Rene’s older brother? Maybe the ex-gangster turned chicken farmer? The powerful Monegasque tycoon?

Stumped, Rose begins to question her detective mettle when a new death compounds the plot…

This Christmas, will Annie receive the overdue truth as a gift?

EXCERPT:

With still three weeks to go, the sneaky spirit of Christmas has already been making Rose want to wear ugly sweaters and distribute free hugs. Her self-respect won’t let her wear the sweaters, but she’s been more generous than usual with her hugs. She’s also been spending more time with her granddaughters, both in person and over the phone. In her head, she’s been talking to her darling Elise every night. Last but not least, she’s been lending a helping hand to any friend around her who needed it.

Funnily enough, doing so hasn’t felt like a burden, but a privilege. For example, seeking out Karl this morning and taking him to her house so she can nurse him back to health felt like its own reward, despite all the cleaning she’ll have to do once Karl and Harley are gone.

Granted, Annie isn’t a friend. Prudish and judgmental, she does rub Rose up the wrong way.

But the spirit of Christmas has already lodged in Rose’s heart. For over a week now, it’s been skewing her perception. Like a shard of the devil’s mirror in The Snow Queen—only in reverse—it’s been shrinking the indifference while magnifying the love.

And if anything could sway Rose to answer Annie’s call, it would be like Eric said, the spirit of Christmas.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Ana T. Drew is the evil mastermind behind the recent series of murders in the fictional French town of Beldoc. When she is not writing cozy mysteries or doing mom-and-wife things, she can be found watching “The Rookie” to help her get over “Castle”. She lives in Paris but her heart is in Provence.

Visit ana-drew.com for a free cookbook and a game!

Website: ana-drew.com

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/author/ana-drew

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnaDrewAuthor

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/ana-t-drew

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/anadrew

https://www.amazon.com/Twelve-Suspects-Christmas-heartwarming-Investigates-ebook/dp/B0CKFSDBNN/ref=sr_1_1

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GIVEAWAY

Ana T. Drew will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f4760/

My Review - 4 of 5 stars -

I enjoyed this adventure of Rose and Annie. The idea of solving a cold case with almost nothing to go on was very interesting. The journey through the political world, online learning, love, families torn apart, and many different secrets was quite a maze. As the clues came out, I loved how Rose would jump to some far-out-there theories, only to find a new and better direction to go. As the case was solved, family rifts were mended, causing some tears to fall. The friendship that blossomed between Rose and Annie was wonderful.