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Deck the Halls with Homicide book tour includes a guest post from the author and a giveaway. Explore, interact, follow, share.
Book Details
Deck the Halls With Homicide: Killer Chocolate Mysteries
Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Setting – Harriston, Montana (fictional)
Publisher : Independently Published
Publication date : October 28, 2025
Print length : 326 pages
Paperback
ISBN-10 : 1069554103
ISBN-13 : 978-1069554109
Digital
ISBN-13 : 978-1069554116
ASIN : B0FKMD2SMX
Perfect for fans of Jacqueline Frost and Vicki Delany, when a holiday decorating contest
turns deadly, twin sisters Alex and Hanna trade tinsel and twinkle lights for tracking the
twists and turns of a cunning killer.
Alex and Hanna, owners of Murder and Mayhem book and chocolate shop, are hoping for a quiet
holiday. That is, after Alex is finished judging the Deck the Halls contest organized by Vanessa,
nicknamed “The Dragon.” The whole experience has turned Alex’s usual festive spirit a little
grinchy. Instead of inspiring holiday cheer with fun lawn displays, the contest has turned
cutthroat and decorations have started disappearing. After Alex’s beau, Tom, is seen in a heated
argument with the Dragon about his stolen trimmings, Alex finds him dressed as Santa, kneeling
over Vanessa’s dead body…with one of his missing candy cane decorations buried in her chest.
It’s no surprise he becomes the sheriff’s top suspect.
Alex and Hanna quickly amass a cast of suspects deeper than Santa’s reindeer roster, including
an old family friend tasked by their mother with romantic interference; a nosy reporter eager to
reveal Alex’s previous murder-y exploits; and the victim’s psychologist-to-the-stars husband
with a spicy secret. But as they try to catch a crafty killer, Alex also grapples with the escalating
wrath of Tom’s daughter, and a mysterious psychic dropping cryptic clues, while Hanna deals
with her own Christmas crisis.
Murder puts a bitter spin on the twins’ sweet confections and they must find the killer and wrap
up the case to keep Santa off the naughty list.
Author Details
Christina Romeril grew up in Kitchener, Ontario, and has been devouring stacks of books since
third grade when the Trixie Belden series sparked a love of mysteries. She has lived on both
coasts of Canada as a former member of the Canadian military. As an Alberta transplant, she is
fascinated by mountains and loves to spend time with her husband and two Chihuahuas, Nacho
and Paco, exploring Waterton National Park in the Canadian Rockies.
Author Links
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/christinaromerilwriter
Website https://christinaromeril.com/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/christinaromerilwriter
Purchase Links
Amazon Bookshop.org B&N Kobo Apple Books
Guest Post
Murder, Mistletoe, and Milk Chocolate: Why Christmas and Cozy Mysteries Belong Together
There’s something magical about Christmas. The twinkling lights, the smell of gingerbread, the faint sound of Bing Crosby crooning through every shop speaker—and of course, the alarming likelihood that someone in a cozy mystery town will end up face-first in a fruitcake.
Yes, while most genres give us snow-dusted romance or heartfelt family drama, the cozy mystery gleefully wraps murder in tinsel and bows. It’s the intersection of holiday cheer and homicide—graphic violence mercifully absent, but the body count suspiciously high.
The Festive Backdrop of Crime
First, let’s talk setting. Christmas cozies lean into everything we love about the season. We’re talking quaint villages lit up like Clark Griswold’s front yard, carolers bundled in scarves, and townsfolk gathering for hot cocoa at the tree-lighting ceremony. It’s picture-perfect—until someone keels over during the decorating contest with an ornament stuck in their chest.
The incongruity is the best part. One moment you’re admiring the snowflakes drifting past the bakery window; the next, you’re wondering whether the peppermint bark was sprinkled with cyanide instead of crushed candy canes.
Merry Christmas, indeed.
Baked Goods and Bad Intentions
No holiday cozy would be complete without baked goods, and lots of them. Cookies, cakes, pies, trifles, puddings—basically, if it can be dusted with powdered sugar, it’s in the story. But these treats aren’t just window dressing. In the world of cozy mysteries, they double as plot devices. The gingerbread house competition? Someone rigs it—possibly fatally. That tray of cranberry Christmas scones? Half the town swears they saw it, which makes it the perfect timeline marker in everyone’s alibi. The fruitcake? Well, nobody eats it, but if you need a blunt object…
let’s just say it’s been weaponized more than once.
Chocolates and Clues
And let’s not forget the most decadent of holiday temptations: chocolate. In Christmas cozies, like the Killer Chocolate Mysteries, it’s never just dessert—it’s practically a supporting character. From peppermint bark to one-pound assorted boxes tied with suspiciously neat bows, chocolate shows up everywhere. It might conceal a clue, serve as a poisoned gift, or simply keep our amateur sleuth going when the case stretches past midnight. After all, nothing fuels a late-night murder board update like a fistful of Fruitcake Fluorine chocolates. And if the murderer hopes to get away with a chocolate-covered alibi, they’re in for a bitter surprise.
Suspects Under the Tree
Another reason Christmas and cozy mysteries go together like cocoa and marshmallows: the sheer number of suspects conveniently gathered in one place.
Holidays bring everyone home—the grumpy uncle, the eccentric aunt, the high school football star who moved away but comes back “just for Christmas.” Toss them all into a snowbound village with too many secrets and too much eggnog, and voilà: instant murder mystery.
Christmas parties, pageants, and parades are tailor-made for cozy setups. The entire town is in attendance, meaning anyone could have slipped the arsenic into the punchbowl or snuck down an empty hallway with a suspiciously sharp candy cane. It’s one of the few times of the year you can pack dozens of potential killers into the community center and still have it feel perfectly natural.
Hot Cocoa, Cold Cases
Of course, the crime may be chilling, but the tone stays warm. Cozy mysteries never revel in gore. Instead, they serve up steaming mugs of cocoa, endless trays of cookies, (and dare I say, chocolates), and amateur sleuths who knit while they interrogate.
The balance is the charm. You can curl up by the fire, sip hot chocolate, and read about a baffling string of holiday homicides without worrying you’ll lose your appetite. The crimes are bloodless, the victims tidily off-page, but the puzzles are clever enough to keep you turning pages between bites of gingerbread.
Why We Love a Holly, Jolly Homicide
So why do we crave a little murder with our mistletoe? Maybe it’s the contrast. Christmas is marketed as the most wonderful time of the year, but even in a cozy village, tensions simmer. The nosy neighbor glares when her lights lose to yours. The pharmacist fumes when her nemesis returns to town. The choir soloist is tired of being upstaged by the alto section.
And in a cozy mystery, all of those petty grievances might just turn deadly—though never graphically so. We get the thrill of the whodunit, wrapped in the reassurance that good will triumph, justice will be served, and the cookies and chocolates will never, ever run out.
Closing the Book (and the One Pound Assorted Box)
Christmas and cozy mysteries are both about comfort. One offers twinkling lights, tradition, and togetherness. The other offers quirky sleuths, puzzle-box plots, and the promise that every murder will be neatly solved before the last ornament is packed away. Together, they’re irresistible.
So this season, when you’re curling up with cocoa and cookies, consider adding a little crime to your Christmas cheer. Just don’t be surprised if the carolers outside your window look suspicious—or if someone at the cookie swap has a motive as sharp as a gingerbread man’s candy cane arm.
Because in the world of holiday cozies, the only thing higher than the stack of sugar cookies is the body count.
TOUR PARTICIPANTS
November 3 – Jody’s Bookish Haven – SPOTLIGHT
November 3 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
November 3 – @bibliophile_foodie – REVIEW
November 4 – Boys’ Mom Reads! – SPOTLIGHT
November 4 – Sarandipity’s – AUTHOR GUEST POST
November 4 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
November 5 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW
November 5 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
November 5 – Wine Cellar Library – SPOTLIGHT
November 6 – Salty Inspirations – AUTHOR GUEST POST
November 6 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
November 6 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT
November 7 – Angel’s Book Nook – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
November 7 – View from the Birdhouse – REVIEW
November 7 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
November 8 – Melina’s Book Blog – REVIEW
November 8 – Sarah Can’t Stop Reading Books – REVIEW
November 8 – Deal Sharing Aunt – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
Giveaway
1 paperback copy and 1 Digital copy of Deck the Halls With Homicide: Killer Chocolate Mysteries by Christina Romeril.
