Baby, It's Cold Outside

by Abby L. Vandiver

Brigitt VanBuren has just retired from 30 years at her State of Michigan government job. Now she wants to start an event planning business. She purchased a house, and renovated it, but just when she was ready to open, she finds a dead body floating in her basement. What's worse, it looks as if her sister, the realtor who sold her the house, may have something to do with the woman's death.

It's Christmastime in the town of Poinsettia, but things aren't so merry for Brigitt. Can she solve the whodunit without implicating her sister? Or will she have to use her retirement money to help Melanie relocate to a place with no extradition laws?

A funny, cozy, Christmas-themed story. You'll love the characters and want to read more!

Genres: Christmas

101 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 11, 2018

About the author

WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR, Abby L. Vandiver is the author of three cozy mystery series - Logan Dickerson, Normal Junction, and Tiny House, and one mystery sci-fi series, The Mars I Origin. She also penned a historical fiction book, At the End of the Line with Kathryn Dionne.

Recently, Abby contracted with Henery Press for the three-book Romaine Wilder series. The first book, Secrets, Lies and Crawfish pies will be out in June 2018.

Abby is a former lawyer and college professor of Economics. She spends her free time reading, watching mystery movies and enjoying her grandchildren.

Reviews

[Shannon Neathway · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't a bad story, but the amount of typos was disturbing. Are editors not a thing anymore?

[Dez Nemec · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining, but I have to echo the other reviews. I am 2 stories into The 12 Slays of Christmas and the grammar is atrocious!

[Aighmi* · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun little Christmas mystery. The only reason I am knocking a star off of it is grammar....I am a stickler where others may not even notice an issue! Fun & quick read.

[Krystyna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cookies, lies and murder

A good read. The plot was well constructed and had a nice twist at the end. However the characters need a bit more fleshing out to really become real.
Having retired from her job, she's bought a fixer upper, renovated it and is now in the process of launching her new events business (as soon as Christmas is over). However when her boiler dies and she finds water in the basement she thinks nothing else could go wrong. It does. He water seeping through breaks the wall with it's force and a body floats up to greet her. She had thought she would leave the investigation to the sheriff but when her sister seems to be implicated she knows she has to do something. Dirty dealings at city hall, lovers and rows are entwined into a read that although not brilliant is still a good read.

[Nellie Kampmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story grabbed me from the start and kept me guessing until the end. The clues to figure out the killer were subtle. The red herring clues also made sense when all was revealed - nothing put in just for the sake of throwing the reader off track. The pacing was perfect. After reading so many cozy mysteries that get bogged down by fluff and the obligatory romance, it was a nice change to read a light mystery that actually focused on the mystery. The characters were interesting without being characturish. My only complaint is that it needed to be proofread better. There were only a couple of spots where I noticed the typos, but they were pretty jarring. Even so, I enjoyed the story so much that I am not going to take points off for that.

[Shirley · Rating 2 out of 5]

A young woman moves to a small town and purchases a dilapidated, vacant house from her real-estate sister, hoping to open a new business below her sleeping quarters. When the furnace goes out with a bang, she discovers a body behind a wall. The town gossip mill reveals several people the dead woman argued with shortly before her disappearance - one of them being the new home owner's sister. When the sheriff doesn't appear too interested in investigating the murder, the young woman sets out to ask a few questions of her own, hoping the clues she turns up doesn't incriminate her own flesh and blood.

Cozy mystery, very short, maybe less than 90 pages, which made for a quick read. Despite the misspelled words, poor punctuation, and a few half-finished thoughts, the story was cute.

[Gwen|| Bookish Blondie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hey! I finally read something that isn't a romance (although it's kind of mentioned). It features a woman in her late 40s buying a house and discovering a dead body in the basement. What proceeds is her trying to solve the murder mystery as her sister, the realtor who sold her the place, is being implicated. This novella was a fun and quick read and I really enjoyed the solving of the mystery. It felt very Encyclopedia Brownesque but for grown ups.

[Tonia Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

What’s in your basement walls?

A new homeowner Brigette just wanted to warm up the house and bake cookies accidentally floods the basement. In the process a dead body comes out of the basement wall. Trying to find the truth in a web of lies and misdirection, Brigette sets out to find the killer.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story was good overall with good character development and a moving plot. But was frustrated with all the extra/double words. Will try another by this author just to see if it as this book.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting tale, but please, please, please check the typos and review the grammar. Both are distracting.

[Amary Chapman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun clean cozy

Bridge's new house came with a body in the basement, much to her chagrin. She worried about it and began asking questions to find out what happened

[Clint · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good short story

Well developed Characters great plot that will have you guessing right up till the end. Definitely a page turner. Check it out !

[Janet Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a short entertaining mystery. I will look for more by this author.

[Yvonne Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good mystery.

Very good mystery in this story. It has the creepy basement, murder and a touch of romance. I would read more of this author's work.

[Elaine Solomon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a light and enjoyable read.

[A. Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very nice cozy, holiday mystery. I like the mystery without the gore. Ms. Vandiver keeps the story interesting and funny all the way to the end.

[Jess Sommerville · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh. It was fine. Readable but not inspiring. Missing depth