I love the holiday themed Cozy Mystery Collections that Kensington puts out each year. These have become a tradition for me, and I read each one as it comes out! Always enjoyable and gets me in the mood for each holiday season. This one gathers 3 stories from 3 skilled cozy authors all themed around hand knit mittens.

I enjoyed each story!

Death of a Christmas Mitten Knitter - This story features Hayley Powell from Lee Hollis' Food & Cocktails cozy series. I have not read this series yet, so I enjoyed the introduction to the premise, characters and setting. Things get heated at the annual Bar Harbor Church Christmas Bazaar when a piece of jewelry goes missing. While looking for the ring, Hayley finds a dead body instead.

Two Christmas Mittens - This story is a Kitchen Witch series novella by Lynn Cahoon. Mia Malone is working a second job at a local Lodge to make ends meet. A dead body, one red mitten, and an ancient curse form the mystery that Mia has to solve before more people die!

Murderous Mittens - CeCe Barton, owner of a Wine Bar in LA, is the main character in this novella by Maddie Day. Spending a restful Christmas at her sister's B&B away from LA, CeCe finds herself sucked into a mystery when a local bar owner and mitten maker is found dead. Can she unravel the mystery before the holiday is ruined? I'm not much of a wine drinker, but I enjoyed this story!

Reading these three enjoyable cozy novellas made me want to delve into each of these cozy series! I have read other books and novellas by these authors, but not the series featured here!! I have added all three to my TBR list and will definitely be reading more!

This book made me not only want to pick up my knitting needles, but also got me feeling that holiday spirit!!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Kensington Books. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

A Christmas collection by three great authors! What could be better?

DEATH OF A CHRISTMAS MITTEN KNITTER by LEE HOLLIS
Hayley participates in the church's annual christmas bizarre and ends up solving the mystery of stolen jewelry and the murder of a local knitter.

TWO CHRISTMAS MITTENS by LYNN CAHOON
While walking to her car, Mia Malone finds a body and a single red mitten in the lodge parking lot. The body is dead and the mitten is cursed. Mia needs to solve the murder and find the mate to the mitten before her friend becomes the next victim.

MURDEROUS MITTENS by MADDIE DAY
Ceecee Barton is enjoying a quiet Christmas holiday visit with her twin sister's family in Colinas, CA. After visiting a local wine bar, Ceecee learns that the manager of the bar was murdered soon after Ceecee met her.
Ceecee's twin is the main suspect! Along with a guest staying at her sister's B&B, Ceecee searches for clues to identify the real murderer.

#ChristmasMittensMurder

Christmas Mittens Murder
By Lee Hollis, Lynn Cahoon, and Maddie Day
Kensington
October 2023

Review by Cynthia Chow

Just in time for the holidays arrives a new delightful seasonal anthology from Kensington showcasing novellas from their bestselling cozy authors. Built around the theme of mittens, Lee Hollis, Lynn Cahoon, and Maddie Day all ingeniously weave unassuming mittens into Christmas homicides.

In Lee Hollis’s “Death of a Christmas Mitten Murder,” Reverend Ted guilts Hayley’s Kitchen owner Hayley Powell into providing a holiday gift basket for the church’s Christmas Bazaar Gift Basket raffle. Despite the good cause it also stirs up the competitiveness of local businesses to earn the most tickets, with Hayley’s most serious rivals being her brother and her best friends. While the basket with the most alcohol in it unsurprisingly wins out yet again, the bazaar is interrupted by screams that a ring up for bid has gone missing. Accusations fly between the knitting circle and the crocheting Happy Hookers, and when knitter Esther Willey is found stabbed to death with a knitting needle and a mitten stuffed in her mouth, the loss of donations look to make for a very unhappy holiday. When not writing her hilarious Island Food & Spirits columns filled with boozy and delicious recipes, Hayley and her friends investigate the hostilities stirred up by viciousness that is ostensibly all for a good cause.

Lynn Cahoon’s “Two Christmas Mittens” Mia Malone is keeping Mia’s Morsels afloat by ironically working as a catering director for the very Lodge that turned down hiring her catering business. That’s not the only Grinch in her holiday season though, as a witchy friend spots a cursed mitten that was most recently held by the local professor Geoffrey Brewer. Now very dead, Mia finds herself under a ticking clock as the National Office of Regrettable Events arrives to investigate the death and hints of dire consequences. When Mia’s assistant Christina is out of commission and suspected of her professor’s death, Mia uses a spell to assume her appearance and rather uncomfortably go undercover and mingle with suspects, not to mention her own ex-boyfriend.

Murderous Mittens by Maddie Day introduces readers to Cece Barton, soon to be the star of her own series. Taking a break from her life in Pasadena to visit her twin sister Allie in the Northern California town of Colinas, Cece finds herself in the midst of a murder investigation when the manager of Vino y Vida Wine Bar is killed and Allie becomes a suspect. Also visiting the town is organic farmer Cam Flaherty, whose experience in amateur investigating is a boon for Cece and allows them to join forces. The lead of Maddie Day’s Local Foods Mystery series is able to provide advice and support to Cece as she builds up the confidence to question local business leaders in the murder where the weapon was a mitten, alarmingly filled with a bludgeoning bocce ball.

These three novellas are all enough to whet the appetites for cozy mystery fans and hopefully lead them to seek out the many full-sized novels of these entertaining and talented authors. Lee Hollis’s humor drops in just enough moments of chaos between Hayley and her friends to leave readers wanting more, and Lynn Cahoon excellently introduces readers to a world of mystery and magic. Maddie Day cleverly brings in a new character with a reliable familiar one, making all of these tales the perfect Christmas appetizers that only hint at the abundance of books by these authors waiting to be read.

I love these little novellas from my favorite authors. It is a wonderful snippet between their actual books. I like how they use the main characters but you could read them as a stand alone.

Two Christmas Mittens by Lynn Cahoon is a standalone story in the Kitchen Witch Mysteries series. The main character, Mia, is very likeable, as are her friends. Mia is kind hearted but also very bold. I enjoy reading her thoughts because she is very real in how she feels.

The story takes place at Christmas time, there is a murder and a pair of Christmas mittens that are causing trouble for Mia and her close friends. It’s a quick read that is very entertaining. I have enjoyed all the books in the series, and this one was as good as the others. I’m looking forward to the next in the series!

There are two additional short stories in this collection. I haven’t read much by either author but I read both of these short stories and enjoyed them. Murderous Mittens by Maddie Day is an intro to a new series, CeCe Barton Mysteries. The author’s storytelling style was appealing, and if you like California culture, you’ll enjoy this book. Death of a Christmas Mitten Knitter by Lee Hollis was a straightforward story that was easy to follow along; I think I’ve only read one other short story from this Hayley Powell series.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books/Cozies for this ARC. I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion. I will post this review to my blog, Goodreads, Bookbub, & Amazon accounts on the publication date, 9/26/23.

I love these holiday anthologies! I read this one for Lee Hollis’s Hayley Powell story, but enjoyed the other stories as well. Great way to be introduced to new authors! Hayley and friends were a nice way to begin the holiday season; I enjoyed the follow up visit with a character from a previous book.

I received a copy through Netgalley. A review was not required. Christmas Mittens Murder is a fun collection of 3 novellas each carrying the theme of mittens. I am a fan of Lee Hollis and her Hayley Powell's series. Not only is there full length books but each of the novellas are a wonderful addition to the series. Lynn Cahoon and Maddie Day are new to me authors. Their novellas about mittens were well written and easy to follow. I really plan to follow up with more of their books. These short stories are a wonderful way to find new series and new authors. I really enjoy the collections.

This book contains 3 novellas that deal with the Christmas Holiday and Knitters and their mittens. Lee Hollis, Lynn Cahoon and Maddie Day offer great short stories. From the church fund raiser to Murder of a Gardner these stories tie in with mittens being the major character of the story. I enjoyed all three. Just in time for a stocking stuffer.

Not really a fan of novellas but I love the Hayley Powell series so I wanted to read that one. I don’t read the Kitchen Witch series so I skipped that one and the last one was just OK. Despite being a novella, Death of a Christmas Mitten felt like a full mystery – it still had the full investigation, Hayley’s column and recipes, and their hijinks. It was fun. Murderous Mittens was my first Cece Barton (I have the full-length novel on my kindle) and it felt more preachy than anything else; this does not bode well for the first one but I’ll keep an open mind. I did like the characters but really? 3 sets of twins?!!! I did enjoy the cameo by Cam Flaherty from the Local Foods Series. This is a great way to try new series so I recommend it for fans of these series or those who want to try them.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Death of a Christmas Mitten Knitter - Lee Hollis - 4 stars

Given that there are 16 books (plus novellas) in the Hayley Powell series, I am not surprised there is one that I found lacking in terms of the series. A woman is murdered during a Christmas Church Bazaar with one of her own knitting needles. Hayley snoops to solve the mystery, although I can't understand why since no one she loves or is even passing acquaintances with is suspected. The whodunit was good but I missed the rest of the characters from the series.

3 stars - Two Christmas Mittens by Lynn Cahoon

I adore Lynn Cahoon's Kitchen Witch mysteries but this one felt like a leap past the nuances in her other books straight into a little odd for me. I would love to believe in magic and spells but I didn't get the premise with the mittens and the murder. Maybe if she had related the actual fairy tale behind the mittens (we just see Mia's gran read it and Mia reports it's terrifying) I might have grasped the storyline a little better. Plus there was a lot of Christmas missing. This was not my favorite in the series.

3 stars - Murderous Mittens by Maddie Day

This short story introduces Cece Barton and a mystery series set in wine country. The first book in the series is to be published later in the month. I approached this not knowing what to expect and unfortunately it lacked the rich characters and charming backdrop in Ms. Day's other series (Country Fried are my favorites). Perhaps it is because it was introducing a new protagonist and setting versus what I had hoped would be another holiday story with Robbie Jordan, I was disappointed. Wine country holds little interest to me and I think that also caused some of the disappointment.

Three wonderful short reads from three fun cozy mystery authors!
In Death of a Christmas Mitten Knitter the churches annual Christmas bazaar is going splendidly until a diamond ring goes missing. Hayley helps in the search for the missing item and in the process finds a dead body. Hayley begins her search for a killer in hopes of nabbing them before Christmas.
In Two Christmas Mittens Mia is busier than she realized she would be. Her second job doesn't leave much free time. While working her second job.she runs across a dead body and close by is a red mitten. She learns the mitten is cursed so she must rush to.find the culprit before someone she cares about ends up dead.
In Murderous Mittens Cece is in California at her sisters B&B ready to enjoy the holidays. She spends a lovely evening at a local wine bar and meets a nice bartender. She learns the next day that said bartender has been murdered. Hoping to find answers she decides to investigate. Will she be able to help nab a killer or will the holidays be ruined by death.

I received a free copy from the publisher and voluntarily reviewed it.

Murderous Mittens by Maddie Day
I started with Murderous Mittens as that was the story I was most excited for. I like Maddie day's Country Story Mysteries series and am excited for this new series. This story functions as a prequel novella for the author's new series and I liked getting to know the characters and setting. Cece was likable character and I liked how she had a twin and her outings with the twin sons of her sister. Getting to know her and seeing her interact with the side character was one of my favorite parts of this story as well as getting a feel for the town. There is some holiday cheer as well. The main character teams up with a visiting farm, who is the main character from another one of the author's series that I haven't read yet, but that didn't detract from the read and it will probably be a fun cameo for fans of that series. The mystery had some suspects and was relatively straightforward. Not the best mystery and no big surprises, but still interesting to see it all play out. All in all it was a fun and satisfying read. It made me excited for the first book in this new series and reading more about these characters.

I really enjoyed these Christmas mysteries each one had a great amateur sleuth. Each murder dealing will mittens . 2 of these authors were new to me. A GOOD READ

I requested this book just for Lynn Cahoon. I am so glad I found 2 more authors. I enjoyed each of the stories and look forward to reading more from the authors. The mysteries kept me guessing.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The new Christmas Short Story anthology, Christmas Mittens Murder, will have readers wishing for cold weather, hot chocolate, festivals, holiday cheer, and a murder or two for them to solve. But be careful what you ask Santa to put under the tree.

The stories in this year’s Christmas anthology revolve around mittens. Twists are abundant and make these stories come to life. One of the mittens is cursed and causes chaos, while the others lead to murder and holiday mayhem. “Murderous Mittens” by Maddie Day introduces readers to a new series with all new characters. Lee Hollis’ entry has Hayley learning that knitting can be a deadly hobby, while Lynn Cahoon’s story adds a new twist on finding an errant mitten near a dead body.

The stories in this annual anthology bring readers back to familiar places and beloved characters and introduce us to new ones as well. The murders are all fun and entertaining while keeping us on the edge of our seats, biting our nails. Figuring out who the killer is in each story while wondering how hard it is to knit mittens is an exciting adventure into holiday expectations and disasters, but also how important having family and friends with us during celebrations of any type really is. Or, in other words, exactly what readers want from a cozy.

Christmas Mittens Murder by Lee Hollis, Lynn Cahoon, and Maddie Day. A series of novellas connected only by the appearance of Christmas Mittens. Day’s contribution, Murderous Mittens introduces the reader to her new sleuth, Cece Barton, a series which I am now looking forward to. Cece is a middle-aged, divorced, mother of one and in this novella, the twin sister to one of the suspects. Cece is visiting her sister’s family for the holidays and meets the victim only once; she was the bartender at Vino y Vida, a wine bar in the quaint downtown area of Colinas, in Northern California. There she also met Cam Flaherty, an organic farmer from Massachusetts. They immediately struck up a friendship and looked for a murderer. Good story! Cahoon’s entry was a chapter out of her Kitchen Witch series featuring Mia in her role as the Lodge’s new catering director. She has taken this position in order to shore up her business, Mia’s Morsels, leaving the running of that to her boyfriend’s mother, Abigail. This time it is Christina who suffers from bad magic, or rather someone using magic to harm others. Mia’s Morsels is always a fun place to be. Lee Hollis takes us into Hayley Atwell’s life where an older lady is killed at a Christmas bazaar. It is a fun investigation as it always is when Chief Sergio is involved. A fun read, all the way around.

It is not often one gets to read stories by three seasoned authors such as this book offers. All the stories are good, as are the series from which they emanate. The last one, Day’s, had literal mittens as well as a kitten who receives the name Mittens. Cute all the way around. A worthwhile read.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of Christmas Mittens Murder by Kensington Books, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #KensingtonBooks #MaddieDay #LeeHollis #LynnCahoon #ChristmasMittensMurder

This was a good little collection of murderous mitten Christmas mysteries by some fave cozy mystery authors. The last was brand new and I’ll be reading the ARC of its first in series very soon. I liked Cam’s character a lot and thought she’d make a good sleuthing bestie for Cece if they didn’t live coasts apart.

The first mystery was my longtime fave Hayley Powell and I was pretty excited there were actually three Sergioisms even though it was a short story. Good old Sergio, I just love his character! And Mona’s especially a hoot at Christmas being her Scrooge-y self lol.

I love the Kitchen Witch series too and thought it was cool how Mia worked together with her Grans and Trent’s mom to rid her bestie and employee of a curse caused by what else…a mitten.

Festive small towns, family, friends and awesome food were also part of these stories and happen to be my favorite part of Christmas celebrations too.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by Kensington Cozies via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own.

I enjoy these collections of stories. They either introduce me to new series or author or are a nice way to hold me over until the next book in a series comes out. These have a mitten theme and all were enjoyable to read. Maddie Day’s series is new and it was great catching up on what is going on with Haley and Mia. I look forward to the next books in all 3 series.

Thank you to the author, Kensington Books, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

It is indeed the most wonderful time of the year…except murder is also in the plan. These compilation books make me very happy. I am familiar with one only of the authors, Lynn Cahoon, but am so glad I got the chance to visit the worlds of Lee Hollis and Maddie Day. These short stories are full of seasonal joy and all the things that make us love cozies,

Three enjoyable Christmas mysteries by 3 of the best. Lots of Christmassy touches add to stories - cozy up,with a blanket and treat yourself!