I was disappointed in this short read. There is no mystery and while there is killing there are no murders. Erin has been asked to appraise some jewels that may have belonged to the Russian Royal Family. The Russians seem to think she is in possession of a famous Fabergé egg and they want it. Erin is kidnapped in hopes they can get the egg back. Since two Russian thieves are not enough a French would be assassin also joins the fun. The officials do not look for the egg they only for Erin. Anne and Thomas just drive back and forth to the hospital after his mother suffers a stroke. Even though it is a quick read I found the story very boring. I really got tired of hearing Anne whine and I found her very unlikable. I was hoping Collette would be successful in killing her instead Anne just talked and talked. There were quite a few of grammatical mistakes that also made the book hard to read. The writing was too simple to make it an exciting story. The ending was as expected, disappointing

Dr. Anne McPhail and Thomas Beauchamp have arrived in Vermont for Christmas. After the lack of welcome from his family Anne goes to Catherine's B&B to stay. She goes to visit her friend Erin at her store and finds a body. Erin has been asked to evaluate some Russian jewelry for an attorney. It seems everyone is interested in what she has, more for a Faberge egg which is not with the pieces. This woman sent for the egg has had contact with Anne before and things did not turn out well for her. Now Collette feels she has to end her problems by getting rid of Anne and getting the egg to her handler. There are a number of things going on her at the same time to keep you wondering what will happen next.

I throughly enjoyed this fast paced mystery.. This book is well written with with a good plot and well developed characters. I enjoyed the author’s writing. I have not read the previous books but definitely will now.

Anne lives in a small community and she likes it that way. If only she could get over being a magnet for dead bodies...

BooksGoSocial and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you). It has been published so you can grab a copy now.

When Anne notices someone harassing her friend in the antique shop, she drops in. They leave. They are looking for jewelry that belongs to Russia. The lady is appraising it for a law firm and won't let them have it. The next morning, the woman is found dead in the store. Of course, Anne finds the body. She's afraid it's her friend but it was the Russian woman.

With the CIA, her boyfriend's children not accepting her, and a woman from her past trying to kill her, there's no time to be bored. This was a quick cozy read and the author blends her events together very nicely.

The store owner gets kidnapped by the remaining Russian. He wants the Faberge egg in the collection. There isn't a Faberge egg in it. How will they save her friend? It takes a team to overcome one committed assassin...

While this is book 5 of a series, it is not well written. Too many cliques and jumps in the dialog make the first half hard to follow. As often happens, the longer the author writes the better the material. By the end of the book it is much better written. Perhaps the author needs to rewrite again before turning in.
Plot and characters are good.

When Anne McPhail and Thomas decide to return to Culver Mills for the Christmas break, things don’t turn out quite the way they planned as Tom’s Mum is definitely.
ill and one of his twins is definitely unwelcoming so she moves to her pal, Cathetine’s B & B. No sooner is she in town when she encounters Russians basking Erin who owns the antique shop about a jewelled egg. Next day she finds the body of the Russian woman and calls the police while protecting Erin from scene. Meanwhile an agent Collete who is also been involved in obtaining the jewels has realised Anne who has messed up her plans before is involved in this town’s life.. How Erin is kidnapped and Tom’s Mum takes I’ll all impacts on the story as it comes to its conclusion. A fascinating well paced tale that manages a wide range of characters including a mysterious Russian, doctors, policemen as well as an elderly lady in a care home to bring the story to a conclusion during the Christmas holidays.

Anne is having a hard time of it since her trip to Bermuda and Spain where she had to run for her life only to end up shooting and killing her would be assassin in self-defense. This episode had changed her so much that she now has a very skittish behavior, now she is being placed in another gun violence scenario where she walked into her friends Erin’s shop and found a dead body with an obvious bullet hole to the head. Already having a hard time with her new love’s children, of their acceptance, of her has his girlfriend, she is confused and a bit hurt because she truly believes they had a good thing. Now the knew murder had old faces and threat resurfacing causing her more anxiety, Her friend Erin is stubborn, yes but a bit naive and so is her fiancee Adam but he soon learned the error of his ways when it almost cost him dearly. The characters are okay and the storyline is clutter free so it was clear to grasp, an intriguing, interesting and entertaining read.

The Jewelled Egg Murders is the fifth book in the Dangerous Journeys series by Virginia Winters. I received this as an ARC from NetGalley and have not read the first four books, but plan to go back and read them. While you do not need to read the first books to follow along with this book, I want to know more about Anne and Thomas' relationship.

The Jewelled Egg Murders follows Anne on a Christmas vacation to Vermont to see Thomas' family where she manages to find herself in danger. Her friend Erin is kidnapped and held for ransom. Thomas' family does not know what is going on and his mother has a stroke on Christmas Eve. Anne is trying to figure out who is trying to kill her, and through all of this, there is a missing Fabrege Egg that no one knows where it is, but people are willing to kill over it.

Winters does a great job at making this a standalone book that readers can follow if they have not read the other book in the series and gives enough information to make you want to read the others. The characters are well written and they fit their personalities. The Jewelled Egg Murders leaves off in a place where you will want to read the next book to find out what happens next. A good read and a fun mystery.

Fast paced mystery with all of the ingredients necessary for a wonderful read. We have CIA, Russians, FBI and a most unlucky paediatrician with a penchant for finding dead bodies. Well written, with a host of characters that pull you in and make you feel you are part of the family. First read by this author however it will not be my last.

Decided after 10% that it was not really my sort of book -

An interesting story but needs work. More telling than showing and sometimes difficult to determine POV

Christmas in Vermont sounds exciting but add a murder to the mix with characters so well described then you've got the makings of night in front of the fireplace well planned. Add to the mix a story that keeps you turning the pages. This is one book that will keep you busy on long winters night.
A very good read.

I was really looking forward to the book based on the description and cover. They grabbed my attention right away. Unfortunately, the writing was almost unreadable. Stilted, overly formal, unrealistic dialogue. I had no idea what the backstory was even tho it was apparently very important. One quick conversation and we were supposed to be involved in the arc of the plot. The relationship between the lead woman and her love interested (I can't bring myself to say romance heroine) lacks a connection so that his actions and her responses are meh. Although, I hated him immediately and couldn't see why she was invested. Honestly, she should have just gone home and then never seen the body.

2 stars strictly for premise.