Christmas stories are always pleasant regardless of the storyline. The Twelve Dice of Christmas was no exception. A cute cozy mystery. Good for a fast relaxing read.

I picked this up with very little expectations. I read a Cozy Mystery earlier this month and did not enjoy it all that much. I was under the impression that Christmas novels lack what makes a good story. I feel like they are definitely cheesy and mostly forced in order to stay catorgorized under the holiday genre. So with little expectations, I picked this up wanting to finish it before Christmas of course.
This was a cute and quick read. I did not read the previous reads in the series so I didn't understand some character dynamics but it didn't necessarily hinder the read. It did get a little confusing trying to remember all of the multiple charactrs, however. The characters were all very quirky and quite funny. I enjoyed their personalities and were drawn to their hysterics.
This was overall a solid read. I had a little issue because I figured out the murderer quickly and I enjoy more of a suspenseful twisty mystery usually. Although I pinned the murderer down, it was harder for me to understand the motive so that was okay at least. I must say that it wasn't overly corny like many cozy mysteries can be so that was a plus.
All in all, a decent read! I actually want to go back and read some of the other books in the series.

The Twelve Dice of Christmas by Gail Oust is the 4th book in the Kate McCall Mystery series and my first book by this author. I enjoyed this book, but felt a little loss, I plan on going back and starting the series from the beginning. I found this book to be a quick read, with well developed plot and characters. If you love fun cozy mysteries like I do, than I recommend this book.

I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Kate and the Bunco Babes, the card playing friends are preparing for a holiday home tour in the town of Serenity Cove. They offer to help Eula Mae get her house ready, as Eula is elderly and is getting ready to move into a senior’s residence. This is their chance to let Eula have one last Christmas in her home all decorated for the season. As the group is getting ready to decorate, searching Eula’s house for Christmas ornaments, they stumble across a skeleton. A skeleton you say? Yes…. With the home tour in only a few weeks, the Bunco Babes have to work overtime to help solve the mystery so that Eula’s home isn’t a crime scene anymore. Can they do it? You must read to find out!
What I loved about this book was that our heroines aren’t model perfect, young women. Most are elderly and all have such eclectic personalities. It was a joy to get to know the ladies in the book. I found the book fun to read with the antics of Kate and the Babes. It kept my interest as the story unfolds. This is the first book I have read by Gail Oust, and the book does hint at past mysteries solved but it read brilliantly as a stand-alone novel. I know this definitely won’t be the last book I read of hers. All in all an easy read, a great story and a feel good ending. Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book to review.

I was alright with this book, it's a solid read. I did feel disconnected from the characters... It was a little hard to keep up with so many ladies apart of the Bunco Babes group. (I loved the group, though.) I knew immediately who the killer was, which I honestly don't mind, but there was a lack of suspense that failed to pull me in more. I would recommend starting the series from the beginning to have a solid foundation and knowledge of the characters. The concept is very good!

This is the first book I’ve read in this series. So initially I was a little confused with the characters. But I enjoyed the relationship between Kate and her boyfriend as well as between her and her female friends. Kate does get quite a bit on her plate sine it is coming up to Christmas. I was able to figure out who it probably was, but not why. This doesn’t lessen my enjoyment of a book however if I’m interested in what is going on and what will happen with the characters.

I thank the publisher and NetGalley for my eARC received in exchanged for an honest review.

The Bunco Babes (dice playing senior ladies), take on a house decorating project. Only Kate the super sleuth among them discovers a body in the root cellar. Who knew this decorating project would turn into another murder for Kate to assist in solving.

" The Twelve Dice of Christmas" was my first read by Gail Oust. I love cozy mysteries and Christmas is my favorite holiday so I was super excited to read this book! This was the fourth book in a series but it can definitely be read as a standalone which is something I appreciate ( although I do plan on going back and reading the previous books in the series as well.) Overall, this was an enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publishers for providing me with a digital arc of this book.

Thought this was a wonderfully entertaining Christmas cozy. Christmas is rapidly approaching, and the Bunco Babes are preparing for the season with lots of fun activities in the senior community of Serenity Cove. In addition to cookie swaps, ugly sweater contests, and rolling dice, these zany ladies take on the, "job", of readying a seniors house for the upcoming Christmas Holiday Tour of Homes. The discovery of a skeleton in the root cellar is excitement enough, but a hole in the skull spells murder, and the plot intensifies when it's determined it's the wayward husband of the elderly homeowner. The "babes", are on the case, amid a host of mischief and mayhem. Once again, Gail Oust, rises to the occasion with a wonderful cozy read. Her books always deliver, and this one is no exception. Great entertainment! Thanks for the 5* advanced read.

Serenity Cove is a quiet South Carolina town where Kate McCall and her friends playing dice games and enjoying the good life. They call themselves the Bunco Babes. It’s Christmas-time and the Babes are getting into the spirit. They are planning a cookie exchange and ugly sweater get-together and decide to help elderly Eula Mae prepare her somewhat neglected home for the annual Christmas home tour. When an unexpected skeleton is found in Eula Mae’s root cellar and the skeleton turns out to be Eula Mae’s deceased husband who disappeared 25 years ago, the Babes’ attention turn from cookie baking to cold case sleuthing. The Bunco Babes’ friendships are fun. This is a light, entertaining cozy mystery. I am looking forward to the next in the series!

This was cute in a way but felt a bit tired and unoriginal. There was absolutely no mystery, no twists or turns and as a result this was certainly not a whodunit. Unless you are sleep-reading you will figure out who the killer is immediately and then you will have to plod through the rest of the book with little to no payoff. While I thank NetGalley for the ARC for review, I really can't recommend this to true mystery buffs.

Loved this cozy mystery. I will definitely have to read more of this author’s books! My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my digital arc. This is my unbiased review.

I love discovering a new book, and if it’s part of a series, that's great, as it means more books for me to read!

Welcome to Serenity Cove, a peaceful Southern community where the residents like to play dice, and when there is a dark mystery, play detective.

With Christmas fast approaching, Kate McCall and her retired friends get into the holiday spirit by agreeing to help the elderly Eula Mae Snow decorate her home, even when it means sorting through many of the older woman’s belongings. Intent on doing a good deed and uncovering a bright collection of seasonal decorations, Kate is stopped dead in her tracks when instead she discovers the skeleton of a man showing clear signs of foul play.

Many in Serenity Cove thought that Waylon Snow had run off and left town and his wife, Eula Mae, more than two decades earlier. But with the appearance of his skeleton and a whole host of clues pointing to Eula Mae as the murderer, Kate will have to put her sleuthing skills to work to figure out who could have committed the evil deed.

Kate and her retired friends, known as The Bunco Babes, are feeling festive and they are planning a cookie exchange and ugly sweater contest for their last dice game session of the season. As they plan their holidays, they decide to help their friend decorate her house for the annual charity Christmas Home Tour. The Bunco Babes get cracking, and in the process of hunting for the Christmas decorations, Kate discovers the skeleton in the root cellar. Kate now has a twenty-five-year-old mystery to contend with. Can she solve it?

This is my first novel by Gail Oust and I really enjoyed it. I love that it is an old mystery set in Christmastime. Although this is the fourth book in a mystery series, you do not need to have read the previous books in sequence to be able to follow the story properly.

I found many of the characters very funny and easy to relate to, particularly Kate herself, but also Eula Mae's granddaughter, Tammy Lynn and Bill Lewis, Kate's "significant other". Many of the other characters in the book were extremely amusing and unusual. Kate and the Town Sheriff, Sheriff Wiggins have history, Although he is not in Kate's fan club, can she use her powers of persuasion on him to allow the Bunco Babes into the house in time for it to be decorated for the Christmas Home Tour?

You’ll enjoy this sweet Christmas mystery, as I did!

Thanks to Netgalley and Beyond the Page Publishing for a copy of this book.

Being a Southern gal, I love a good Southern cozy and the Bunco Babes make for a fun read. The mix of ages in the group makes this a good read for all ages, but particularly for mature readers because the main character is a widowed empty nester and living life to the fullest!

When the Meemaw of the youngest Bunco Babe offers her house for the annual Christmas house tour, her grand daughter is worried since the Meemaw seems to be losing her faculties and the house is not quite up to par. But the Bunco Babes rally around her and agree to help get the house ready in time for the tours. Only thing is Kate finds a skeleton in the basement while looking for the old family ornaments. This not only puts a crimp in the time schedule to get the house ready, but also could have Meemaw sent up the river for the murder of her husband who has been missing for 25 years.

The Bunco Babe ladies were endearing and I enjoyed the writing. Though I had pegged the murderer and reason right out of the gate. Still, it's a series I will read the first three books in and look forward to future entries.

amateur-sleuth, women-sleuths, murder, cozy-mystery, law-enforcement, situational-humor, verbal-humor, seniors

If you like fun Southern whodunits, you'll love this story and the characters that make it so much fun! Misunderstandings, mislaid plans, friends and frenemies, and why was there a skeleton in the root cellar of the elderly widow's 1911 home? Great fun!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Beyond the Page via NetGalley.

This was my first read by Gail Oust and I have to say that I really enjoyed it. I love how the author mixed a 25 year old mystery with the Christmas time of the year. For me this all worked really well and made such an enjoyable read. I am going to have to go back and read all of the Kate McCall Mysteries now. This was the fourth book in the series but in no way do you have to read the previous books in order to be able to follow along in this one.

Kate McCall is part of a group of ladies they call the Bunco Babes. While the ladies are at one of their meetings deciding what they are going to do for their last meeting of the year, they find out about Ms. Eula Snow having volunteered her house for the Holiday Home Tour but not really being in any condition to do the decorating herself. The Bunco Babes decide that they are going to volunteer to help Eula decorate her home for the tour.

When Kate and the ladies are at Eula's home deciding what theme they are going to choose to decorate the home in, Kate stumbles upon a twenty-five year old mystery hidden in the root cellar. What are the ladies going to do now that the house is a crime scene? What if they don't get to decorate the house in time for the Holiday Home Tour?

While Kate and the sheriff have a history, it is not the best history at times. Will Kate's influence be able to get the ladies in the home sooner so they can decorate? Will the solve the twenty-five year old mystery with Kate's help? You will have to read this one to find out what happens with the Bunco Babes. I highly recommend this read! There was lots of wit and humor that kept me laughing along the way.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book and all opinions are my own. Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for a copy of this book.

I love discovering a new book and if it’s a series, and features a Christmas story- then yes, Santa, please tuck it in my stocking! You may want to ask Santa for this gift, too. Author Gail Oust published 9 romances before she retired. After she “supposedly” stopped working, she decided to write a cozy mystery series, and this is the 4th book featuring heroine Kate McCall and the mysteries she decides to solve.

Kate is one of The Bunco Babes, all retired gals who live near Serenity Cove in South Carolina. Kate originally hailed from Ohio. Her husband recently passed away, but enough time has gone by and she has found a good friend and companion in Bill. If you are like me and haven’t read the previous books in the series- no worries at all. The author deftly reveals any back story that we would need to enjoy the book. I bonded right away with Kate.

The Bunco Babes are feeling festive and they are planning a cookie exchange and ugly sweater contest for their last game session of the season. As they plan their holidays, they decide to help an elderly friend decorate her house for the annual charity Christmas Home Tour. The Bunco Babes swing in to action, and in the process of prepping the house, Kate discovers a skeleton. Kate now has a twenty-five-year-old mystery to contend with. Can she solve it?

I don’t know about you- but I have enough to do during the holidays without worrying about murder. But Kate has a good heart and soon she is on the trail. I had fun as she meets a variety of ornery suspects, all the while dealing with her Bunco friends. Bill and she have a lovely relationship and that was fun to read about, too. At the end of the book is a recipe for Pecan Tassies. You’ll enjoy this sweet Christmas mystery.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy.

Ok read. Nothing about this story really grabbed me and compelled me to keep reading, but there was nothing bad about it other than that. I was engaged enough to finish. I just didn't care about the recurring characters or the victim(s).

I do question why there wasn't a big uproar/investigation 25 years previously given the lack of reason for the individual's disappearance. That wasn't developed well enough. There were actually two mysteries, but I saw the second one coming right from the start.

So, if you're a fan of the series, you'll probably want to read this one anyway, but it didn't make me want to rush to read the next one. I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Kate McCall and the Bunco Babes are playing their regular game. Tammy Lynn's meemaw Eula Mae Snow has agreed to showcase her house for the Holiday Home Tour. The gals decide to help Eula Mae spruce up her house and Kate stumbles on the skeletal remains of a man who disappeared decades ago. It seems Eula Mae's contractor husband Waylon had not run off 25 years ago...he is the victim. Eula Mae becomes the prime suspect and Kate has to solve this cold case mystery before her elderly friend goes to prison.

I have read the author's other Spice Shop mysteries but this is the first Kate McCall mystery I have tried and it was a quick fun read with a set of older amateur sleuths.

I received an eARC via Netgalley and Beyond The Page Publishing with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and provided this review.

I love Gail Oust's mysteries and I alway liked this series. This book was no exception.
It was a fun read, full of quirky characters and humour.
I love the cast of characters, their friendship and I like the setting.
The mystery was very good and kept me guessing till the end.
This book is a page turner and couldn't put it down.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Beyond the Page Publishing and Netgalley for this ARC