Marlee Jacob lives in Oriole Point, Michigan, and owns The Berry Basket, a shop with all things connected to berries of all varieties. It's nearing Christmas, and she's decorated the shop to within an inch of its life -- leaving barely enough room for employees and customers to move through, much to the consternation of her employees.

Marlee is attending a model train show with her boyfriend Kit, a homicide detective, when her employee Gillian runs up to her to tell her that she's found a dead man. When Marlee investigates, she discovers that the elderly man is indeed dead, holding a bag of gingerbread men, with crumbs around his mouth. While everyone agrees that he died of old age, Marlee isn't sure about that...especially when she discovers that his relatives might have wanted him out of the way and his attorney thinks so, too.

It seems Everett Hostetter was not a likable man. Unfortunately, he also played Jacob Marley in the local production of A Christmas Carol for years in return for funding the theater. When Marlee is pressed into accepting the role, she suddenly becomes a target. But is it due to the fact that she's asking questions, or the fact that she might actually be getting closer to the answer?...

This is the fifth book in the series and in my estimation the best of the lot. Marlee has a temporary house guest in Natasha, her Russian friend, who sold her home and is awaiting her condo to be finished, and is a hoot in this book. Piper is back to being her usual self, obsessed and crazed, but for some odd reason I still enjoy having her around. But being the holiday, everyone is is busy, and Marlee more so with her added 'appearance' in the play and being nagged by the other actors to learn her lines.

But what's bothering her most is that she knows Everett was murdered, and now she needs to find out why, considering he was ninety-five and probably didn't have many years left anyway. What ensues is a tale of greed and more greed, all perpetrated by several people who may have been the sole heir to his considerable fortune. But finding out the correct person may not be as easy as she thinks, and when she starts looking into their pasts, she discovers they all had a reason to want him gone.

We still have the Christmas season interspersed in the story, so it feels like the holiday along with the mystery itself. I really enjoyed this story and the direction that it's taking everyone's lives, and I do like all Marlee's friends as well. When the murderer is discovered, it comes as a bit of a surprise, but a good one at that (and I won't say why but anyone who's read my reviews will figure it out soon enough). In the end, everything comes together nicely and I look forward to the next in the series. Highly recommended.

4.5 stars

This is the fifth book in the A Berry Basket mystery series by Sharon Farrow.

Marlee and her best friend discover the local curmudgeon has died in what seems a natural death. She is already in full investigation mode even before she realizes that the cookies she picked up at the scene were poisoned making his death a homicide.

This was a pretty complex mystery. No one really liked this man but he seemed to be pulling the strings of everyone in town. So nearly everyone had a motive.

They pull Marlee into the production of A Christmas Carol simply because she has a similar name as the character. I thought that was crazy. And the people were completely rude to her to top it off. She told them she would take over for the dead man and then they kept pressuring her to learn her lines. I would have just walked away.

I am glad Marlee persisted in chasing after this death. I am not sure it would have been solved otherwise.

Overall, it was an excellent read. Definitely recommend this series, for sure!

If you like cozy mysteries, definitely check this one out. You won’t be disappointed.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

Hollyberry Homicide is a treat of a book. Quirky characters and a solid mystery help this book stand out among other holiday-themed cozy mysteries. The story revolves around the main character Marlee stumbling across the death of an older man who played Jacob Marley in the local Christmas Carol production. She is convinced something is up and as the bodies and more bad luck follow., she turns out to be right. It is a pretty good mystery although it is quite obvious who the main suspect is. The holiday theme is great, as is the setting. I think all holiday-themed cozy mystery fans will love this one.

When the cantankerous old man who has played Jacob Marley for years suddenly dies, Marley Jacob is roped into playing the role in Oriole Point's production of A Christmas Carol. When accidents begin to pile up Marley will have to outwit a killer. This is the 5th book in the Berry Basket Mystery series and does not disappoint. I enjoyed the Christmas setting filled with trees, snow, lights, and cookies. This is a great Christmas cozy.

Holly berry Homicide is a very well written and entertaining cozy mystery. Good plot and character development. Mystery fans will love this book. I received an advance ebook from the publisher and this is my unbiased review.

This book really put me in the mood for everything winter and Christmas! It's the 5th in the Berry Basket series, but the first one I've read and it worked very well as a stand-alone. Marlee is taking over the role of Jacob Marley in the town's production of A Christmas Carol after the original actor passed away. He was quite old, so no one assumed anything untoward about his death. It isn't long after Marlee takes over the role though that she learns things are not what they should be on the set. I enjoyed everything about this book....the setting, the holidays, the play (one of my favorites!), and the characters. I will be seeking out the others in this series as well as future volumes.

Sharon Farrow's latest addition to her A Berry Basket Mystery series is delightful. Set in a small town in Michigan, the city of Oriole Point is filled with likable, quirky and sometimes evil characters. Marlee is conscripted into playing Jacob Marley in the town's annual production of A Christmas Carol when Everett Hostetter is found dead just before the play is to begin. Marlee's intense curiosity about the death and the subsequent death of Everett's former lawyer leads to an exciting rush to find out whodunit. I was kept guessing (incorrectly) until the final reveal. I thoroughly enjoyed 'Hollyberry Homicide' and look forward to many more in the series.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

This is the fifth book in this series and the second I've read. It can be read alone if you haven't read the others. It's a solid mystery chock full of cozy Christmas feelings; snow, trees, lights, and fires. The main character is interesting and well-developed. There are a lot of secondary characters to keep track of but they're all likable. The mystery is intriguing and not obvious to solve. A great addition to Christmas cozies.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

This is the first time I have read this author but really enjoyed this one. This is about the death of Everett Hostetter who played Jacob Marley in the A Christmas Carol for many years. Marley, the amateur sleuth is something else as she goes about trying to figure things out , then another death occurs. This is a page turner as you really don't know who did it until the very end of the book..

Great series. Its Christmas time and marlees favorite holiday. When a murder again. Marlee sets out to find the killer before they kill again. To hear more read the book

Marlee Jacob isn’t thrilled to be participating in this year’s version of A Christmas Carol. Her unique name gives her the added edge to become the ghost of Christmas past.

Everything about this book screams fun, including the bright colorful cover on this next installment in the berry series.

I’m looking forward to reading more in this series.

This is the 5th installment of the Berry Basket Mystery series. Marlee Jacob given her name is the obvious choice to replace the actor who died before having a chance to play Jacob Marley in the upcoming version of the Christmas Carol. The play on her name has everyone chuckling. I will admit I love mysteries set during the holidays and Christmas is my favorite. Marlee’s plate is full with running the Berry Basket but she is doing her best but the production seems to be cursed and several actors have walked off for that very reason. When a body is found in the village and all the accidents perhaps the elderly actor did not die of natural causes. Now there are 2 deaths and Marlee has to figure it out who the scrooge is that is trying to dampen the holidays. This is a good series and this is one of my favorite in the series. Highly recommend.

Marlee Jacob is very busy getting ready for the holidays. Her shop, The Berry Basket ready for the holidays. The town goes crazy for Christmas with a tree lighting ceremony with shopkeepers on the square with special sales, and a Christmas play.
Marlee goes overboard every year with decorating. With a little time off she accompanies her beau Kit, to the train display and runs into Gillian, who has found a body on a bench.
Even with all she has on her plate she wonders about the dead man. Even getting dragged into the play to replace him can't stop her from wondering if it was foul play.
She does find her suspicions justified and tries to snoop, putting a big target on her back.
Ms. Farrow's eclectic cast of characters playing against her 'normal' folk make this little intrigue lots of fun. Everett Hostetter wasn't beloved or young, but didn't deserve to die like that...or did he?
This twisted mystery will have you reluctant to put it down until you found out who...and then why.
I requested and received a NetGalley ARC to peruse and offer my opinion freely.

I liked this book. It's got some great characters and an interesting story line. It reads fast without any slow spots. #HollyberryHomicide #NetGalley

When the man set to play Jacob Marley in the town's version of the Christmas Carol is found dead they need to fill the role. They volunteer owner of Berry Basket, Marlee Jacob.
There are a series of accidents. The man found dead was murdered. Holly is warned to stay out of it.
Marlee is likeable, as are the other characters. Keeps you guessing.

This was a fun new book in the berry series. It was a good thing that the author did mention that holly berries are poisonous. Most of the previous books featured edible berries around a theme. some people may have thought to try some out. The characters in this series are always fun to read. Since it has been awhile, It did take me a few chapters to remember things that had occurred with these people before. But even if this was your first book, you do not feel lost. The story line chugged away at a good pace with no lagging time. I think I would have liked to see a bit more interaction with the parents but they didn't enter the book until the end so perhaps in a future book we will see more of them. I wasn't entirely surprised about the culprit, but the author did a good job at creating other equal suspects so it wasn't given away early. Another enjoyable afternoon spent readling!

small-business, small-town, family-dynamics, friendship, amateur-sleuth, law-enforcement, investigation, cozy-mystery

The first corpse was a wealthy 95 year old curmudgeon who always played Marley in the local production of A Christmas Carol, so everyone assumed that it was natural causes. Lots more about him came out after that and the play seemed cursed as players continued to have unexpected problems. The small but fairly affluent town had lots of secrets and divas to add to the mysteries that were as thick on the ground as the lake effect snow. A really good whodunit with some fun situational humor.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley.

When the 95 year old man who was set to play Jacob Marley in the town’s annual production of “A Christmas Carol” dies, Marlee Jacob is tapped to take over her namesake role. But with two more actors dropping out for health reasons another leaves for fear that production is cursed. But Marlee doesn’t believe in curses and suspects a murderer is loose and behind it all.

But can Marlee learn her lines, run her business, and find a murderer while still being around to celebrate Christmas? She’s hoping luck will be on her side.

A fun holiday themed read that will have you saying “Bah humbug” and “God bless us everyone “along with the best of them!