Sweet and cute. A nice winter escape with fun characters.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60372420

A cute and unique cozy mystery. Two sisters, with the last name Christie, own a book store in a very small tourist town that attracts snow enthusists. They love their regulars, their book club and their silly cat named Agatha. The town is almost overwhelming at first. There are so many people introduced in a short span in the beginning that I struggled to remember anything about anyone. But slowly you get to know the town and the regulars and you start to remembre them.

I loved the added seance in the beginning to really start the story going, the influencer flair and the addition of the wise grandma. And if my last name was Christie, I would definitely do some geneology and see if I was related to Ms. Agatha Christie as well! Loved the little quirks that made this one funny. And the mystery was good. I never guessed the twists and just enjoyed the story.

<i>A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing a

The Christie Sisters Ellie and Meg along with their nap loving grandmother and Meg's teenage daughter Rosie run the Book Chalet, in Last Word, Colorado. This beautiful town which has all the quaint shops, beautiful homes and lots and lots of snow with the backdrop of the beautiful mountains. The perfect place for a relaxing vacation, fun shopping and place to eat. Did you really think that murder would turn up in this picture book town? Well it does and Ellie and company will try and help solve the crime.

Ellie has moved back to her home town after her traveling and job hopping to find what she wanted to do with her life. When her parents decided they wanted to travel Ellie and Meg decided to take over the Book Chalet and keep it in the family. Little did she know murder was include. When a mystery man stops into their shop and interrupts their book club meeting, he leaves but ends up dead on the gondola that the sisters were also taking.. So they decide to try and find out who he was and then find out he left some clues behind at the bookshop. Ms. Ridge who also works at the shop noticed this man and took off now she is missing or is she?

During this investigation the bookshop is burglarized and the clues to this mystery man are gone. Ms. Ridge whose work locker is empty is still nowhere to be found . The Christie sisters along with Agatha C, their cat, granny who loves a good mystery and loves to give out baked goodies for information and Meg's daughter Rosie try to figure out what is going on. While this is going on Ellie is trying to reconnect with people from her school days, instead of being at home reading and hanging with her cat. Is she hanging with a murderer.

I loved that there were many pieces to this story. Pieces that as you read this book start fitting together to reveal the killer who not only did commit murder, but also tried to pin another attempted murder on a beloved member of Last Word. The characters came to live throughout the book. The description of Last Word was beautifully described. I am not a fan of the cold and snow but I wanted to drink a hot drink find a cozy blanket and read a great book. Who wouldn't love a mystery involving a bookshop, classic books and a good murder mystery. These are some of my favorite things. Even though the Christie sisters weren't related to The real Agatha Christie they sure made this book very interesting. Highly recommend it.

Thank you NetGalley, the publishers and Ann Claire for the ARC. Since this is the first Christie Sisters mystery I am hoping Ms. Claire is writing more. I look forward to their next Book Chalet adventure.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC.

Whew, this book was not for me. I love a mystery, and Agatha Christie is one of my favorites, but this book was truly not written for a Christie fan. It was slow, unnecessarily wordy, and tried way too hard to be cutesy. Honestly, by the end I didn't even care whodunit. I just wanted this book to be over. Apparently this looks like a the first of a series featuring these sleuth-bumbling sisters. I will not be reading any more.

Thanks to Random House/Balantine for this advanced reader copy I have now completed reading. I was attracted to the description of a reading club and bookshop in the mountains devoted to Agatha Christie fans. This book delivers as promised with some devoted Christie fans who gather regularly to not only discuss Christie books but also indulge in seance-ouija board experiences.
Of course there will be a murder to solve and weather and region also conspire for additional challenges as some of the brave members attempt to help the new police chief solve the murder of a mystery man who had just appeared in the bookshop and was killed soon after.
This book will be available in November 2022.

I must confess, cozy mysteries are not my favorite. But I couldn’t resist a book shop and Agatha Christie references.

I was going to refrain from giving it a rating bc I just can’t connect to this genre. But objectively, I think it’s a cute story and I don’t have anything bad to say about it.

This was a cozy mystery in the vein of Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple. The cute little town was so well described I felt like I was there (and would definitely like to visit). Excellent character development; you could feel the closeness of the family and taste the foods they prepared.

Ellie and her sister Meg are the latest managers of their family-owned bookstore. When an employee disappears and a mysterious visitor ends up dead in a gondola, the Christies find themselves entangled in the mystery.

My losing streak had apparently ended, because I adored this book! It had all the best traits of a cozy mystery – quirky characters, a small town feel, adorable animals – without going overboard, which is a real hazard in this genre.

The Christies are a fun, close-knit family, bookstore owners and voracious readers, and they have a long history with the town of Last Word. I really enjoyed getting a peek into their lives. The mystery was also a twisty one – I called some of the plot twists, while others I never anticipated. I also liked that the police force was sensible, and that Ellie didn’t engage in that standby of the cozy mystery genre – a romance with a police officer.

I also loved all the literary references. With bookstore owners called Christie (no relation proven), you cannot escape the Queen of Crime, from the cat Agatha to the many parallels and quotes from the books. It was especially fun for me that Absent in the Spring was such a plot point, as it’s one of my favorite of her books.

In short, I would love to revisit the town of Last Word, and I cannot wait for the next in the series!

Dead and Gondola: A Christie Bookshop Mystery by Ann Claire is a good introduction to this author. This turned out to be a nice cozy story with engaging characters and a nice setting.

When a mysterious bookshop visitor dies under murderous circumstances, the Christie sisters and their cat Agatha call on all they’ve learned about solving mysteries from their favorite novelist in this new series debut.

The story seemed a bit long, though, and maybe not so many descriptions would have made the story read a bit faster.

Overall, a nice cozy mystery and an author I would check out again.

I rate this a 3.5 out of 5 (rounded to 4).

#DeadandGondola #NetGalley @atrandom

Cozy mystery that checks all the boxes -- likable, bubbly sleuth; cast of townspeople all "characters"; loving family with a Gram that bakes and cooks mouth-watering dishes; budding romance; set in a quaint ski village (complete with gondola as centerpiece; and of course a well-stocked bookstore in a chalet. Many silly nods to the GOAT, Agatha Christie.
Reviewed from an ARC.

What a fun “cozy” murder mystery! I’m still smitten over the name choices. I’m not very familiar with this genre, but Ann Claire may just change that.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to receive an arc in exchange for my honest review!

This was a cute cosy mystery that kept me guessing who done it until the end. The setting of a tourist ski resort town with a gondola to reach the village added to the charm. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this book that I am voluntarily reviewing

I love a book that transports me with its world building and this one did not disappoint. I wish I could go visit the Christie sisters’ bookshop and explore their cute little town. This cozy mystery was a delight to read and I can’t wait for the next book in the series

Colorado, bookseller, snow-season, law-enforcement, murder, murder-investigation, new-series, cozy-mystery, small-business, small-town, missing-persons, family-business, family, friendship, closed-circle-mystery, amateur-sleuth, witty*****

How does a man die of a stab wound a time after he entered a mountain gondola (seated, not a T-bar) alone? A man who is basically unknown (and without wallet and phone) yet was recently seen in the specialty bookstore? The resort hamlet is called Last Word, the family bookstore (The Book Chalet) is owned by the Christie family (no known relative), the new sheriff is a transplant from a no snow big city, and the wonderful bookstore assistant has gone missing. There are plenty of interesting characters, a twisty mystery, and lots of references to the great mystery authors of an earlier age. I loved this initial book in a new series (Christie Bookshop Mysteries)!
I requested and received a free e-book copy from the Random House Publishing Group/ Ballantine/Bantam via NetGalley. Thank you!

A cute cozy mystery and the perfect way to escape the heat.

This is the first in a new series and I can't wait to read more!

This was a neat mystery. I loved the setting. In the dead of a July heatwave, I was offered a nice snowy mystery and I couldn't pass that up.

The Christie sisters (no relation that they've detected to Dame A) are owners of a chalet bookshop in Last Word, Colorado. All the cuteness evoked on the cover is inside. A mountain town, cute shops, a boutique hotel and a murdered guy on the funicular (for those The Labours of Hercules vibes. A storm cuts off the mountain town and so that whole sequestered group including the killer was just my kind of story to read.

For the most part, the mystery was well done of who killed the mysterious and pretty rude man on the gondola. The mystery of his identity and who and how he was connected to the people of the town was well done. Still, this did feel a bit overlong and sometimes overwrought. As cozies go, this one is a long one and honestly, there's no discernable reason except that descriptions tend to go on more than they need to. This could likely be edited down a good fifty pages and still give a good read. There are many twists and I enjoyed the characters in the town for the most part (except for Meg, she needs more patina as a character, she was a bit blank in comparison to others). I had a couple of annoyances with regard to the sisters as business owners when it was such a chore to find out the full name and date of birth of their employee who goes missing. Seriously how were they doing payroll without her legal name and date of birth? I know these little business foibles plague cozies but they drive me right up the wall and kill a bit of sleuth credibility for me. Anyway, I'm chalking this up to first book quirks and hope they're smoothed out for subsequent books. I liked all the puns and Christie book references but I have to admit it was slathered on thick. YMMV.

I'd read another in this series. Recommended,

Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the Advance Reader Copy.

The first in a new cozy mystery series. Ellie Christie has returned to her family’s bookshop in Colorado. Soon after, a man ends up dead. She and her sister investigate to clear the name of their beloved shop clerk.

I liked parts of this mystery but there were times when it was slow. I think maybe future books will be better once the author finds her footing! I liked the overall idea though of an Agatha Christie twist.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a cute and warm diversion from dark suspense thrillers. I looked up cozy mysteries in Wikipedia and this seems to fit the bill – and not just because the plot takes place in a small socially intimate community and all the characters involve themselves in amateur sleuthing, but also because everything about this book is cozy – from the bookstore where a crime takes place to a gondola where a different crime takes place. Okay, I thought gondolas were uniquely Venetian, but now that I’ve read this book, and having popped over to Wiki, I now know that it is also a little transport bubble lift traveling up and down a slope on a cable. (I so absolutely contribute generously every year whenever that huge message comes on the wiki screen!)

It's like 100 degrees outside, so, I read this book about a crime committed in the little snowed-in Colorado resort town, Last Word, while curled up under my duvet with the air-conditioning blasting.

Ellie Christie has just come back to her hometown to manage the family bookstore, The Book Chalet, together with her sister, Meg. They are aided by her Gram (over there snoozing in the corner) and the faithful Mrs. Ridge, Meg’s daughter, Rosie, when she’s not at school or baking chocolate chip muffins with Gram, and their cat, Agatha. The Christie seniors have retired and gone off to travel the world, leaving their two daughters in charge of the Book Chalet. The Book Chalet boasts cozy nooks tucked in between twisty aisles of bookshelves stacked up the ceiling and overstuffed chairs to sink into and read. There is a glassed-in porch overlooking the snowy landscape and a snack bar of sorts. Once a week Book Chalet hosts a Book Club meeting, comprised of quirky Last Word locals including the town gossip columnist, a poet cowboy, and Morgan Maren, an insatiable reader who also happens to be a retired, bigger than life, stage and film star.

The mystery begins when Morgan breezes into the weekly book club meeting, bearing a Ouija board and announcing that the week’s meeting will include a séance, much to the consternation Mrs. Ridge. This spontaneous disruption of Mrs. Ridge’s organized plans has her clearly flustered. During the séance, Mrs. Ridge goes off to the kitchenette to make coffee. When the bell above the shop door tinkles. Ellie goes to see who is joining, but the intruder eludes her, slipping into the maze of shelves, then disappearing. Mrs. Ridge, too, has vanished.

The next day the intruder returns and this time is not only visible but has questions. He leaves his satchel behind where he was sitting and the girls, who have no idea how to find him, end up rifling through his bag. Although they discover no ID they do find a lot of scribbled post-it notes AND a first edition of an Agatha Christie novel written under a pseudonym – very valuable. The sleuthing begins, but before the investigation gets off the ground - they do, climbing up the side of the mountain slope in a gondola bubble (no raspberries, please) in a chase after their mystery man who they have spied climbing into a gondola bubble. Ellie and Meg race to catch the gondola behind him, hoping to catch him at the top of the slope. As they near the landing dock at the top of the hill the bubble suddenly stops and they are left to swing mid-air (you’ll never get me into one of those things) for ? – a very long time. When the gondola finally continues up toward the landing dock our amateur sleuths disembark their bubble to find a commotion waiting for them. It turns out that when their mystery man’s bubble docked, he was found murdered (stabbed in the back) – but how? No one was in the bubble with him. And, where is Mrs. Ridge?

So as not to give too much away, I’ll just say that there is a lot of baking and snooping and a little star-crossed romance. Our amateur sleuths are constantly stepping on the toes of the new chief of police (of course). Our famous actress has an annoying gold-digging brother. The dead guy turns out to be someone that could have many enemies in the town (what a surprise), there are a lot of suspects, another attempted murder, and even more shenanigans, before winding up with (what other than) another Ouija Board séance.

So much cute. So much fun. Thank you Corina Diez and NetGalley for inviting me to read this. I loved it!

Snow-covered mountains, expert ski runs and breath-taking views surround a bookstore, specializing in mysteries, tucked away into a Colorado hamlet. Add a seance or two, a mysterious visitor, a missing employee and a murder in a ski gondola and you have the elements of a good mystery. Add to this, cozy fireplaces, hot chocolate, and piles of books and you have a perfect cozy mystery. Ann Claire introduces the owners of the bookstore, the Christies, who investigate with skills learned from their namesake favorite author to solve both crimes. With clues and red herrings sprinkled throughout, the reader joins them in their quest. The wintry setting, an array of local characters and a love for books, along with a cat named Agatha, provide a delightful experience. I look forward to the next installment.

Dead and Gondola
⭐️⭐️⭐️

Picture this: it’s snowing outside, and you’re cuddled up next to a crackling fire. That’s exactly how I wished I was able to read this book, but I was very lucky to be able to read it before it’s release date in November.

Dead and Gondola is a cozy mystery that’s filled with the ambience of snowy days, cozy fireplaces, and bookstores and libraries filled with books.

Was this book cheesy at times? Of course! Was the reveal of who commuted the murder not very surprising? Absolutely! However, isn’t that what we love most about cozy murder mysteries?! This book was not my all time favorite, but it was still fun to read. I can see this being even more enjoyable on a day when you’re snowed in. Plus, here’s a few other notes on what made this an enjoyable read:

🐈we have a cat named Agatha Christie, and she is definitely main character energy
🐈you are able to learn some cool facts about the author Agatha Christie
🐈this book is filled with book lovers and bookstores and a library to die for!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for a copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest review.