This is a fun mystery read. The Christie sisters run a lovely bookstore in a ski town in Colorado. Ellie & Meg are running the family bookstore, The Book Chalet. When a mysterious visitor to the bookstore dies on the gondola, and the Christie sisters happen to be in the next gondola, things in this quiet little town start to change. Who was the mysterious visitor? What is his connection to the town? Where has the long-time employee of the Book Chalet disappeared to? And what exactly does Agatha Christie know about the break-in at the Book Chalet? The Christie sisters are marpling their way to get answers.

I very much enjoyed this book, the characters are likeable, the mystery unfolds with a steady speed toward the conclusion and add a cat named Agatha Christie what more do you want? Ellie Christie is a person I would enjoy getting to know. The Book Chalet sounds like a bookstore most book lovers would want to visit. Ann Claire does a wonderful job of telling a story, creating likeable characters and writing a mystery with definite stumpers. I would recommend this book, fun, easy to read and a good story to boot!

In this series debut, a mysterious bookshop visitor dies under murderous circumstances, compelling the Christie sisters and their cat, Agatha, to call on all they’ve learned about solving mysteries from their favorite novelist.
Ellie Christie has to solve many mysteries. I loved the characters and plot.
#DeadandGondola #NetGalley

A cozy mystery with books, a cat, a persnickety mini horse and a murder to solve? Sign me up! Set in a snowy hamlet in Colorado, El Christie (yes, like that famous author!) and her family set out to solve the murder of a stranger. Loved the twists and turns and can’t wait for book two!

Loved this cozy mystery! The characters were so much fun and the setting was perfect! Can’t wait for the other books in this series. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC!

My thanks to Net Galley and Random House for allowing me to review this delightfully charming cozy mystery.

We meet The Christie sisters,and their cat, Agatha who run a book store in a snowy ski town. Their book club is disrupted my a gentleman who.is later found dead. Then a later break in ties into this murder that leads local police Chief Sunny and her assistant Garza involve the sisters in solving the murder.

This book was very cute ,quick and easy to read. I recommend this. My only negative comments, story dragged on a bit . I wish it resolved a little quicker.

Fun cozy set in a bookshop with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing. Likable characters set in a wonderful little mountain town.

Netgalley my beloved saved my shitty day yet again with this I want to say adorable but there was murder so I don't know? But this was so much fun to read.i have read very little Agatha Christie but my friends are fanatics so this would be a good recommendation to them.
special kisses and love to Agatha the kitty<3

I thought I'd like this book since I enjoy mysteries. I think it's probably written for a young audience (maybe 10-12 year olds) and it simply failed to hold my interest. The story takes place in a small resort skiing village where 2 sisters run their family bookstore. A visitor turns up dead under mysterious circumstances and the sisters, who are great Agatha Christie fans and happen to have the last name of Christie, become involved in trying to solve the murder. I found the character development to be a bit simplistic. There also seemed to be an inordinate amount of references and time spent on their cat. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy reading Nancy Drew or similar books. #netgalley #deadandgondola

A book store in Colorado, a new police Chief, a charming mountain town and a main character who had come home to work. When a strange man enters the store looking for someone and dies, it's up to El and Meg to don their sleuthing powers to work! Loved the story. Great characters! Good pace and story plot! Thanks #netgalley and #RandomHousePublishingGroup and #Ballantine for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

Dead and Gondola is a perfect cozy snow day mystery! El Christie is running her family’s bookshop in a tiny Colorado town when a murder occurs and everyone she knows is a suspect. I loved the cozy atmosphere of this book, I even ended up baking cookies to eat while I read! The parallels to an Agatha Christie novel and the blatant callouts to red herrings and other plot devices were a really cute addition to the story!

Thank you to random house and NetGalley for providing an e-copy for review

Dead and Gondola is a charming little cozy mystery set in the hamlet of Last Word. The Christie sisters (along with resident cat Agatha) have taken over running the family bookstore…The Book Chalet. Everything is picture perfect until a strange man arrives. The sisters find themselves supplying books for the snow-stranded town and investigating a murder and other mysteries. Dun dun duuuuunnnn!!!

I really enjoyed this quaint novel. It’s packed full of colorful characters and my personal fav is Glynis the town busy body. Are there tons of references to Agatha Christie? Yes. Did I love that? Yes. Claire uses the “locked room” mystery trope via a snowstorm that traps all our suspects in the town and provides an ending straight out of a Christie novel. The book is a nice blend of Christie and Murder She Wrote. Very charming and a perfect read for your own snow day.

El Christie has come home to work in her family’s Book Store in the Colorado mountains. During a book club meeting, a man comes into the store and is looking for Cece. Who that is, they do not know, but he surely was a strange man. When the stranger dies in front of the El and Meg, and their book store assistant disappears, the sisters don’t believe that the two things are quite so separate. Did the woman meet with danger? Did she disappear because she needed a break? Surely she did not kill the man, as she is a kind woman.

With the new police chief unfamiliar with the locals and sniffing around some of those nearest and dearest to the sisters, they put their sleuthing hats on and hope they don’t meet the killer, like so many characters do in the mysteries they sell.

This is a fabulous start to a new cozy series. I LOVE the setting and could almost smell the books and fresh snow. Agatha is the perfect pet for this series and Gram is the cutest! I also like the play on this Christie sisters name and the great Agatha Christie! I’m l

Dead and Gondola is an entertaining murder mystery patterned after t he Agatha Christie murder mysteries. It is set in a bookshop and definitely promotes reading and books and keeps you guessing until the amateur bookshop owner-sisters sleuths solve the crime. Enjoyable read.

I loved the premise, I loved the location and I loved the expert mystery in Ann Claire's 'Dead and Gondola.' I am so grateful this is a first in A Christie Bookstore Mystery series so that I can expect more. The story percolated to near perfection with charming, engaging characters and a mystery that greatly surprised me in the end. More like, shocked me. I can't wait for more and want questions answered about many of the characters. I hope
the next in the series comes soon!

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

Here’s a cozy little mystery set in the snow filled mountains of Colorado, in a bookstore run by the Christie sisters, Ellie and Meg. What could be more perfect than a murder mystery featuring unconfirmed relations of Agatha Christie? Although sharing the last name, there was no confirmed relation but they still loved to identify with the connection. While during their weekly mystery book club meeting at the bookstore, a strange man enters which makes them uneasy. The man was shooed away but left a mysterious bag with a book written by Agatha Christie. In an attempt to return his book. Ellie and Meg follow after him as he travels back down the mountain on the gondola. Except that when they get to the bottom, the mysterious man has died. Or was it murder? Elle and Meg set out to find the murderer and no one is above suspicion. A quick read, there are lots of twists and turns to keep the reader engaged. Everyone in town wants to help solve the murder. There are enough characters that will have you thinking that more than one person is hiding something. Set in the mountains, an added snowstorm and closed road of the only way in adds to the suspense. When the ending comes, you will be quite surprised. Grab this book and a cup of cocoa, and enjoy this cozy mystery today.

Many thanks to #netgalley #deadandgondola #randomhousepublishinggroup for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I really enjoyed reading this cozy mystery. A fun story with some twists and turns that made the book fun. Dead and Gondola by Ann Claire is a must read!

Dead and Gondola is the first in the Christie Bookshop series. El Christy has recently returned to her family home in Last Word, Colorado, where she and her sister, Meg, run the family’s history bookshop, the Book Chalet. They are the fifth generation in the book business. They’re joined by Agatha C. (as in Cat) Christy, a cranky long-haired Siamese whose Instagram profile is larger than that of the two women. Last Word is a skiers’ paradise, being bought up by wealthy people and pricing out the old-time residents, creating a melange of movie stars, real estate entrepreneurs, skiing enthusiasts, and grumpy old-timers and their ensuing conflicts.

A mysterious stranger enters the shop as a book club holds a seance re-enacting an Agatha Christy book, The Sittaford Mystery. He leaves suddenly and is later found murdered on a gondola. While in the shop, he leaves behind a rare copy of a Mary Westmacott, an Agatha Christie written under a pseudonym.

This is a cute book. El is an appealing protagonist, and her family and friends feel lifelike and fun. Agatha Christie books are a common denominator, and the conclusion even wraps up like most Christie books do with the suspects gathered together as El tries to get them to talk. The ending has a twist that brings everything to an exciting climax. Dead and Gondola is the perfect book for a gloomy day or when you need a light fluffy read.

Everything I want in a cozy mystery, including a cat!
How could anyone resist a book with a title like Dead and Gondola? I didn’t, with the hope that the cleverness that produced the title would hold up in the writing .
Even the opening made me smile: “I swung open the heavy oak door and blinked at the figure taking shape in the blizzard. ‘What a perfect day for murder!’” And a perfect setting for a cozy mystery: a bookstore in the small Colorado resort town of Last Word, peopled by the usual cast of quirky locals, super-wealthy vacation-property owners, and outdoor recreation vacationers.
There are some nice appreciative comments on the natural setting throughout, but that mix of people and their development was the most delightful part of the book. Note I call them people, not characters. Far from clichés, narrator Ellie Christie, her sister Meg, their Gram, their employee Ms. Riggs, Ellie’s high-school classmate and potential love interest Sydney and others, like superstar and booklover Morgan Marin, think and act as I expect people to act, good and bad. Ellie combines the two, for example, when she says, “I’d peeked out the window this morning with the giddy glee of a kid on a snowy day. Except I’d seen the winter wonderland as a perfect day for reading”. She is a true booklover.
The ”people” are not all human, and Agatha C (for Cat) Christie is a wonderful part of the book. She doesn’t help solve the murder, but she does help Gram by cuddling with her in joint naps and “help” Ellie set up book displays by knocking the books over. Yep, Agatha is a true cat.
There are frequent references to classic mystery in the book, especially Agatha Christie, but they are not cryptic to those who have forgotten their Christie or have not read the works in question (They are motivators to go read or reread, though.).
There are lots of suspects with credible motives and possible opportunities. I had quibbles or questions about a few small details of the plot, but the solution made sense and I DID NOT SEE IT COMING AT ALL. It also eliminated what I was seeing as a possible drag on future books in the series.
Needless to say, I will be eagerly anticipating that next book.

This cute cozy set in a bookshop in a small town makes me long for winter. I haven't read the first book in this series, but the author did a great job of making it not necessary to have done so--people, places, and things are all given enough backstory that I didn't feel like I was missing a lot. The characters are a little thin in terms of personality (does Meg *have* a personality?) and some of the plotting was a bit disjointed, but in the end you get a sense of the town and its inhabitants and a decent mystery, even if you've already correctly guessed the killer much, much earlier. Good for a cold day with cocoa, a cat, or both.

Meg and Ellie Christie run their family's bookstore in a small hamlet in Colorado. They have a steady stream of local customers and tourists, and they're happy with what they do. While having a book club discussion one morning, a man wanders in and looks around, insisting that he's there to meet someone named "Cece". After they finally get him to leave, they don't expect to see the man later on, entering a gondola. Since he left something at the bookstore, they want to return it to him. But when they get to the bottom, it's discovered he has been murdered, and now they wonder who he is -- there was no identification on him at all.

They also can't locate one of their employees, Ms. Ridge. Worried about her, they discover no one saw her use the gondola down to town, and they hope she's alright. But after several days, they file a missing persons report, and with the help of a local reporter named Piper, they get the word out. Ellie knows something just doesn't feel right, with the death and Ms. Ridge's disappearance, but she can't really put her finger on it. Then a friend she knew from school, Syd Zeller, asks for her help when the police suspect his father of the murder. Now Ellie's up to her ears in mysteries, and not the kind in books...

This is the first book in a new series, and I must say that I enjoyed it immensely. Ms. Claire has a way with words, and her descriptions of the area surrounding the bookstore is real enough that I could picture it in my mind easily. The mountains, the snow, the cold; all is visible in her words.

She writes a good mystery with a good plot, and the characters are real enough, but hopefully will be fleshed out more in the next book. The only character I didn't care for was Piper -- she was a little too pushy and abrasive; I would have liked her more if she had backed off somewhat. But perhaps in the next book she'll relax a little.

The mystery was done so well that I had not even suspected the murderer; and that is rare for me. The ending was indeed fun and ingenious; and I hope this talented author brings us another book to delve into quickly. Highly recommended.