I liked Last Word, Colorado and the bookshop the Book Chalet. It was interesting not knowing the murder victim's name. Gram and the cat Agatha C. Christie are my favorite characters.

I received an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley for an honest review.

This was the perfect bad weather sit inside all day and read type of cozy mystery. I loved that it was set in a book shop and had lots of bookish references. I loved solving the mystery with the main characters.

I'm so late to the (review) party, but I have to say, I picked the perfect time to read this debut cozy mystery. It's ski season after all and, much like the characters in this first book in the Christie Bookshop Mystery series, I live in a small mountain town that's getting hammered with snow. Ann Claire's Dead and Gondola is a classic cozy mystery. Let me count the ways:
-main character, Ellie Christie, is an amateur sleuth 
-Ellie runs her family bookshop in a fictional small town cutely but plausibly called Last Word, Colo. (have you looked at place names on a map of Colorado?)
-the bookshop's cat is called Agatha, and Agatha has attitude, and a huge Insta following
-Ellie runs The Book Chalet with her sister, Meg, and they get lots of help from their Gram and Meg's daughter Rosie
-Gram knits and bakes muffins. So. Many. Muffins.
-lots of Last Word locals read mysteries, enough to form the Mountains of Mystery book club
-one of the club members is a local society reporter and gossip columnist, helpful in filling in blanks.

Those sensitive to overwriting, to metaphor-, simile- and descriptor-overload, be warned. Maybe too many muffins in one basket. But if you're a cozy mystery fan, this is one to slide into. 

[Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for an opportunity to read an advanced reader copy and share my opinion of this book.]

Ellie Christie might be related to Agatha Christie. That connection and her love for reading entice her to settle in a Colorado hamlet and operate her family's Book Chalet. But when a mysterious bookshop visitor dies under murderous circumstances, Ellie and her sister Meg decide to help solve the crime. Their cat, Gram (a knitting Miss Marple wanna-be), and several neighbors help, too. Many of the helpers know the man, though, and might be holding a grudge against him. Could one of Ellie's new friends or even a trusted employee be out to harm her or someone she loves?
I enjoyed the book references. And the town sounds delightful! I want to visit the Book Chalet and other shops!
The family's relationship and teamwork inspire me, too - except they always get along, which is unrealistic.
And I really like the cat! He helps solve the crime!
I had trouble imagining the setting, though. I get that the town includes stores and homes on the top and the bottom of the hill. And the buildings resemble a Swiss chalet. But I'm confused about why they need a gondola since the upper part of the town is accessible by car.
Also, I never connected emotionally with any of the characters except Ms. Ridge - probably because she was bullied by a famous actress and I felt sorry for her.

A cute and fun break from some heavier #bookreviews this week - this was the cutest #cozymystery with a dash of Agatha Christie sprinkled in for kicks.

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This one takes place in a cozy, small ski town, where two sisters own and operate a bookstore that’s been in the family for generations. After their #bookclub recreates a seance scene from Agatha Christie’s first standalone #novel, The Sittaford Mystery, a ouija board informs them that death is in their midst.

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Laughing it off, the sisters head back home for the day, taking the gondola down the mountain on their usual route. When they get off the gondola, though, they are shocked to discover that the seemingly well man in the gondola directly ahead of them is very much dead - and thus, this small town #murdermystery #whodunnit begins.

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A perfect little #book if you need a break from heavier, more intense, but still want some mystery.

Okay I just need to admit that cozy mysteries are simply not my thing. This book was chock filled with characters, even interesting ones, yet I slogged through this, somehow finishing it. The writing was lovely, great descriptions, interesting plot and twist but nothing ever hooked me or made my heart race. I learned a lot about Agatha Christie (the author) and also love the character of Agatha Christie (the cat). Overall just okay and now I know not to dive into cozies anymore.

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read and review.

To keep it short and simple this book had a very fun and interesting beginning that morphed into a very lackluster ending.

I absolutely groaned reading the “twist”, there were so many other ways it could've gone and almost any of them would've been more engaging to read about than what actually happened. For me, there were too many "central" characters that we spent time on only to have their story be dropped and puttered under a nearby rug to be forgotten. I absolutely grew to loathe every mention of seances in this sleuthing village, which is quite unfortunate as it started out so delightful!

I wanted to see more exploration of the reasoning for the death and the investigation. Everything was flat-out told and not shown. I could feel the personalities of the town bubbling just below the surface of the writing and desperately wanted to reach through the pages and yank them out.

Definition of an easy, cozy mystery read, but without the warm fun feeling at the end. Not sure that I'd pursue the second book in this series (unless Agatha the Cat dropped it off at my door). However, it did hold my attention through until the end, and had the ending not been so eye-rolling, I would've marked this a bit higher I believe.

Ellie Christie and her sister, Meg, have taken over the family book shop, assisted by their grandmother. Located in a ski town accessible by gondola, the shop and town sound unbelievably bucolic. Until a man is found dead at the same time the road to town is blocked. A bookstore employee disappears, and Ellie begins to rekindle a high school romance.

The premise of this book, the first in a series, is promising, but the slow pace is a hindrance. There are too many characters under suspicion and not enough action. Hopefully future entries in the series will overcome these obstacles. #DeadandGondola #NetGalley

Dead and Gondola is a fun mystery set in the mountains of Colorado. The Book Chalet, owned and run by sisters Meg and Ellie, is a quiet retreat for anyone who loves books. One day during their book club, a mysterious man shows up looking for someone. Soon after, their most faithful worker disappears, and a murder shakes the small town. A cozy bookshop, a sweet grandmother, and a grumpy bookstore cat make this book hard to resist. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series and see what the sisters are up to now!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy!

A new series set in a vacation town's local bookstore, this has both the small town vibes with a senses of change all around with travelers. The story follows El and her sister Meg who are now running the families book store when a murder occurs to a seemingly new visitor to town. I really enjoyed all of the mystery literary references and found it difficult to predict big plot reveals. I did find it a little lengthy for what is seemingly in line with a cozy mystery.

Dead and Gondola by Ann Claire is the first book in the Christie Bookshop cozy mystery series.

I absolutely love cozy mysteries and this debut in a new series is so well written.

The characters are fun and the mystery keeps you guessing until the very end.

4 stars = Great! Might re-read.

A fun kickoff for a new series in an unusual setting. I loved the bookstore chalet idea, and it worked well with the "small town" pieces common to cozy mysteries. The core cast is great, and the mystery was twisty. I will read more of these in the future!

this is what i envision as a hallmark murder mystery - a cozy read for someone who isn't into the gorey details . thanks netgalley for the ARC, in exchange for an honest review

I love mysteries set in bookstores and/or small towns, and this book has both. It was a given that I would accept the invitation from the publisher. I am glad that I did because this was a great mystery.

Dead and Gondola is the first book in the Christie Bookshop series. So, my usual drivel about reading previous books does not apply here. You can safely read this book and not wonder about storylines or characters.

The plotline for Dead and Gondola was interesting and engaging. Ellie has returned to her hometown to help her older sister run their family’s acclaimed book shop, The Book Chalet. Ellie wasn’t expecting an older man to show up at the shop, looking for a woman named CeCe and carrying a rare book. She also wasn’t expecting to witness that same older man get murdered. And she certainly wasn’t expecting her long-time employee to disappear simultaneously. With the roads out of town closed, Ellie takes it upon herself to investigate. What she discovers shocks her to her core and throws suspicion at everyone in her village. Who killed the older man? Why did her employee disappear? What connects the two?

Dead and Gondola is a medium-paced book set in the fictional town of Last Word, Colorado. I loved the description of the town. It is a ski town, and the author did go into what it was like living in a town that relies on skiing for income. But she also showed what living in a small town was like.

The characters in Dead and Gondola weren’t as fleshed out as I would have liked them to be. But, seeing this is the first book in the series, I expect some character growth in the later books. Besides that, I loved seeing the assortment of people that made up Ellie’s world. They were as unique as the town was. I also liked the darkness in this town and the people.

Ellie—I liked her, but she annoyed me during parts of the book. There were points in the book where I couldn’t connect to her. She became almost obsessed with discovering who murdered the older man and why. I did feel bad for her when the murderer was revealed. Honestly, I was shocked and understood why she felt that way. Also, I did like her flashbacks to childhood and reading. I was the same way!!
The storyline with the older man, the mysterious CeCe, his murder, the book, and Ellie was well written. The author took me on a ride with this one. It had more twists and turns in the plotline than a mountain road. And the red herrings!!! There were a lot of them. I loved the twist the author put into this plotline. And who the murderer was!! I couldn’t believe it. It wasn’t who I was expecting it to be.

The storyline with Mrs. Reed, her disappearance, the shop, Ellie, and Meg was also very well written. I was with Ellie for almost half the book. I thought something terrible had happened to her. But then she was found, and I couldn’t help but be slightly irritated by Ellie. I was like, “Leave the poor woman alone!!” Then the author had a twist in this plotline that had me shaking my head. And the author led me to believe one thing when the opposite happened.

Dead and Gondola fit perfectly into the cozy mystery genre. The author kept me guessing a few things (see above), and a big twist at the end of the book took me by surprise.

The end of Dead and Gondola was interesting. The author was able to wrap up the main storylines in this book in a way that I enjoyed. But she did leave enough wiggle room for book 2. I can’t wait to read book 2!!

I recommend Dead and Gondola to anyone over 16. It is a clean book (no kissing, no sex), but there is some mild language and violence.

I want to thank Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Bantam, NetGalley, and Ann Claire for allowing me to read and review Dead and Gondola. All opinions expressed in this review are mine.

I absolutely loved the atmosphere and setting of this cozy mystery. Snowy small town featuring a cute bookshop with an amazing history and theme, cozy fires and fun book clubs. This book is from the perspective of Ellie who just moved back home to help her sister run their family bookshop after their parents retire, when the unimaginable happens and there has been a murder. The writing and the plot for this book were pretty good. I did find some things predictable, but I still had a good time and what really made this book for me was the setting, descriptions and the family dynamics of the Christie family, plus the cat(Agatha). The heritage of the Christie family being related to the famous Agatha christie was so fun, how it was really woven into the story and bookshop, I loved it. I would really recommend this book if you're looking for a cozy mystery, I know I really can’t wait for more.
I received this advanced ebook, via Netgalley. This review is my own honest opinion.

The mystery is pleasantly twisty with a great list of characters.
Many thanks to Random House and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This one was a very average cozy for me. It had a quirky cast and I adored the bookshop setting but nothing about the story really stood out to me. The characters are nice, the mystery was good if a bit predictable and I finished it but I don't think it was a very memorable read for me.

Pretty cover, great premise, intriguing murder….but lacks follow through; this really could have done with a good editor. A lot of portions of the writing took me out of the story and it was much longer than it needed to be. That said, I will definitely check out the next in the series because I think the bones are good.

The first book in a very promising new cozy mystery series! Dead and Gondola has the Christie sister (sadly no relation to THAT Christie) who run a bookstore in a small town with the help of the cat Agatha. Full of books, murder, and mystery, this was a lot of fun to read. Can’t wait for book 2!

<i>ARC Provided by NetGalley<i>

This is a nice mystery story but maybe not exactly what I was expecting. The main characters are Agatha Christie fans and own a book store. A man appears on their book club and leaves, and hours later he shows up dead. Then they start to employ their Christie skills to try to solve the mystery. They leave in a city with a ski resort - hence the gondola to go up and down.