A book about a sibling ran Agatha Christie book store with a sassy cat and grandma? Sign me up and throw in a murder!

Set in a Colorado resort town, this murder mystery is the first in a new series. Ellie, with her sister Meg, work at the family bookstore, a centerpiece for the town. When a murder occurs, the Christie sisters are involved first as possible witnesses, then trying to solve the crime. There are many red herrings, twists and turns. Old friends and community members are introduced. A good start to a cozy mystery series.

In terms of a cozy mystery, this has all the makings of a solid read. The small town bookstore, eclectic group, snowy landscape, and even the cat set the scene. What’s missing here, is the action. For a book with murder, it was rather boring. I didn’t think the writing flowed very well. And I also wasn’t particularly drawn to any of the characters. I would likely skip the next ones if this were to become a series.

Dead and Gondola is so charmingly set in a bookstore in a little town nestled on a mountain accessible by gondola. The setting is so artfully described by the author that you truly feel like you're transported to this cozy bookstore, surrounded by book shelves and petting Agatha the cat. The town is filled with a colorful cast of characters surrounding the Christie family.

The mystery was a treat to try and puzzle out alongside Ellie and her sister Meg. Sleuthing out clues in the style of their favorite mystery writer. This was the perfect cozy mystery to curl up with on a snowy winter day. I can't wait to revisit Last Word for another.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This one was a DNF for me. I will not be posting a review of it but thank you for sending I think people would like this one it just wasn't for me. Thank you again for the copy.

I received an ARC of this book. An interesting cozy mystery, set in a bookstore. An intriguing story that kept me reading!

When a mysterious man enters their bookstore and then later dies under mysterious circumstances, the Christie sisters put all their sleuthing skills to use, even if they've only learned them from books.

Ellie is home to help her sister Meg run their family's historic bookstore.
When a stranger interrupts their book club he also leaves behind a book. A rare book. When the stranger's identity is revealed it shocks most in their small town. Many knew him and a few had reason to dislike him.

Someone goes missing in the midst of this mystery. The sisters work the clues they find along to way and make a last-ditch attempt to catch the killer before they attack anyone else.

A cozy mystery set in a ski town bookstore- I loved the premise. However, this book was so boring, and I kept with it, but wished I hadn't. This book was not for me.

Dead and Gondola - Ann Claire
In Dead and Gondola by Ann Claire, we meet sisters Ellie and Meg Christie. They run a bookshop in Colorado alongside a grumpy cat named Agatha. A mysterious man who had shown up at the bookshop has been discovered dead on a gondola. Ellie and Meg are determined to find out who he is and who may have killed him. This was a fun cozy mystery. I look forward to the next book in this series.

This is one of the most atmospheric settings for a cozy mystery I've read in a while, with a remote mountain setting and a charming bookshop at the center. Lots of great Easter eggs for Christie fans and a solid mystery on its own, and definitely characters and a place I'll look forward to returning to.

This had all the right boxes checked to make a perfect cozy mystery - beautiful setting, interesting characters, a bookshop, murder in unsuspected location - but it was way too long and threw too many characters at you for it to be successful. In a nutshell, what started out well dragged on too long and ended up making me lose interest; it was a chore to finish it. The author did a great job sticking to the theme of a bookstore but then beat you over the head with everyone's love of reading. There was so much promise but it didn't quite deliver. I might read the next in the series but not upon release.

Dead and Gondola was a cute mystery. But a little chaotic for me. So many people and connections, I couldn’t keep everyone straight! But I loved the concept- a bookstore for mystery book lovers, being trapped by a snowstorm and car accidents.

I loved the ski resort town and bookstore setting in this cozy mystery. This is the start to a new series. A lot of first books in a cozy start slow to me because there is so much set up. This book was no exception to that. I enjoyed the sisters and the Agatha Christie references, but the mystery was slow to me and the murderer was no surprise. 3 stars.

If you love cozy mysteries, look no further. This book is charming and witty. However, I don’t think cozy mysteries are really my genre of choice.

The Christie sisters run a bookshop at the top of a mountain in Colorado that is reached by ski lift. During their book club meeting, they have an odd encounter with a mysterious stranger, who winds up dead on the gondola. Ellie and Meg become witnesses, as they were riding right behind him. They use their mystery solving skills to investigate.

This story moved a little slow for me and I had trouble maintaining my attention on the plot. There is nothing wrong with it per as, but I just didn’t find it very gripping. In all, I think this book just isn’t the best fit for my tastes.

Thank you to Bantam/Random House and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC to read and review.

Meg and Ellie Christie, bookshop owners of Last Word, Colorado's, The Book Chalet, mystery solvers when a man who bumbles into their shop's séance turns up dead one gondola over from theirs on the funicular, and charming women trying to bring their worlds into agreement.

Meg, single mother of fourteen-year old Rosie, and her younger, newly unmoored sister Ellie, are invited by their retiring parents to come home and run the family's bookstore in their ski-resort hometown with her. It's a set-up that's an evergreen for a reason...it plays on the familiarity of a native place while still allowing the returned native a chance to "catch up on" the time they've been away. It also establishes the family's relations to each other, in that one would get a whole different idea of Meg had she seemed grudging or reluctant to accept younger, single Ellie to join the business. I think one is immersed in the sense of a happy family from the second their Gram comes onto the pages, knowing she has been their rock throughout life. That, too, sets a facet of the family's character as a system in addition to demonstrating the cozy-series bona fides Ann Claire is seeking to establish.

I'm a sucker for bookstores in fiction going back to the first mystery series set in one that I fell in love with: Claire Molloy's Book Depot in the Farberville, Arkansas, set humorous cozies by the late, lamented Joan Hess. This debut is joining a long and belovèd lineage. I am delighted to report that this is a happy meeting of fantasy (bookstores require *huge* amounts of labor and run on the slimmest of margins) and storytelling. The ski resort setting is nice, in that I'd always rather read about cold, snowy places than hot ones, but not outstandingly detailed. I suppose this is all a matter of what one wishes to have in a series-starting story...the sense of possibility is there in this story so there's plenty of room for additions and expansions.

Rosie annoyed me. She's fourteen, of course she was going to, but really this is a trope I can do without, the adolescent eyeroller. Anyway. At least she wasn't a bookstore cat, those horrible, misery-making creatures...like Agatha C. (for "cat" <I>ick<B>shudder</b></i>) Christie. I mean, *obligatory warning of sexist stereotyping to come* I know I'm not a woman so I don't really get the appeal of cats *end sexist stereotyping*, but can there be a bookstore without a cat in mysteryworld now? Please?

What's right about the read far outweighs my grumbles about details. None of them ruined my reading experience. I am sure Author Ann Claire (also known as Ann Myers and/or Nora Page) knows her craft from practicing it for quite some time across several series. I expect a high level of polish from such an author and was not let down in this read. Recommending a book such as this is always touchy...what causes a series to soar is so often alchemical symmetry between author and reader...but consider this: I read this entire book that <I>features</i> a <B>cat</b> as a character...my most deeply beloathèd animals!...and am here writing a positive review.

This is an author with chops. Trust her, follow her through this story, and I predict a lot of y'all will have a new series to enjoy.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of this book to review. I was attracted to the setting and the sisters (and their cat) and the bookstore. This is definitely a “cozy” mystery … easy reading with a mystery to solve, although there are A LOT of characters to digest. Not my favorite, but still enjoyable and may resonate well with readers who like this genre.

0HHH this was excellent!!

The ONLY reason this is not a five star is because I do think this book was slightly overwritten and wordy at times. It didn't help there was a whole cast of characters to follow as well. 50 pages shorter and I think this would have been perfect.

I loved this book and did not guess the ending! Hooray! I adored the cozy winter atmosphere and the bookish chats! It was so fun to read about book loving characters. Fictional characters, they're just like us.

Highly recommend for a true mystery book!

Cozy mystery set in a bookstore in Colorado. Loved the heroine's name. This one ended up being cuter than I thought it would be.

Dead and Gondola is the first in what I hope will be a series, set in Last Word, Colorado. The main characters are Ellie and Meg Christie who run the family’s book shop in the ski town, and they love all things Agatha Christie. The novel is a near perfect cozy (particularly in the winter) with very likable main characters and a well-drawn locale. The plot is also very smart and reminiscent of the Agatha Christie novel that is at the heart of the story, with many suspects, and a big reveal. 4.5 out of 5 stars. Highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a complimentary copy of the book.

A fun beginning to a cozy mystery series. I loved all the nods to Agatha Christie novels. Plus, it's the perfect time of year for it!