This was a cozy mystery, a genre, I rarely, if ever, read. It is about Meg and Ellie Christie, two sisters in their 30s who are running their family’s bookstore in a small resort town in the mountains. They were riding a gondola when they observed that the man in the gondola ahead of them appeared to be deceased. They, their cat, Agatha, and their book club set out to solve the mystery. Anyone who enjoys this genre will love this book. 3.5 stars raised to a 4. Thanks to Net Galley and Bantam Books for an ARC for an honest review.

“Dead and Gondola” is the first in a series of cozy mysteries by Ann Claire. I thought the Publisher’s blurb about this book sounded wonderful - Christie sisters, a cat named Agatha, a bookshop, and a mystery to solve. Yes - cozy mystery this is. What I didn’t expect was a slew of characters who, while interesting and adding that natural color and atmosphere, were a lot … from the police chief and deputy, the gondola lift operator, the helpers in the bookstore, some folks about town - it took me a while to figure out who was there for color and who was there as the meat of the book. While I understand Ms. Claire wanting to introduce the cast of characters - especially in the first book - I felt overwhelmed. Ms. Claire’s writing style is verbose and a bit flowery. As this book is over 300 pages, I don’t think it technically qualifies as being “cozy,” but that may just be my thinking. If you like Agatha Christie books, this one has many references to the author - and just as in her books the potential “who done it” folks are gathered around while the murder is explained and the culprit unmasked. This wasn’t my cup of tea, so I won’t be reading the rest of the series, but it’s a cute idea with a different twist.

This was a first book in this series. Ellie and her sister Meg encounter a mysterious man at their bookshop in a small town in Colorado. They later watch him die. I found the characters of the sisters to be a bit silly. They seemed younger than they actually were. Some of the passages got bogged down in rambling descriptions that at times seemed random to the story or the action currently happening. I really could not connect with the characters and found it hard to quite visualize the town and its size. The book really was very light and fast to read.

Ellie comes home to work in the family Book Chalet with her sister Meg, when having a Book Club meeting strange things start to happen. A murder and the disappearance of their long time employee Ms Ridge. A stow storm keeps the town of Last Word closed off from other places. El and her sister Meg being mystery buffs start to investigate trying to figure out who the murderer is and what happened to Ms Ridge.

Snowy settings are one of my favorites, if not my favorite, and Dead and Gondola has plenty of snow. It includes an ideal atmosphere for a cozy mystery with its mountain chalet, books & more books, a frowning library cat, and plenty of references to Agatha Christie. I enjoyed the quirky characters, the humor, and a satisfying mystery. As a bonus, it's a clean read. Thank you to Random House for the opportunity to read an arc of Dead and Gondola in exchange for an honest review.

DEAD AND GONDOLA
BY: ANN CLAIRE

It was a terrific pleasure to read this debut cozy mystery by Ann Claire, called, "Dead and Gondola". From the first page this delightfully and warmly written novel had a hypnotically addictive power to draw me into it and I LOVED IT! The family and small town vibe stole my heart and I devoured this in one sitting. It's Author sure knows a lot about Agatha Christie and I enjoyed the references to her books peppered throughout the narrative.

Agatha Christie still holds the number one best selling author in fiction with over 2 billion copies sold. She was made a Dame in 1971 for her contributions to literature. Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (nee Miller; born September 15, 1890 lived until my youth dying on January 12, 1976. I was just a pre-teen when the great British novelist died, but I loved to read by then. Actually much like the Christie family featured here I loved and lived among books. Agatha Christie is known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. Ms. Marple is usually an elderly spinster. Agatha Christie has also written the World's longest running play called, "The Mousetrap," which which has been performed in the West End since 1952, as well as six novels written under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time.

In this very charming and clever cozy, Ann Claire introduces us to a loving and close knit fifth generation Booksellers called the Christie's with no genetic links to Agatha, but her love for her shines through on every page. Sisters Meg and Ellie have stepped in to take over the family book business while their parents travel so they can enjoy a life without an internet connection. Loving Gram bakes delicious triple batches of chocolate chip muffins for breakfast and to deliver some to their well loved neighbors. That is the small town Hamlet that is the setting in Last Word, Colorado. Everybody knows everybody and worries and looks out for their neighbors.

What a glorious commute to work to the Book Chalet in a glassed bubble Gondola that travels up to where Ellie and Meg work. Ellie lives upstairs in the Book Chalet's loft where she shares her pillow with her ten pound Siamese cat Agatha C. Gram lives down at the base in a Victorian house that she and Meg's fourteen year old daughter bake scrumptious comfort food like bubbly Mac & Cheese browned with breadcrumbs for dinner. Rosie, Ellie's daughter bakes home made birthday cakes for everyone. One morning Gram made Donut Muffins glazed with butter and rolled in cinnamon and sugar. This had me trotting out to my nearby bakery to buy the fresh muffins made on the premises every morning to eat while I read. I couldn't help myself and I really vicariously ate fresh muffins and pastries while I read this. Going only because the descriptive writing is so well done I remembered a place nearby that if you want the best baking around you have to get there very early in the morning. This is a place that I normally don't think about, but this book reminded me that I could indulge while reading.

At 8:00 AM in the morning a beloved member of the Book Chalet staff quietly disappears when her book club gets thwarted by a new to the area actress named Morgan takes over the book club employee's efforts to discuss an Agatha Christie mystery. The Title interestingly has two. One that was published in the UK and a different one for the United States. The book cost $2.00 here and seven shillings and sixpence in the UK. The two sisters worry about what happened to their friend and leader of the book club. The actress has her mind set to hold a Seance in the Reading lounge. It is a sanctuary for readers-- a refuge. A bookshelf arched around the opening, filled with covers the colors of a muted rainbow. Light beckons from the window. Pine logs crackled in a river-rock fireplace, its chimney flanked in bookshelves rising to meet soaring beams and trusses. Ten readers sat in the ovals of armchairs. The actress produced a Ouija board and stole the discussion and the letters spelled out D. E A. D. M. A. N. A mysterious man enters and is looking around and the mystery begins. This was Brilliant and Stunning writing and it will definitely appeal to all who enjoy cozy mysteries.

Publication Date: November 1, 2022

A Huge Thank you to Net Galley, Ann Claire and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine-Bantam for generously providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#DeadandGondola #AnnClaire #RandomHousePublishingGroupBallantineBantam #NetGalley

This book has everything I love in a cozy mystery. A multi-generational family, a bookstore staged like a dream at the top of a mountain and a mysterious stranger who dies after being super creepy. Ellie, her sister and Grandmother work at their family's bookstore in Last Word, Colorado which I really wish I could visit, People can snowshoe or take a gondola to visit it. The store sounds so cozy on a snowy day.

I really enjoyed the town characters and had plenty of "wow, did not see that coming" moments. I hope to see more of this series soon.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for access to an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a fun, cozy mystery. I enjoyed the characters, the setting, and the way the story developed. I'm glad to see that this is a series debut. As I finished, I was thinking that I'd like to read more about the Colorado Christies. I look forward to the next installment.

The first in a new series featuring the Christie sisters who own a bookshop in Last World, Colorado. When a man unexpectedly crashes their book club meeting looking for someone named Cece, then rushes out only to be found dead on a gondola, the sisters know they need to channel their inner Miss Marple and discover what happened and who killed him. A delightfully charming first in the series especially for mystery lovers. Can't wait for the next book.

Dead and Gondola is the first book in this series. I really enjoyed it. The story takes place in a town called Last Word Colorado. Ellie Christie is the main character along with her sister, Meg. They are the co-owners of their family book store called The Book Chalet. It is famed bibliophile destination because of their shelves of books and relaxation reading. The town has only one road into the village and a gondola that takes the people up and down the mountain to their homes.. Ellie is back home three weeks after her book travels. She lives in the loft above the store with the store cat. Agatha. Ms. Ridge is the shop assistant who runs the program Mountains of Mystery for their book club. They are going to discuss the book The Sittaford Mystery formally called The Murder at Hazlmon.

Morgan Marin is a retired Hollywood legend who has bought a house in Last Word. She has an on-line book club called Shelf Indulgence. The other book club members are Piper Tuttle who works for the Last Word Weekly. Emmet Jackson a ;poet and Morgan's assistant, Renee-Claude. Instead of discussing the book Morgan suggests that they do a séance to re-create the scenes of the book. They can all inhabit the characters to examine their fears and their motivations. The rest of the clubbers think it would be fun. Morgan takes out the Ouija board. They start when Ellie thinks she has heard someone come into the store and looks for the stranger. While looking Morgan starts spelling the word on the board D.E.A.D., When she gets back to the clubbers she see a man standing by the windows. No one is saying a word. He told them he was looking. Lost something important. He leaves saying he will be back. The clubbers continue their game spelling the word M.A.N.
The board spells the word D.E.A.D. M.A.N.. Ellie realizes that Ms. Ridge is not there and looks for her.

The next day Meg and Ellie are worried as Ms. Strange did not come to work. The man returns and sits in the lounge saying he was waiting for someone special, Her name is CeCe. When Ellie looked for the man he was gone. They notice where he was sitting he had left his satchel. They check it and find a large book but can't find any identification. The book is written by Mary Westmacott also known as Agatha Christie.

Meg and Ellie decide that they will go and check Ms. Ridge's house to make sure she is alright. They. see the stranger getting into a gondola car. They get into the next car hoping they can catch up with the man to let him know about his satchel and book. When they get to he bottom station they notice that the man did not get out of the car. The base-station gondolier finds him dead and calls the police. Sunnie Sundstram the new police chief and her deputy Garza arrive and tells everyone that the car is now a crime scene. She asks Meg and Ellie to wait ass they are witnesses.. While waiting they run into Sydney Zeller (Syd) son of Rusty Zeller is a freelance photographer who went to school with Ellie. He hopes to start a business called Heli-skiing - a helicopter service for skiers He has run into Piper who tells him that it was murder and something about love and a séance at the book club predicting his murder. He was killed with a knife. To the town's surprise the man is Prescott St. James who has just gotten out of prison. He had embezzled money from many of the townspeople. He also once owned the house Morgan is living in. Meg and Ellie tell the chief about the book and satchel. The chief says she will get it the next day.

The next day they still have not heard from Ms. Ridge so they go to her house on the way back to their store. She is not there. They met her neighbor Glynis a well known as part of a search and rescue service. When they get back to their store they find the back door window broken and the cat missing. The key is gone from the door. Ellie finds Agatha but the book and satchel are missing. The chief and the deputy arrive.to pick up the Westmacott book and satchel and are told that they are missing. Only things taken. They also tell the chief about their missing employee Ms. Ridge.

A man comes into the store and asks about the stranger. His name is Simon Trent. He is the half brother of Morgan Marin and knew the man. He is staying at the L' Auberge Inn across the street. Morgan and Trent are estranged. This is where the story takes on the mystery of why was Prescott back in town, where is Ms. Ridge. who is CeCe and why is Trent really in town and who is doing things to disrupt the investigation. Meg, Ellie, Gram, Rosie (Meg's daughter) decide to do their own investigations. The ending is a surprise with another séance that brings everything to an exciting climax.

I am looking forward to reading the next book in this series, I loved all the characters that make up the town and what will happen next.

Thank you NetGalley and Bantam Books for this ARC..

The perfect winter cozy mystery that Agatha Christie would be proud of. I wish I could have been reading this during a blizzard with a fire going, hot chocolate, and a cat in my lap instead of a July heatwave. I ended up finishing this in less than a day, the setting, the characters, the writing, and of course, the murder made it such a quick read. Very excited to see where this series goes, I'm not ready to let go of the Christie sisters, their family, or Agatha the cat yet.

A sweet cozy mystery set in the Colorado Mountains!

Ellie and Meg are running their family’s legacy—a mountaintop book store accessible via gondola. (That right there is a thing made of dreams!)

One morning, during a morning book club meeting, a group of townspeople and the sisters gather to discuss their latest read and as the sisters would have it, it’s another mystery. The bookstore specializes in mysteries and in that vein, they’ve named the resident cat after a favorite: Agatha Christie.

In the spirit of the book club, a seance of sorts is performed using an Ouija board someone brought in for the meeting. The message passed to the club via the ether portends ominous things…will someone die!?

Grab a cup of tea and snuggle in this fall to a town of colorful characters and a cozy mystery worth the time.

3.5 stars rounded up

Thank you to Random House - Ballantine and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Dead and Gondola by Ann Claire is an adorable cozy mystery centered around a bookstore. The story revolves around the Christie sisters, who run a family bookshop in Colorado. One day, a mysterious man enters their bookshop and left behind a first-edition Agatha Christie novel. Later, he turns up dead. Who could have killed him? It's up to the Christie sisters to put together the clues and reveal the killer before the police do.

Here is a captivating excerpt from Chapter 1:

"I swung open the heavy oak door and blinked at the figure taking shape in the blizzard.
“What a perfect day for murder!” The woman strode into the Book Chalet, glowing like a summer sunbeam and a vision from the past. Feathers trembled atop her flapper-style beret. Pretty pin curls framed her face. Snowflakes swarmed at her sides.
I gaped, not at the greeting—that was perfectly appropriate—but at its giver.
Morgan Marin. The Morgan Marin, Hollywood legend known even to book-dwellers like me."

Overall, Dead and Gondola an adorable cozy mystery that would make the perfect rain-day read. One highlight of this book are the moments of humor. It's the perfect read if you're looking for something lighthearted in between darker readers. Another highlight of this book was the climax, which was very exciting. Don't let the word "cozy" mislead you. When the killer was revealed, I couldn't turn the pages fast enough! If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of cozy mysteries in general, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in November!

I received an ARC of Dead and Gondola from Netgalley and I am leaving this review.

I had to force myself to finish this because I did want to find out whodunit but there were so many characters it was very hard to follow.

By the time the reveal finally happened I just didn't care anymore.

Yes, the wintery scene resembled our book, but little Last Word was no netting for cold-hearted crime."

✅ Cozy winter atmosphere?
✅ Fun characters?
✅ Humor?
✅ A thrilling mystery that kept me on my toes?

This book was SUCH a delight to read. It felt like the perfect wintery escape from this extreme July heat. But for real, this book was awesome. I loved the mystery and trying to solve it along with the characters. I will admit that I did have a gut feeling as to who our culprit was from the get go, but that doesn't mean that I still didn't question every other character that was mentioned. My only qualm with this book were there were times where I completely forgot the age range of the characters. There were times (especially towards the beginning) where I assumed Ellie was fresh out of college. Learning then that she was 33 and her sister was 38 came as a bit of an "Oh! Well, sure!" But seriously, that is the ONLY thing that I can think of that wasn't like a "YAY BOOK!". Everything else was GRAND and I am very excited for this book to come out so I can recommend it to everyone I know.

Big thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing me with an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The author's descriptions of the charming mountain town made me feel like I was there. But I didn't connect with the characters and lost interest in the story. Great ending though!

This is a very cozy mystery — right down to the ski town setting and quaint town. While I enjoyed Dead and Gondola, I’d say it’s a very light read and very straightforward. I basically solved the mystery pretty easily.

That’s not necessarily a criticism since I’ve read dozens of books in this vein and I’m sure I’ll read more — just my opinion.

I did particularly enjoy the story’s setting both the book store and the gondola. It was unique and made me clearly visualize the town.

Dead and Gondola
by Ann Claire
Published by Bantam
Nov 01, 2022 | 336 Pages
Category: Cozy Mystery

My rating: 2.5 stars.

Thank you to Random House and Net Galley for the advanced reader's copy of this book, coming out November 1, 2022.

The story is set in a ski resort area, centered around two sisters, Meg and Ellie (who tells the story) working at their family-owned bookshop at the top of the ski lift. It serves as respite for those tired of the slopes who welcome a warm place to escape with a book while their friends ski the day away. Of course it is THE place for local bookworms to support their reading addiction. Ellie lives above the bookshop because she just moved back to the area while Meg lives with her teenaged daughter and grandmother in the village.

Ellie and Meg hop in a downhill gondola to return a book that a strange man had left in their bookshop after they see him lunge into the previous gondola. At the end of the ride, the ski lift operator finds that the man is indeed dead. Thus begins the sleuthing by Ellie and her sister that ends 300 pages later!

Frankly, I did not find anything "cozy" about this book. It is over 300 pages, and I found it a chore to get to the end. If the author could go through and let out the hot air of the over-flowery vocabulary and ridiculous multiple mentions of the cat and the pony, eliminate the superfluous village characters, it might qualify as "cozy" around 150-175 pages. Not enough story here for 336 pages. No description needs for 5 adjectives - one or none will do in most instances.

Not my cup of tea but some readers might enjoy it.

Dead and Gondola (Christie Bookshop #1)
Ann Claire
Bantam
Publication Date: November 1, 2022
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Imagine you live on a mountain in a small, snowy Colorado town named Last Word. Imagine a generations-owned bookshop, built of oak logs and expansive windows, offering breathtaking views of the snowy mountain scene. A bookstore with rows and rows and nooks and crannies for book-lovers to indulge their love of books. Add a cat named Agatha, after Ms. Agatha Christie. That’s the setting for this wonderful cozy mystery. I’m hooked already.

Ellie, Meg, and Gram Christie run the Book Chalet. Ellie lives in the loft upstairs while Meg, her daughter, Rosie, and Gram live at the bottom of the mountain. A free gondola line provides transportation up to the small hamlet and down the mountain to the larger village below.

It’s book club morning at the Book Chalet and the quirky members begin to arrive. Exactly at eight o’clock Morgan Marin arrives, a retired Hollywood legend who has settled in Last Word and now runs Shelf Indulgence, an online book club. She shows up in full flapper gear dressed as the main character (Emily Trefusis) of tonight’s mystery book, Agatha Christie’s The Sittaford Mystery. She also has brought props, including a Ouiji board. Her assistant, Reneé Claude stomps in after her.

Then there is Ms. Ridge, who has worked at the Book Chalet forever. She begins the book club at exactly 8:00 am, as she is known for her punctuality. Other members include Piper Tuttle, a gossip columnist and Emmet Jackson, a cowboy poet with a handlebar mustache.

Ms. Ridge begins the club discussion, but Morgan Marin quickly takes over and produces the Ouiji board and announces they could recreate the séance scene from the murder mystery. During the séance, the cowbells over the front door clang even though the shop is closed. The Ouiji board is spelling out “dead man.” Ellie goes to find who entered the shop, but instead bumps into Ms. Ridge who is carrying a coffee pot on a silver tray. Ellie returns to the book club and a stranger shows up, saying what a wonderful view. But, he doesn’t leave until Emmet Jackson speaks more forcefully to him. Later, the women notice that Ms. Ridge is gone and there is no coffee in the carafe. Where did she go? What happened? Who is this strange man?

The next day, Ms. Ridge doesn’t show up for work and this is worrisome because she is always punctual. And, the strange man is sitting in the lounge; not reading, just waiting for someone special named Cece. He spots a woman in red and dashes over to her and then he disappears, leaving his satchel behind. Agatha, the Book Chalet’s cat, decides to rest on it. The sisters can’t resist peeking inside on the pretense of looking for his I.D. They find post-its, one which says, “Love is, indeed, a terrifying thing.” They speculate he may be a writer, but then they find an original signed copy of Agatha Christie’s book written under the name of Mary Westmacott. Realizing this is a valuable treasure, they decide the stranger will definitely return for his book, so they place it safely under the counter.

After they close the shop, they walk to the gondola to go down to Gram’s home for dinner. Meg grabs Ellie’s hand and points to the stranger getting into a gondola car. They rush into the following car to see if he wants to return to the store for his satchel. But, he doesn’t get off at the base and the car begins back up the mountain. The gondolier stops the gondolas to find out why he didn’t disembark. He finds the stranger slumped in the car. He finds a dead man. “D-e-a-d m-a-n.” Did the séance predict the stranger’s death? Or, did he die of natural causes? Is it murder? And the game is afoot (For you Sherlock fans)! Oh, and to make matters worse (better for us readers), a rockslide has blocked the road out of town! The killer must be trapped in the village! A “locked village” mystery!

I loved the characters in the book. Gram, Rosie, Meg, and Ellie were the main characters. As was Ms. Ridge. The settings were beautiful and easy for me to identify with from my skiing days. The length of the book is spot on and it’s an easy read. It’s a cozy, cozy mystery and if that’s your cup of tea (or hot chocolate), I recommend Dead and Gondola to you. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publishers for the electronic advanced reader copy. The opinions are my own

PS Did you know Agatha Christie was the first European woman to surf?

I don't read hardly any cozy mysteries but I am recently dumped and in the dumps and I just tore through this title. I loved it! So cozy! Thank you for the ARC, it made my day better.