This has taken me a while to read and I'm not sure why. I don't think the writing is to blame but it kept taking a while to get into and then not holding my interest enough not to get easily distracted and tempted by other books.

I think I would have enjoyed this one so much more if I had read the first one in the series. As usual I jumped into the middle of a series! Even so, I do think that the author did a great job of re-introducing characters and explaining a little of the first book's plot, enough to get the reader going. But I think this was something I just couldn't get past - I wholeheartedly recommend this author but I recommend starting from the first book in the series (I know! Shocker!)

Don't be like me, kids! Read book 1 first!

For a second book in a series this is really well done for new readers to jump in. I really enjoyed the pacing of the mystery, though in the end a touch bleak for my personal taste. This is really good, especially for people who like things on the darker side and I'm going to go back and read number 1 for sure

Thanks to NetGalley and Bold Strokes books for ARC.

Investigative journalist Manny Porter seems to have a charmed life - enviable job at his dad's newspaper, gorgeous boyfriend, charitable endeavours and excellent social life with a good network of friends. When his young mentee takes an internship at a prestigious local firm, Manny arranges to profile the company and its endeavours to foster young talent. Things take a strange turn when he sees the aftermath of a suspicious death in one of the labs. Despite Manny's good working relationship with the local police, he can see it would be all too easy for them to take the easy route and settle on the first suspect. His efforts to uncover the truth threaten him and those he cares about - of course.
This is the second in a series but worked very well as a stand-alone. Its south Georgia USA setting was new to me, but the conservative society and the precariousness of some lives rang very true. Sometimes Robeline's positive portrayal of the right to non-toxic versions of masculinity seemed a little forced, but then I remembered where it's set. The plot sometimes stretches credulity a bit, but it's a good seasonal Christmas mystery and I'll seek out the first in the series.

Manny Porter and the Yuletide Murder is the second Tinker Creek mystery by D.C. Robeline. Released 13th Dec 2022 by Bold Strokes books, it's 236 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. 

This is a competently written and well plotted murder mystery romance featuring an investigative journalist and his circle of close friends. The plot includes industrial espionage, murder, and navigating personal and family relationships. Although it's a sequel with some of the same characters, the mystery and plot are self contained and it works perfectly well as a standalone. 

There is some sexual content; the main protagonist is a gay man in a relationship with another man. Another secondary character is their young friend and protege who is an intern at a high tech company who gets entangled in a murder investigation as the prime suspect. There are strong themes of justice, equity, found family, and anti-homophobia throughout. 

The book could have benefited from a more thorough editing process, though. One mistake would have taken about 30 seconds to fix and is more of a typo than a blunder. (Referring to a building whose shape was based on a water molecule which had one center hydrogen atom and 2 peripheral oxygen atoms). 

Three and a half stars. Well written and engaging with a satisfying solution and denouement. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Manny Porter and the Yuletide Murder
Tinker Creek Series #2

Excellent story by a new-to-me author that drew me in, held my interest, made me care, and left me feeling full of holiday cheer. Great book!

What I liked:
* That I was able to read this book without having read the previous book in the series
* Manny: journalist, works for his father’s newspaper, in a relationship with Lyle, mentor to Tristan, great sleuthing abilities, cares deeply, reliable, a good man
* Lyle: mechanic, successful businessman, strong, has lethal skills, supportive, loving, kind, generous, caring, great with and for Manny
* Tristan: aged out of foster care, in an internship while waiting to go to college, excited about his future, being mentored by Manny, accused of murdering Nikolaidis-his boss, honest, and bright
* Rico: young, has a difficult backstory, potential witness in the murder case, hasn’t had many breaks but might get one if he is lucky
* Detective Walker: a by the book policeman that grew on me as the story progressed
* The writing, plot, setting, and character development
* The murder mystery, sleuthing, and eventual solution
* All of it really except…

What I didn’t like:
* Who and what I was meant not to like
* Knowing that there are youth that have had as difficult times as Tristan and Rico and wishing it were different
* Thinking about the justice system and how it is not always truly just

Did I like this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series? Definitely

Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

This is the first mystery I read by this author and won't surely be the last as I loved it.
A well plotted story, a solid mystery featuring a cast of fleshed out and intriguing characters.
I discovered it's a second in a series and will surely read the first too.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Great story I really enjoyed reading this. I noticed this was a sequel so I will be now reading the first one. This is another new author for me. I really liked the writing style. I'm looking forward to reading more.

Another great mystery... good to see some of the same characters from "The Champions of Tinker Creek". You don't need to read the first book to follow what's happening in this book - although there will be some gaps. It's not marked as a "sequel" on Goodreads, but I'd say it qualifies as one.

Solid and interesting mystery, good characters... a little too much detail in the conversations, rather than the characters just finding things out!

Overall a great read

A race against time!

Manny, a reporter, is working to try and figure out who killed Phillip Nikolaidis, a research scientist, while he was on tour. Time is running out though, so during the festive season Manny is busy trying to get to the truth before times runs out and an innocent man is convicted.

This was fantastic! An intense investigation with lots to uncover with Manny about what could have happened. It wasn’t easy for Manny, he was dealing with a lot, including rival colleagues and had to decipher the truth from all the red herrings in this case. The pace of the story kept really well with the timescales Manny had to work within and you could really feel the pressure he was up against in investigating.

There was a lot woven in to throw his thinking and slow down his investigations but I loved how determined Manny was to succeed. He didn’t rest in trying to solve this case, nothing distracted him, and he really wanted justice to be fair and correct, rather than just what appeared to be obvious. I loved how supportive Lyle, Manny’s boyfriend, was of his career and focus on the case. It gave Manny the courage he needed to pursue what he knew was right and make sure everyone knew the truth.

A great story that had me intrigued from the very start. I loved the addition of the odd sparkle of the festive season woven throughout, and can’t wait to find out what Manny will be uncovering and reporting on next.