The second in the series, can be read as a stand alone.
As enjoyable and twisty as the first book.
Still as madcap and funny. The family dynamics between Anna husband Oli and the children Ben and lilly true to life and will make you smile.
The dysfunctional guests at the boutique hotel and the issues will leave you thinking about them and who you recognise in your own life.
A murder mystery who dunnit, that will make you smile .
Bring on the next one

Last year Anna, Oli, and their two children had a horrible (but very funny!) Christmas which included obnoxious family members and a dead body in the larder. Anna and her friend, Jennie became detectives and eventually solved the murder, but this year, Anna is determined to have a normal family Christmas.
Anna has booked the family in to Whispering Pines, an imposing country house hotel, where they should have been the only guests, but due to a mix up in bookings other people are also spending Christmas there. Anna and Oli are exploring the hotel where they discover a dead body in the library.
And so begins another festive whodunnit, a laugh out loud page turner as Anna once again turns detective, with a little help, or hinderance, from her family, and the faithful Jennie assisting from the side lines on her mobile phone. Really awful weather, dysfunctional families, a secret passage, and the mysterious housekeeper, Mrs Haddock, all contribute to the fun and games.
I had read the first novel by Jo Middleton and loved it, so I couldn't wait to read this one. I read it in one sitting and thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm also hoping for a third in the series, maybe next year?
Thank you for my advance copy.

This author certainly knows how to write an amusing, engaging novel The plots are totally far fetched and almost farcical, but they are totally rescued by the wonderful descriptions of family life. The family are so perfectly imperfect, that every parent will relate to their charming, down to earth exchanges and experiences. After a disastrous previous Christmas, when a dead body was discovered in the family’s house just before Christmas, it seems sensible to escape the drama and enjoy a blissful country retreat. Alas, it is not to be. Th3 first problem is that the hotel is overbooked, necessitating the entire family sharing on3 room. The second is that another body appears and it doesn’t seem as if he died from natural causes. Together, the family try to solve the mystery whilst ensuring that they all remain safe from the mystery murderer. A delightful, escapist novel, that had me laughing out loud.

Absolutely LOVED this book! I'd not read the first book but it made no difference to my experience of this one. The simple plot is spelt out at the start - last Christmas, Anna, Oli and family came across a dead body, so to try and eradicate the memories of that, they decided to treat themselves to a Christmas break at a remote location, to relax and enjoy the festive season... All was going well until - you guessed it - another dead body crops up!

The storyline and the writing were perfect; light in touch, with numerous funny bits, but underneath a well-structured and paced thriller, as they attempted to work out how and why the person is dead - and who was responsible. At times the family dynamic (and the dynamic with the others at the house) felt akin to the TV series Outnumbered (probably minus the Ben character in that show!). I sincerely hope that Jo Middleton is coming up with the storyline for book three as I need my fix! I've ordered the first book so I can find out what happened a year ago...

A worthy sequel to Happy Bloody Christmas, we follow Anna and her family to a country house hotel where they find themselves snowed in with a dead body and several suspects, not the quiet Christmas they were hoping for after last year’s debacle. Spiked with the author’s dry wit, I laughed out loud many times whilst simultaneously enjoying the murder mystery. Although I had a rough idea of what the motive was, I enjoyed the journey towards the denouement. As with last Christmas, Anna has to solve the mystery herself - with help from her family and her friend, Jennie (though on her mobile this time) - because the local police are more interested in their mince pies than they are in trying to attend the scene of the crime. Good fun and a good story - a perfect Christmas read!

With thanks to Avon Books UK and NetGalley for a review copy.

Really disappointing. I enjoyed the author’s first Christmas themed mystery but this was a letdown. Too long, too padded with irrelevant humorous asides that overwhelmed the uninteresting mystery, uninteresting suspects., an unsatisfying solution, an unconvincing setting. Not recommended.

Despite the title, this was a fun festive novel that had me smiling throughout. The story was easy to follow and had enough content to keep me interested and a great cast of characters. I highly recommend it and I look forward to reading more by the author.

Having enjoyed Happy Bloody Christmas last year I jumped at the chance to read the new offering from Jo Middleton to see if Anna’s Christmas this year was any better.

And of course it wasn’t as despite getting away for her dream Christmas break it was once more thwarted when she discovers a dead body again!

Reading the first book isn’t essential as this one does give the odd nod back to it to explain a few things, but I would recommend it anyway, mainly because it’s such a brilliant and funny read.

As soon as you get into the first chapter of this book you get a flavour of how good the author is at laugh out loud lines causing more than a few chuckles as you read. With a great story you fall in love even more with Anna and her family, not to mention her best friend Jennie who is just as funny from afar via FaceTime. As well as having some very witty and funny observations on life, this is once more a nice ‘whodunnit’ story that is summed up beautifully giving a satisfying conclusion.

An absolutely brilliant, hilarious read that is a must for the festive period, but was just as enjoyable in August! I’m looking forward to the next instalment already.

Many thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

this was a strong sequel in the Happy Bloody Christmas series, it had that mystery element that I was wanting and enjoyed the overall storyline that was going through this. I enjoyed the use of Christmas in this book and had me guessing what was going on with the whodunnit element. The characters continued to feel like they belonged in the world and continued to feel like they were supposed to. Jo Middleton has a strong writing style and these two books have been great getting into and was invested in what was going on, I hope there is more in this series and from Jo Middleton.

I was so looking forward to catching up with Anna, and book 2 in the series didn't disappoint. I loved it. Funny with some fabulous poignant moments.
Highly recommend.

Brilliant, even better than her previous book. What a superb sense of Humour mixed with intrigue & mystery!!******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

This hilarious Christmas murder mystery will keep you laughing from start to finish. It will certainly help anyone dealing with tricky family members to get through the festive period! The plot and setting are familiar for a Christmas murder story: a country house, snowed in, the murderer must be in the house, etc, but this is part of its appeal. A must have book for fans of this genre.

I absolutely couldn’t wait to read this one, after enjoying the first one, I’ve never laughed so much!

This year Anna is determined to have a wonderful Christmas, no annoying extended family members and certainly no dead bodies in the larder. She insists on heading off for a quiet Christmas away from home. However, nothing goes as planned for Anna, and of course, another body turns up……

I love the style of writing in these books, witty and to the point. Intriguing but oh so funny.
The author really keeps you engaged and keeps you guessing. I love how the family pull together as a team to investigate, especially best friend Jennie.

The pace is really good and you will want to read it in one sitting, especially as you near the end and can’t work out just who did it!

As with the first book, the police’s roll is hilarious and fits the book so well.

All in all a fun, quick read. I think I loved the first one just slightly more, but it may be because the style and ideas were just so new and unique. Although the storyline is so different in this one, the humour is similar. I would definitely recommend reading it.

This was a fun, slapstick twist on the usual holiday rom-com chaos. The title hooked me immediately, and the corny British humor didn’t disappoint with lots of nonsensical dorky one-liners, awkward family moments and Three Stooges like comedy. I loved the messy family dynamics and how the main character’s holiday season kept spiraling into one absurdly dumb disaster after another. That said, the middle section did drag a bit for me, and a couple of side plots felt like filler. Still, it’s a perfect pick if you enjoy British humor

I loved this . Did not realise it was book 2. Did not matter but I will read book 1 now. A lovely good fun Christmas murder book. Not scary just a great read. Loved the whole family. Ben was an ace son. Some of the working out was great to read. Hard to review murder books. Highly recommend it. Perfect Saturday afternoon escape.

After finding a corpse in her larder, all Anna wants is a nice, quiet Christmas.

No chance of that happening.

There's a snowstorm on the way - and another body...

A brilliant sequel

Another Hoot..
The second in the Christmas Murder Mysteries series and this time Anna has decided, in her infinite wisdom, to take her whole family away for Christmas - but will relocating Christmas to the back of beyond really avoid all of the usual Christmas annoyances and, more specifically, a dreaded Christmas murder scenario ? As it goes, it will not. Another hoot, fast paced and very amusing and with a credible cast that will keep the reader thoroughly entertained and engaged. Christmas escapism,

All Anna wants is to be able to relax with her family on Christmas, but clearly the gods have other plans!

As if unexpected guests and terrible weather weren't bad enough, soon she has to contend with the most inconvenient corpse as well. It's hard to be merry with a murderer on the prowl...

Amusing and entertaining this gets 3.5 stars. Worth checking out.