It’s a Wonderful Knife
A Comfort Food Mystery, Book #5
By Christine Wenger
ISBN13: 9780451474094
Author website: http://www.christinewenger.com/
Review brought to you by OBS reviewer Kayt
Synopsis:
Comfort food and murder are on the holiday menu in the latest mystery from the national bestselling author of Macaroni and Freeze . . .
All Trixie Matkowski wants for Christmas is a break—just not the broken leg she got after slipping on some ice. With Sandy Harbor alive in the hustle and bustle of the season, it’s the busiest time of the year at Trixie’s Silver Bullet Diner. There are millions of things to do, including cater the town’s annual Christmas pageant and community dinner with some delicious holiday comfort food.
But the festivities turn into a bit of a turkey after Liz Fellows, the director of the pageant, is found with Trixie’s butcher knife in her back. Now Trixie must help the police arrest the scary gentleman—or lady—guilty of the crime if she hopes to get herself off the naughty list.
Review:
It’s a Wonderful Knife (love this title) is chocked full of Christmas cheer, family fun, slapstick humor and of course mystery. “A Comfort Food Mystery” series just keeps getting better and better and better. Trixie (Beatrix) Matkowski is fabulous and a truly wonderful main character. She is surrounded by an array of quirky and entertaining characters in this installment. Aside from the normal cast including hilarious flip-flop and muumuu wearing ABC and handsome cowboy deputy Ty, Trixie gets help from everyone including her Aunt Stella and friends the Busy Boca Babes, the missing night cook Bob, her entire staff at the Silver Bullet and even her parents. Good thing too as she needed every extra hand to get through this Christmas season.
Everything goes haywire when Trixie takes a tumble on the steps of the big house and breaks her leg. It could not have come at a worse time as the holiday season is the busiest time of the year for Trixie. She is swamped with catering events including the town’s annual Christmas pageant. At the first meeting with the new pageant director Liz Fellows things get even worse. Trixie finds Liz dead with her own butcher knife sticking out of her back. In a fit of sleuthing, Trixie volunteers to take over for the fallen director.
Trixie has now put a target on her back as she takes over the reins of the dead woman. Or so Ty warns. Trixie and ABC’s antics while trying to find the murderer are hilarious and laugh out loud funny. With so many people coming to assist her with the diner’s obligations, Trixie has nothing but time to stick her nose into everything. The things she and ABC find point in a different direction, but she will still not be safe.
Author Christine Wenger has written another wonderful cozy in It’s a Wonderful Knife. It is so full of Christmas spirit that it enchants no matter the time of year. The characters are outstanding and her writing style is fluid and infectious. I could not put this book down. Although I had the murderer guessed much quicker than Trixie, I had to continue reading because it was just that good. Even if you have not read any of the other books in this series, you will truly enjoy this one. I think it is the best yet and they have all been fantastic. There are so many heartwarming moments, mixed with suspense and danger and stirred in with humor and intellect. You truly cannot go wrong. A fabulous read for any time of year that will satisfy any and all cozy fans.
