Drowning in Christmas
by Judith K. Ivie (Mainly Murder Press, 2010) is
the fourth book in the Kate Lawrence mystery series. Kate and her partners Margo
and Charlene have shelved their Hartford, Connecticut, real estate business for
the present during the lingering recession. Kate accepts a temporary position
with a local nonprofit just in time for the organization’s major fundraiser.
Held during the height of Christmas celebrations, an auction is staged in the Wadsworth
Atheneum Museum of Art, the oldest public art museum in the United States, with
the attendant wine and hors d’oeuvres.
While coordinating the usual last-minute flurry
of activities leading up to the auction, family responsibilities are occupying
Kate’s mind. Her old cat is grieving the loss of the other cat a month previously
and is refusing to eat. Kate is mourning too and is frantically looking for
tidbits to tempt the sad kitty. Her daughter is bringing a new boyfriend to
Christmas dinner and wants everything Norman Rockwell perfect. Her ex-husband
begs her to host the holiday wedding of his nephew (and Kate’s godson) in her
home since his temporary apartment is too small. Kate’s live-in boyfriend is on
business travel and not sure if he will return in time to celebrate the day
with her. It’s all just about more than she can bear.
Then on the night of the auction, which goes
swimmingly up to the point Santa Claus is to appear, the nonprofit’s financial
officer, James O’Halloran, slated to serve as Santa Claus, fails to respond to
his cue. No one can find him anywhere, so Kate and the nonprofit CEO scramble
to smooth over the gaffe. After all the donors have left, a comprehensive
search reveals nothing. The local police will not accept a missing person’s
report for 48 hours, and Kate and the CEO are at a loss as to where to look for
him. Discussion with his wife reveals his black sheep brother has surfaced
after an absence of years, no doubt looking for money, and everyone wonders if
his appearance has something to do with O’Halloran’s disappearance.
The mystery here is gossamer thin, anemic and
waiflike. However, this is a fine Christmas read, full of the scents, sights, and
sounds that say Christmas in the contemporary United States, from the music to
the food to the rampant consumerism. The scene where Kate stops to listen to
the choir practicing to the accompaniment of a huge pipe organ in the nearby
cathedral dazzling with extravagant Christmas decorations is a good example. I
particularly like the way expectations are nicely tempered with realism
throughout. Kate plans a complicated menu that succeeds no better than most,
and she tries to accommodate her godson’s wedding plans that go awry. Her children
bicker and the family of her friend Charlene all come down with the flu. While
nothing goes quite as planned, the outcomes are still satisfying. A good
addition to any holiday reading list.
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Hardcover: 234 pages
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Publisher: Mainly Murder Press (October 1, 2010)
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Language: English
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ISBN-10: 0982795254
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ISBN-13: 978-0982795255
Aubrey Hamilton ©2019
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It
projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
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