Christmas in Paradise Springs is in full swing—even if it’s shaping up to be a quieter one for Elmo Simpson. Until a little girl asks Santa for the impossible.
Wild animal removal specialist Elmo Simpson is spending the holidays playing Santa at the community park—and his girlfriend is about to head out of town to visit family, leaving him to a quieter-than-planned Christmas.
Then a child makes one simple wish: bring her father home for Christmas.
The problem? Her father is in hiding—accused of murdering a shady investment banker with a long list of enemies.
Elmo trades his Santa hat for his investigator instincts and dives into a case tangled with small-town secrets, financial schemes, and suspects who all had a reason to want the victim gone. Some wanted revenge. Others wanted silence. One of them is a killer.
Elmo’s got a plan…sort of. But with Christmas fast approaching and a promise he can’t break, he has one shot to uncover the truth, clear an innocent man—and catch a killer before Christmas morning comes with the wrong kind of surprise.
My Review:
An entertaining holiday cozy mystery.
I totally enjoyed this book. I have read all of the books in this Elmo Simpson Mysteries series and this is my new favorite. In this book Elmo is asked to play Santa and receives a special request from a little girl who just wants her father home for Christmas. Turns out her father was accused of a murder and is now on the run. Elmo sets out to find the real killer and clear the wrongfully accused father’s name so they can reunite for Christmas. I struggled putting this book down. I always enjoy returning to the Paradise Springs books with all the fun and quirky characters. With a list of suspects, I was left hanging until the very end to find out who the killer was.
