After the last two Christmas catastrophes, Anna decides Christmas is cancelled and calls off anything festive. No turkey, no tree and no celebrating! She has however, been roped into helping out at her daughter’s school for the ‘Seasonal Community Gathering’… just don’t call it a Christmas Fair, alright? But when Anna, and her BFF Jennie, find one of the committee members dead, they are reluctantly drawn into more festive drama… again 🎄🎁🔪

The Pros:
1) Put simply, I love a Christmas holiday story and if you add a sprinkle of murder with it *chef’s kiss*
2) This is a cozy murder mystery, with an amateur sleuth - which I am such a fan of
3) The book is so readable - I read it in less than 24 hrs, which says a lot. The writing style is my perfect type
4) The friendship between Anna and Jennie is so sweet (and funny)
5) It’s a family affair! I find the fact that the whole family always get involved, so fun

The Cons:
1) Obviously there are dark (but fun!) themes

The Quotes:

1)... everyone knows that ‘working in IT’ is just a euphemism for reading Reddit threads about Star Wars and occasionally telling people to switch things off and on again.

2) Even Poirot doesn’t solve murders before he’s had his eggs.

3) I prefer it when women over forty look a bit crap like me and I can pretend that there’s no point exercising.

The Summary:
I am such a fan of Anna and her unfortunate Christmases lol. As usual she gets drawn into a possible murder, this time with her BFF by her side - which makes it extra fun. I love that the stories are always cozy, so well written and with a bit of (wonderful) silliness! Anna and Co. are really likeable, you get the Christmas holiday vibes and a whole cast of other suspects *coughs* I mean characters. If you have been a fan of Anna’s christmases so far, I think you’ll love this book - this is my favourite of the series so far. I read it in less than a day, which says a lot. I really enjoyed it! Throughly recommend if you like Christmas, humour and lovely cozy, silliness!

Summed up in a sentence?:
Anna has cancelled Christmas, then finds a body at the school fair

I rated the book 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5!

A big thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for the free ARC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for this ARC.

This is book 3 in the Christmas Murder Mysteries and
Anna Johnson Investigations isn't really getting off the ground, with only her neighbour wanting the disappearance of her council-issued recycling box investigated. Also, traumatised by the last two Christmases that were rather bloody, Anna issues a no Christmas celebrations diktat but then misses the festivities terribly. Thank God for the school's Christmas Fair Weekend, sorry, the Seasonal Community Gathering which Anna and BFF Jennie are pressganged into helping to organise. Then head teacher Tom Prendergast dies after falling off a ladder and PC Cumberland thinks it was an accident.

This time Anna doesn't even bother correcting the police, she simply starts sleuthing, utilising distracted Jennie plus good-natured husband Oli and techy son Ben. This murder mystery farce is hilarious and entertaining, with a great cast of characters and a funny cover. The PTA politics are keenly observed, but the suspects are confessing too readily for my liking. I figured out the murderer and some clues quite early on, shouting at the book, thinking, why are they all so slow? I'm afraid this meant that the middle bit dragged a little for me and there didn't seem to be any sense of urgency. I was also missing Anna's feisty MIL Pamela. It's a great sequel but it's not my favourite in the series.

No more Christmas murders.

To try and avoid the hat-trick, Anna has banned everything festive.

Except...she has to volunteer at her daughter's "Seasonal Community Gathering". Definitely NOT a Christmas Fayre.

But Anna's out of luck.

Her and Jennie discover one of the committee dead.

Predictably, the police want to write it off as an accident. But there's far too many things not adding up...

Hilarious

This is a brilliant light hearted fun murder story. The PTA part of the story was ace and the main character husband made me laugh over the Christmas box and tree. Ben is an ace son. Pizza for breakfast is fab.. Just a great read . Loved it .

The third in the excellent series of Christmas thrillers from Jo Middleton sees Anna, fed up with dealing with murders at Christmastime, putting her foot down. There was to be no Yuletide celebration - no decorations, no turkey, no After Eights and definitely no corpses. Unfortunately, drafted in reluctantly to assist with the school's Seasonal Community Gathering, that final condition was broken, as a member of the PTA is found dead in very suspicious circumstances, and Anna, along with her friend Jennie (distracted at times), are determined to get to the bottom of things, to work out who was responsible.

Middleton has crafted some great characters in these books, and it is nice to have family involvement into the stories without it becoming sentimental. Each of the books is a hoot, with real life thoughts and reactions, along with great storylines that grip and never get too convoluted or confused.

I sincerely hope that Middleton is already starting on book four of this series as I cannot wait to hear what happens next to Anna and her family. Maybe they need to go on a Yuletide holiday abroad - Lapland?

Really enjoyed Anna’s continuing hilarious Christmas adventures.. Apart from the cake batter episode which was a bit off the wall, it was very entertaining. Long may her Christmases be fraught with suspicious people and murders.

Honestly these books just get better and better!
Was so happy I got invited to read this book!
Highly recommend

Thanks Netgalley for letting me read this book for an honest review

Anna spent her last two Christmas holidays discovering dead bodies and tracking down killers. This year she has decided that Christmas is not going to be happening in her house. She has instructed her family....no tree, no visiting relatives, no Christmas dinner, nothing.
The only fly in the ointment is that Anna's daughter has set her heart on playing the part of Nancy in the schools production of "Oliver", and so Anna feels obliged to help the PTA, as the head of the committee is the person casting the parts for this production.
Anna, and her best friend, Jennie, are therefore roped in to volunteer for a weekend helping with the schools Seasonal Community Gathering, which most people know as a Christmas Fair. Just those two days to endure, then Anna thinks everyone will be busy with their own Christmas plans, and she will be left in peace. Anna and Jennie are sorting out the tombola prizes, until they discover a member of the committee is dead.
Anna and Jennie find themselves drawn into another mystery. Could this be an accident, or is it murder. Anna is suspicious, and all the committee members appear to have something to hide.
Another festive funny from Jo Middleton, a Christmas mystery with fun and chuckles along the way. Suspicious characters kept me guessing until the end. A really enjoyable read.
Thank you for my advance copy.