Product Description

In the picturesque village of Branscombe, New Hampshire, the townsfolk are all pitching in to prepare for the first annual Festival of Joy. Arriving for the festival, with hopes of an old-fashioned holiday in the country, are: private Investigator Regan Reilly and her husband Jack - head of the NYPD Major Case Squad; Regan's mother, the suspense writer Nora Regan Reilly, and her father Luke, the owner of several funeral homes in New Jersey; Alvirah Meehan - the lottery winner turned amateur sleuth; and Alvirah's husband Willy. With preparations for the festival in full swing, a group of employees at Branscombe's local market, who have recently been cheated of their Christmas bonus by their boss's new wife, learn that they have won $160 million in the mega-mega lottery. Acting on dubious advice from a pair of crooks masquerading as financial advisers, one of their co-workers, Duncan, decided at the last minute not to play. He goes missing, and the next day his girlfriend Flower disappears. A second winning lottery ticket was purchased in the next town, but the winner hasn't come forward. Could Duncan have secretly bought it?Alvirah, Regan and Jack are just the people to find out what is amiss. As they dig beneath the surface, they find that life in Branscombe is not as tranquil as it appears ...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11946 in Books
• Published on: 2008-11-17
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 240 pages

Customer Reviews

A wonderful feel-good Christmas tale.
To promote the wholesome lifestyle of a small town, and their good old-fashioned values, the council of Brascombe, New Hampshire decide to do something special to celebrate the coming Christmas holiday with a Festival of Joy. They turn to the family-owned store of Conklin's to cater the whole event.

But all is not as happy with Conklin's employees as in previous years, for Mr Conklin's new wife Rhoda has decided to cancel the staff annual looked-forward-to bonus. All is not lost as a group of the employees win $180 million on the lottery. However, it is not a happy ending for one of the staff - Duncan, keen to save money to buy an engagement ring, and following the dubious advice of a pair of so-called financial advisers, did not put in his dollar into the lottery fund. Without his Christmas bonus, and having been cheated of his savings, Duncan is feeling pretty low.

When Duncan is missing the next day, and his friends find out a second lottery ticket was bought in close proximity to Brascombe they wonder if it had been purchased by Duncan. But nothing is simple, and there is much dirty work at the crossroads!.

Attending the Festival of Joy, are former lottery winner Alvirah and her husband Willy and friends Regan and Jack Reilly. Soon sleuth Alvirah has sniffed out that all is not as it appears on the surface in picturesque Brascombe.

This is a wonderful feel-good Christmas tale. If you are a 'It's a Wonderful Life' fan then this is most definitely for you. I loved it.
------
Lizzie Hayes

entertaining
Ifound Dashing through the Snow, a very enjoyable and highly entertaing read, and was unable to put it down until I had finished it. Fans of Mary Higgins Clark will not be disappointed, new readers will also be delighted with this book

easy reading
This was a very pleasant book to read, capturing all the suspense and mystery of the writer as usual.