Christmas Market and Bead Store

Two short novellas popped up on my I-Pad this week and I was in the mood for a quick read. One is Menace at the Christmas Market by Sara Rosett. This is part of the Murder on Location series.

Kate Sharp finds herself living in England scouting locations for a Jane Austen documentary series. Leaving sunny California for rainy England is never fun, but when her boyfriend flies to the Canary Islands to spend the holidays with his parents, she wistfully thinks of home.

Struggling to find a gift for the boyfriend, her friend Louise encourages Kate to visit the Christmas Market in Upper Benning. Louise is anxious to see author Harriet Hayden's Christmas booth at the market for an autographed copy of her latest book. But Harriet is not at the market and Louise is very concerned. She believes Harriet would never miss the market. A neighbor tells them Harriet decided to stay in in the Canary Islands for a month., but something about that doesn't ring true to Kate and Louise. They set out to learn what has happened to Harriet.

The second book is Bead of Doubt by Tonya Kappes. When newly-divorced Holly Harper decides to open The Beaded Dragonfly her cadre of divorced divas rally round to help her open the store. With their help the store shapes up beautifully and Holly has plans to schedule some classes. With her ex-husband still hanging around, she hopes business will pick up so he will lose interest in pestering her.

When an outrageously dressed woman appears at the shop one morning and introduces herself as Marlene Dietrich, no one is convinced. She shows Holly an enormous yellow stone and asks her to make something to disguise the gem in a beaded bracelet. Holly is intrigued but a little concerned about the gem and its strange and secretive owner.