REVIEW: How the Finch Stole Christmas

How the Finch Stole Christmas
Author: J.R. Ripley

Amy Simms owns a shop for bird lovers, Birds & Bees, in Ruby Lake, NC.  It's Christmas season in Ruby Lake. Amy and her boyfriend, Derek are busily decking the halls in his apartment when they notice a commotion out on the street at Kinley's Christmas House Village. The holiday themed business has been a tradition in Ruby Lake for decades. It turns out that the Christmas village has been sold to Franklin Finch. His name might as well be Grinch because he immediately fires everyone. Finch doesn't care about holiday tradition. He only cares about the bottom line. He has invested a lot of money in the Christmas village and will do whatever it takes to make a profit. Needless to say, he is very unpopular around Ruby Lake. But it still comes as a surprise when his body is found hanging from the ceiling beam of one of the Christmas Village houses. Local police think he committed suicide, but Amy disagrees. With many possible suspects, Amy starts investigating to discover who murdered Franklin Finch.

I enjoyed the holiday theme of this newest installment in the Bird Lover's Mystery series. My favorite character is still the curmudgeonly Esther Pilaster, a renter that Amy got stuck with when she purchased the Birds & Bees building. Esther gets some much needed, and unexpected, character developement in this book. I loved it! Amy's strained relationship with the Ruby Lake Chief of Police continues in this book. I don't think the two characters will see eye to eye when Amy seems to always seems to be one step ahead of him in investigating murder cases. Amy is a delightful main character. She's intelligent and witty, plus very observant. Makes for a great amateur sleuth! I also like the background theme of birds and bird watching. There is a lot less discussion of bird watching in this book, but still a lot of detail about different breeds of bird.

How the Finch Stole Christmas is the 6th book in the Bird Lover's Mystery series. The 7th book, Fowl of the House of Usher, will be out soon.

J.R. Ripley is a pen-name used by author Glen Meganck. For more information on the author and his books, check out his website: http://www.glennmeganck.com/

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Kensington via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**