Cookies for Santa

Valerie C.
Clarizio
ISBN Number: 
978-1612355115
Genre: 
Suspense-Thriller

Detective Spinelli is a homicide detective who was recently reassigned to assist Shannon O'Hara in the child services division.  These two couldn't be more opposite in the way that they handle their cases and Spinelli's lack of finesse and empathy tend to send O'Hara into bouts of silent rage. However, when two coworkers at her second job as one of Santa's elves end up being murdered, Spinelli's calculated, emotionless demeanor may come in handy.  If only he didn't have to go undercover playing Santa to her elf...
The plot in this light romp is a fun and original idea. Unfortunately, it fell short on execution.  O'Hara is presented as a sweet, tenderhearted woman though she comes across as emotionally closed off and easy to anger.  Spinelli falls quickly for her, but there is no good indicator as to why he is so drawn to this woman.  His devotion is sudden and intense for such a short acquaintance.  Internal dialogue would have been helpful. As is, the reader rarely gets to see inside the heads of the lead characters, making it extremely difficult to connect with either of them.
There are a lot of things going on for such a short read.  Some details that are seemingly relevant to the story are only briefly mentioned.  As it is, this couple never reveals enough about themselves, nor do they seem to try very hard to resolve their differences and leave many questions unanswered.
Nicole Duke