That year, Chanukah fell on Thanksgiving, which gave the young rabbi a dilemma. While it meant there wouldn’t be the traditional confusion of Christmas with a […]
First candle. Our first apartment. We download the blessings off the internet because we don’t remember the words. I run my finger along the Hebrew script […]
Beitzah: check (the smell of the hard-boiled egg made her gag). Zero’ah: check. Charoset: check (and of course she scooped up some with her finger and licked it clean). In the centre hollow – maror and dates. I hope Irit and Mirele break a tooth on the seed. Expensive dentistry!
Why, it’s The Twelve Suspects of Christmas by Ana T. Drew. It’s the Die Hard of cozy Christmas mysteries - an engaging mystery full of intrigue and spies that happens to take place at Christmas rather than a Christmas book that happens to have a mystery. Well, minus all the shooting. There’s really only a couple of knives and a jar of cinnamon.
The idea of not having Christmas caused him to go into a tailspin, but within a week or two, he was back to talking about Calgary and everything he missed about it…
As a person who has worked with the Foster Care system, this storyline grabs me by the throat. I found myself choking up as I read about the sorting of children, like socks, at Kringletown. Ryder didn’t deserve that. No child does.
The characters were beautifully written, and had you feeling for them as if they were your friends/family. The harsh environment of Avocado punctuated every life choice that Scrooge made. Again totally out of left field, and wonderful.
The legend evolves, like the swirling snow of the Pole, telling a wonderful story of intrigue, loyalty and love. Brilliantly crafted, it drew from the many stories of Santa, weaving science and politics into the mix.