Five stars on top of five Christmas trees is what I rate Leslie Budewitz’ short story, The Christmas Stranger.
With so much to do this time of year, the holidays are the perfect time for reading short stories. I’m so glad The Christmas Stranger is my first of the season.
Inspired by a kind encounter of her own, Budewitz sets this story in Jewel Bay, Montana, home to her Food Lovers’ Village Mystery series and Erin Murphy, whose family has run the Merc, short for mercantile, for more than a century.
Holidays are a busy juggle for us all, managing a retail business during the holidays requires even more skill to keep all of those balls in the air. But when Erin is multitasking, checking on deliveries, while waiting to check out at the post office, she steps out of line to help an older gentleman, a stranger, and helps him figure out the hoops needed to jump through to get an old-fangled copy machine to work. In thanks for her kindness and her offer to pay for his copies so he doesn’t need to wait in line, he gives her a small square of paper and a heartwarming mystery all in one.
I highly recommend A Christmas Stranger for all Leslie Budewitz Food Lovers’ Mystery fans, as well as all lovers of cozy mysteries and holiday short stories. Please note, this short story originally appeared in Carried to the Grave and Other Stories, and is being released as a standalone in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the series. I received this advance reader copy from Beyond the Page Publishing, courtesy NetGalley.
Order online or buy now at your favorite independent bookstore. Mine is Sellers Books and Art in Jim Thorpe, PA.
With so much to do this time of year, the holidays are the perfect time for reading short stories. I’m so glad The Christmas Stranger is my first of the season.
Inspired by a kind encounter of her own, Budewitz sets this story in Jewel Bay, Montana, home to her Food Lovers’ Village Mystery series and Erin Murphy, whose family has run the Merc, short for mercantile, for more than a century.
Holidays are a busy juggle for us all, managing a retail business during the holidays requires even more skill to keep all of those balls in the air. But when Erin is multitasking, checking on deliveries, while waiting to check out at the post office, she steps out of line to help an older gentleman, a stranger, and helps him figure out the hoops needed to jump through to get an old-fangled copy machine to work. In thanks for her kindness and her offer to pay for his copies so he doesn’t need to wait in line, he gives her a small square of paper and a heartwarming mystery all in one.
I highly recommend A Christmas Stranger for all Leslie Budewitz Food Lovers’ Mystery fans, as well as all lovers of cozy mysteries and holiday short stories. Please note, this short story originally appeared in Carried to the Grave and Other Stories, and is being released as a standalone in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the series. I received this advance reader copy from Beyond the Page Publishing, courtesy NetGalley.
Order online or buy now at your favorite independent bookstore. Mine is Sellers Books and Art in Jim Thorpe, PA.
