Brigid says: I read this entertaining and slightly gritty novella by a new-to-me author in a single sitting thanks to its quick pacing and tight prose. It features one of my favorite types of characters in Mikayla, a slick con artist trying to fly under the radar. But Mikayla’s annual Christmas Eve train trip goes awry when she meets recently divorced Ashton and they are both thrown into a shocking murder investigation. Think The Polar Express meets Murder on the Orient Express. Content warnings apply. (Open door.)

Brigid says: This is the second holiday novella I have read by Necole Ryse. I really enjoy how her whodunits drop you right into the action. Porsha  accompanies her best friend Destiny to a Halloween work party at the boss’s remote cabin in the woods. Nothing suspicious about that at all! When a party goer is murdered, they team up with Keith, the man who recently ghosted Portia, to clear his name and find the real culprit. Strong friendships, spicy romance, and a spine-tingling murder mystery all in a small package.