Duet in Crimson

by Patricia Rosemoor

[Angie]

I received an ARC through NetGalley.

If you're looking for some Christmas stories that aren't full of holiday cheer, caroling, and steamy romances, then Duet in Crimson is it! These two stories are set during the holidays, but they're about murder! They are Romantic Suspense, so there is some romance, but it's quite tame. The focus is definitely on solving the case in these.

Holiday in Crimson ★★★☆☆

Shelby wakes up in the office at a strange hour after the company Christmas party. Completely hung over, she attempts to stumble her way downstairs and into a cab. Instead, she falls over a corpse dressed like Santa. It's none other than her boss, who has tried to hit on her repeatedly. Shelby is of course freaked out to find a dead body, but also because she's been charged for assaulting a man in a similar situation. Instead of calling the cops and becoming a main suspect, she sneaks away to clean up and change her clothes and start the work day as normally as possible. Easier said than done, since the cops come around to investigate and have learned that there was a woman in a red dress fleeing the scene.

Rand, a share holder of the department store, was the one who caught a glimpse of the lady in red and suspects that it may have been Shelby. He asks her out on a date in hopes of gathering evidence against her. He's only trying to protect his sister--who was married to the now dead, Dutch--since she's suspect #1. Of course, he gets to know Shelby and realizes it couldn't have been her and they team up to find the real murderer. Along the way, Shelby receives creepy notes and gifts that seriously put a damper on her holiday spirit! Luckily she has Rand to make up for it though, as they fall in love during their investigation.

The only reason I didn't rate Holiday in Crimson higher was because I figured out the murderer as soon as they were introduced. I felt like it was really obvious from the beginning, although I didn't guess their accomplice (or that there even was one). Because of this it felt a little dragged out, since there were so many red herrings thrown around. Overall, I did really like it though.

Nightmare in Crimson ★★★☆☆

Another Santa has been murdered! Once again, it's Rand's sister, Pippa, who is suspect #1! Poor Santa had a deadly allergic reaction to some appetizers Pippa may have served him, and then he was pushed in front of a team of Reindeer by a woman wearing her green cape. What a gruesome way to die, especially at Christmas time. Pippa teams up with the man who was driving the sleigh, Sky, in order to clear her name and discover the real murderer. But Sky has his own secrets, so can Pippa really trust him?

I also liked Nightmare in Crimson. I didn't figure out the murderer this time, and in fact hadn't even suspected her. There were no creepy notes or demented Christmas gifts this time, but Pippa does get injured and robbed a few times when she gets to close to discovering the truth. The motive was a little confusing to me, since there were multiple things going on, but it did wrap up nicely.

The romance was okay. It was very similar to the one in Holiday in Crimson, with two potential suspects working together and falling in love in a matter of days. There's also less cheery Christmas moments in this one, but I still liked it.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.