Ally Carter's witty second holiday-themed mystery, It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Murder, reunites a housekeeper's hardworking daughter with the rich boy who was her childhood playmate and frenemy and is now the target of a cold-blooded killer.
Ella Chambers has spent her entire life working: first assisting her mother, Mallory, in her duties for the wealthy Montgomery family, then doing thankless jobs for everyone in her small town. When Liam, heir to the Montgomery fortune, returns home for Christmas after his grandfather Trip's death, it becomes apparent that someone is trying to eliminate him--and thus get their hands on both his money and the rights to develop the family's valuable mountain property. As a massive blizzard approaches, Ella and Liam join forces to find the would-be killer, survive the holiday, and (maybe) address their unresolved history together.
Carter (The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year) writes sensitively of Ella's challenges, including constant belittlement from Liam's family and her struggle to pay off her mother's medical debts since Mallory's death from cancer. After leaving as teens, neither Liam nor Ella expected to return to their insular town, which is thoroughly dominated by Liam's family and their snobby associates. But as they investigate suspicious circumstances surrounding Trip's death and Liam's attempted murder, they dig up a lot more than old holiday decorations--a highly inconvenient mutual attraction, for example. With a fast-paced plot, plenty of witty banter, and holiday-themed hijinks, Carter's mystery will entertain those who like their romance (and their murder) with a side of eggnog. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams