The Book of Christmas Joy - The Rev. Thomas Book Mysteries, #2

Grantchester meets It's a Wonderful Life in the much anticipated new installment in the series.

Another church. Another town. Another dead body.

Rev. Tom Book and his daughter Hope, home for the holidays, look forward to a cozy Christmas in Sun Parlour, a friendly lakeside town in Southern Ontario.

Just days before Christmas they see strange lights shining through the leaded glass windows of the church next door.

Zeke, the loveable German shepherd search dog, leads them to the sanctuary, where they discover a pool of blood seeping out from beneath a toppled Christmas tree.

Gloria Sharpe was from one of the wealthiest and most powerful families in the county. For decades she wielded power over the church choir, and the whole congregation with her strong opinions and hefty cheque book. But who wanted her dead?

The victim's nephew Bobby, a high stakes poker player with a big heart, is devastated by his aunt's death. For his sake, Tom is drawn into looking into her murder.

Tom balances amateur sleuthing with efforts to help the congregation, reeling from the death of their largest benefactor, and wondering how to celebrate Christmas when their building's been declared a crime scene.

Tom's old friend, the mysterious Michael Powers leads the police investigation, which uncovers connections between the victim's family and shadowy aspects of greenhouse alley, the area's billion-dollar agriculture industry.

The Book of Christmas Joy is a contemporary take on the Christmas cozy, with memorable characters in a town you'd want to visit. It's a standalone follow-up to The Book of Answers, which was a finalist for a Crime Writers of Canada Award of Excellence, and an Amazon Five Star Read.