A NUTCRACKER NIGHTMARE

Who’s killing off the class of 1999?

That’s a question identical twins Alex Wright and Hanna Eastham have to answer to keep Hanna out of jail. The sisters own Murder and Mayhem: Killer Chocolates and Bookshop in Harriston, Montana, where Hanna dreams up uncommon recipes for chocolate treats and Alex works the bookstore side while gaining a reputation for finding dead bodies. In the days before Christmas, the sisters are extra busy turning out treats, but they’re also involved with providing chocolate and helping at a high school reunion, though they’re relative newcomers to the area. The twins get to meet the graduates, many of whom still live nearby. One of them, Kyle Allerton, turns out to be a thorn in Hanna’s side who won’t take no for an answer, even though Hanna’s already in a relationship, albeit a shaky one, with a sheriff’s deputy. Brash former football star Kyle appears to have made enemies of all his classmates; he's rumored to have been involved with everything from cheating scandals to purposely injuring a football rival. At the reunion dance, Alex, going in search of paper towels, finds Kyle dead in the basement utility closet. Despite the obligatory warnings from the sheriff, Alex can’t help but sleuth when Hanna becomes a suspect over an incident with Kyle at the dance. Alex’s biggest problem is winnowing down the list of people who hated Kyle. When a gossipy blogger delivers a comprehensive report on Alex’s sleuthing activities after another classmate is murdered, she becomes a target herself.

Romantic woes and plenty of guilty-looking characters are well integrated into this otherwise cheery Christmas tale.