Dash Away All (A Merry & Bright Handcrafted Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Setting – Indiana
Publisher: Henery Press (July 7, 2020)
Hardcover: 264 pages
ISBN-10: 1635116023
ISBN-13: 978-1635116021
Paperback: 264 pages
ISBN-10: 163511599X
ISBN-13: 978-1635115994
Digital ASIN: B086TYK58V
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…Merry Winters is excited for her dream-come-true moment: Being an on-site crafter for a Christmas movie. The tidings of joy are short-lived as she finds herself becoming a referee, dealing with a raging Ebenezer, participating in a bucket brigade, and finding evidence in a “murder.”
Is someone trying to stop the production or is it tied to a secret someone has on Luna Carmichael, the star of the movie and the queen of Christmas?
When Marie, Luna’s assistant, stumbles away from a car accident and dies, Merry believes the accident wasn’t quite so accidental. Was Luna or Marie the target? Merry finds more questions than answers, but one thing is certain: Everyone has an ulterior motive for being part of the production—including Marie.
After another murder, Merry wonders if the deaths are tied to a baby born long ago and abandoned. And more importantly, will Merry live long enough to find out?
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Merry Winters has landed a great job, crafting decorations for a Christmas movie, think Hallmark. But she finds the movie’s leading lady, the Queen of Christmas movies, may have ulterior motives in a few hiring decisions for the film, including Merry. Soon after she arrives many of the movie props are destroyed in a fire. She learns there have been many pranks played already, was the fire a prank that went too far or a real crime. Then the star’s assistant dies in a car accident that Merry believes was more murder than accidental. Merry finds herself putting on her sleuthing cap again and finds much more than she ever could have wished for.
I love Christmas movies, both the new Hallmark variety and the classic ones like White Christmas and Miracle on 34th Street so this series is a wonderful gift.
Ms. Freeburn takes our protagonist on the road in Dash Away All
The author also has to introduce several new characters with the movie’s cast and crew along with a few locals who have to evolve over the course of the book. Some are pretty over the top but most are true to real life.
The mystery was very well-plotted with more than one mystery to solve. For me, the second mystery would have had a greater impact if it hadn’t been mentioned in the synopsis. I like to be surprised by twists like the one in this story. Many characters looked like they could be the guilty party and I changed my mind a couple of times. Merry took some real risks to get to the truth. It was fun to tag along with her.
Dash Away All 
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About Christina Freeburn
Christina Freeburn has always loved books. There was nothing better than picking up a story and being transported to another place. The love of reading evolved into the love of writing and she’s been writing since her teenage years. Her first novel was a 2003 Library of Virginia Literary Award nominee. Her mysteries series, Faith Hunter Scrap This Mystery and Merry & Bright Handcrafted Mysteries, are a mix of crafty and crime and feature heroines whose crafting time is interrupted by crime solving.
Christina served in the US Army and has also worked as a paralegal, librarian, church secretary, and golf shop pro. She lives in West Virginia with her husband, dog, and a rarely seen cat except by those who are afraid and allergic to felines.
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Also by Christina Freeburn
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
I love holiday themed novels! This sounds so good!