Lucy Resnick, owner of Dewberry Farm, is getting ready to put her wares on display at the Buttercup Christmas Market. Her best friend Quinn is helping her bundle mistletoe and cedar swags, and they are pleasantly enjoying each others' company when they hear gunshots. Looking out Lucy's window, they see someone aiming toward them, then another shot takes the person down. After calling police, they have a couple of theories -- was it one of the treasure hunters that believe an old story? Or someone from the Lemmon farm across the creek?

When they have their answer, Lucy is determined to investigate. Along with her boyfriend, veterinarian Tobias, she's looking for clues -- and might just have found the one she needed...

I usually try to read Christmas tales around the holiday, and while I don't normally read short stories (not enough character development, in my opinion), I've read the Dewberry Farm series, so I already know the people.

This story shouldn't take anyone more than an hour or so to read, and it was very interesting. While things are progressing quickly, we get to see Lucy's new neighbor, and how everything comes together. It's a decent mini-mystery in the cozy genre, and worth reading. It can be read as a stand-alone, but I enjoyed it more because I knew the characters. Recommended. ( )

This was a fun little holiday season cozy mystery novella and my first introduction to the Dewberry Farm mystery series. I was looking for a short holiday piece to fit in between my heavier reading and a perfect fit it was.

Texas homesteader, Lucy Resnick is busy prepping for the holiday Christmas Market when she and her friend Quinn eye a hunter out the kitchen window who suddenly appears to be shot. They eye someone else checking on the hunter, but sadly only Quinn's 911 call from Dewberry Farm was received by police concerning the incident. As it turns out, it was a guest at a nearby ranch. Was he shot by a hunter's stray bullet or was it murder?

Writing short stories well is a most challenging exercise for any seasoned author and Ms. MacINerney does a fine job of presenting the story, adding a few red herrings and tying up the mystery with a pretty little bow. Her writing flows smoothly and presents the story cleanly, describing the scenes well, however sparingly given the story's shortness. As it is part of a larger mystery series, there is little need for much character development as the main characters have been presumably fleshed out well throughout the series. One does feel a bit asea as the perpetrator was not able to be developed much. But nonetheless it all makes sense in the end.

If you're a fan of the Dewberry cozy mysteries or merely looking for a short holiday read, then this may well be the perfect book for you. ( )