Not as good as the last ones. A bit draggy and slow movingXHRX ( )

When Esther gets a job as a department store elf shortly before Christmas, she doesn't expect a Christmas tree to come alive and try to eat her. Something supernaturally evil is going on in the store. Luckily, her sorcerer friend Max is available to investigate the supernatural presence with Esther's help. ( )

I spent the three days between acquisition and completion of this book reading the opening line aloud to various coworkers in an attempt to entice them into reading the series. Also, my new manager had her first true glimpse of "Ginger immersed in bookworld" when she tried to interrupt to ask me something during a lunch break. Yeah, if the book's entertaining, you're going to have to actually say my name to get my attention. Probably more than once.

I love Esther Diamond. She remains a terrific character - charming and clever, acting career-focused and self-aware. I especially love her playing the role of Fenster & Co's (a major department store's fictional stand-in) only Jewish elf for their Solsticeland multi-holiday display (well, multi-holiday in name, mostly Christmas in execution, much like its real-world inspirations). The job is terrible and ridiculous by turns, and her reactions to holiday madness made me laugh at the retail season to come. (Terrible and ridiculous, but also challenging and sometimes even fun when one is not dressed like a scantily clad elf.)

Esther on-again, off-again flirtation with Detective Lopez continues to be a strong subplot of the story. Despite my yearning for a final resolution, the unsettled nature of their relationship added necessary complications to the main plot and has yet to wear completely thin.

Despite allusions to previous adventures and the inclusion of many characters from the prior books, this particular novel seems as though it could be read as a stand-alone without losing too much. So if you, too, are about to experience the retail holiday season, it might be a good time to pick up this book. ( )

I love this series! And this was a fine addition to it. I saved it to read during the Christmas season, since that's when it's set, and I'm glad I did- it was a perfect light romp for a somewhat stressful time.

I'm not going to summarize the plot. Just know that Esther is reluctantly working as Dreidle, the Jewish elf, in a big NYC department store's "Solsticeland" display. And then, as often happens around her, things start to go Horribly Wrong.

Esther has no paranormal talents whatsoever, unless one counts an uncanny (heh) ability to get mixed up in such. Fortunately, some of her friends are more skilled.

This had a nice bit of creepy along with the humor. But it's a humorous series (with great dialog), and the scene in which Esther meets her sort-of boyfriend's parents, in the worst possible way, had me laughing out loud. And really, the MOST horrible way. Yes, worse than that.

I'd be annoyed by the pace of Esther's and Lopez's on-again, off-again relationship, except I think it IS progressing- slowly- book by book.

The characters, as well as the dialog, is up to the previous books' levels. The plot is well-paced. These are definitely light books, but well-written and so much fun!

Recommended... but you might want to start with either "Disappearing Nightly": or "Doppelgansters", and read through the rest. ( )

Another fun Esther Diamond fantasy/horror. This time, Esther is between acting jobs and working as an elf in a department store's Solsticeland to make ends meet. Working conditions are dire and employees keep quitting without giving notice. Then an animatronic tree tries to eat her. ( )