Book Review: Locking Up Santa by Nikki LeClair

Posted November 12, 2016 by meezcarrie in Christmas, cozy mystery, mystery/suspense, Nikki LeClair, romance / 0 Comments

It’s the Christmas season, and seven months since Phoebe Mercer’s life dramatically changed. She went from being an overworked legal assistant, to a CEO of a popular beauty company. She moved from the bustling big city, to a quaint seaside town. She’s gone from living with a fiancé, to living with a ghost.

Yet, it seems she can’t get a grip on her new life, whether it’s getting used to being a public figure, having a Chief Operating Official who hates her, or a ghost who is just too passionate.

As if things can’t get any worse, Phoebe’s friend and mentor is arrest for a horrible crime many think they were capable of committing. Except for Phoebe, and her ghost.

As Phoebe races to prove her mentors innocence, and stop the company from sinking, she must deal with a face from her past that throws her in a disarray of emotion, an unwanted visitor, and old friends who seem to have abandoned her.

SERIES: Haunting Me #2
GENRE: Cozy Mystery, Holiday
PUBLISHER: Nikki LeClair
RELEASE DATE: November 8, 2016
PAGES: 397

Other Books In This Series

“I don’t want to be a hashtag!”

Locking Up Santa is a chick-lit cozy mystery with a nosy ghost (who I keep picturing as Eileen Brennan), a jailed Santa Claus, and a company on the verge of ruin. Phoebe is trying to find her place as the new CEO of Lavish Looks, a task made all the more difficult by the COO’s blatant dislike for her and by Phoebe’s own tendency to unintentionally create a stir. To top it off, the first new scent they release since Edie’s (the ghost) death is a real stinker and a beloved long time employee is jailed on suspicion of robbery. A social media firestorm erupts, with Phoebe and Lavish Looks in its sights, and in the middle of all this chaos Phoebe’s conartist-y father (who I envision as Robert Wagner playing Tony’s dad on NCIS) arrives for a visit.

Oh… and Edie’s hot British nephew is back in town. Much to Phoebe’s boyfriend’s irritation.

Pardon the rare (for me) plot summary there, but I wanted to give you an idea of the calamity that waits around every corner in Locking Up Santa. I reviewed Haunting Me several months ago, and Edie is such a hoot that I couldn’t pass up the chance to read this next book too. Plus, the existence of Edie as a way to provide updates on characters and events that Phoebe (as narrator) wouldn’t otherwise know is clever and keeps the story moving.

Though, in this book, I actually like Phoebe more than Edie – and she certainly has my sympathy. One of those issues alone would be enough to send me into hibernation for the foreseeable future, but not only does she meet each crisis with strength (even if her media savvy could use some work) she also sets out to prove her employee’s innocence. And… yes please to more of Porter and Phoebe in the next book!

Bottom Line: Locking Up Santa is a light, fluffy read with fun characters and a couple of mystery subplots that have your investigative mind whirring throughout the story. The ending isn’t a cliffhanger per se – as all the important loose ends are tied up in this book – but it definitely will have you checking to see when that third book’s coming out! As the writing style goes, it’s still not my fave and I’m hoping the majority of the editing issues I saw in my advanced copy are fixed in the finished product. I don’t normally even mention that kind of thing when I’m reviewing ARCs but these issues were more frequent and more significant than I’m used to seeing. Still, overall, this is a cute way to satisfy the urge for a cozy Christmasy mystery, and I’m looking forward to more in the series.

Reviewer’s Note: Readers may want to be aware that there is some scattered profanity throughout the novel, and while some is strong it is not prolific.

(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the author. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.)

My Rating: 3 stars / Cute!

Amazon UK

Nikki LeClair lives in Canada with her loving husband and their two rambunctious children. When she isn’t ordering her children to behave or begging her Border Terrier to listen to her, she sits behind her lap-top plotting out the next adventure of her new characters. She’s a fan of a good glass of Pinot Noir, and can’t live without her favorite Tea blends.

She enjoys hearing from readers and fans of her work. You can find her on twitter at @NikkiL_Books, and on her Facebook Fanpage Nikki LeClair

Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon

Visit all the Tour Stops:

November 8th

lifeisawalkingshadow – Book Review
Novelgossip – Excerpt/Promo Post

November 9th

Living Life With Joy – Guest Post/Promo
Grass Monster – Amazon Book Review
Judging More Than Just The Cover – Author Q&A

November 10th

Jena Books – Book Review
Hello…Chick Lit – Book Excerpt/Promo Post

November 11th

He Said Books or Me – Guest Post/Promo
Steamy Book Momma – Promo Post
Splashes Into Books – Book Review/Excerpt

November 12th