One Corpse Open Slay

title: One Corpse Open Slay
author: Dakota Cassidy
series: Marshmallow Hollow Mysteries #3
published: 30 November 2020
publisher: self-published
genre(s): cozy mystery, paranormal
pages: 215
source: bought
format: eBook
buy/shelve it: Amazon | B&N | Goodreads

rating: | series rating:

the blurb

Welcome to Marshmallow Hollow, Maine, a holiday mystery, where it's all Christmas all the time and murder is hung by the chimney with care...

Halliday Valentine here! It’s a week before Christmas, and my quaint holiday town, Marshmallow Hollow, is chock-a-block with seasonal activities. Some less fun than others…like the ice sculpting competition my bestie, Stiles, has talked me into. Let’s just say, as a pair, Michelangelo we ain’t. I’m secretly relieved when our epically awful ice display gets damaged. It gives me a chance to watch my new beau, Hobbs, compete in the sled race.

But not five seconds in, and Hobbs’s sled-loving dog, Stephen King, escapes my grip to get in on the action—and boy, does he. He even manages to find himself a sled to ride. Too bad it’s already occupied. With the corpse of a renowned ice sculpting judge.

True-crime lovers that we are, Hobbs and I jump right into the investigation. It’s not nosiness, I swear. A little kitten’s fate is on the line, after all (long story)!
Only problem? A bajillion suspects. The victim was nothing if not an equal-opportunity jerk, universally hated by everyone he’d ever met. And every suspect has an air-tight alibi. Not to mention, the murder weapon is a giant mystery the police can’t solve.

All this sleuthing would be a heck of a lot easier if I could just use my magic. But can I trust Hobbs with that reveal? Or more accurately, is he ready for that reveal?

a few notes

cover notes: the perfect cozy mystery cover
keywords/phrases: murder, family, vengeance
mood reading: in the mood for a well-crafted cozy
bonus points: great characters, humor, wit

my review

This series is so much fun! Dakota Cassidy creates cozy mysteries that are a perfect blend mystery and magic, humor, and romance. And the mysteries are complex and intriguing. In this one, a well-known member of the ice sculpting community is in town to judge a competition. But well known does not mean well liked. He’s a Casanova among the ladies, even though he’s also, in a word, a jerk. He’s also found murdered, and the aftermath of his death reveals a decades-old secret. So many twists and turns keep the reader guessing to the end!

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Rating Report
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