Carols and Corpses
(2025)(The fourth book in the Holiday Hounds Mystery series)
A novel by Hailey Hartley
When caroling director Bethany Price is found strangled in the storage room of St. Nicholas Chapel during rehearsal, Christmas shop owner Layla Monroe knows something is terribly wrong. The ambitious director had made plenty of enemies in her short time leading the group, but murder seems extreme—until Layla's beagle Jingle starts acting strangely around a vintage music box Bethany had been showing off just minutes before her death. With the ornate antique mysteriously vanishing from the crime scene and Jingle's nose detecting secrets the police might miss, Layla realizes this murder is about more than holiday drama and hurt feelings.
As Layla digs deeper into the mystery, she discovers that Bethany had been investigating a three-year-old church embezzlement scandal that destroyed reputations and shattered lives. The music box, purchased at an estate sale from the disgraced former director, contains hidden compartments and dangerous secrets that someone is desperate to keep buried. With her friends Jackie and Martin helping to untangle the clues, and Jingle leading them to evidence hidden in the most unexpected places, Layla finds herself caught between protecting the innocent and exposing uncomfortable truths. But asking questions about money, loyalty, and old secrets in a small town where everyone has something to hide proves more dangerous than she imagined.
From threatening notes to break-ins at The Silver Bell, Layla must follow the trail of evidence before the killer strikes again. Can she and Jingle uncover who strangled Bethany before Christmas arrives? Or will this investigation prove that some acts of devotion come with a deadly price? In a case where love, loyalty, and desperation collide, Layla discovers that the most dangerous secrets are the ones people kill to protect.
Genre: Cozy Mystery
As Layla digs deeper into the mystery, she discovers that Bethany had been investigating a three-year-old church embezzlement scandal that destroyed reputations and shattered lives. The music box, purchased at an estate sale from the disgraced former director, contains hidden compartments and dangerous secrets that someone is desperate to keep buried. With her friends Jackie and Martin helping to untangle the clues, and Jingle leading them to evidence hidden in the most unexpected places, Layla finds herself caught between protecting the innocent and exposing uncomfortable truths. But asking questions about money, loyalty, and old secrets in a small town where everyone has something to hide proves more dangerous than she imagined.
From threatening notes to break-ins at The Silver Bell, Layla must follow the trail of evidence before the killer strikes again. Can she and Jingle uncover who strangled Bethany before Christmas arrives? Or will this investigation prove that some acts of devotion come with a deadly price? In a case where love, loyalty, and desperation collide, Layla discovers that the most dangerous secrets are the ones people kill to protect.
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Used availability for Hailey Hartley's Carols and Corpses