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'Tis the Season to Be Scary

Hardcover
5-1/2"W x 8-1/4"H | 20 oz | 12 per carton
On sale Sep 08, 2026 | 304 Pages | 9798892426633

It’s time for spirits to come out and play in the ninth Year-Round Christmas mystery by national bestselling author Vicki Delany.

It’s Halloween, and the townsfolk of Rudolph, New York, are donning masks and costumes for the Yuletide Inn’s grand fundraising gala to support the local hospital. Shop owner Merry Wilkinson has yet another treat to celebrate: Her best friend, Vicky Casey, has a new cookbook set to publish. Vicky’s publishers, a prominent critic of her book, and a former opera star, rumored to have been involved with Merry’s mother, are all set to attend the gala. 

As the drinks flow, the guests dance, and the canapes are served, things begin spiraling out of control. The book critic makes a scene, and tensions begin to rise. Then Merry realizes that she is not the only one who never actually paid for a gala ticket. But when someone drops dead after eating a cake pop from the lavish dessert buffet, everything comes to a head, and all eyes turn to Vicky, who made the treats. As it turns out, Vicky’s book might be doomed before it hits the shelves. 

With her friend’s name and livelihood at stake and the fundraiser in serious danger, Merry must keep her wits about her. Surely she’s only imagining the ghost of Ebenezer Scrooge watching her from the shadows.
Vicki Delany is one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers and a national bestseller in the United States. She has written more than fifty books: clever cozies to Gothic thrillers to gritty police procedurals to historical fiction and novellas for adult literacy. 

She is a past chair of the Crime Writers of Canada and cofounder and organizer of the Women Killing It Crime Writing Festival. She is the recipient of the 2019 Derrick Murdoch Award for contributions to Canadian crime writing. Vicki lives in Prince Edward County, Ontario.
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About

It’s time for spirits to come out and play in the ninth Year-Round Christmas mystery by national bestselling author Vicki Delany.

It’s Halloween, and the townsfolk of Rudolph, New York, are donning masks and costumes for the Yuletide Inn’s grand fundraising gala to support the local hospital. Shop owner Merry Wilkinson has yet another treat to celebrate: Her best friend, Vicky Casey, has a new cookbook set to publish. Vicky’s publishers, a prominent critic of her book, and a former opera star, rumored to have been involved with Merry’s mother, are all set to attend the gala. 

As the drinks flow, the guests dance, and the canapes are served, things begin spiraling out of control. The book critic makes a scene, and tensions begin to rise. Then Merry realizes that she is not the only one who never actually paid for a gala ticket. But when someone drops dead after eating a cake pop from the lavish dessert buffet, everything comes to a head, and all eyes turn to Vicky, who made the treats. As it turns out, Vicky’s book might be doomed before it hits the shelves. 

With her friend’s name and livelihood at stake and the fundraiser in serious danger, Merry must keep her wits about her. Surely she’s only imagining the ghost of Ebenezer Scrooge watching her from the shadows.

Creators

Vicki Delany is one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers and a national bestseller in the United States. She has written more than fifty books: clever cozies to Gothic thrillers to gritty police procedurals to historical fiction and novellas for adult literacy. 

She is a past chair of the Crime Writers of Canada and cofounder and organizer of the Women Killing It Crime Writing Festival. She is the recipient of the 2019 Derrick Murdoch Award for contributions to Canadian crime writing. Vicki lives in Prince Edward County, Ontario.
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