The thing that made me want to read this was the cover, which I d because it had a fun feel to it. I wish I could say that what was between the covers was just as fun. This was a rather plodding story for me that I had to make myself continue and finish but it was still decent. I am going to go back and read the first book in the series since I started late in a way. The characters were not particularly able and many of them were only shells of what they could have been for most of the story. I will say that both Ensar and Charlotte at least started to seem more interesting near the end. And speaking of the end it was way to rushed and you did not even get a chance to enjoy the mystery since it was all handled literally in the last two short chapters.

Windy Pines, Idaho is known for three things: beautiful mountain views, the world's most incompetent police force, and lately murder. Charlotte Smyth's new job at O'Leery Snowboarding Inc. is as a Spreader of Cheer, a kind of made up and less than perfect fit of a position. She pretty much hates everything associated with it sports, cold weather, and anything extreme. Her boss, Shane Letcher, assigns her to make the Christmas party the coolest ever and lets her know that it is a make or break opportunity.

The thing that made me less than happy was just the fact that this was supposed to be a mystery and the book was more about what a horrible job the main had. Because this is the first thing I have read by this author I figure I might as well read the first book in the series and see if it is similar. It may appeal to some more than others, so try it if you just want a holiday themed book.holidays mystery6 s J thaloadedgun Gardiner63 1 follower

I enjoyed this book and that’s all you need to know 3 s Madeline 1,788 127

Dang…this was a 5 star for me and the ending fizzled out. christmas-stories mystery2 s Evelyn Grabas490 7

The cover is certainly misleading. I really thought this would be a rather fun read. But, it was so far from that, it was ridiculous. First, who, in their right mind would work for Shane and if Wally pulled down my blouse to look at my bra, he would be sporting a large shiner.
All in all, it was overwhelmingly unbelievable and a waste of my time to read it, but I won't be making that mistake again as Ms. Holly Tierney-Bedford has been added to my authors non grata list.2 s Lise814

The whole story was unbelievable in all senses of the word. That any one person would allow herself to be used and abused at work for more than a morning rips the credibility of the telling into shreds. There is a scene that is clear sexual abuse which is completely downplayed. That a friend of the person who is being exploited would insist that she stay at her job so that he could advance his own career - that is not someone who she should remain on speaking, let alone friendly, terms. The "mystery" portion of the story occurred at the 75% mark and then was resolved in the remainder of the book - too long to arrive and too short to run its course satisfactorily.1 Crystal aguilar206

Fast paced murder mystery


Carnage at the Christmas Party by Holly Tierney-Bedord is book two in the Windy Pines Mystery series but can be read as a stand alone. The book follows the story of a young woman named Charlotte Smyth who is newly hired on at O’Leery Snowboards as their “Spreader of Cheer” her job is to literally spread cheer and to cheer up all the employees. Right after starting her new job Charlotte realises that not only does she dis her job but it seems her boss Shane diss her as well. After just two weeks of employment Charlotte is given the task of planning the annual O’Leery’s Christmas Party and if it's not cool enough then she will be fired. The book takes place from the time Charlotte is given the ultimatum until right after the party. During this time frame Charlotte realises that her job wasn't as bad as she first thought it's worse...she is assaulted, verbally abused and sexually harassed then throw in a murder at the workplace and you have a disaster! To keep from become a suspect Charlotte must solve the mysterious murder before it's too late.
This book was a fast read that keep you on the edge of your seat. This poor girl's job was so horrible it was stressing me out just reading about it. This book was well written and told in the third person. I give this book 4 stars.1 Lisa988 5

Christmas party? Yes. Carnage? Yes. Mostly a ridiculous story. I just couldn’t get behind the protagonist. She hates her job, yet she stays and endures humiliation and ridiculous hours and outrageous tasks from a boss who’s ludicrous. Didn’t have the festive feel I was expecting from the cover illustration. In fact, I can’t imagine which part of the book that was from, as the party didn’t sound anywhere near that joyful.
I considered not finishing, but the author’s writing was fine; I just couldn’t make myself the characters.1 Ian1,391 186

150 pages of the boss from hell. A Christmas Party. A triple murder which is solved a couple of pages later. That's it.
There are some funny moments in this book but they can't cover up a complete lack of substance. a-novella-short g-mystery1 Kat Lebo847 13

Carnage at the Christmas Party: A Mystery Novella (A Windy Pines Mystery Book 2)
by Holly Tierney-Bedord

I think the title of this novella is longer than the novella itself!

This second book in the Windy Pines series takes place just a few days after the first in the series, "Murder at Mistletoe Manor. Other than the two policemen, Wells and Franklin, no other characters carry over. Again, Tierney-Bedord has crafted a fine mystery, with a lot of humor, interesting characters, and a nifty switch at the end that, while it explains the "carnage," really sort of overshadows it. A few puns with names: "O'Leery" rather than O'Leary, and the boss's last name is Letcher (yes, really, and yes, he is). The writing is well paced, has good flow, and was well proofed and edited (and yes, that last "and" got the book its 5th rating star).

In a nutshell, Charlotte Smyth has taken a new job. She has returned to Windy Pines, Idaho, from Boise, and taken the job as "Spreader of Cheer" at the local factory, O'Leery Snowboards. Basically, she is in charge of office morale, and tasked with setting up employee activities and coming up with ways to make said employees a bit happier about working at the factory. She is thwarted at every turn by her boss, who really just wants someone to take the fall if his own ideas for employee satisfaction fall through. She is constantly being demeaned by him and under threat of being fired. Her "last chance," according to Mr. Letcher, is to organize and facilitate the office Christmas party.
From there we see adverse encounters not only with Letcher, but with others who work at the factory, and a budding romance with the factory janitor. Throw in a pet monkey of one of the salesmen, and the game is afoot.

Short, easy read that was very entertaining.
christmas-reads Missi Martin (Stockwell)924 23

Got a few hours to kill ? Want to read something that will grab you instantly and won't take long to read but will hold your attention from the first word till the last sentence ? Carnage at the Christmas Party: A Mystery Novella by Holly Tierney-Bedord is what you are looking for.

Hang around with Charlotte for a few hours and feel her frustration and annoyance with her job, boss, and co-workers. You would think that her job would be a fun job....after all she is the "Spreader of Cheer" for a company that make snowboards. But her boss, Shane, is a real piece of work and no matter what she does, she can't seem to do anything right.

Planning the company Christmas party is her last chance. This party has to be out of this world and impress everyone or she will be out of a job....which wouldn't be such a bad thing if she didn't live in Windy Pines where there were no jobs....good or bad.

To ensure that the party is a success Charlotte goes all out when her boss says money is no object. She organizes a fashion show with models flown in from New York City to model her best friend Alfredo's spring collection. Unfortunately in the middle of the show while the lights are dim, someone takes an ax and kills one of her co-workers and a few models. And Charlotte doesn't realize until later than evening that the clue to crack the case is her her pocket !!!

Carnage at the Christmas Party can be read in one sitting and once you start reading it you won't want to put it down until you are finished !! It is the perfect read for a quiet afternoon....grab a cup of coffee and a comfy blanket and you'll finish your beverage around the same time as the book....unless you get caught up in the story then your coffee may need reheating. Sarahe32140

Carnage at the Christmas Party is book two in the Windy Pines Mystery series and is a novella by Holly Tierney- Bedord. This can be read as a stand-alone or part of the series.

Charlotte Smyth has a new job at O’Leery’s, as a spreader of cheer, we the last thing Charlotte is, is cheery, she hates sports, she detests the cold, but after her boss Shane thinks she is no good for the job and does not have the right image that he sees for the company, he gives her the office party to plan, the outcome of this will be the make or break of her employment. Shane has treated her so bad, the other employees, with never listening to her suggestions, making her feel an idiot, ruining family days, but she feels she had to achieve this party as she can’t lose this job.

What could go wrong? How hard could it be? It’s not long before Charlotte and the guy she s must solve a mystery of who did it before the police arrest the wrong person and they must spend Christmas in jail. Will they solve who did it? will Charlotte end up in jail? Will her boss keep bullying her? Is Christmas ruined?

Holly Tierney, has written a funny book, which is light hearted. You feel sorry for Charlotte in the way she is treated but at the same time you are shouting at her ‘why are you putting up with this?” but I feel every girl who has a job can relate to Charlotte.it was well written, flowed wonderfully, engaged you with the characters and I d it, perfect for an after work read whilst relaxing with a glass of wine! Big old 5 stars from me.
Sandra LopezAuthor 3 books327

Charlotte works for a chauvinistic, arrogant, lazy boss, who often accuses her of not doing the job she was hired for. As a party/event planner, she’s supposed to set trends and motivate the employees. In fact, the office title on her plaque reads “Spreader,” as in spreader of cheers. Too funny! She has that holiday office party to prove to him that she can do this. If she can’t spread it at the Christmas party, then she’s out of a job.

I enjoyed this story for the most part. Charlotte’s boss is so irritating that it makes it harder for her. He makes her feel so incapable and dumb. How was she going to make a miserable company happy? Working in a boys club, she has to come up with “extreme and fearless” ideas. But what? If the boss is bored at the party, she’s fired. Yeah, no pressure. How dare he actually tells her to put an ad for her job in case she screws up and has to hire her replacement. Really?! Grrrrr!

I totally get the plight of the worker, especially when dealing with an impossible boss.

As we get closer to the party, the everyday banalities hit big time, which made the reading less interesting. What’s with the day-to-day play? The party prepping took forever. Kinda long for a novella. There was really no mystery to this. Yeah, we have that mass murder and, for some reason, the only thing that Charlotte can obsess over is where to hold the party now?

A decent read though.
Angelina KernerAuthor 25 books147

Book Title: Carnage at the Christmas Party
Book Authors: Holly Tierney-Bedord
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Rating: 5 stars

It’s a Christmas story and a rough one at that time.

The main events happen in the same time period as the "Murder at Mistletoe Manor".

Also, the main character, Charlotte, really did have a HORRIBLE boss. I mean seriously, I was impressed with that character. He really was (insert curse word(s) here). It was hard to read and I really felt sorry for Charlotte but at the same time, I was happy to see that she was a loyal friend to her fashion designer best friend. The cost for the Christmas Party was certainly something!!!

The other thing that was awesome, was Charlotte's love interest. The guy was from Turkey! Very different and great.

I recommend it to sixteen of age and older.

Oh and it was a light carnage... nothing too big... ;)1 Lisa94

So after 25 years of reading nothing but serial killer+forensic+dark murder books, I decided I needed a change for a while. I have been looking at a more lighter genre, so I saw this and borrowed it from the Kindle Library.
It's a no from me.
I am neither a writer or an editor, but this was just bad on both parts. RaChelle Holmberg1,701 27

written by a local author, I was intrigued with the title.
The characters were a bit confusing, and story line was quite a lot over the top, sexist-wise.
That said, a cute story, but, in my opinion, could have been cut down into a short story. Sherri Shade114

A nice short read.

A cute little story with (carnage aside) a nice happy ending. A good single or double setting read.

Unrelated - Someone tell Amazon word count on feedback sucks. Lorna Francis383 3

This festive mystery was an enjoyable and entertaining read. Murder free until close to the end and then Wham! Murder and mayhem aplenty. I had hopped the characters from Mistletoe Manor would also be in this Windy Pines Novella but alas they were not. Sandra989 10

Silly harmless fun Jeni Wilson293 1 follower

Had an almost good premise but there were a lot of over the top everything and random nothingness just for the end of the book to rush and end with very little sense. Liz Etnyre669 3

Cute. A quick light read. Not her best work, but a decent little diversion.chick-lit short-story-novella Krista Walsh695

Didn't finish

Tried really hard to get into this book, but couldn't get past chapter 5. Sadly I lost interest and didn't finish it Peggy Tree75

The story is good, but the ending seemed rushed. The book needs editing. JoAnn Williams12 Read

sORRY i SPENT $1.99 Not worth it, too predictable1 Marge Reeves71

Lite reading

I really wasn't very impressed with the plot, a bit on the light side for my taste, but was we!l written. Jana866

Carnage at the Christmas Party by Holly Tierney-Bedford is book two in the Windy Pines mystery series. It can be read as a stand-alone novella.
It is the second book I am reading by Holly Tierney-Bedord and I have to admit that it was not my cup of tea but it does not mean that it was not a good book. It is a crazy, silly and easy read and I imagine that someone who s mysteries might really get a kick out of it.
One thing that I really about this writer’s books are those quirky weird characters who you have to sort of scratch your head a bit and think to yourself “hmmm I think I really /hate him/her”. She does not let us down in this mystery novella either – there are characters here that you would to introduce to ‘carnage’ way before the party, Charlotte at times felt a bit weak but then thinking that you are 26 years old and are trying to get into a new job with some lecherous males with power, well I think she was doing pretty well, Ensar was just a delight AND I absolutely loved Mr Primate. AND I really dig some of the names O’Leery!
The story has many twists and as it is with good mysteries, you do need to wait until the end to find out who is the culprit; maybe one downside is that even though the title of the novella is Carnage at the Christmas Party, in the novella itself the whole carnage is over very fast, maybe the blood thirsty in me wanted a bit more.
I recommend it as a quick holiday read when you are overwhelmed with your kids and visitors, you can cause carnage in your head instead of in the real life!
dianne Snow-Posner112

Cute murder mystery

A fun easy read. Kept my interest I d the ending. Was not surprised at who commitedf the murder tho Carissa Anelli184 13

4 stars
Carnage at the Christmas Party
Holly Tierney-Bedord

What do you do when you are a successful wedding in party planner in Boise ID, but you decide to move back home to be closer to family? Well if you are Charlotte you get hired on at the local snow board factory as the official spreader of cheer. Yes that is her official job title! O’Leery snowboards moved their factory into the old paint factory in Windy Pines and that is where Charlotte has been hired to make the place hip and fun. Though her boss Shane shuts down every single morale boosting idea she has he wants things that make no sense by cause the employees to spend more time at the factory while he and his salesforce of sexist creeps take more time off than not.

Shane works Charlotte to the bone calls her in on days off for mundane tasks building a fake library, no real books to be seen on Thanksgiving day and then wonders why she was there all day where he is under the assumption it was a 20 minute job. But when given free reign of the company Christmas party Charlotte goes all out a DJ, models and fashion show, a scentologist and booze only it would come to a tragic end.

Though this is part of a series it read great as a stand alone book, it is very well written with a developed plot and storyline. Even though I wanted to smack the boss the whole time i was reading it. Mary339 72

Misleading cover. This is not a 'fun' read. Complete and utter nonsense with a plot that is highly unbelievable. Cara Webb141 1 follower

5 stars

Carnage at the Christmas Party by Holly Tierney - Bedord

Holy cow I don't even really know where to start with this book. It is full of twists and turns, and is exactly what I expected since I read Murder at Mistletoe Manor before reading this book. I have to say that poor Charlotte goes through heck and back in this book for the people she works for and never really gets the recognition that she deserves, but that doesn't mean she isn’t appreciated because she definitely is. She has a ton of work thrown at her and a ton of misguided hate thrown her way as well. When she finally gets everything set up for the Christmas party for O’Leery snowboards, and the day arrives she prays it will go off without a hitch. Little does she know that there is at least one person maybe more who has plans of it not going the way she wants it to. Watching as everything happens in this book is enthralling. I also loved that she was able to fall in love in the process of this book as well. If you are looking for a fun mystery novella set in the Christmas season, take the time to read this book. I know that I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I hope that you do too. Sarah25

Autor del comentario:
=================================