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SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT, the fourth book in the Year-Round Christmas Mysteries by Vicki Delany, is a delightful addition to a fun holiday read. While the town of Rudolph, New York celebrates Christmas year-round, this newest book is set at Thanksgiving time. I enjoyed how the author melded the two holiday celebrations together in the shop of Mrs. Claus’s Treasures, owned by protagonist Merry Wilkinson. Ms. Delany has a strong descriptive voice and has developed terrific characters. I greatly enjoyed the descriptions and names of the town’s shops and locations, all capturing the holiday spirit the town wants to convey to the many tourists who visit. I also appreciated the close relationship Merry has with her parents: her father, Noel, who is the town’s resident Santa, and her mother, Aline, a retired opera diva. They are supportive and caring of each other, which brings a sweet, emotional element to the story. On the other hand, when Aline’s college friends come for a reunion visit, continuous strife seems to haunt the group which disrupts the Wilkinson’s household. I’ll have to admit, all of the women were nasty, maybe too nasty. It wasn’t a surprise when one of them is murdered while eating a potluck dinner with the group.
The investigator insists the women stay in town until they can be cleared…stuck at Aline’s house. This prompts Merry to get involved to find the killer and get the remaining horrid women out of her mother’s home and life. There’s also a subplot woven into the murder mystery of why Noel Wilkinson might be ousted from his role as the town’s Santa. I had to admire Noel’s calmness and the way he exhibited the true meaning of Christmas in the face of strife. As the story progresses, the author sprinkles clues for a sharp reader to catch, then provides a twist to pull it all together for a satisfying conclusion. In my opinion, it’s never too early to get in the holiday spirit and SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT is a delightful way to indulge.
Basic Bread Pudding starts with an egg-rich bread soaked in a mixture of eggs, sugar, milk, cream and warm spices. With a sprinkling of plump, sweet raisins and a drizzle of caramel sauce served over the warm dish to up the flavor, this easy to make comforting bread pudding will please friends and family whether you’re serving it for breakfast or dessert.
Amazon Synopsis
Residents of Rudolph keep the spirit of Christmas alive year-round—but their joy is threatened when a group of grinches visits the town, in the charming fourth installment of the Year-Round Christmas series.
It’s the week before Thanksgiving, and Merry Wilkinson, owner of Mrs. Claus’s Treasures, is preparing for a weekend reunion of her mother’s college friends. But when the group of women comes into Merry’s shop, Merry is met with frosty attitudes and cold hearts.
The women argue amongst themselves constantly, and the bickering only intensifies after one of the friends is poisoned. With her father’s role as Santa in danger due to his proximity to the crime, Merry will need to use all of her investigative gifts to wrap this mystery up and save Santa and her favorite holiday.
A special thanks to Vicki Delany for providing one winner with a print copy of SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT. Contest ends Wednesday, September 4, 2019 at 11:59 pm PST and is limited to U.S. and Canadian residents. Please use the Rafflecopter box located below to enter. The winner will be announced on this page and on Cinnamon & Sugar’s Facebook page, as well as notified by email (so check your spam folder!)
Silent Night Deadly Night by Vicki Delany is set the week before Thanksgiving, when food, glorious food, is uppermost on everyone’s mind and pies, tarts, biscuits, and cakes are flying off the shelves at Victoria’s Bake Shoppe in Rudolph, New York, America’s Year Round Christmas destination.
"I glanced at the blackboard on the wall. Thanksgiving stuffing bread pudding with caramel sauce.
Just looking at the words, I felt three pounds settle on my hips."
Vicki won’t give us her secret for what makes her bread pudding “thanksgiving stuffing” worthy, but she always starts with this basic version.
- 12 ounces brioche or challah, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 cups milk
- 3 cups heavy cream
- 4 large eggs, plus 1 large egg yolk
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 cup raisins (optional)
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees
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Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish; set aside.
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Put bread in a large bowl; set aside.
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Heat milk and cream in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until just about to simmer; remove from heat.
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Whisk eggs, yolk, sugar, salt, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl. Whisking constantly, pour cream mixture in a slow, steady stream into egg mixture.
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Pour over bread; fold to combine. Let stand 30 minutes, tossing and pressing occasionally to submerge bread.
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Meanwhile, soak raisins in 1 cup boiling water for 30 minutes.
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Drain raisins and stir raisins into bread mixture. Transfer bread to buttered dish; pour liquid in bowl over top.
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Set dish in a roasting pan; transfer to oven. Pour boiling water into pan to reach about halfway up sides of dish.
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Bake until golden brown, about 50 minutes. Let dish cool on a rack 10 to 20 minutes.
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Serve with warm caramel sauce if desired.
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Bring brown sugar, butter, and milk to a gentle boil and cook until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat; add vanilla extract.
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I was provided an advance copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Yes, people grumble if they don’t get their usual turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, and green bean casserole. Me included.
just spend it with family.
I love bread pudding, and this recipe looks wonderful (I’ve never tried it with caramel sauce). A Thanksgiving tradition for our family is for me to make a pumpkin cheesecake ~
I love bread pudding! Tradition for our family, since we are so spread out (as in five different states) – we get together with eldest son’s in-laws. Everyone brings a dish and we all have a blast.
My Thanksgiving tradition is to spend it with family and enjoy all the good food and good times together.
My mom and I just love trying different types of bread putting and are definitely going to give this recipe a try.
My family has two traditions the first tradition is that the whole family gathers from everywhere in one house and all the girls cook and at least try one new recipe and the second tradition is we always make my mom’s famous bread pudding with coconut caramel rum sauce it’s amazing ?? it’s this type of caramel coconut rum sauce is actually based on a Puerto Rican drink called Coquito so it’s actually it’s a bread pudding with a coquito caramel sauce!!??
Yes we do! Thanksgiving is always spent with family and we always make oyster dressing. Sounds like a great book! Thanks for the chance!
My Thanksgiving tradition is spending the day with family and enjoying making memories.
Since we are now the elders of the family (all parents and grands long gone) everything has changed. We run an open house with everything set up in buffet style. All the kids, extended family and such know what they are contributing so we have less to cook. I do the turkey in pieces. Breasts in one pan and dark meat in an other (cooks better). E does her sweet and sour meatballs and the stuffing is made in a large tray.
Everyone shows up around 4:00 pm if bringing food and 4:30 if not. They eat, talk, complain and laugh and are all gone by 8:00 pm or so. I’m not very social so I stay in my den/library where they join me for the quiet and a little talk.
Thank you for your thoughts on this book. I look forward to reading it. New to me author.
When mom was alive we had some traditions, like we had certain foods. We would bring others to round it all out. We always gathered at moms house. Dad always had a prayer before the meal. Now that mom and dad are gone, my sister and I are keeping some of the traditions and incorporating some new ones
Thanksgiving in our house use to be a big event with lots of people and food of all sorts. However, it’s now just hubby and I so things have changed quite a lot. We are thankful for each and every day. If we want turkey in July, we have turkey in July. 🙂
We do fix a special meal on holidays, but it’s what sounds good at the time. It may be turkey or it may be a steak. I try go make special desserts to make it festive. Thanksgiving still makes me want pumpkin pie. 🙂
Hubby’s Mom is 90 so when weather permits for travel, we go to there for holidays so she’s not alone. When that happens, we fix her favorites.
Since bread pudding is one of my favorite desserts, you know I’m going to have to try this one.
Thanks for the chance to win a copy of “SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT”! Love the cover and can’t wait for the opportunity to read this one by an author whose books I adore.
Thanksgiving traditions are we use the good China and silverware and cloth napkins. Just makes everything more festive.
Thanksgiving is spent with my family and we eat Turkey and all the fixings. Then we watch football.
Our Thanksgiving Day tradition is to have Chicken & Dressing, green bean casserole, hash brown casserole and pie and not worry about calories! Thanks for a chance to win Silent Night, Deadly Night.
We have the traditional turkey & fixings dinner for family & friends. Then after eating relax & watch football
A Thanksgiving tradition for us is making butterhorn rolls. Croissant shaped but a thicker dough.
No special traditions for Thanksgiving.
I can imagine adding some rum or bourbon to the sauce.
We spend the day together. This year will be different, as our only child had recently moved to NYC and won’t be able to come home. Another tradition is making cranberry nut bread like my mom did.
My husband makes a great pumpkin cheesecake and caramel pie, and we enjoy green bean casserole and corn pudding that day too. My mom always made a simple but delicious oyster casserole.
No special Thanksgiving Day traditions, just dinner with family and friends.
No Thanksgiving traditions.
My biggest Tgiving tradition is making my grandmother’s ground Cranberry sauce w oranges, apples and nuts.
No special traditions.
One of our Thanksgiving traditions is to make my grandmother’s banana dessert (layered chocolate wafers, whipping cream and bananas). Growing up we always though she made it up until as adults we noticed it on the side of the chocolate wafer package! Oh, well, it’s still Grandma’s Banana Dessert…
Always make turkey with dressing and sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes with gravy. Spend the day with my Hubbie!
My husband grew up eating bread pudding. Personally, I have never tried it. Maybe it is time.
I always watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, usually while preparing a dish to take to wherever we’re having Thanksgiving dinner!
Family gathering together and a Thanksgiving feast. Lots of Turkey stuffing green bean casserole and pumpkin pie. Thanks for the recipe I’ll try making it.
My sister’s and I make my mother’s French bread stuffing. It’s so delicious! We usually get together at a different house every year and we watch football, eat and pick names for Christmas presents.
We’ve been feeling out our traditions the last few years as our famiy has grown and we’re figuring out everyone’s place. I love making placecards for everyone each year so I guess that’s my thing…
Having the traditional Thanksgiving dinner and watching the Macy Day Parade
Try to spend it with my family when they are all here and not out of state.
I’m going to have to start new traditions this year since my husband passed and all our traditions were with the 2 of us.
Love a warm bread puddings. Thanks
As times goes by, we have replaced some of the old traditions with new ones. One is for my son to come ovr early and help me with the turkey. Our time together in the kitchen is precious to me, and a favorite part of my Thanksgiving Day!
No traditions anymore since we moved to Florida. Now my husband and I go to a restaurant on the beach with a lovely view and then afterwards we take a walk on the beach. Thank you for this chance.
When I was a kid and we lived near my dad’s parents we would go there for thanksgiving – i’m single now, so don’t really do anything – thanks for the great recipe and for the contest
Being thankful and try to do something special for someone in need
Thanksgiving was bit in my house as a kid. Now with just me and my elderly mother it is a quiet day.
We try to have the family together, even if it has to be a day other than the actual day. And 2 dishes are usually must haves — green bean casserole and Watergate salad.
We just have a big dinner and have fun visiting with family
There’s just my son and I. We don’t have any traditions. We cook but, not a big turkey dinner for the two of us.
It’s just me and my husband. Sometimes I cook and sometimes we go out.
I love spending time with my family at thanksgiving and watching the Macy’s Day Parade! I would love to read Vicky’s book! Thanks for the chance.
Our tradition is putting the Christmas tree up the day after Thanksgiving.
Spending it with family.
No traditions as I am last in line.
Family get togethers every year is a tradition for us.
Thanksgiving just means a quiet day with my husband and two children. Generally we have turkey and stuffing with mashed potatoes and brussell sprouts and parsnips. Dessert is usually pumpkin pie but I did make a bread pudding with pumpkin and it was delicious.
I love bread pudding!!! I love that you share so many recipes!
My thanksgiving tradition is we go to my brothers house and have dinner. Thanks for the chance.
My thanksgiving tradition is we go to my brothers house and have dinner and spend family time
Thanks for the chance.
I would love to win….I can only read print books, but I review everything I read. Thanks for the chance.
My family cooks together.