Rosie’s #Bookreview Team #RBRT #shortstory Christmas Once Again by D.K. Deters

Today’s team review is from Terry, she blogs here https://terrytylerbookreviews.blogspot.co.uk/

Terry has been reading Christmas Once Again by D.K. Deters

3.5 stars

Madison Knight is an antique consultant with financial problems, a demanding boss, and no one with whom to spend Christmas. She’s looking forward to shutting the door on the snowy season and getting cosy all alone. Then customer Zach Murdock gets in touch to say he wants to retrieve his grandmother’s beloved painting, because he should never have sold it to the company Madison works for. Unfortunately, retrieving it is more complicated than Madison originally thinks it will be.

The snow gets worse, and Madison gets stranded. She seeks help from a local family, but there’s something decidedly odd about them. They seem kind of… old fashioned.

This story is not overtly Christmassy, which, for me, was a plus; it’s not as sugar-coated as some. I love a time travel story; it’s the slow dawning of what has happened, and the gaping chasms in language and technology that never fail to entertain. This is a good story, and nicely plotted, but I felt it could have done with a bit more spit and polish; a bit more re-drafting of both narrative and dialogue, and thinking through of the emotions of the characters when they discover what has occurred. But it was an enjoyable half hour’s reading, nevertheless.

She’s dead broke. And eviction looms. On Christmas Eve antique consultant Madison Knight takes a phone call from local rancher Zach Murdock. Through a mix-up at an estate sale, Madison’s company purchased his grandmother’s beloved painting. He offers double the money for its return.

Madison risks her job to track down the artwork, but success falls short when she’s stuck in a blizzard. Stranded, she seeks help from a frontier family. Are they living off the grid, or did she somehow travel through time?

Zach’s the only person who knows her plan. He also knows a secret about his gran’s painting. It’s up to him to rescue Madison, but maybe he’s not cut out to be a hero.

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