Somewhere in Nuremberg’s four-hundred-year-old Christmas Market, the most extraordinary lebkuchen cookies in all of Germany are waiting to be discovered. At least, that’s all Bijou can think about.
His human, Southern widow Jenevra Oddcastle, has slightly different priorities—like the antique nutcracker that’s just vanished from its display case, sending the entire market into a Christmas Eve panic. But a discerning Chinese Crested therapy dog has to have some standards, and cookies simply cannot wait for mysteries.
Except this time, they might have to.
With the market’s reputation crumbling and Christmas Eve barreling toward them, Jenevra—armed with decades of absorbed courtroom wisdom from her late husband’s career—offers her detecting skills to the desperate market officials. Bijou, naturally, offers his nose. Between the two of them (and an underground network of local dogs who know considerably more than they’re letting on), they’ll wind through medieval cobblestones, charm secrets out of nervous vendors, and chase down every false lead Nuremberg has to offer.
What they find isn’t a villain at all. It’s something much smaller, much sweeter, and much more in keeping with the spirit of the season.
“I do declare,” Bijou would say, if anyone asked, “solving mysteries is exhausting work. A gentleman requires proper sustenance.”
A cozy holiday mystery with heart, humor, and one very determined dog.
