A TV shoot on Nantucket island during the traditional Christmas stroll is plagued with problems from within, as a shady, power-hungry producer clashes with strong-willed actors. Across Nantucket, the vacationing Secretary of State is concerned about her troubled stepson who keeps shaking off his security detail. Then, two seemingly unconnected murders occur. Everyone has a motive, and half of the suspects are politicians and actors. Police Chief Merry Folger has to detect fact from fiction.

This was an easy to read and interesting police procedural with believable characters who had numerous conflicts. There was a nice amount of Christmas that wasn’t cutesy mixed in with the story. The ending was a bit weak but overall I enjoyed the story and would read another in this series. ( )

The first Christmas stroll with lifted restrictions after Covid has Chief Merry Folger and her lead detectives busy with visiting politicians and movie stars. The 3 day weekend starts off slowly. I liked learning some of the background to the mysterious woman living out at an old estate called Stella Maris--she shelters in place during all of Covid at a quiet end of Nantucket. There was a lot of build up to the politicians visit and how secure their visit is. The actors inhabit another estate on the island, shooting around the area until a murder is committed. ( )

There's much more happening in Nantucket than a murder mystery after Stroll Weekend, the 3-day Christmas party in town. Police Chief Merry Folger and her lead detective have plenty of people to question and a complicated puzzle of evidence to piece together. The author may overreach with the social issues and the momentum drags toward the end then abruptly concludes. The main character is appealing, though, and I look forward to trying another entry in this series. ( )

I am newish to the mystery genre so I had never read a Francine Mathews novel before. Diving into this 7th in the Merry Folger series was delightful and easy and now I'll have to go back and start at the beginning!

Merry Folger is the chief of police on Nantucket. With Covid lockdowns in the past, Christmas time on the island is busier than ever. The President and his family have just left and Merry is anticipating a quieter stretch despite the fact that a bunch of high profile Hollywood actors are filming a new series on the island, the Secretary of State and her family are visiting for the weekend, and the annual Christmas Stroll is about to happen. Unfortunately for Merry, right after the Stroll, the first body is discovered. And then there's a second victim killed in the same manner. But what could possibly connect a quiet recluse living in a supposedly abandoned home with one of the Hollywood people?

Mathews has drawn a varied cast of characters, some sympathetic and others a lot less so. Ansel, the Secretary of State's stepson, is a recovering drug addict who is trying to move forward with his life. Winter, the beautiful and troubled daughter of a famous Hollywood actor, is fighting to keep from relapsing into anorexia. They meet on the island and instantly identify with each other and their respective struggles. Both Ance and Winter's overprotective fathers love, worry, and want the best for their children although they react to their children in quite different ways, hardly daring to trust them and their fragile recoveries. Then these two young people trying so hard to find their respective ways in the world find themselves smack in the middle of the murder investigations.

Merry and Detective Seitz know that the two murders have to be connected but they are having trouble figuring out how. The first victim had few enemies while the second had no shortage of people who could have wanted him dead. The investigation is patient as Mathews slowly draws the reader to a surprising but perfect conclusion. Her depiction of Nantucket is gorgeously rendered and the Christmas Stroll is a charming tradition. The scenes of nature photography are well done technically and also quite visual so the reader can see in their mind's eye the winter birds that come to the island. The mystery is intriguing but so are the relationships between the major players. The characters are flawed and realistic and the way that the separate worlds of Hollywood and Washington come together, via Ance and Winter, works well. All in all, a fun and seasonally appropriate book that kept me guessing and left me happy to have read it. ( )

Death on a Winter Stroll by Francine Mathews has all the ingredients for a great mystery. This is the seventh book in A Merry Folger Nantucket Mystery Book Series. The book contains politics, Hollywood and of course murder.

The main protagonists are Nantucket Police Chief Meredith Folger and her sidekick Detective Howie Seitz. The plot is of course a murder mystery involving a woman, artist Blyth Fitzpatrick, who has come back to Nantucket, no one knows she is there except her estranged son, Ansel, finds her. She is an artist who because she is dying has come back just to be defiant against her ex-husband, The house she came back to had actually been in her family, but her ex decided to take it from her in their divorce and let it go into ruin. When she is murdered, the suspects include her ex and son.

A lead actress who along with her fellow actors are on Nantucket to film a tv show. Lots of people could want her dead and it is up to Chief Merry and Howie to find the murderer. There are a lot of tourists there as it is the time of year for the Winter Stroll, a time before the holidays that is very popular on Nantucket where the streets are festive in preparation for the holidays.

When the husband of the producer of the tv series goes missing and found murdered, Merry and Howie now have to figure out the connection of the three dead people. Two of them were killed in the same manner, shot with a shotgun. It becomes apparent that the people involved are good at keeping secrets.

This is a character driven novel, in that the reader learns about all the Hollywood people, the US Secretary of State, who is the wife of the ex-husband of one of the victims. They each have their own story to tell. Some readers may object to the language in the book, I did not think it was enough to deter me from reading the book. It is a part of life, people swear. There are a few triggers that may offend or upset some readers. Those being drug abuse, eating disorders, suicide.

That said, I really enjoyed this book. I had had trouble getting the book on my Kindle but once I did, I had to read it. I love a good murder mystery, I liked most of the characters and it was a pretty fast read. I think if you are a fan of Francine Mathews, then you really need to read this installment. This is the first I have actually read by this author so I will definitely be reading more.

I give it 5 stars! ( )