Audiobook Review: Murder at the Christmas Emporium by Andreina Cordani
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The holiday season is generally a time for holiday gatherings and shopping for the perfect gift for your loved ones. But when some eager shoppers attend an event at a legendary shop in London in the audio edition of Murder at the Christmas Emporium by author Andreina Cordani, not everyone will make it out alive.
The story follows a group of VIP shoppers as their last-minute holiday shopping turns deadly. For years, shopping at Verity’s Emporium was a beloved holiday tradition. It was a place of magic and wonder—filled with handmade toys and gifts—until its sudden closure. After decades of disrepair, it reopens—and shoppers flock to the store to recapture childhood memories. On Christmas Eve, some high-profile shoppers are invited to a special event—but when they go to leave, they find themselves trapped inside, held by someone who knows their darkest secrets and plans to make them pay.
The story takes its time in building up to the Christmas Eve event, when the VIP shoppers finally enter the Emporium—and while that build-up gives some background on the characters and the Emporium, readers might wonder where it’s all going. Once the guests arrive, though, it’s like walking right into the spirit of the holiday season. Everything about it feels perfectly festive—complete with all of the best sights and smells and sounds and tastes of Christmas. To make it even more magical, the event is hosted by Monty Verity himself—the Emporium’s eccentric Willy Wonka-esque owner. And readers will get caught up in the childlike wonder of this legendary store right along with the guests.
Once the event begins, though, it doesn’t take long for things to feel just a little bit off. And when the guests find themselves trapped inside a dark store—and they discover the first body—they begin to realize that they weren’t just invited there to shop. Gradually, they piece together secrets, lies, and connections—and the transgressions that may have led each one to be locked in this Christmas nightmare. The story definitely doesn’t head in the direction that readers will be expecting—and though it may feel a little jarring in the end, it also makes for an entertainingly unexpected read.
If the typical holiday romances are too fluffy for your reading tastes, Murder at the Christmas Emporium might be more your style—though you’ll need to wait patiently through the build-up. Once it gets moving, it’s still festive—just with a dark and deadly twist.
Pros:
– Festive, nostalgic setting
– Unexpected story with plenty of twists
Cons:
– Lengthy set-up
You can find Murder at the Christmas Emporium in multiple formats on Amazon.
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