Review: When Christmas Comes by Andrew Klavan

Author: Andrew Klavan
Publisher: Mysterious Press
Publication Date: November 2021

Colorful Christmas lights dapple the family homes in the idyllic lakeside town of Sweet Haven when Jennifer Dean, a young librarian at the local elementary school, is brutally murdered. There are witnesses and her boyfriend Travis Blake confesses to the crime… but something doesn’t quite add up. Blake is a third generation Army Ranger, awarded the Silver Star for his heroism in Afghanistan—how could a beloved son of this tight-knit burgh commit such a grisly deed?

As a community of military families a few miles down the road from an Army base, no one in Sweet Haven wants to investigate a war hero like Blake, not even the top brass at the police department. In steps Cameron Winter, a rugged and lonesome English professor haunted by the ghosts of his own Christmas past, whose former lover asks him to prove Blake innocent. The Sweet Haven murder reverberates in his mind, echoing a horrific yuletide memory from his youth, and Winter knows there are darker powers at play here than a simple domestic dispute. If he can solve this small-town mystery, just maybe he can find peace from his inner demons as well.

When Christmas Comes is the latest adult novel by this author.  I had only read a few of his YA books before, so I wasn't sure what to expect.  I was expecting a kind of cozy mystery, but this one is a bit darker than that.  That being said, I ended up being pleasantly surprised with this mystery.  Cameron Winter is asked by an ex to help figure out what really happened to Jennifer.  Did her boyfriend kill her and why would he do it? It was fairly fast paced and kept me guessing.  I did call one twist, but not the other ones.  

Along with the enjoyable mystery, I found the main character Cameron Winter very likable. I always love discovering detectives that I am eager to meet again in future books.  He is an English professor (or is he?) who has a knack for solving crimes using a very interesting  method.  I thought it was unique and made me like him immensely.  I want to know more about his past because the story he told his therapist was really intriguing,  He is definitely a character that I would like to spend some time with in the future.  I hope there is another book.  This is a mystery I definitely recommend.