Feliz Navidead audiobook

Feisty Rita Lafitte is back on the case again! Along with her wacky boss, sometimes surly teenage daughter, crazy co-workers, hunky boyfriend -- Rita is trying to survive a Christmas visit from her judgmental mom whilst solving a murder! She just can't seem to stop finding dead bodies and, of course Mom has no idea of her sleuthing. Ex-husband Manny the cop makes life even more difficult with his interfering ways. When someone starts threatening -- and murdering -- actors playing the Las Posadas devils, Rita really has her work cut out for her! Filled with funny animal characters, cute kids, an actual witch & some delinquent senior citizens, this story is a great off-the-wall Christmas offering.

Rita Lafitte’s mother is visiting Santa Fe for Christmas and Rita is trying to make this the best visit ever. Mind you Christmas is a little different in the desert with no snow and devils. But there is a bunch of great food that should make up for it. That is until an actor in the Christmas pageant that Rita’s daughter Celia plays a devil in, is discovered dead. It seems that some Native American artifacts are being returned to their tribes and someone doesn’t want this to happen. Rita tries her best to let the police investigate the murder but when it is suggested that others in the pageant might be a target, Rita steps up with Flori and plan on solving this mystery.This is a great cozy mystery and my first book in the Sante Fe Café Mystery series. This is a great story that kept me engaged with lots of red herrings. I had my idea of who the killer was and I was completely wrong.Along with the wonderful story you have an interesting cast. Rita is a nice person and I loved following the romance with Jake Strong. But I have to say that Flori’s knitting group with their knitting graffiti stole the show. Plus the recipes for some of the wonderful dishes were included. BONUS!!!I really enjoyed this story; it is one that I will be adding to my keep shelf. I will be definitely be checking out the other books in this series along with other books from Ann Myers.I received Feliz Navidead from Partners in Crime Tours for free. This has in no way influenced my opinion of this book.

I recently read all three of the books in this series, and was entertained by all of them. Rita and her cohorts at Tres Amigas Cafe are a fun bunch of people, and there are a variety of other enjoyable folks around town as well.In this book, Rita has invited her mother to come from the Midwest to celebrate Christmas in Santa Fe. Mom wants her traditional Christmas, while Rita wants to introduce her to some traditions of the Southwest, which leads to some "discussions" between them.When a body is discovered on opening night of the Christmas play, Rita is torn. She wants to put her sleuthing skills to work yet again, but she doesn't want to upset her mother. Will Flori be able to draw her in? Will they find the murderer before Christmas? Will Mom realize Rita has found a new home, and a new love?The characters are very well-written, and by this point they feel like old friends. Santa Fe and its cuisine are featured prominently in the series, and each book contains several recipes from the story. The mystery is not easy to solve, and will keep you guessing until the final reveal.I love that Flori and the ladies of her knitting circle were "graffiti knitters," which is something I had never heard of prior to this book. Google it and take a look at what some actual graffiti knitters have been doing!I can hardly wait for the next installment in this series.

This is the third in the Santa Fe Café mystery series. Rita Lafitte is a chef at the Tres Amigas Café, and is hosting Christmas for her Mom, who has never been to Santa Fe before. She is hoping the visit goes well, planning lots of activities to show off her adopted city to her Midwestern Mom, who is unhappy that she is living so far away with her daughter, Celia. Celia is appearing in the Christmas pageant, Las Posadas, which takes place in the streets, acting as one of the three devils. Things don't go quite as planned, and her anxiety-ridden Mother is horrified when one of the devils is murdered on the first night of the pageant. She is further alarmed to find that Rita is caught up in finding the murderer, and worse yet, has engaged in sleuthing previously.A fun, well-plotted mystery with the cast of characters well described--no cardboard characters here. And while I very much enjoyed the human characters, the addition of Mr. Peppers, the miniature donkey (who is on a strict diet but is not above stealing muffins and fry bread from innocent bystanders), and his goat sidekick added hilarity to the mix of devils and danger. Ms. Myers tempts the reader with the southwestern foods of New Mexico (there are recipes in the back), and readers will enjoy the total immersion into that culture.

Chef Rita LaFitte works at Tres Amigas Café in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This Christmas season her mother is visiting from Illinois, uneasy with the different traditions and the spicy foods. She is especially upset that her teenage granddaughter Celia is playing a devil in the holiday pageant. It seems like her fears may have come to pass when the man playing one of the other devils is murdered during the first performance. Rita’s ex-husband Manny is the cop investigating the crime and her current boyfriend Jake is a lawyer defending the top suspect. There is a lot of local color and atmosphere, and a subplot about missing antiquities. There are five recipes included, and after reading a book, you will want to make a batch of the bizcohitos. Readers who enjoy culinary mysteries will savor this spicy mystery.

It is Christmas time and Rita is planning on watching her teenage daughter in an outdoor play and entertain her mother, who isn't impressed with Santa Fe.Rita find a dead actor during the first performance. Getting involved will upset her mother and put them in danger but the wife of the suspect begs her to look into it. The book was ok, but it seemed rushed without enough time to really getting into the characters.

Rita is at it again and this time, Celia could be in danger. One of the actors in the Christmas pageant is murdered and Rita vows to make sure that Celia is safe. This one has Indian artifacts, Rita's mom and lots of tasty food to make you wish you could be in Santa Fe at Christmas, too.The mystery is fun and the food sounds great and the added bonus is Flori and her wacky pals as they lend a hand... a really fun read.

Fast-paced Holiday MysteryThis well-written holiday mystery takes place in Santa Fe., New Mexico. Rita, who moved here with her teenaged daughter, gets drawn into solving a mystery that involves attacks on town residents. She also gets closer to her mother who she's invited to come for a long visit. Great, fast-paced read!

I wish that there were more in this series. I really enjoyed each of them.

I loved these three cozies. Mouthwatering descriptions of Tex Mex, New Mexico and Mexico food.. Art, love, family dynamics and romance.

Summary from Goodreads:"Holly, jolly, and downright deadly—the third Santa Fe Café mystery unwraps surprises both naughty and nice . . . It’s the most picturesque time of theyear in Santa Fe, and Chef Rita Lafitte of Tres Amigas Café hopes the twinkling lights and tasty holiday treats will charm her visiting mom. Rita is also planning fun activities, such as watching her teenage daughter, Celia, perform in an outdoor Christmas play.What she doesn’t plan for is murder.Rita discovers a dead actor during the premier performance but vows to keep clear of the case. Sleuthing would upset her mom. Besides, there’s already a prime suspect, caught red-handed in his bloodied Santa suit. However, when the accused Santa’s wife begs for assistance—and points out that Celia and other performers could be in danger—Rita can’t say no. With the help of her elderly boss, Flori, and her coterie of rogue knitters, Rita strives to salvage her mother’s vacation, unmask a murderer, and stop this festive season from turning even more fatal."My Thoughts:I adore this cozy mystery series so as soon as I heard about this book I couldn't resist the chance to read it! There aren't very many series that I am completely caught up on but this is one of them because it is just so good (and the books are such fun reads). Feliz Navidead was such a great addition to this series and the perfect read for this time of year! In this book Rita finds herself drawn yet again into another murder investigation but with added stresses since her mother is visiting for the holidays. I loved reading about Rita trying to juggle everything that was going on especially as it seemed that her mother had some secrets of her own. I enjoyed the mystery portion of this story as it had me guessing throughout the entire book. It is the characters though that make this series so great for me. Reading this book was like chatting with old friends again- there is just something about these characters that I absolutely adore! In this book we also had the chance to see some of Flori's new antics which included "rogue knitting". Flori is hilarious and I love all of the trouble that she gets herself into. If your curious as to what rogue knitting is, it is knitting things in the night onto/covering public property (like statues or park benches). It cracks me up with the crazy things that she comes up with. I also liked that we got to see more of Rita and Jake's relationship. I'm a fan of that one so it was nice to see this book focus on it a bit more. Without spoiling anything, the author did set up a possible story line for a future book that I am very curious about. It didn't have anything to do with the ending of this book though which I felt like tied up everything very nicely. In fact, this was probably one of the more suspenseful endings in this series so far. I was actually sad to see this book end as I just enjoy this series so much!Overall, this was another great addition to one of my favorite cozy mystery series! The added bonus was the holiday theme that just made reading this book in December absolutely perfect. I don't always read holiday themed books during this time of year but I'm really glad that I did with this one. It helped to put me in the holiday spirit especially when the snow was falling outside while I was reading. I'm a huge fan of this series (obviously) and have read them all, but I do think that you could read this book on its' own or out of order if you haven't read the other two. I would recommend reading the entire series though as this is only book three and they are all definitely worth it. I highly recommend this book especially at this time of year!Bottom Line: A really great cozy holiday read!Disclosure: I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher as part of a PICT tour.

This third installment in the Santa Fe Café mystery series is tightly plotted, funny, and as full of local color and eccentric characters as the others. Ann Myers does a great job with the flow of the series—neither too much nor too little backstory. It’s a delicate balance that not all series authors have mastered. A new reader could pick this up and not be lost, and someone who has followed the series can enjoy it without any sense of interruption. Protagonist Rita Lafitte’s very conventional mother is visiting her in the City Different, encountering Rita’s eccentric friends and colleagues, hot chiles, devils in a Christmas pageant, and of course, Rita’s odd luck—if one can call it that—of running into murder scenes. There is some dark humor in the choice to set a murder in the middle of Christmas festivities, but it works. There’s also plenty of light humor, character-based and authentic.The mystery revolves in part around the process of repatriating an old family collection of Native artifacts to their tribes. The conflicts in the wealthy heiress’s family—which includes Rita’s ultra-Santa-Fe-spacey-spiritual neighbor Dalia—and between the experts hired to help with the collection lead down some twisting paths, while several intriguing side plots make for more suspects and more motives. I was right in step with Rita in trying to solve the mystery, which to me means it was set up well.Rita and café owner Flori's amateur sleuthing is written to effectively make the reader suspend disbelief, an important aspect of this genre of mystery. Their interaction with Rita’s ex, Manny, who is so often the cop on the case when she’s investigating on her own, is well done. Manny isn’t all bad, and neither is his police work. He comes across as a competent if sometimes annoying officer, and a caring father as well as the kind of man you wouldn’t want for a husband. Celia, Rita’s artistic teenaged daughter, gets involved in the sleuthing this time, a fun change of pace. I love the relationships in this series, so it was great to meet another member of Rita’s family with her mother’s visit. It was also good to see how her romance with criminal defense lawyer Jake Strong develops. Jake’s character is given more depth and flair in this story. I got to know him better and therefore liked him better. One thing I especially enjoyed about this book is that it gets outside of the downtown area into some other neighborhoods of Santa Fe, while still giving a view of holiday events around the Plaza and Canyon Road. (I expect it will make quite a few readers want to schedule a Christmas vacation there.) The diverse characters include one of Flori’s old schoolmates—another peculiar octogenarian—and her grandson. To avoid spoilers, I will say no more about them, but they were my favorite new additions to the cast of this series. And Flori’s latest weird hobby is her best yet. As always, there are recipes for some of the foods that are served up during the course of the story. I enjoyed the plot so much I tended to forget the culinary theme, but readers who love to cook will not. (Actually, the fact that I hate to cook and still enjoy these books so much says a lot.)

This cozy mystery was a delight to read. It has all the elements I require for a satisfying novel.Reading this novel was my introduction to the Santa Fe Cafe series. This one takes place at the Christmas season. Chef Rita Lafitte of Tres Amigas Cafe is trying to entertain her mom, visiting from Minnesota. She's also keeping track of her teenage daughter performing in the outdoor Christmas play. When Rita discovers a dead actor during the first performance, she swears she is not going to investigate. Try as she might, she is soon involved in a very dangerous situation.I love the characters in this novel. Rita is good but the side characters make this novel so much fun. I love the Knit and Snitchers, an elderly group of ladies who who knit pieces they sneak onto statues, stop signs, and other items. One of them even makes her own moonshine. She was kicked out of the farmer's market when she tried to sell it there but was a hit for one day. These women provide inside information for Rite and are a hoot.There are other great characters too, like Rita's mother who is a little out of her element. I like how she adapts to her daughter's life in the south. Other entertaining characters include a Native American witch casting spells, a zen focused woman spreading healing herbs, and a villain who is really mean. There are even quirky animals, like the miniature donkey who loves baked goods, snitching muffins from admirers.The setting is wonderful, Santa Fe at Christmas. I learned a great deal about the Christmas celebrations they put on. I also suffered from drooling over all the ethnic food described. Myers provides several recipes and the bizcochitos sound delicious.I like it when I am entertained and informed by a novel. Myers has included information on a serious issue for Native Americans. Many Hopi artifacts have been recovered and taken from sites over the years as there is a lucrative market for them, especially sacred items. Many local tribes are asking museums to return items and this is a thought provoking issue.I like how, as the plot progresses, the possible motives for murder multiply, as do the suspects. And there is a good bit of suspense and danger near the end. Even so, an added plus in this mystery is humor. It is a welcome treat throughout the novel.I recommend this novel to those who enjoy a cozy mystery with quirky characters, an informative and entertaining setting, and an issue to think about. I suggest you only read this novel on a full stomach as the food described is mouth watering.I received a complimentary digital copy of this book through Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours. My comments are an independent and honest review.

Fun book. Great mystery, I guessed a bad guy, I was almost right, and then there was a surprise twist.Wonderful Santa Fe background. It seems respectful of the Native characters and themes, but I don't know enough to say for sure. Not blatantly gross, at any rate.Also, I need chocolate cream pie with cayenne pepper RIGHT NOW.Really well done family scenes, both up and down the generations.Obligatory love triangle is mostly one hot boyfriend + Mom pushing an old flame.My usual complaint about holiday scenes - isn't -anyone- in the neighborhood a Muslim or Bhudist or anything?