Reviews from Readers: Holiday Homicide
5 out of 5 stars  Great Mystery
February 9, 2015  
In Holiday Homicide, Donelan craftily weaves together murder, mystery, intrigue, and female camaraderie, along with a large dose of well-placed humor. Believable characters and fast paced storyline envelopes the reader, provoking wants of jumping into the story to shake the heroine Marlee McCabe in many ‘what are you thinking?’ moments. This is a great mystery that will keep the readers guessing and leave them well satisfied through the last page. 

5 out of 5 stars  Donelan did a great job of introducing her main character  
November 27, 2014 
Donelan did a great job of introducing her main character, busybody Marlee McCabe, and her various sidekicks in her first book, Day of the Dead. In Holiday Homicide, she fleshes out the characters even more, introduces a new player who is just as entertaining, and takes us to the Lake Traverse Reservation in NE South Dakota--all good moves on Donelan's part. The second book in the series is even more engaging than the first, one of those read-until-you-can't-keep-your-eyes-open sort of books. Halfway through the book, I thought, "I can't wait to download more books by this author" followed by, "Darn, I have to wait for her to write them!" Looking forward to the next one (and the next, and the next) with great anticipation!

5 out of 5 stars  Fresh New Take on Detective Fiction Protagonist
December 12, 2014
Snoopy amateur detective Marlee McCabe is up to her old tricks. Once again, she can't help sticking her nose in where it doesn't belong, leading to escalating danger, intrigue and laugh-out-loud comedy. Perpetually distracted by a cast of now familiar characters as well as a fidgety new one, Marlee somehow manages to glean vital clues from virtually every conversation and encounter, no matter how seemingly inconsequential. In the history of detective fiction, no other character strikes a more perfect balance of unfocused, comedic time wasting (eating, drinking, napping, driving around) and focused, surreptitious information gathering. Before there was Viola Davis in ABC's How to Get Away with Murder, there was Marlee McCabe in Brenda Donelan's University Mystery Series. I treasure Donelan's novels and am convinced her brilliantly-written protagonist, Marlee McCabe, is destined for her own television series.