Description: Four friends, one fruitcake, and a ritzy town full of secrets . . .
What could go wrong?Brief description: Leah Orr resides in Jensen Beach, Florida with her husband and three daughters. Leah is an Amazon #1 best-selling children's author and thriller novelist. She has written 13 books. Leah donates the profits from her books to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Upon learning that her daughter Ashley was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis (while still in the womb), Orr knew she wanted to do something special. With some input from her mother and three daughters, it was decided that she'd write books to benefit the (CF) Foundation. The Orr Family has risen over $1,300,000 over the past 20 years to help find a cure. Leah's mission to help cure Cystic Fibrosis has been featured on ABC's Health Watch, NBC Today South Florida, ABC Today South Florida, CBS South Florida, CBS This Morning Virginia, NBC the 10! Show Philadelphia, Fox 4 News Morning Blend, The Daily Buzz, and Lifetime TV's The Balancing Act. She has also been featured in publications such as Forbes Magazine, Medical News Today, The Boston Globe, The Miami Herald, and The Sun-Sentinel. Her daughter Ashley was also a recipient of Oprah's generosity in The Big Give. Popular books by Leah Orr include children's books: Messy Tessy, It Wasn't Me, Kyle's First Crush, and Kyle's First Playdate. Her thrillers include: The Executive Suite, The Bartender, The She Shed and The Fruitcake. Orr and her husband were recently nominated as one of Florida's Finest Couples by the CF Foundation, and included in "In The Spotlight" on CFF.org. Leah was also nominated as one of Broward County's top 100 Outstanding Women. Orr grew up in Boston, MA and is a graduate of the University of Miami. More information is available at www.leahorr.com
Review Quotes:
Publishers Weekly/Book Life Review
Orr's excitable mystery finds Holly Kelly, newly transplanted to swanky neighborhood Laguna Palms with her husband and triplets, on the hunt for friendship and fun amid a flurry of country club outings, parties, and a yearly Christmas fruitcake exchange designed to bring the neighbors together. When that holiday tradition goes south-starting with the homeowner's association president, Patty, choking to death on a missing Lego piece baked into the neighborhood's very first fruitcake exchange-it sets off a series of murders that seem accidental at first but quickly stew with bizarre coincidences.
After the second exchange inadvertently ends in the death of resident Harry's elderly uncle, finance guru Greta muses "This is the second Christmas Eve death in the past two years. Maybe we should end this fruitcake exchange thing." Despite those misgivings, the eccentric neighbors continue the tradition, eventually culminating with Holly's delivery of a Havana fruitcake to the Hudson sisters-though her premonition that something bad will happen proves true ("I don't trust women who don't wear makeup" she gripes on her way to deliver the cake). Orr (author of The She Shed) delivers the twisty narrative from multiple perspectives-and timelines-mixing death, disappearance, and captivity into the finished product, and keeps readers guessing until the very last bite.
"In the end, it's the chaos that leads to the order we seek," the story quotes, and despite some lumps in the batter thanks to the non-linear structure, readers will be pleased with the gripping denouement. Bloodshed, atonement, and suspense tangle together to produce a savory mystery, emboldened by Orr's sprinkling of neighborhood legends (the land, stolen from the area's indigenous tribes, is thought to be cursed) on top. It's obvious Orr relishes page-turning riddles, but the ample reflection on the intergenerational events that shape a person's life add a richness to this holiday treat.
Takeaway: Butterfly effect neighborhood murder mystery built on a tasty Christmas tradition.
Comparable Titles: Paula Hawkins's The Girl on the Train, Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects.