From AudioFile
Usually what disappears on Thanksgiving Day is the turkey, but in this well-crafted novel of detection, it is the beautiful, young wife of a wealthy man. Susan O'Malley narrates this puzzling mystery in a straightforward, no-frills style. She barely differentiates characters and doesn't bother with accents. Her spare style matches the characteristics of her detective, Chris Bennet Brooks, who is a policeman's wife and former nun. Brooks approaches the task of finding out what happened in a painstaking, no-nonsense manner, which is interesting but not melodramatic. D.L.G. (c) AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


Midwest Book Review
A detective hired to locate a missing wife discovers that not only has the woman vanished; but someone has taken care to remove any records of her life - and her husband knows surprisingly little about her. Thus begins a probe which turns up some dangerous clues to a murder and which points to another potential conflict in Harris' intriguing mystery.


Book Description
A CELEBRATION OF ABUNDANCE BECOMES A DAY OF LOSS.
More than a year ago Natalie Gordon went to buy a balloon at the Thanksgiving Day Parade and dissolved into thin air. The police and a private investigator still have no leads. So when Natalie's despairing husband pleads with ex-nun Christine Bennett to help, she can't say no.
Not only are Natalie's present whereabouts a mystery, but so is her past. Someone has stripped her personnel file in her old office. Even her husband knows strangely little about her.
Starting with a cardboard box of Natalie's belongings--a few books, keys, some cosmetics--Chris searches for a life someone has tried very hard to erase and finds a cast of characters so chilling that murder seems not only inevitable but likely to happen again. . . .



From the Publisher
I always look forward to a new mystery by Lee Harris. Her novels about ex-nun Christine Bennett are in that central range between cozy and hardboiled -- the perfect balance. Ever since I encountered Christine Bennett in THE GOOD FRIDAY MURDER, which was nominated for an Edgar Award as best first novel, I've been fascinated by the author's depiction and development of her heroine -- Christine matures in surprising (but always believeable ways) as the series continues. It would be hard to pick my favorite Lee Harris mystery, but certainly among my favorites is THE CHRISTENING DAY MURDER, in which a thirty-year-old unsolved murder has impact on present-day menace.

--Joe Blades, Associate Publisher


From the Inside Flap
A CELEBRATION OF ABUNDANCE BECOMES A DAY OF LOSS.
More than a year ago Natalie Gordon went to buy a balloon at the Thanksgiving Day Parade and dissolved into thin air. The police and a private investigator still have no leads. So when Natalie's despairing husband pleads with ex-nun Christine Bennett to help, she can't say no.
Not only are Natalie's present whereabouts a mystery, but so is her past. Someone has stripped her personnel file in her old office. Even her husband knows strangely little about her.
Starting with a cardboard box of Natalie's belongings--a few books, keys, some cosmetics--Chris searches for a life someone has tried very hard to erase and finds a cast of characters so chilling that murder seems not only inevitable but likely to happen again. . . .

ANNOTATION

This is the sixth delightful holiday mystery featuring the ex-nun who's all sleuth. More than a year ago Natalie Gordon went to buy a balloon at the Thanksgiving Day Parade and dissolved into thin air. When Natalie's despairing husband pleads with Christine Bennett to help, she can't say no. But why does the man know so little about his own wife. Original.

FROM THE PUBLISHER