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My mother was a very strange woman, and so was my father, begins Malthea Hendlerson, an elderly woman whose beliefs are even odder than her manner. Claire Malloy, mild-mannered bookseller in Farberville, Arkansas, is eager for a customer, even one who claims to be the Arch Druid of the Sacred Grove of Keltria. So, when Claire's boyfriend, police lieutenant Peter Rosen, starts spending too much time with his ex-wife, Claire accepts Malthea's invitation to attend a winter solstice celebration at the Sacred Grove.The festivities and the Druids themselves all seem innocent enough, if a little quirky, until the group's wealthy benefactor, Nicholas Chunder, is found murdered.The obvious suspect is Roy Tate, a tattooed teenager living in Nicholas's carriage house.Suspicion proves correct when he confesses to the crime and then flees.But Claire soon finds that some of the Druids were furious with Nicholas, and suddenly she's not so sure that Roy is guilty.Any one of them might have done something more drastic than casting a spell or two--and may be quite willing to do it again.Deftly weaving intriguing subplots into a fast-paced suspense tale in an irresistible Christmas setting, A Holly, Jolly Murder will certainly bring Joan Hess to a new level of fame.