Dude on Arrival: A Christmas Mystery

Once again, Sarah and Alex travel and find murder on the itinerary. This time, they are joined by Sarah's formidable Aunt Julia Clancy. Julia invites them to join her for Christmas at an upscale dude ranch where all kinds of strange things are happening. Between making the acquaintance of a movie star and her boy toy, saving horses doomed to be dogfood, and observing the odd workings of the resort, a would be presidential candidate and his secretary are murdered, and of all people, Aunt Julia is a suspect.J.S. Borthwick writes a fine mystery, very descriptive and entertaining. The characters are very human and the mystery and practical jokes were very entertaining.

Sarah Deane's Aunt Julia is staying at an Arizona dude ranch for her arthritis. She invites Sarah and her boyfriend to come spend Christmas with her. Some dirty tricks have been played on the guests. Julia has been squirted with water, another guest finds a rubber snake in her bath, etc. Everyone takes these things in stride until the first murder occurs. A guest, Senator Hopgood is found at the bottom of Santa's wagon load of gifts. Sarah and Aunt Julia work to find out whodunit, but before they do, there are a couple more deaths. Lots of interesting characters, and an involved plot. A good read.