Book Review: A Christmas in the Alps by Melody Carlson

A Christmas in the Alps. Melody Carlson. Revell (2021). 176 pages. Genre:  Christmas Fiction, Christian Fiction.

First Lines: "Simone Winthrop knew all about loss. But as she sorted through her dead grandmother's cluttered house, she experienced an unexpected wave of hopefulness."

Summary:  Simone Winthrop's grandmother was like a mother to her.  Grandma Betty raised her, after Simone's mother left.  Now, Grandma Betty is gone and Simone is left sorting through her things.  Her best friend, Andrea, is helping her with the process.  When Andrea uncovers an unopened letter addressed to Simone from her Great-grandmother, Simone is curious.  After reading the letter she is even more curious and a bit stunned. The letter was written a couple of years ago and somehow got lost in the shuffle.  Great-grandmamma Winthrop wrote to tell Simone she left a treasure in France and would like Simone to have it.  At first Simone is doubtful.  Would something valuable still be around after all these years?  Andrea convinces her that she will never know unless she attempts to locate it.  There are many obstacles in her way, but Simone is determined to find the treasure. 

My thoughts:  Isn't that cover gorgeous!  This is a sweet story about courage and family with some well developed characters set in a beautiful location.

Simone has had a lot of loss in her life.  Since her grandmother died, she has found herself at a crossroads.  She is not sure who she is and where she belongs.  She knew she had relatives in France, but she has never met any of them and could not even tell you their names. Combined with her fear of flying, she has many excuses for not going to France.  However, this seems to have been her Great-grandmamma's dying wish.  And that means a lot to Simone. I am always impressed with the depth of character Melody Carlson can accomplish in a novella.  Simone grows and changes throughout the course of this story in some significant ways. 

There is some romance in the story as well.  However, it is not the focus of the story, but just adds a bit of joy.  The bulk of the story involves solving the mystery of the treasure.  The first hurdle is getting to France and the second, larger hurdle, is discovering who Simone's relatives are.  Once that is accomplished, the next hurdle becomes getting through the barriers that those relatives seem to be putting between themselves and Simone. Obviously, in real life things don't go as smoothly as they do in fiction and you have to keep that in mind while reading this story.  The author only has a limited number of pages to accomplish this and it might seem a bit too neat and tidy.  If you can let that go, you'll enjoy the story.

As an added bonus, the reader gets to learn something about the watch and clock making business. It was fascinating to learn about and consider some of the obstacles that type of business has today.  This small company was owned by a local and employed many members of the community.  It had been around for many years and represented many generations.  If it were to go away, it would change the landscape of the small French town of Avre.  Knowing all of this created a fuller picture of the setting.  There is a lot to like about this novella and I thoroughly enjoyed it.