LAUGHING ALL THE WAY ON THE JINGLE BELLS EXPRESS by Berni Stevens
This is a charming little story, perfect for this time of year. It’s only 156 pages long and I read it on my Kindle in a couple of days.
I don’t want to tell you much about it, because it’s a joy to discover it as you go along. But the basic idea is that a seemingly random collection of people (mainly in their twenties and thirties) receive a personalized invitation to a special festive train ride. They aren’t quite sure what to make of it and have no idea who it’s from, as the invitation simply says it’s from J. Ingles and B. Elles.
One of those invited decides to put a newspaper advert up, to see if anyone else has received an invitation. Some of those recipients meet up and soon friendships and being made, and even relationships look to be starting. But what is the train ride about? Who are the mystery people behind it?
There is quite a big cast of characters in the book, but they are well-described. My favourites are the busker Dylan and his gorgeous dog Muttley. The story is well told and I enjoyed the mystery around it. It’s a beautiful festive tale, uplifting and magical. I rated it 8 out of 10, but it only lost marks because I wanted more – and that’s not really a bad thing!
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