thrillers to gritty police procedurals, to historical fiction and novellas for adult literacy. She is currently writing four cozy mystery series: the Tea by the Sea mysteries for Kensington, the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series for Crooked Lane Books, the Catskill Resort mysteries for Penguin Random House, and the Lighthouse Library series (as Eva Gates) for Crooked Lane.
Delany is a past president of the Crime Writers of Canada and co-founder and organizer of the Women Killing It Crime Writing Festival. Her work has been nominated for the Derringer, the Bony Blithe, the Ontario Library Association Golden Oak, and the Arthur Ellis Awards. She is the recipient of the 2019 Derrick Murdoch Award for contributions to Canadian crime writing. Delany lives in Prince Edward County, Ontario.
Delany applied the Page 69 Test to her new novel, Tis the Season to Be Scary: A Year-Round Christmas Mystery, and reported the following:
From page 69:Visit Vicki Delany's website, and follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.thoroughly loyal to me and my store, which is why I kept her on, despite some of her more rebellious inclinations.‘Tis the Season to be Scary, is the nineth Year-Round Christmas book, and it lands firmly in the ‘neutral’ range in the Page 69 Test. We get a hint as to what has happened – someone died, possibly poisoned. We get a touch of the setting and the mood as townspeople rush to gossip about it, a touch of humor as Jackie asks since when did the not gossip. It also contains a hint at the larger plot – something to do with a book signing.
“Nine thirty,” I said. “Time to open. If anyone buys Vicky’s book, tell them if they bring t to the library tonight, along with a receipt to show they bought it from a store in Rudolph, they can have it signed by the author.”
“Will do,” Jackie said.
For the first half hour of the day, we puttered about, arranging and rearranging stock. The initial customers started drifting in a little after ten. Not only customers, but Mary-Ellen who worked at Cranberry Coffee Bar popped in on her break. “I can’t believe that woman at the party last night died!” she said to Jackie.
“Just goes to show, doesn’t it?” Jackie said.
“Do you think it was something she ate?”
I abandoned the customer I was showing serving dishes, suitable for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, to and ran over. “Don’t talk about that in here.”
“Why not?” Mary-Ellen asked.
“Because Jackie’s working; I’m working. This is a place of business, not for town gossip.”
“Since when?” Jackie said.
“Since now.”
“Someone died?” My customer crossed herself. “Killed by something she ate? What? Where?”
“Nothing. Cause of death is still to be determined.” I threw Jackie what I hoped was a stern glare of reprimand, and jerked my thumb at Mary-Ellen, telling her to get lost.
“I’ll come by later,” Jackie said. “That’s if I’m allowed to take a break.”
But it doesn’t reveal much, if anything, about anyone’s character, their reaction to the death, except asking people not to gossip about it. We get no insight into Merry Wilkinson, the protagonist and no clue as to how she is involved.
Perhaps most importantly of all, this book is set at Halloween. The character died at a Halloween gala where everyone was in masks and costumes. The series is called the Year-Round Christmas series because it’s set in a town where they celebrate the holidays, in one way or another, all year. But none of that atmosphere, either Christmas or Halloween, is revealed by the Page 69 Test.
Which is why I am giving it a five out of ten.
The Page 69 Test: Rest Ye Murdered Gentlemen.
The Page 69 Test: A Scandal in Scarlet.
The Page 69 Test: Murder in a Teacup.
Writers Read: Vicki Delany (September 2021).
The Page 69 Test: Deadly Summer Nights.
The Page 69 Test: The Game is a Footnote.
Writers Read: Vicki Delany (January 2023).
Writers Read: Vicki Delany (January 2024).
The Page 69 Test: The Sign of Four Spirits.
The Page 69 Test: A Slay Ride Together With You.
Writers Read: Vicki Delany (December 2024).
The Page 69 Test: The Incident of the Book in the Nighttime.
Writers Read: Vicki Delany (July 2025).
The Page 69 Test: Tea with Jam & Dread.
Writers Read: Vicki Delany (October 2025).
The Page 69 Test: O, Deadly Night.
--Marshal Zeringue
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