White Elephant by Trish Harnetiaux

Title:  White Elephant

Author: Trish Harnetiaux

Read by:  Renata Friedman

Publisher: Simon & Shuster Audio

Length: Approximately 5 hours and 39 minutes

Source: Review Copy from Simon & Shuster Audio.  Thank-you!

Calhoun and Calhoun is a specialty firm in Aspen Colorado that uses the vision of architect Henry Calhoun to build one of a kind mansions that his ambitious realtor wife Claudine sells  The firm has fallen on tough times, but famous pop star Zara is flying into town to view the first house that Henry designed that has recently gone back up on the market.  Sale of this house could save the firm, but the history of the house brings up a past that Henry would rather forget.  Zara is showing up just in time for the firm’s infamous white elephant Christmas party.  This white elephant exchange is different than most as it involves expensive gifts in which all involved try to upstage the others.  When a mysterious item appears among the gifts, the past threatens to be revealed.  What past is Calhoun and Calhoun trying to hide?

I loved this audiobook and only wanted more time in my car to finish it!  It was a fun Christmas mystery with great characters.  Renata Friedman was a wonderful narrator that brought the characters to life.  Different sections of the book were narrated by Claudine, Henry, and Zara.  There is also a fourth point of view that plays into the story that is not revealed until the end.  Friedman made each character have a unique voice.  I had to look to see if there was another narrator as the voices were so unique.  I loved it!

My favorite character was Zara who proved to be so much more than the tabloids would like to make of her.  I loved her obsession with true crime and how this novel brought up the real-life murder mystery involving Andy William’s ex-wife, French singer Claudine Longet in Aspen.  I had never heard of this and had to read all about it after I finished this novel.  I loved Claudine and Henry as well.  Claudine was a strong woman, but treated others so terribly.  Henry was a gifted architect that loved his wife, but he couldn’t find the strength to be his own person. 

The setting of Aspen was wonderful.  It was like a character itself.  I loved the detailed descriptions of the beauty, history, and people who live in Aspen.  I’ve never been there, but it definitely made me want to visit.

Overall, White Elephant is a fun Christmas themed mystery.  It had vibes of being a modern Agatha Christie novel or a fun Christmas version of Clue.  It was a perfect audiobook.