New York Times-bestselling author Daniel M. Lavery returns to the fabulous world of Women's Hotel in this delightful and heartwarming novella about one especially boisterous Christmastime at the beloved Biedermeier. Christmas at the Biedermeier Hotel means employment, and employment means walking-around money. For ten months out of the year, jobs come fitfully and infrequently to Biedermeier residents, but between Advent and Epiphany any girl who wants something to do between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. has her pick of positions: Holiday window dresser, salesgirl at the card stores on 42nd Street, Broadway usherette, assistant laundress at the Lincoln Center Nutcracker, Pinkerton security at the World's Fair exhibition halls in Queens. Katherine considers the possibility of making amends with her siblings in Ohio after a Gaudete Sunday service at Old First Presbyterian. Lucianne goes into business for herself at last, trying to run a telephone-order male escort agency (strictly above-board and Social Register only) out of her room, while Mrs. Mossler attempts to solve the mystery of the Biedermeier's skyrocketing phone bill and frets over Christmas tips for the hotel's few remaining employees. And while the three thieves who stole twenty-four gems worth three million dollars from the American Museum of Natural History on October 29th have recently been caught, not all of the jewels have been recovered-and Patricia and Carol have behaved terribly strangely for the better part of a month. Christmas is a season of wonder and mystery, after all.
