Solid Laid Back Cozy Florida Mystery – With Magical Realism Tossed In. This is the book that exactly one person alive was capable of writing – particularly writing this well. That person being St. Augustine-based medical investigator and now pastor of a St. Augustine area church, Kent Holloway.
I’ve known Holloway for years. I first started reading his works when he began working as a coauthor with The New God Of Science Fiction Jeremy Robinson, and I’ve read most of his independent works since – even his nonfiction book I Swallowed A Goldfish, where he looks at his older day job (medical investigator) through the eyes of his newer one (pastor). I either know of or have read every project he names in the Author’s Note at the end of this tale, and I was largely around when he was coming up with all of them. Living in Jacksonville myself for nearly a decade now, I even finally got a chance to meet Holloway in real life a couple of years ago now… when Robinson came to St. Augustine and brought his annual gathering of fans and colleagues, Robinsonfest, with him.
As noted in the Author’s Note, years ago Holloway wrote a book called The Legend Of The Winterking. In its level of detail and blending of both fantasy and Christian lore – but with Holloway’s own particular Christmas-focused bent to it – it really did seem capable of standing right up there with Lewis and Tolkien. As I don’t read fantasy, I don’t *know* this, but being familiar with the overall stories of all three authors – despite never having read a word of any of their fantasies – I feel confident enough in saying that. Winterking was supposed to be Holloway’s Magnum Opus. It was going to be glorious and make Holloway as famous as those other two. Wait. Has anyone ever heard of them? 😉
Here, with this particular tale, Holloway actually does *better* than he has ever done before – including with Winterking. Yes, you heard that right. This long time fan and reader of Holloway is openly proclaiming *this* to be his best book yet – and I have strong thoughts on this.
Who else beyond Holloway would be able to create a Tolkien-level world… and then when that project failed, instead use it as a magical realism deep background element to an Agatha Christie level cozy murder mystery… that happened to be based both at Christmas and in Christmas, Florida? I know many more Florida based authors, from the few native Floridians to be found these days to transplants who have lived here various lengths of time, both longer and shorter than I’ve lived here myself. Literally not one of them – talented authors all in their own rights, many of whom I am an active fan of – could have pulled something quite like this off. Sure, many of them have done emotional family mysteries of various levels. A few have done scifi epics. But none of them have been able to combine fantasy and cozy mystery the way Holloway has here, and it shows just how strong a storyteller he really can be.
Who else could take the real-world Christmas, FL – a town on the opposite outskirts of Orlando from that place with the castle famously ruled by a rodent, a town that literally doesn’t have so much as a stop sign on its main road through town, a town where it is more than possible to imagine the rampant (recovering) alcoholism Holloway incorporates into this book being all too real – and use it quite the way Holloway has here? Even with the blatant set up of the name, I’ve not yet encountered anyone.
And yet Holloway takes all of this, takes his deep Christian faith and his deep love of all things Christmas (the holiday), and creates… this truly remarkable cozy mystery that somehow blends all of this, along with quite a bit of both heart and hilarity, into a tale that will be unlike most anything you will ever read from any other author.
Now, because of all of this – the several mentions of alcoholism throughout the book, the focus on Christmas, the magical realism based in nothing you’ve likely ever heard of before, the sheer number of characters (though from only a single perspective), the merry-yet-acknowledging-the-darkness, the (off screen) referenced child abuse, the (behind the door) attempt to cajole a young adult lady to have sex (played for both heart and a touch of comedic relief, to be clear), and perhaps any number of other issues… maybe this book isn’t for you. You do you. But I’m telling you as someone who has read over 150 books this year, who has read nearly 1800 books in a decade now… this is one of the most singularly unique books I’ve ever encountered, in so many of the best possible ways. Do what you need to do for your own mental health, I’ll never say otherwise there (so long as you’re not harming anyone else, that is, and choosing not to read a book is not harming anyone). But I’m not going to hide my opinion that this book is great for *all* readers.
Ultimately, this could yet be the opening chapter in Holloway’s true Magnum Opus. It truly is the best book he has written to date, bar none, and I for one cannot wait to see where he takes this world next.
Very much recommended.
This review of The Knives Before Christmas by J. Kent Holloway was originally written on November 18, 2025.
Jeff and the author at Robinsonfest 2024:
The entire Robinsonfest 2024 crowd on the pirate ship in St. Augustine. Jeff is at the front along the right rail, the author is in front of Jeff in the black shirt.
