THE CHRISTMAS PUDDING LIE, NEW E-BOOK FROM P.B. PHILLIPS UC'69'RUGS 70;73 on Amazon.com/Kindle/ $2.99 -Is it kismet or a diabolical conspiracy that reunites Anna with her old friend and publisher, the effervescent Dodd? The man invites Anna to join him in England for a traditional English country Christmas. He promises to whip up his famous and potent Christmas pudding. But she must promise first to tour with him and listen to his idea for her next best selling spy mystery, The Affair of Lady Banks. To help in the telling of the story of Lady Banks, who is but a vole in a mole’s game, Dodd calls up his mates the Holmes brothers, Mycroft and Sherlock. They are the experts on the mind games of spooks. As Mycroft likes to boast he is the spy’s spy. It is the ineffable Sherlock Holmes who dubs Anna, Watson. Anna was an important name in the tight circle of conspiracy theorist during her tenure at university. However, blowback from the job is a serious problem for Anna. Indeed it is her damnable obsession with conspiracies that propels her to take the California Zephyr to New York. There she jumps aboard an ocean liner on which the passengers are traveling as their favorite sleuths. After a quick tour of London it is a drive in the English countryside. From there it is another train ride under the English Channel to Paris. There is magic in the air with a horse drawn carriage ride through the Marais as it gets ready to celebrate the festival of lights and Christmas. This mystery travel adventure is not done yet. Anna dares to travel in the dead of night by train to Switzerland. Anna is not sure if she has fallen into the rabbit’s hole or if she is on her way to see the Wizard. The allure and romance of foreign ports and first class travel are peppered perfectly with epicurean delights. And there could be no better season for surprises as Christmas approaches. On the snow covered slopes of the Alps Dodd serves up his special brand of Christmas pudding. The secret recipe for his Christmas Pudding mystery is a good measure of comedy mixed coarsely with a heap of suspense.