Dashing through the snow by Mary Higgins Clark & Carol Higgins Clark

As Christmas approaches, the folks of Branscombe, N.H., are celebrating their first Festival of Joy. Visiting from New York City are novelist Nora Regan Reilly and her PI daughter, Regan Reilly, and their close friends Alvirah and Will Meehan, who won $40 million in the lottery a few years earlier. When four employees of Conklins Market win $160 million using numbers supplied by their associate Duncan Graham, they decide to share their winnings with Duncan even though he didn't put in a dollar that week. Duncan, alas, has vanished.  Eventually he shows up looking like he as been run over by a truck. 

Quickly we learn he has been scammed by con artists who have come to town teaching a money saving course.  He gave them $5000 - his entire savings - to invest in an oil well.  He naively gives them his lottery numbers and later discovers they took his numbers and were the 2nd winning ticket.  He goes to confront them and falls down the stairs but manages not to be caught.  He steels their ticket and goes to confess to his fellow lottery winners. 

Meanwhile his girlfriend Flower has flown into town from San Francisco to surprise him but when she learns he won the lottery and didn't call her immediately thinks he is no longer interested in her.  So she checks into a local B&B which conveniently is owned by friends of the con men who are thieves themselves and take Flower hostage.  The Reillys and Meehans are hot on the trail to discover where Flower is and who has the winning ticket.  Another twist is the flower ring that Duncan had put a deposit on to propose to Flower with.  Alvirah  recognizes it as a ring that was stolen 8 years ago from a woman who died under suspicious circumstances.

It all ends well with very little violence and with a romantic flavor.  Not the most difficult mystery but different.  I guess it is part of a series so might go and read some of the earlier books.  I was looking for a holiday mystery and this fit the bill.  One fact that bothered me is if Duncan had $5000 why didn't he just use it to buy the ring instead of just putting down a deposit.