Holiday Mysteries

Holiday Mysteries

Beaton, M. C.  Busy Body (2010)

When Mr. John Sunday, a self-important officer with the Health and Safety Board, is stabbed to death with a kitchen knife during the village's Christmas festivities, Agatha's detective agency is on the case.

Bowen, Rhys   The Twelve Clues of Christmas (2012)

While serving as an assistant to the hostess of a large Christmas house party in Tiddleton-under-Lovey, Georgie gets the attention of her retired detective grandfather after dead bodies begin showing up.

Carl, JoAnna.  Chocolate Snowmen Murders; a Chocoholic Mystery (2008)

As treasurer of WinterFest, Lee McKinney Woodyard is getting tired of the egos, arguments, and last-minute mix-ups, especially when the guest juror of the art show shows up drunk, a situation that gets worse when her husband discovers that the visiting dignitary has been murdered, in a mystery set in the luscious if deadly world of chocolate.

Coyle, Cleo.  Holiday Grind (2009)

Coffeehouse manager and head barista Clare Cosi and her NYPD detective boyfriend discover the snowy body of a man dressed up in a Santa suit, and become convinced the death was more than a mugging gone awry.

           Holiday Buzz (2012)

When she stumbles upon the dead body of a hardworking baker's assistant during the Great New York Cookie Swap, coffeehouse manager Clare Cosi and her boyfriend, NYPD detective Mike Quinn, spend their holiday poring over the clues to catch a killer.

Duncan, Elizabeth J.  A Killer’s Christmas in Wales (2011)

Penny Brannigan and her business partner, Victoria Hopkirk, are absorbed with the grand opening of their new spa. Meanwhile, an American stranger, Harry Saunders, arrives in town and sweeps widow Evelyn Lloyd off her feet. Some suspect Saunders is taking advantage of Evelyn, so it's no surprise when he goes missing with a healthy chunk of Evelyn's money and is eventually found dead outside Conwy Castle.

Dunnett, Kaitlyn.  A Wee Christmas Homicide (2009)

When her idea to drum up business in the town of Moosetookalook, Maine, results in the murder of a greedy toy-store owner, Liss MacCrimmon, the owner of the Scottish Emporium, feels personally responsible and, against everyone's better judgment, sets out solve the crime.

Fluke, Joanne.  Plum Pudding Murder; a Hannah Swensen Mystery (2009)

Rumour has it that "Lunatic Larry" Jaeger is in the red--an idea that takes a sinister turn when Hannah discovers the man himself dead as a doornail in his own office. It seems quite a few people would have liked to fill Larry's stocking with coal and then bash him with it. With so many suspects to investigate and the twelve days of Christmas ticking away, Hannah's running out of time to nab a murderous Scrooge who doesn't want her to see the New Year.

              Gingerbread Cookie Murder (2010)

Hannah Swensen of the Cookie Jar in Lake Eden, Minn., discovers her neighbor's head bashed in; Jaine Austen's holiday stay at her parents' home in the Tampa Vistas retirement community is enlivened by the murder of elderly lothario; and, Maine reporter Lucy Stone investigates a four-year-old boy's disappearance. Includes recipes.

Kava, Alex.  Black Friday; a Maggie O'Dell novel (2009)

Maggie O'Dell leads an investigation into the bombing of the nation's largest shopping center, uncovering paranoia, racism and a sinister secret agenda that extends to the highest ranks of a white-collar lobby group. As retailers count down to Christmas Eve, Maggie knows that infiltration is the only option--even though the cost could be huge.

Kingsbury, Kate.  Decked with Folly (2009)

Cecily and her friend Madeline halt their Christmas preparations at the Pennyfoot Hotel when the head maid becomes the prime suspect in the murder of her ex-husband, whose body was discovered in the hotel's duck pond.

Maron, Margaret.  Christmas Mourning (2010)

North Carolina judge Deborah Knott and her husband Deputy Dwight Bryant are looking forward to Christmas until a traffic fatality turns out not to be an accident.

Mortimer, John.  A Rumpole Christmas (2009)

Five holiday tales feature the curmudgeon barrister in "Rumpole and Father Christmas," "Rumpole's Slimmed Down Christmas," "Rumpole and the Boy," "Rumpole and the Old Familiar Faces," and "Rumpole and the Christmas Break."

Patterson, James.  Merry Christmas, Alex Cross (2012)

It's Christmas Eve and Detective Alex Cross is called away from his family to resolve a horrific hostage situation that is spiraling out of control.

Perry, Anne.  A Christmas Promise (2009)

Three days before Christmas, in the freezing slums of London's East End, thirteen-year-old Gracie Phipps and eight-year-old Minnie Maude Mudway join together in a search for Charlie, the donkey who belonged to Minnie Maude's Uncle Alf. Gracie is shocked to learn that only the day before, someone brutally murdered Uncle Alf and made off with his rag-and-bones cart and the beloved beast who pulled it.

          A Christmas Odyssey (2010)

Just before the Christmas holiday, distinguished London mathematician Henry Rathbone comes to the aid of an old friend whose son Lucien has gone missing. Enlisting the aid of Squeaky Robinson and Crow, Henry soon discovers that Lucien may be involved with a murdered prostitute and a major drugs dealer.      

          A Christmas Homecoming (2011)

Traveling up the Yorkshire coast with her husband and his acting troupe, Caroline, the mother of Charlotte Pitt, anticipates their arrival at the famed fishing village landing sight of Count Dracula in Bram Stoker's tale and develops an awareness about inviting and disallowing evil.

         A Christmas Garland (2012)

The year is 1857, soon after the tragic Siege of Cawnpore. In the British garrison, a guard is killed and an Indian prisoner escapes, which leads to yet more British deaths. Cries for revenge are overwhelming. Despite no witnesses and no evidence against him, a luckless British medical orderly named John Tallis is arrested as an accomplice.

Stanley, J. B.  Battered Body (2009)

There's trouble on the rise when the "Diva of Dough" arrives in Quincy's Gap to make the wedding cake for Milla and Jackson's Christmas Eve nuptials. The famous chef and television personality is Milla's sister, but while her confections are sweet and beautiful, the Diva herself makes enemies faster than you can say "praline pecan bundt cake." When the Diva is done in, her body found covered in cake batter, James and the other supper club members find themselves up to their elbows in suspects.

Webb, Peggy  Elvis and the Blue Christmas Corpse (2012)

Someone's ringing slay bells and Callie, her bodacious Cousin Lovie, and Elvis the basset hound who believes he's the King reincarnated must go on the hunt for a killer who's anything but jolly.