Christmas Mystery Thriller

A French patisserie opens in the village of Ashton Mead in time for Christmas. Local residents are pleased, but Hannah, owner of the Sunshine Tea Shoppe, feels threatened by the competition. When the owner of the patisserie is killed, Hannah is suspected of murdering her business rival. Her friend, Emily, is determined to clear Hannah's name. She seems to be facing an impossible task… until her little dog Poppy makes a surprising discovery.

As beautiful as it may be, their friends’ country house is not where Lady Vespasia wishes to spend Christmas with her new husband, Victor Narraway. She’d have preferred a relaxing holiday at home with him - especially as Victor, former head of the London Special Branch, seems to be hiding undercover dealings with the other guests who have gathered at the spacious estate.

Meet old and new characters in the Bay for Christmas fun and frolics. With both the Corner Shop and Cockleberry Café in safe hands, Rosa turns her attention to Ned’s Gift, the charity set up in memory of the great-grandfather whose legacy turned her life around. Over at the Ship Hotel, Lucas has his work cut out with his devious new girlfriend and the mystery poisoning of an anonymous hotel inspector. Will the hotel still get its three-star Seaside Rosette? Will Mary find true love at last? Can Titch cope with the demands of the shop and being heavily pregnant?

December 1860. Headed for the morning shift at the Swindon Locomotive Works is an army of men pouring out of terraced houses built by the GWR, a miniature town and planned community that aims to provide for its employees from cradle to grave. Unfortunately, boilersmith Frank Rodman is headed for the grave sooner than he'd expected, or he will be once his missing head is found. Colbeck, the Railway Detective, finds his investigation into Rodman's murder mired in contradictions.

Through Sue's blog, a young woman begs Ellen and her friends for help with a log cabin she recently inherited. Situated deep in the San Juan mountains and in pristine condition, the Colorado cabin looks like a paradise, especially in winter when it's surrounded by snow-covered fir and cypress trees. But there's an unwanted presence that has turned the cabin into a living hell for the young woman and her family. Ellen, Sue, and Tanya agree to clean house only to find themselves lured into a hell they didn't know existed.

When a beautiful Christmas package appears on Grandmama's porch, it's much too heavy for the Christmas pudding it holds. With her family away for the holidays, Grandmama digs in to the pudding, only to find a cannon ball baked inside. Instantly, her memory flies back to a friendship she destroyed a decade before. Hoping to make amends, Grandmama travels to Surrey and joins up with her former friend's grandson to solve the murder of his grandfather - who Grandmama once loved and whose death she blamed, out of jealousy, on her friend.

DI Tom Stonem’s peaceful holiday is cut short when a body is discovered nearby, in the shadow of the Angel of the North. The dead man is bound, his arms outstretched in the sculpture’s iconic pose. In the man’s pocket is what appears to be a little girl’s Christmas list, with the first item – 1. Angel delight – crossed off. When a second body is found – a woman, stabbed in the abdomen after her work Christmas do – Stonem can’t help but notice a grim connection between the crime scenes and the items on the seemingly innocent list. 2. Red party dress. Could this be a murderer’s twisted code?

Amateur sleuth Maddy Madison and her Quilters Club cronies return with another cozy mystery set in Caruthers Corners, Indiana - this time the murder of a Straw Hatter in the middle of the town's annual Christmas Parade. Maybe "return" is not the right word, in that this book is a prequel, taking place before the others in this best-selling series.

It's Christmastime, and farmer Lucy Resnick is living the life she's always dreamed of. When she's not selling her jams, soaps, and mistletoe bundles at the Buttercup Christmas Market, she's enjoying cozy evenings by the fire with her knitting group - or her handsome veterinarian boyfriend Tobias Brandt. But less than a week before Christmas, a pall falls over the festive atmosphere when local man Randy Stone turns up with a knife in his back and a sprig of mistletoe in his hair.

Christmas in Ashton Falls is always a magical time of year. The first big snow has arrived, the tree in the town square has been decorated, and the window displays completed. Zoe finds herself knee-deep in holiday shopping and children’s wishes, as she and Zak play host to nine-year-old Scooter Sherwood, and his friend, Alex. Things couldn’t be more perfect - until Zoe finds the body of history teacher Holly Jolly in the Ashton Falls High School Christmas Tree lot, run by best friend Levi Denton, and is pulled into a dangerous holiday investigation.

Slàinte! A Christmas Eve party at snow-covered Vik castle, where the Christmas Star diamond is on display. Good food, dancing and a visit from Santa. What could possibly go wrong? When Santa appears down the chimney, looking far more crispy than expected, it is clear that something has gone very wrong. With the castle cut off from help, a murderer in their midst and the Christmas Star stolen, it's up to Losers Club to investigate. As they follow the network of secret passages to learn more about their fellow guests, they realize that everyone has a motive. Including one of their own.

Rumpole isn't particularly fond of Christmas; he finds it has a horrible habit of dragging on as he and She Who Must Be Obeyed go through the usual rituals in Froxbury Mansions. After the exchange of presents (lavender water for her, a tie for him) they settle down to a supermarket turkey with all the trimmings, followed by a glass of port. The only excitement comes in deciding whether to stand for the national anthem after the Queen's Speech.

Uncle Willie has come to stay with the Redpaths for the holidays. It is just their luck for him to be found dead the morning after Christmas day, dressed in his Santa Claus costume, seemingly poisoned by his favourite chocolates. Or was there something sinister in the mince pies? If so, was it the ones stashed in his room or those sent to him mysteriously by post? More importantly, since his will was recently redrafted, who stands to gain by this unseasonable crime?

An old English Yule has never been merrier or more mysterious. A New Year's celebration has never looked more joyous but been so potentially deadly. Fearing the 12 Days of Christmas of 1564 may be the last for her ailing, elderly friend, Lady Kat Ashley, Queen Elizabeth decrees a nostalgic, old-fashioned holiday. Delicious dishes for the table, holly and ivy, caroling, wassailing, mumming, and a Lord of Misrule to oversee it all are in the recipe for the revels. But one of the queen's kitchen staff is found as dead as the ornate peacock he was preparing for the feast.

Amateur sleuths Jessie Harper and George Jenkins, of the Dale Street Private Investigations Agency, and Jessie’s companion, the mysterious talking cat Khan set off on another murder investigation in 1930's Liverpool, England. Their old friend and mentor, Detective Sergeant Bill Roberts of the Liverpool City Police asks them to take on a cold case, a dockland murder with supernatural elements. They agree and start their own investigation just before the fifth anniversary of the murder on Christmas Eve.

In the small town of Dewstow, 'tis the season for gold, frankincense, and murder... It’s Margery’s first year as kitchen manager for Summerview school and supported by her wife, Clementine, she is trying to stay focused. When a tragic accident claims the life of the music teacher during rehearsals for the Christmas concert planning, they are caught in the crossfire. Mrs Smith, the Head of Drama, becomes the prime suspect, and is desperate for the Dinner Lady Detectives to clear her name.

The year is 1904. Twenty-three-year-old Jemima Pitt, the daughter of Thomas Pitt, head of Britain's Special Branch, is crossing the Atlantic. She is traveling with an acquaintance, Delphinia Cardew, who is to marry the aristocratic Brent Albright in a high-society New York wedding - a grand affair that will join together two fabulously wealthy families, titans of the international financial world. But Jemima senses a mysterious shadow darkening the occasion.

DCI Michael Yorke and Emma Gardner are still plagued by guilt over their failure to catch the murderous psychiatrist known as the Conduit, and the loss of their former colleague to insanity. On Christmas Day, following a brutal massacre in Leeds, Yorke and Gardner find themselves once again chasing the ruthless puppeteer, believing that they have the initiative.

Holiday time in the Valley, and in the holiday spirit - despite the dismal shape of the finances at the Little Detective Agency - Bernie refers a potential client to Victor Klovsky, a fellow private eye. It’s also true that the case - promising lots of online research but little action - doesn’t appeal to Bernie, while it seems perfect for Victor, who is not cut out for rough stuff. But Victor disappears in a rough-stuff way, and when he doesn’t show up at his mom’s to light the Hanukkah candles, she hires Chet and Bernie to find him.

It's once again Christmastime at Marlow House and the mediums of Beach Drive have all decided to stay in Frederickport for the holiday. Surprises await for them when the true Spirit of Christmas comes for a visit. Do you believe in Santa Claus?