Holiday Mystery Thriller

Enjoy the holiday season with three festive mysteries set in coastal Maine. This anthology includes "Yule Log Murder" by Leslie Meier, "Death by Yule Log" by Lee Hollis, and "Logged On" by Barbara Ross.

Since Father Tibor Kasparian escaped the Soviet Union, he has done his best to keep his philosophy to himself - not out of fear, but because he knows that few people could stomach an honest account of life under Stalinism. When he gets an invitation to spend a semester teaching philosophy at Independence College, Kasparian hesitates, but his friend Gregor Demarkian, a former FBI investigator, convinces him to accept. They will both wish he had decided to stay away.

IN DIESEM SOMMER IST NICHTS, WIE ES SCHEINT. Wie weit würdest du gehen, um deine Geheimnisse zu wahren? Es sollte der perfekte Urlaub werden – drei Familien, eine gemeinsame Woche in der Sonne. Doch Kate möchte nur eines: herausfinden, mit wem ihr Mann eine Affäre hat. Alles deutet auf eine ihrer besten Freundinnen hin. Eine von ihnen ist bereit, Jahre der Freundschaft zu opfern und Kates Familie zu zerstören.

Let me be the first person to welcome you to Normal, Kentucky, located in the heart of the Daniel Boone National Forest. I'm Mae West, the owner of Happy Trails Campground. The campground is full and the campers are excited to participate in Normal's annual Pumpkin Carving Contest. It's a little spooky seeing the hundreds of jack-o-lantern faces all light up. It's the dead body or two among them that chills me to the bone. Especially when one of those bodies is found in a cave and someone I love is a suspect. And when Hanks asks me for input on the case, I know it's important.

A Christmas charity contest leads to murder! Amateur baker Poppy Wilkinson agrees to be a celebrity contestant in a charity gingerbread house competition in Bath, England. She can support a good cause while promoting the long running TV reality show in which she’s a contestant — The Great British Baking Contest. However, beneath the gingerbread walls and behind the lollipop trees swirl bad feelings, jealousy, and murder. Good thing Poppy is also a witch and a talented amateur sleuth.

Boxes of delicious chocolates and roses by the dozen are aplenty in the small town of Paramour Bay as Valentine's Day approaches, but all is not so rosy in Raven Marigold's life when a simple love enchantment goes horribly awry. You see, the affection spell is only meant to affect one recipient...not the entire town! Things for Raven go from bad to worse when small fires begin to break out all around town, causing damages to the local shops and homes alike.

In book 16 in the series, Abby is offered the chance to participate in an author event being held at Firehouse Books with one of her own favorite authors. When the guest author turns up dead, Abby realizes that clues to the author’s death could be found in the new novel the woman had yet to release. Using her own sleuthing skills, Abby jumps into the investigation after it becomes clear that it just might take an author to find the meaning in the pages.

SEPT JOURS. TROIS COUPLES. UN MEURTRE. Le Sud de la France, un temps de rêve, une villa somptueuse avec vue imprenable sur les vignes : tout est réuni pour que Kate, ses meilleures amies et leurs familles passent des vacances parfaites. Mais Kate bascule du paradis à l'enfer lorsqu'elle découvre à son arrivée un message qui ne lui laisse aucun doute : son mari la trompe. Et sa maîtresse est là, dans la villa, avec eux. C'est l'une de ses trois meilleures amies. Mais laquelle ? Laquelle est prête à piétiner vingt ans d'amitié et à détruire sa famille ?

Lucy Stone is in the doghouse with her next-door neighbor, Mrs. Prudence Pratt. It seems that Kudo, the Stones’ misbehaving mutt, has developed a taste for Mrs. Pratt’s blue-ribbon-winning chickens, as well as an escape artist’s talent for sneaking out. With the Fourth of July coming up, Lucy doesn’t want to set off any more fireworks with the crabby Prudence.

Shortly before the holidays, inventor and former assassin Missi Bombay gets orders to perform one last job. It's the granddaddy of all hits-to be carried out on Christmas Eve, no less. Missi knows she has only one chance at success, so she enlists the help of her cousins Gin, Dakota, and Coney. Together the Bombay cousins come out of retirement to stamp out the world's most evil cabal.

‘The Signalman’ (1866) is a short story by the English writer Charles Dickens (1812-1870). In the story, a practical-minded narrator meets a railway worker who has been seeing supernatural visions. The narrator doubts the man at first, but at the story’s conclusion a strange event makes him a believer.

For Lance and Leah, it was supposed to be a quiet Christmas vacation. But when the spirits start visiting, silenced in death and unable to speak, Lance quickly realizes he’s up against a type of evil he’s never encountered before. To make matters worse, Lance isn’t feeling quite like himself.

Pathologist Toni Day and her husband, Hal, are mystified when she starts receiving grisly Christmas cards depicting murders, each accompanied by a twisted verse from The Twelve Days of Christmas, and she and her partners are suddenly inundated with autopsies on the corresponding bodies. The victims are members of a jury that convicted Toni’s old boyfriend Robbie of kidnapping and sent him to prison.

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 simply because he was the only soldier unaccounted for when these baffling crimes were committed.

Thirteen-time #1 national bestselling author Glenn Beck realized years ago that somewhere along the way, his four children had become more focused on Santa than the meaning of Christmas. No matter how he tried, he could not redirect their attention away from presents and elves to the manger instead. Glenn didn't want to be the Grinch who spoiled the magic of Kris Kringle, so he had to find a unique way to turn his kids back toward the true meaning of Christmas. He decided the best place to start was by first turning Santa himself back toward Christ.

Fifties are the new forties and I'm living my best life ever. I may have a few more aches and pains, graying roots, and couple extra pounds, but I also have two quirky best friends who always have my back, business is booming, and my love life has never been better or hotter. That is until my sweetie Ezra Holden invites me home for Christmas to meet his family. The season is full of surprises in Ezra's hometown, like a missing cousin, a case of mistaken identity, and a slew of painful memories—none of them my own.

When Matt and Imogen move out of the city, they're hoping for a much-needed fresh start. Matt throws himself into his new job, but Imogen struggles to adjust to life in quiet Surrey. She's grateful for the kind welcome from new neighbour Nancy, and they soon become close friends. So when Nancy makes a shocking accusation, Imogen doesn't know who to trust. This isn't the first time Matt has found himself on the wrong end of a false accusation...but is Nancy hiding secrets of her own?

From the authors of Cozy Mystery Magazine - a collection of cozy Christmas-themed travel mysteries and scrumptious holiday recipes for our mystery fans. A short and sweet treat.

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.

This year, Juniper has invited most of Crescent Cove to her Thanksgiving feast. Even that annoying Detective Mallard and his gang of ducklings. The mansion is decorated. The table is set. The cooks (both living and ghostly) are trying new recipes. Everything is perfect until someone ends up face-down in the pecan pie.