Holiday Thriller

When Santa Claus is a cop, you better watch out. It’s not looking like a very merry Christmas for San Diego cop Nick Pappas. Suspended from his job, alienated from his family, and persecuted by the press, he’s sorely tempted to turn his gun on himself. Except for his first name, he couldn’t possibly have less in common with jolly old St. Nicholas. But when a local mall decides it needs a secret Santa to help collar some vicious muggers preying on its holiday shoppers, Nick’s persuaded to red-suit up so as to take the naughty punks down and avert a ho-ho homicide.

Olivia and Julian are enjoying lazy days in their Spanish villa, a well-deserved break from their busy lives. Especially for Julian, who after a lifetime as a carer was thrust into the public eye following the tragic murder of his first wife. The languid heat and peace of the villa is broken only by clifftop walks, sun-drenched lunches and cooling swims. Until a chance encounter with Gabriel—an attractive man, many years their junior—changes everything. Soon their idyllic break turns into a dangerous, high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse. Will any of them get out alive?

Mamie Simon is a grim and miserly old banker who rules over the financial world from the top of her Gotham City tower - and she absolutely hates Bitcoin. On Christmas Eve, she discovers Bob Cratchit, her chief clerk, is leaving his banker's job with her in order to follow the path of Bitcoin. The cringey hag blows her top upon hearing this news, and a battle of wits and wills ensues. Will Bob Cratchit succeed in following his Bitcoin dream, or will cold, heartless Mamie Simon succeed in stopping him? You'll have to listen to the story to find out!

Every town has a history. Ours is just a little darker than most. For years, I've celebrated Halloween and Hollow Bridge's history with everyone else who lives here. Parades, festivals, and insane Halloween parties have always been a staple for us. Some bad behavior is expected, given what we're celebrating. But murder has never been on the table before. Someone in Hollow Bridge wants to bring the stories to life, and they're not firing any warning shots. When rumors of someone wearing a Halloween mask surface, it isn't long before the first person is killed.

With the festive season fast approaching, amateur sleuth Juno Browne helps organise a Christmas Fair to raise funds for Ashburton’s local animal sanctuary. The event is a success, but whilst Santa is handing out presents in the fairy-lit grotto, a murder is being committed in a dark corner of the garden. Juno discovers the body of Bob the Blacksmith, found clutching a horseshoe decorated with a sprig of elder. Suspicion falls on Bob’s longsuffering wife, Jackie, and on Don Drummond, with whom Bob violently quarrelled in the past

Libby Sarjeant is deep into rehearsals for the annual pantomime when a body is found in a doorway two weeks before Christmas - and Libby and her friend Fran are called into action once again, when their investigation leads them to a local brewery and the sale of many of its pubs. With the help of a team of local publicans, can Libby and Fran unravel the case before it's too late?

A friend is missing and presumed dead, and detective Jade Hollis is determined to track down the killer. To do that she must team up with private investigator Bryce Kingsley - who doesn't know he is the father of her child. But she'll have to put personal secrets aside because the killer will strike again to keep the truth from being exposed.

This wry collection of Hanukkah noir features eleven stories by critically acclaimed authors that run the gamut from hardboiled to heartfelt, curated by New York Times bestselling author Tod Goldberg. Across eleven stories, award-winning authors spin tales of family, corruption, buried treasure and delightful yet twisted capers that will entertain listeners through all eight nights of the Festival of Lights.

Camille's been unwillingly drafted to help prevent a Christmas catastrophe in snowy Hidden Haven. Magic from the annual Spirit of Christmas Ball keeps the town hidden from humans for the rest of the year, but the magic from the ball can't be captured without the town's holiday cheer vessel: a wand that adorns the town's tree as its crowning star. Camille arrives dressed in a red ball gown, receives a pair of glass slippers that magically don't pinch, and is assigned a canine companion to assist in her mission: find Hidden Haven's pilfered holiday cheer wand.

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.

Welcome to Normal, Kentucky, a small town in the Daniel Boone National Forest and Happy Trails Campground, where the annual Christmas activities are in full swing. But behind the twinkling lights and festive cheer lies a sinister secret. When a local delivery driver is found murdered in Seymore's Candy Cane Factory, suspicion quickly falls on the eccentric cast of characters who call Normal home. From the grumpy old man who owns the candy cane factory, to the bubbly town fiddle player, Otis Gullett, who is secretly in a rendezvous with the factory owner's wife. No one is above suspicion.

Carrie's best friend has an accident and can no longer make the round-the-world trip they'd planned together, so Carrie decides to go it alone. Violet is also travelling alone, after splitting up with her boyfriend in Thailand. She is desperate for a ticket on the Trans-Siberian Express, but there is nothing available. When the two women meet in a Beijing Hotel, Carrie makes the impulsive decision to invite Violet to take her best friend's place. Thrown together in a strange country, and the cramped cabin of the train, the women soon form a bond

In the heart of Holiday Junction, where festive cheer and snowflakes blanket the streets, journalist Violet Rhinehammer prepares for the most anticipated event of the year: the Mistletoe Masquerade Ball. However, the holiday mood is deeply marred when a chilling mystery comes to light. The gruesome discovery of a man, brutally murdered behind the living manger scene in Holiday Park, casts a dark shadow over the town's festivities.

When Robert Catesby, the charismatic son of a Catholic gentleman, marries heiress Catherine Leigh and inherits the rich Oxfordshire manor house at Aston from his grandmother, it seems that the future happiness of the couple must be assured. However, Robert’s deep involvement in plots to overthrow the Protestant queen Elizabeth I and his increasingly dangerous behavior threaten the lives of his wife and their young son.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year… and for Heather Andrews, security manager at Timberwoods Mall, undoubtedly the busiest. But this Christmas, Heather has more to contend with than frazzled parents and disgruntled Santas. Angela Steinhart, a young woman who designed the mall’s spectacular holiday displays, has had a premonition that tragedy will strike on Christmas Eve. And Angela’s visions have a habit of coming true. Heather would love to dismiss the warning as holiday stress. But the more she gets to know the quiet, lonely Angela, the more she trusts her.

Now that Thanksgiving's behind her, vintage cookware enthusiast Jaymie Leighton Müller is excitedly making plans for the upcoming Dickens Days festival - the town's month-long celebration leading up to Christmas. With a hot cider booth on the village green to warm the hearts and bodies of the townsfolk and a diorama featuring a scene from A Christmas Carol, things are shaping up for a festive season - until the town's local Scrooge is found murdered, a vintage pudding mould covering his cracked skull.

It's the most wonderful time of the year in Christmas River, and pie baker extraordinaire Cinnamon Peters has everything to look forward to this holiday season. She's celebrating her one-year wedding anniversary with Sheriff Daniel Brightman, her best friend's getting hitched, and she's making a triumphant return to the annual Gingerbread Junction Competition. Things are merry and bright everywhere Cinnamon looks.

After dumping her boyfriend, Sadie can't help but say yes when she's invited to visit an island just off the coast of Fiji. The island is exactly what Sadie imagined: paradise. Beautiful sunsets, gorgeous white beaches and with no wifi, Sadie can finally try to escape her past. But she quickly discovers that there's more to the island than meets the eye. Why are only women able to visit? Why is a section of the island off limits? And why does no one seem to want - or be able - to leave? As Sadie begins to question everything, she starts to uncover a dark secret that lurks in this haven.

Winter in Sea Harbor is a feast for the senses—crackling bonfires, the scent of snow in the salty air, carols ringing out on the village green. This year, the Seaside Knitters have a sack full of obligations in addition to their usual Christmas preparations. Meanwhile, the holidays are kicking off in style at Mayor Beatrice Scaglia’s holiday party, where a well-dressed crowd admires the mayor’s new home and celebrity chef. An additional treat for Ben and Nell Endicott is reconnecting with a dear college friend. But it’s not just reunions and the appetizers that are to die for.

Following the butler's death and the cook's retirement, the ever-gullible Lady Lavinia replaces them with a power couple who are determined to thrust the crumbling estate into the 21st century. The Dowager Countess reluctantly agrees to hold a big-ticket Christmas gala and silent auction with a mystery celebrity flying in from Monaco as the guest of honour.