It’s almost Christmas, so why not get into the holiday spirit with some of these Christmas-themed mysteries? And if you like what you see, consider checking out my previous list here.
Love is full of surprises-though few compare to realizing that you’re marrying the real-life Santa. April Claus dearly loves her new husband, Nick, but adjusting to life in the North Pole is not all sugarplums and candy canes. Especially when a cantankerous elf named Giblet Hollyberry is killed by a black widow spider in his stocking–shortly after publicly arguing with Nick. Christmastown is hardly a hotbed of crime, aside from mishaps caused by too much eggnog, but April disagrees with Constable Crinkle’s verdict of accidental death. As April sets out to find the culprit, it’ll mean putting the future of Christmas on the line–and hoping her own name isn’t on a lethal naughty list… Mrs. Claus and the Santaland Slayings is the first in a new series!
Siobhan O’Sullivan’s holiday plans are put on hold when murder strikes. Her entire family has gone to West Cork to celebrate the holidays with her brother James and his fiancée Elise’s family. Of course, Siobhan is happy for the couple, but she’s also disappointed that her own wedding has to be put on hold. At first it seems like the most difficult part of the holiday will be the gift exchange, but when Elise’s grandfather is found crushed under a ninety-pound harp, murder comes to the forefront. And when a snowstorm strands the guests at an isolated farmhouse on a cliff, Siobhan has to figure out who the killer was before they strike again! Murder at an Irish Christmas is part of the Irish Village Mystery series. To start at the beginning, check out Murder in an Irish Village.
Skeleton Stuffs a Stocking is part of a rather unusual series. The Family Skeleton mysteries (which starts with A Skeleton in the Family) gives the phrase “skeleton in the closet” a completely new meaning. When Georgia moves back home, she discovers that the house comes with a real skeleton–who walks and talks, makes bad jokes, and calls himself Sid. In this Christmas tale, the family dog goes missing. When he finally turns up, he has a human femur clutched in his jaws. And soon, the entire skeleton turns up–not a wisecracking, mobile skeleton, but a very dead one. And Georgia and Sid have to figure out who was behind the murder.
After a bad breakup, Brynn MacAlister moves to Shenandoah Springs with her three Red Devon cows to start a new life as a dairy farmer. But, when her neighbor Nancy dies in a mysterious fire, Brynn’s idyllic life begins to curdle. It seems that Nancy had made herself some small-town enemies, but could plans to renovate an old church possibly be grounds for murder? Suddenly, Christmas doesn’t feel so festive as complaints roll in about Brynn’s sweet (but loud) cow Petunia, and she starts to wonder if she’ll be the next target. Christmas Cow Bells is the first in the Buttermilk Creek Mysteries series.
Wedding planner Mallory runs into some unexpected issues while planning her best friend Olivia’s wedding. Olivia wants a wife Christmas wedding with all the trimmings. Her family is in real estate development, and sponsoring a charity even for the local animal shelter. Meanwhile, Mallory’s mom keeps trying to convince her to stage homes for the company–ousting the current stager. But, when the woman whose job is threatened is found dead after drinking punch spiked with antifreeze, Mallory has to add murder to her plate, along with a series of other mysteries. And of course, there’s still the wedding to plan! Marry Christmas Murder is part of the Wedding Planner Mystery series. If you want to start from the beginning, consider checking out book 1: Engaged in Death.
