Holiday Cozy Mysteries for the Festive Season

It’s Christmastime in Shady Palms, but things are far from jolly for Lila Macapagal. Her cousin Ronnie is back in town after ghosting the family fifteen years ago and soon is suspected of murder. Now Lila has to put away years of resentment and distrust to prove her cousin’s innocence. He may be a jerk, but he’s still family. And there’s no way her flesh and blood could actually be a murderer … right?

In Rudolph, New York, it’s Christmastime all year long. But this December, while the snow-lined streets seem merry and bright, a murder is about to ruin everyone’s holiday cheer in the first Year-Round Christmas mystery.

The holiday season looks merry and bright for Libby and her friends at Y.A.R.N. — until Libby’s ex-husband, Sterling, turns up in town … and then turns up dead. The murder unravels Libby’s life faster than a hand-knit Christmas stocking. The luxe yarn goes missing, Sterling’s domineering family comes to town, and the vicuña attempt an escape. If Libby can’t stitch up a solution to the case, she may be trading in her knitting needles for a set of handcuffs.

18 festive stories of murder and mystery in the grand tradition of Christmas crime fiction, from the masters of the genre. From locked room mysteries on Christmas Eve to devilish whodunits and tales of simmering rivalries unfolding at the dinner table, these seasonal tales will delight and shock at every twist and turn.

In the town of Rudolph, New York, the Christmas season should make spirits bright, but as the year comes to an end, so does life, in the fifth installment of this charming cozy mystery series.

The author of City of Lies returns to nineteenth-century New York City to find Christmas in the air, a police detective and a midwife with love in their hearts, and a wealthy widow accused of murder …

It is an Edwardian Christmas, and the Pennyfoot Hotel is all dressed up. But when one of the guests turns up dead, owner Cecily Sinclair Baxter realizes it is not only the Pennyfoot that is back in business — the hotel’s Christmas curse is, too … It is up to Cecily to prevent this holiday season from turning out more fatal than festive.

Marcy is busy helping customers make hand-crafted ornaments at her embroidery shop, the Seven-Year Stitch. But despite the yuletide bustle, when her friend Captain Moe asks for her help, she can’t refuse — especially when the favor is to play the elf to his Santa for sick children at a local hospital. Despite the ridiculous outfit, Marcy finds herself enjoying spreading cheer — until the hospital’s administrator is found murdered. Now it’s up to Marcy to stitch together the clues to find a killer — before someone else winds up crossed off Santa’s list for good …

In the third installment of the Caribbean Kitchen mysteries, for fans of Mia P. Manansala, Miriam Quiñones, cooking show sensation and amateur sleuth, has sand between her toes and a murderer nipping at her heels.

Phyllis Newsome would like to think she’s entering the Christmas cookie contest for the fun of it, but that’s not exactly true. She can’t imagine anyone beating her snowflake-shaped lime sugar cookies. Then, during her annual Christmas cookie exchange, Phyllis heads over to the elderly Mrs. Simmons’s house and finds her dead … in a pile of lime sugar cookies. But with the number of names on Santa’s naughty list, this case may be a hard cookie to crumble.

Ellie Christie has recently returned to her tiny Colorado hometown to run her family’s historic bookshop with her elder sister, Meg, and their beloved cat, Agatha. The Book Chalet is a famed bibliophile destination known for its maze of shelves and relaxing reading lounge. At least, until trouble blows in with a wintry whiteout. A man is found dead on the gondola, and a rockslide throws the town into lockdown. Although the only Agatha in their family tree is their cat, Ellie and Meg know a lot about mysteries and realize they must summon their inner Miss Marple to trek through a blizzard of clues before the killer turns the page to their final chapter.

Inn owner Holly Miller finds it ruff staying cheerful over the holidays when the dead body of a beloved businessman turns up in the pet-friendly town of Wagtail, Virginia. Now Holly and her dedicated detectives — her Jack Russell, Trixie, and Twinkletoes the cat — must sniff out the killer to keep Christmas from going to the dogs …

It’s Christmastime in Cabot Cove, but there’s more homicide than ho-ho-ho in the newest entry in the USA Today bestselling Murder, She Wrote series.

Tea maven Theodosia Browning and her tea sommelier, Drayton Conneley, are catering a Victorian Christmas party at a swanky mansion in downtown Charleston. An attack on the host of the party sends Theodosia looking for answers in the latest entry in the New York Times bestselling series.

Bronwyn Crewse has just taken over her family’s ice cream shop in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and she’s going back to basics. But unexpected construction delays mean she misses the summer season, and the shop has a literal cold opening: The day she opens her doors an early first snow descends on the village. To make matters worse, that evening, Win finds a body in the snow. Soon, Win’s father is implicated in his death. It’s not easy to juggle a new-to-her business while solving a crime, but Win is determined to do it.

From the author of The Big Chili comes her latest mystery about caterer and cook Lilah Drake who is up to her elbows in deadly trouble during the Christmas holidays. After witnessing the murder of a Santa in a school parking lot, she’ll have to team up with her former fling, Detective Jay Parker, to unwrap the mysteries of a deadly Christmas killer and stay alive long enough to ring in the New Year …

Their chocolates are to die for — but things aren’t so sweet when a real killer comes to town, in this debut mystery perfect for fans of Joanne Fluke and Laura Childs.

‘Tis the season in Briar Creek, and this year festivities become fatalities in the newest Library Lover’s Mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of Fatal First Edition.

On December 30th, Susan Stark was dropped off in front of her parents’ house. She hasn’t been heard from since. Not a good scenario, especially in New York. Former nun (now crime investigator) Christine Bennett fears the worst. Armed with only a few phone numbers and a photo of Susan, she steps into the missing girl’s life — and meets a Susan that neither her parents nor her boyfriend knew existed … with strange obsessions and a secret life that may have lured her to a deadly end.

Charlie Harris and his Maine Coon cat, Diesel, are busy decking the halls for the holidays when an unexpected delivery and a shocking murder conspire to shake up the season in this latest installment of the New York Times bestselling series.

Throughout her illustrious career as the Queen of Crime, P. D. James was frequently commissioned by newspapers and magazines to write a special short story for Christmas. Now, for the first time, four of the best are collected in this volume. Playful and ingenious, shot through with narrative elegance and sly humor, The Mistletoe Murder is a treat for James’s legions of fans — and anyone who enjoys the pleasures of a masterfully wrought whodunit.

Contractor Shannon Hammer hopes for a peaceful Christmas with her fiancé, Mac, until murder throws a wrench in her holiday plans in a brand-new installment of the USA Today bestselling Fixer-Upper Mystery series.

The crime-solving powers of the inimitable Cora Felton and her clever niece, Sherry Carter, are put to the ultimate test as they square off against a yuletide killer who hides within the white-and-black shadows of an acrostic …

It’s Christmastime, but not everyone is jolly — especially not Vonne Barnett. Her dead body has been found in Victoria Square, and Katie Bonner decides to investigate. Vonne left a trail of men behind her so the suspects are many — but the clues are few. Katie may be closing in on a murderer, but time is ticking because the murderer is definitely closing in on her.

In this new installment of the bestselling Aunt Dimity series, a dreary Christmas leads to hidden treasure and new friendships.

Georgie is back and hanging the stockings with care when a murder interrupts her Christmas cheer in this installment in the bestselling Royal Spyness series.

When a series of mysterious deaths spoil the Christmas season in Crozet, Virginia, Mary Minor “Harry” Harristeen and her beloved cats and dogs lend the police a helping paw in this exciting holiday mystery from Rita Mae Brown and her feline co-author Sneaky Pie Brown.