Christmas Detective

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.

The Miss Henry Mysteries Volume 1 is a collection of cozy mystery books 2-4 in the series. It includes the novels "Landscape in Scarlet", "Requiem at Christmas", and "Impression of Bones". "Portrait of a Gossip", the first novel in the series, should be read separately before reading this bundle.

As the Christmas holidays begin at Maude Daneson's rooming house, unsuspecting lodgers receive a most unwelcome present from the person responsible for a series of senseless and bizarre murders - a killer much more cunning than they had suspected.

There's a chill in the air and the days are growing shorter.... It's the perfect time to curl up in front of a crackling fireplace with this winter-themed collection from legendary mystery writer Agatha Christie. But beware of deadly snowdrifts and dangerous gifts, poisoned meals and mysterious guests. This compendium of short stories, some featuring beloved Detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, is an essential omnibus for Christie fans and the perfect gift for mystery lovers.

When Lily returns home to her aunt's manor house, she discovers that in order to inherit, she and her estranged cousins must stay together over the Christmas week and take part in a family tradition: the annual treasure hunt. But as they are drawn deeper into the game, the clues seem to point not to the deeds to the manor house, but to the key to a 20-year-old mystery: what really happened to Lily's mother? As a snowstorm cuts them off from the village, it becomes apparent that the game has turned deadly and that Lily is fighting for more than just an inheritance.

The holiday season is upon the Kerr Gang and what Ellen wants more than anything is to have a family photograph taken with Santa Claus to celebrate her daughter’s first Christmas. Amid the seasonal disturbances and potential disasters which threaten to ruin the holiday, she manages to gather everyone together at the local department store’s North Pole. Before the photographs are completed, however, the “Jolly Old Elf” playing Father Christmas suddenly turns red, begins to choke and within seconds, dies in front of them. A subsequent homicide investigation reveals he was killed by a ...

Welcome to Hope Falls where we're getting ready for a white Christmas… "Melanie Jackson is a talent to watch." —WritersWrite.com Chloe Boston, unofficial detective and meter maid, is on hand when the Christmas parade's grand marshal keels over in his antique car. Something is rotten among the candy canes and rollicking elves. Chloe is being pressured by the Chief to find the murderous Grinch, but will she have time to find the killer before Santa comes to town? "I was delighted to find Chloe Boston and all of Melanie Jackson's series." —Connie Shelton, author of the Charlie Parker and...

Sylvia Wilcox was just starting to move on from her traumatic past when a cryptic note arrives in her office. Initially, she ignores the accusations, but soon realizes the message contains a dangerous riddle that must be solved. As her painful past claws its way into the present, Sylvia can't ignore the opportunity to find out what happened to her late husband. In a race against time, Sylvia rushes from one location to the next, gathering clues and fighting to stay one step ahead of the cruel puppet master who is pulling the strings in this deadly game.

A baking competition with your archenemy… what could possibly go wrong for detective chef Guy Vanduex? It’s almost Christmas and former chef turned private investigator Guy Vanduex and his partner in crime-solving Sylvia Parker are enlisted to discover who is sabotaging a baking competition show. And it’s not just any competition, it’s hosted by Vanduex’s former business partner and archenemy Flynn ‘Barney’ Baker. But when contestants receive mysterious packages with gingerbread houses in the likeness of their restaurants and dead-looking gingerbread men in their likeness… ...

It is no ordinary Christmas at Lexham Manor. Six holiday guests find themselves the suspects of a murder enquiry when the old Scrooge, Nathaniel Herriad, who owns the substantial estate, is found stabbed in the back. Whilst the delicate matter of inheritance could be the key to this crime, the real conundrum is how any of the suspects could have entered the locked room to commit this foul deed. For Inspector Hemingway of Scotland Yard, 'tis the season to find whodunit.

The festive season should be a time for generosity and goodwill, but in Glasgow, Leger finds that is not the case. His human companion's attempt to raise funds for a CT scanner for a local hospital has been thwarted by a callous thief who has stolen decorations from her seasonal garden display. Now Leger resolves to mend Annabella's broken heart by finding the thief. With Ginger nursing her newborn kittens, Isabella confusing him with erratic behaviour and Bob more interested in Hugh's discarded slipper than helping solve this mystery, Leger's only clue comes from an unexpected source - a ...

Meadowood has a new mystery and it's just in time for the holidays! Strings of miniature sparkling lights adorn tree branches and hang across the entrance to the holiday pavilion. Christmas carolers try to enhance the holiday mood, but it was murder in the air, not friendship and goodwill. What can Meredith Gardner do when suddenly her new friend plus the sheriff collapse after drinking cups of poisoned mulled cider? Suspicion and fear run rampant in the town of Meadowood as local businesses are burglarized and everyone becomes a suspect. Newly promoted Chief Deputy Sheriff Doug Gardner ...

It's Christmas eve at 221B Baker Street. On the stroke of midnight, a delivery arrives addressed to Sherlock Holmes. The message is a cryptogram which reveals itself to be so obtuse that it has the famous consulting detective baffled. Holmes becomes so obsessed with revealing the secret of the cypher that Watson fears for his well-being in refusing to eat or sleep. Holmes can only deduce that time is of the essence, and that a means of deciphering must be discovered which has never before been employed. Watson wonders what new adventure will emerge, should the puzzle be unraveled.

A short story from British Library Crime Classic The Christmas Card Crime and Other Stories. A locked-room mystery that will delight Agatha Christie fans. Dramatist Trevor Lowe and his friend Detective Inspector Shadgold board the Western Express to spend Christmas in the little Cornish village of St Merryan. Heavy snowfall forces their journey to an abrupt halt and, after seeking refuge in a local pub, one of their fellow passengers is found stabbed to death, clutching half a Christmas card. Is the murderer in their midst?

Libby the Psychic Dog is a series of cozy mysteries intended for adults, but the series is suitable for all ages. Things are quiet at the mobile home park, and Percival, whose spirit resides in Libby, the psychic dog, is enjoying a nice snooze on the sofa with his Mama when something rouses him from his nap. He shuffles to the porch to find Herbert, the cat, at the screen door, and he's troubled. Herbert saw something that reminded him of his human life, and he's afraid someone in the park might be a danger to the other residents. As Herbert pours his heart out to Percival, the pudgy ...

A short story from British Library Crime Classic The Christmas Card Crime and Other Stories. A Christmas Eve party at Clevere Hall ends in tragedy when the host is found stabbed to death. Major Ceely certainly wasn’t short of enemies, but who hated him enough to commit the crime?

This Christmas time, things are not all fine. For there's trouble at Devlin's Department Store, and it all seems to centre on the first floor. Where strangely, one can hear a cuckoo chime...T'is the season to be jolly. And Old Tom must crack the case, before he can hang up his holly.

Flagged down by Inspector LaStrade of Scotland Yard as they walk through the icy winter streets, Holmes and Watson are transported to the home of the aristocratic Lady Whitebread. Once there, she tells them her traditional holiday centerpiece has vanished in the midst of the Christmas dinner - right under the very noses of her guests. The decoration? An enormous work of the jeweler's art centered upon a three inch round emerald called...the Christmas Jewel.

It's only two days till Christmas, and McNamara has surprise after surprise, most of them unpleasant. He can't believe things can get any more complicated on Christmas Eve, but he is wrong. A new surprise takes his breath away, and the tough Scottish detective doesn't think he will catch his breath soon enough. Turn a new leaf in the famous DCI's life and let yourself get amused, angered, or awed, living the Christmas cheer.

Christmas Eve, 1890. Thanks to the tireless pursuit of Sherlock Holmes, Professor Moriarty’s criminal empire stands on a knife edge. Still, three ghostly visitors may yet convince the Napoleon of Crime that his destiny lies in another direction.