Christmas Mystery Short

Each year, for 17 years, Mysterious Bookshop proprietor Otto Penzler commissioned an original Christmas story by a leading suspense writer. These stories were then produced as pamphlets, just 1,000 copies, and given to customers of the bookstore as a Christmas present. Now, all 17 tales have been collected in one volume.

This is a short story set in the Narcoscape of the Book of Dreams series. It is named "Dreaming of a White Christmas" and was originally printed in the collection A Cozy Christmas. In this brief installment, Nicodemus Smith has her hands full tracking down a lost philanthropist who fancies himself to be Santa Claus. Enjoy the yuletide oddness with Nic and the gang no matter what the season. I'll see you on the dreamside, ---Melanie

Sixteen delightful holiday short stories by some of your favorite Soho crime authors! This captivating collection of short mysteries and crime capers - which features New York Times best-selling authors, Crime Writers Association Gold and Diamond Dagger winners, and Edgar Award nominees - contains laughs aplenty, the most hardboiled of holiday noir, and heartwarming reminders of the spirit of the season.

Have yourself a scary little Christmas. In the heart of the holiday season, priceless paintings have vanished from a Park Avenue murder scene. Now, dashing French detective Luc Moncrief must become a quick study in the art of the steal - before a cold-blooded killer paints the town red. Merry Christmas, Detective.

Christmas has come to Marquess House and, with it, an unexpected mystery for Perdita and Piper to solve. Will they be able to help devoted sisters from the past find each other again? The Convent of Llyn Cel Island, 1486 Mother Superior, Sister Non, returns from a family wedding to discover the bones of a saint have been revealed during a storm. As her ecclesiastical superiors make plans for a Holy Shrine to be erected, Sister Non knows she must stop them before her bitter secret is revealed. Present Day, Marquess House, Pembrokeshire Perdita and Piper Rivers are spending their first ...

The Christmas Tree of Tales is a collection of short stories that span the festive season.There are plenty of.carols , snow , fir trees and mystical strangers ,some who are benevelant and Some not so! There are memories of treasured past christmases that come back as a child from 1961 returns in adulthood to his home town.The freezing gales howl around a mystery one Christmas Eve in a snowbound castle in the Mearns in the north of Scotland.Someone is alone with their memories and old carols at Christmas with only the wild sea for company.while mysterious children visit an old woman during ...

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 ...

Addie Michaels anticipates a quiet Christmas with her friends. Her only worry is why Danny is suddenly so grumpy lately. But when a fifty year old case involving a missing boy lands on their desks, she's suddenly in a race against time to reunite a sister and brother before they miss their last chance to spend Christmas together. A Christmas novella with the Hidden gang.

With Christmas just around the corner and the discovery of the Renaissance diamond still fresh in their minds, Robert, Annie, Anton, and Ellie discover that things around Darvil Manor have been mysteriously disappearing. After tracing the culprit to a traveling circus, which set up nearby Devil's Leap, the children investigate, but is there more to the story than initially appears? And what do the mischievous clowns, Hubble and Bubble, have to do with this mystery?

Whilst dining at the Bantrys, Miss Marple is asked to tell a murder mystery. She recounts the time she could tell from a man’s behaviour that he was planning to kill his wife. But at the time of the murder he had a perfect alibi.

Enjoy three stories of romance, mystery, and the magic of Christmas! THE OXFORD STREET COFFEE HOUSE DETECTIVES Two young women and one young man lead unobtrusive lives working at a Victorian coffee house, for the owner Mr. McDougal. But when a famous painting is stolen, they must assume their other identities--for they moonlight as apprentice detectives under the employ of Mycroft Holmes. THE ROOKS OF MISSELTHWAITE - PART 1: IN THE FORGOTTEN GARDEN Lilias Lennox and her sister Evelia have lost everything. Their parents are dead, their brother is serving in India, and now their sole ...

Claire Murray has no idea why handsome, popular Dave Rickerson would want to ask her on a New Year's date. They've never even spoken before and suddenly he's pulling out all the stops to get her to go. Is there something he's not telling her or is this a fairy tale New Year's Eve about to come true? This sweet romantic short story is a companion to Adventures of a New Year's Kiss (a cozy mystery novella featuring Suzie Whitsett). Numerous Funeral Crashing characters appear in it. For more about the order of the books - The Funeral Crashing Mystery Series: #1 - Adventures in Funeral Crashing...

USA Today best-seller Debbie Mason's Christmas short story featuring characters from the Harmony Harbor series.

Mary Wilson is determined to return an arm that belongs to a Civil War era china doll. For her journalism class, Mary is assigned to solve a true life cold case, and she wants to use the missing doll for her project. She’s eager to begin until she learns her partner on the assignment is the obnoxious Tim Driskill. Tim’s life had spiraled to the pits after a football injury, and now he has to work with the university’s biggest optimist. To his surprise, as he works with Mary on the case of finding Peggy Sue, the pain and anger in his heart eases. His world is turned upside down when ...

What is a girl who hates Christmas doing driving to the most holiday-themed town in the state? Snowflake Falls was located in the coldest, most northern part of the state. Even in the middle of summer, it was rarely warmer than 70 degrees. But when her elderly aunt calls asking for help to run her shop Jolly Goods, Autumn Winter knew she needed to go.

Eve is home for the holidays and looking to spend some time with her family. She is from a little town in Michigan and it had been months since she has been home from school in the south. Her first day back, she makes it to a holiday party and finds herself flirting with the man dressed as Santa. She leaves still unsure who the mystery man is, but his eyes were so familiar. If only she could place him. While Eve might not know who the secret Santa is, Marcus knows exactly who she is. He has been friends with her father for many years. He had always had an attraction for the young woman and ...

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.

This book is a collection of four short stories from the unconventional mind of Al Macy. The Christmas Planet Jake Corby’s family convinces him to celebrate Christmas on a Disneyland-like planet run by creatures who walk on two legs but resemble schnauzers in elf costumes. When the Corby family arrives, Jake finds that the setup is not quite as innocent as it appears. A Pirate’s Life Down and out scavenger Alex Hale comes across a derelict spaceship belonging to mutineer Jan Breck. There’s a price on her head. Her beautiful head. Will he turn her in and get the reward? Sophia, ...

It's a secret Santa whodunnit! "No doughnuts on Tuesdays!" "No Christmas trees allowed!" When their Grinchy landlord posts a stack of crazy proclamation flyers, it rattles an oddball assortment of residents in an apartment complex. But then on a quiet night in, festive gifts mysteriously appear on doorknobs and doormats-- and the game of Guess Who is afoot. The evening turns into a maze of clues as tenants tally gifts, prowl the halls, chase shadows and even run into a little romance before the surprising culprit is caught. And no, it's not the landlord! Ha-ha This holiday short story is ...

Megan was logical. She didn’t like surprises and she knew Mom only kept treasures, not junk. So why was the strange thing shoved up under Mom’s bed? She ripped off the brittle plastic and gasped. Hopefully her new friend Brett could help her solve the mystery of “it”. He was cute and kind, much more real than fake Sir William. At least he wasn’t annoying like her sister Pamela with her problems. But Megan wasn’t in the mood for romance right before Christmas, especially with a funeral director studying to be a counselor. Why had Mom kept that old thing? There must be an answer ...