Holiday Mystery

Edgar Award-winning editor Otto Penzler collects more than 50 of his all-time favorite holiday crime stories - many of which are difficult or nearly impossible to find anywhere else. From classic Victorian tales by Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Thomas Hardy, to contemporary stories by Sara Paretsky and Ed McBain, this collection touches on all aspects of the holiday season, and all types of mysteries. They are suspenseful, funny, frightening, and poignant.

Elf meets Aliens in this festive horror-comedy stuffed to the giblets with memorable characters, terrifying monsters, and gripping action. ❄❄❄ ‘Twas the night before Christmas and Nish needs to get back to his family home. But the last train out of London has been cancelled and his rail replacement bus has just broken down. He’s stranded in a snow-bound village pub with a handful of fellow travellers and the inhabitants of Little Slaughter. It’s the annual murder mystery and the tables are made up for visitors. With a roaring fire and generous hospitality, there’s nothing else...

The storm sweeps in like a thief in the night... Winter storm Holly is the worst in eighty years bringing high winds, subzero temperatures and snowfall better measured in feet than in inches. The weather paralyzes everything in its path, but, in this storm, weather isn't the only threat. It started out as a simple recon mission – then the worst happened. Recon evolved into an imminent threat and Rapid Response Alliance operatives, Cara Graves and Josh Haskins find themselves with less than 48 hours to circumvent a nuclear disaster. Fighting against the clock and the worst blizzard to hit ...

"Eggnog Murder": When a gift-wrapped bottle of eggnog proves to be a killer concoction for a Tinker's Cove local, all Lucy Stone wants for Christmas is to find the murdering mixologist who's stirring up trouble. "Death By Eggnog": Food and cocktails columnist Hayley Powell has never cared much for Bar Harbor's grouchy town librarian, Agatha Farnsworth. But after the Scroogy senior has a fatal - and suspicious - allergic reaction to supposedly non-dairy eggnog, it's up to Hayley to ladle out some justice.

A Halloween Mystery with a Killer Twist! "Melanie Jackson is a talent to watch." — WritersWrite.com Halloween is Chloe Boston’s favorite holiday, and this year, she’s certain her carefully crafted pumpkin carving will take first prize. But the night before the big competition, disaster strikes—someone uses Mr. Jackman’s giant pumpkin as a weapon to squash the town’s most unpopular dentist. Now, instead of celebrating the season with cider and candy, Chloe finds herself tangled in yet another mystery. Hope Falls doesn’t need this kind of publicity, and Chloe can’t let a rogue...

The twelfth book in Melanie Jackson's bestselling Chloe Boston Cozy Mystery Series is a 31k-word book containing the stories "Snow Angel" and "High Society." "Melanie Jackson is a talent to watch." —WritersWrite.com In "Snow Angel," Alex and Chloe are headed out of town, ready to spend a peaceful Christmas at a ski resort in Bethlehem, Colorado. Once there, Chloe finds that all is far from peaceful and bright in the newly restored hotel with a dark history. Someone wants to keep the hotel from officially opening on New Year's Eve and is willing to sabotage the resort, even if it puts ...

✨ A cozy mystery series like no other—where a magical bakery, a psychic twist, and a small-town scandal rise into a recipe for murder. ✨ In the enchanting town of Whisperwind Cove, one woman’s pastries are perfect... but her past? That’s a recipe still rising. When Poppy Periwinkle reopens her family's beloved bakery, My Soul to Bake, she expects a warm welcome—not sabotage, scandal, and a soufflé that nearly kills the Deputy Mayor. With her amateur sleuth skills, secret kitchen witch heritage, and a sassier-than-sugar best friend, Poppy must mix science with spice, intuition ...

When Saint Sebastian's School becomes the target of a shocking arson spree, the Sisters of the Sublime Blood and their surrounding community are thrust into chaos. Unsatisfied with the officials' response, sardonic and headstrong Sister Holiday becomes determined to unveil the mysterious attacker herself and return her home and sanctuary to its former peace. Her investigation leads down a twisty path of suspicion and secrets in the sticky, oppressive New Orleans heat, turning her against colleagues, students, and even fellow Sisters along the way.

Christmas is no time for a mystery...or is it? Celebrate two Christmas's with kooky best-selling author and Private Investigator, Stormi Nelson as she discovers the true meaning of the season despite her family's mishaps and misadventures! Indulge in this Christmas holiday small town cozy mystery by a best-selling, award-winning author. Warning: These stories are not in any chronological order with rest of the series. You may see someone who had died or gone to jail in one of the other books.

Welcome to Seaside Cove, where the ocean breezes mingle with the scent of freshly poured pints and the promise of a cozy Irish pub. In "Pour Decisions," the first installment of the captivating cozy mystery series, Katie Murphy, a spirited party planner, finds herself at the heart of a puzzling mystery on the Florida Panhandle. With her uncle's dream of owning an Irish pub finally realized, Katie anticipates the lively atmosphere and cheerful camaraderie that will soon fill the quaint town. But her excitement is short-lived as she discovers that Seaside Cove is harboring more than just warm...

In the festive village of Holiday Junction, April Fool’s Day takes a sinister turn when a notorious troublemaker is found dead after a heated altercation. Violet Rhinehammer, sharp-witted journalist for the Junction Journal, is knee-deep in covering the town’s Fool’s Festival when a palm reader’s cryptic prophecy shakes her to the core. The tension only rises at a surprise party for her boyfriend, Darren, where an argument with a rowdy bar regular leads to a shocking discovery: the man from the party is dead, and suspicions swirl.

Mildred Kilgore and Earlynne Biddle are planning to open a bakery on the square - if they can come up with the right recipes. Charlie Dickens faces two of the biggest puzzles of his career as an investigative reporter, and one of them involves his wife. Cute little Cupcake's talent as a singer and dancer makes her a tempting target for an unscrupulous exploiter. Lizzy must enlist the Dahlias to protect her while she herself is confronted by a romantic puzzle. And Sheriff Norris is forced to reopen a puzzling mystery that the town thought was solved.

On Christmas Eve, the Hardy Family are once again in a predicament on their horse farm. Someone or something has been stealing from them in the night. Was it human, or was it a ghostly presence who took all the coal? Or could it be Father Christmas, also known Santa Claus, Saint Nick, or Sinterclaas? And what was that giant beast that the farm workers saw galloping past? In a story that glances at Christmas myths from different countries, most of them scary, Sergeant Frank Hardy and his friend Hop Li search in the darkness to find out what's going on. Meanwhile, Mette gets to know Grace, ...

It's another holiday and Mayor Randall Shiffley has turned Caerphilly, Virginia, into Spooky City, USA. The residents are covering every window with cobwebs and roaming the streets in costume to entertain the tourists, and Meg's grandfather is opening a new 'Creatures of the Night' exhibit in the zoo. When a real body at the zoo and a suspicious fire at the Haunted House threaten to mar the town's creepy fun, it's up to Meg Langslow to save Halloween.

It was supposed to be a relaxing vacation in sweet, sunny Cape Cod—just me and my beloved brother—but discovering a corpse in our rental house really throws a wrench into our tanning schedule. Now a rude, crude bounty hunter has arrived on the back of his motorcycle to catch the killer and refuses to believe I can be helpful, despite countless hours of true crime podcast listening. Not to mention a fulfilling teaching career of wrangling second graders.

Frustrated with retirement, the seniors decide to make a little holiday magic for some well-deserving families and children. All they thought they would do is help some kids, maybe rebuild the boys orphanage, even help some people who desperately need it. They never expected to find themselves in the middle of a true holiday mystery that includes missing presents, stolen toys and the real mystery. Who is Santa Claus? The wives can't let the seniors have all the fun. Planning weddings are all fine and well, but there's a lot more to the holidays than just weddings at Belle Fleur. Never ...

Carol and Mercy are preparing the inn for the summer solstice when they get a phone call from none other than Mrs. Claus, telling them some VIP guests will be arriving at the inn. Namely, the representatives of other holidays, including the Easter Bunny and Cupid, who will bring them a much-needed publicity boost. Unfortunately, their new guests also bring a flood of holiday-themed chaos. With the Easter Bunny demanding to be served fresh cabbage leaves every few hours and Cupid's arrows wreaking havoc among the staff, Carol finds her own potential love life on hold.

Janet Evanovich is at it again! This time, Diesel makes an appearance just after Valentine's Day in order to turn Stephanie's world upside down. Filled with all the characters you know and love from the Burg, including Lula, Grandma Mazur, Connie, Ranger, Joe, Tank, Valerie, and Albert Kloughn, Plum Lucky is a can't-miss bestseller for Janet Evanovich's legion of fans.

OVER-THE-TOP INSTA-LOVE LIKE YOU'VE NEVER SEEN . . . FOR THE HOLIDAYS! My mom just got a new boyfriend and cancelled Thanksgiving because "reasons." So my sweet elderly neighbors invite me over. So far so good, right? Yeah, well, I'm not the only guest at their Thanksgiving table . . . But from the way this mystery guest is staring, I might be the only thing on the menu . . . His menu! Sweetness and darkness rolled into one. No cheating. No cliffhangers. Guaranteed HEA. Over-the-top with drama, madness, and steam because I just can't help myself. Sorry. This is insta-love, Annabelle Winters...

This box set collection contains all four cozy mysteries in the Dream Droids series. Dream Droids is the premier robotics company specializing in sentient humanoids. Not only can they create the perfect human companion, but they can also create the perfect disaster. From undercover agents to sabotage, there's always a mystery and romance brewing when Dream Droids is involved. Set contains the complete paranormal cozy mystery / sweet sci fi romance series...many of them with a holiday twist that can be enjoyed any time of the year! The four books included in this boxed set are: Built for a ...