Holiday Thriller

Charlotte and Perry long for summers at Cliff View, their gorgeous holiday home overlooking the turquoise waters of Pine Ridge. And now that city friends Amy and Linus have bought a property nearby, they plan lazy weeks of sun, sea and sipping rosé on Charlotte’s summerhouse veranda. A rising tide of resentment towards second-home owners is heading their way and small acts of criminal damage are escalating into something more menacing. By the end of the summer, families and friendships will be torn apart and Pine Ridge will be known for more than its sun-drenched beaches.

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.

Christmas at the holiday mansion is always a festive affair. The residents of Crescent Cove look forward to Juniper’s yard decorations almost as much as an invitation to one of her parties—and this year, everyone has been invited.

Ah, the pleasures of Christmas: the hanging of lights, the traditional feasts, the gathering of families, and...a bit of murder, conspiracy, and theft. The holiday season seems to inspire the imagination of the best mystery writers, and their talents shine here in these delightful tales of Yuletide crime. In this busiest of seasons, seize a few hours to enjoy a sleigh—or slay--full of mysterious treasures, served with the finest of flair.

Private detective Nick Bozic works the mean streets of 1950s Portland, Oregon, shadowing unfaithful spouses and nabbing thieving employees. He may be lonely, but at least he’s not crooked. Despite the festive season, Christmas simply means less dough in his pocket. With the holiday only a few days away, a regular client drops a new case on him: Yet another being has come through the Rift and needs help finding his way home. Maybe Evindal the elf will help Nick find something, too - a bit of cheer and magic amid the usual brew of corruption and betrayal.

It's Christmas and a chocolatier shows up at Sweet's Sweets, offering to create a special line of hand-dipped chocolates for Sam's customers. He says he will work for no pay, just to prove himself. But she learns that he has connections to the wooden box that seems to give Sam her mystical powers, and discovers that certain evil people will do just about anything to take it away from her.

Hellooo! I'm at it again, and only a day after my last run-in with a killer! Hobbs and I are growing closer and closer, but there always seems to be a mystery waiting for us just around the corner, nipping at our heels and thwarting our hot romance. A very nice waiter named Joey Scarpetti, from the Marshmallow Hollow Ski Lodge, is dead, and it happened in my backyard in my pear tree, no less. So what's a girl to do but investigate?

In the charming coastal town of Seagrove Harbor, the annual Harvest Festival is a celebration of community, food, and friendship—until tragedy strikes. When beloved organic grocer, Maria Alvarez, collapses after sampling her famous salsa, the idyllic atmosphere shatters, leaving everyone questioning the innocence of their cherished traditions. Lila McAllister, owner of the Seagrove Bakery & Café, can't shake the feeling that something sinister lurks beneath the surface. Teaming up with Maria's niece, aspiring detective Izzy Alvarez, the duo dives into a web of secrets, jealousy, and ...

Love is all around as neighbors, friends, and families cope with COVID, violence, and uncertainty. The world keeps changing, but one thing remains clear, Jeffrey and Emily have a home together. The kittens are impatient to grow up and find their humans. And Violet says goodbye.

It's been the best year of Pete Townsend's life. He married the hottest, sexiest woman on the planet, and was looking forward to an amazing Christmas together. They just have to get past the Christmas party she's been planning with her new boss, Marco. The memory of the debauchery of last year's Christmas Party is all too fresh in Pete's mind. They had even met while planning it together. When she won't shut up about how great Marco is, doesn't he have a reason to be suspcious? Is this party going to end up the same as the year before, with her spreading her Christmas joy to all of her ...

Why can't they just leave Christmas alone? Kris Kringle left behind his mercenary life to atone and accept the responsibility of delivering presents to the children each year. The children will smile on Christmas morning at all costs. Someone has set a trap for Kris Kringle - but the problem is, Kris is willing to go anywhere to get those gifts to the children. Including to his dark place. Be careful, world. You don’t want to piss off Saint Nick.

The entire Thomas family takes a Thanksgiving trip to a mountain cabin after Tess learns that her father visited the area every autumn to hunt and fish before his supposed death in a fiery truck accident. After arriving at the cabin, Tess and Tony, along with Mike and Bree, team up to investigate a suspicious death, while Tess and Tony secretly talk to people who live in the area and once knew her father. Hoping to finally find answers for her unanswered questions regarding her father's current whereabouts, Tess widens her search, which leads her to a startling realization.

Winter casts a serene spell over the small town of Pine Hollow, covering it in a blanket of snow and holiday cheer. But for ten-year-old Ella and her family, this Christmas season is anything but peaceful. One morning, Ella wakes to find a snowman standing in her front yard. At first glance, it seems like a harmless, playful creation. Its coal-black eyes and crooked grin give it an almost endearing charm. But as the days go by, the snowman begins to move - closer to the house, closer to Ella’s window - without leaving a single footprint behind. Ella’s parents dismiss her fears as ...

Claudine Burroughs, a volunteer in Hester Monk's clinic for sick and injured prostitutes, no longer expects closeness with her coldly ambitious husband and dreads the holidays. Then, at a glittering Yuletide gala, she meets the attractive poet Dai Tregarron, and suddenly her spirits lift. But an hour later, this fascinating man is enmeshed in a nightmare - accused of killing a young streetwalker who had been smuggled into the party.

Christmas in Serenity is a magical time of year TJ has always looked forward to with happy anticipation. This year her holiday spirit is marred by the impending arrival of two new men in her life. When one of them ends up dead, TJ must juggle community plays, Christmas tree cuttings, sleigh rides, and holiday shopping with a complex murder investigation. As the facts begin to unravel, she realizes she may have to risk everything to save someone she loves.

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.

When Santa Claus is a cop, you better watch out. It’s not looking like a very merry Christmas for San Diego cop Nick Pappas. Suspended from his job, alienated from his family, and persecuted by the press, he’s sorely tempted to turn his gun on himself. Except for his first name, he couldn’t possibly have less in common with jolly old St. Nicholas. But when a local mall decides it needs a secret Santa to help collar some vicious muggers preying on its holiday shoppers, Nick’s persuaded to red-suit up so as to take the naughty punks down and avert a ho-ho homicide.

It seemed like just yesterday… The Holidays ticked away the calendar pages as another number scrolled past the lifespan odometer. The residents of Killington, Vermont sure could use a palate cleanser from last years’ excitement. Maybe a European trip abroad. If only they knew. With anticipation, the sequel to last year’s award winning gothic fantasy romance novel Holiday Spirit, has finally arrived. Join our favorite antiheroes Count Dracula, the werewolf Aoife, Saul Frankenstein, and Dr. Ralph Ellison, aka the Invisible man, as they continue their nail biting adventures through the ...

When a beautiful Christmas package appears on Grandmama's porch, it's much too heavy for the Christmas pudding it holds. With her family away for the holidays, Grandmama digs in to the pudding, only to find a cannon ball baked inside. Instantly, her memory flies back to a friendship she destroyed a decade before. Hoping to make amends, Grandmama travels to Surrey and joins up with her former friend's grandson to solve the murder of his grandfather - who Grandmama once loved and whose death she blamed, out of jealousy, on her friend.

My name is Abby Odell, and I’m a witch. Some call me a newbie because I didn’t know I was one until my mother died and her spell that bound my powers died along with her.