At this time of the year we can look forward to a good number of holiday-themed Cozy Mysteries. Most cozy mysteries are set in small towns and involve a sleuth who is not involved in a profession related to crime solving. Generally the sleuth stumbles into the crime and is somehow drawn into helping solve the mystery. Here are some recent additons to our collection that we hope you enjoy!
Rest Ye Murdered Gentlemen - Vicki Delany - Delany launches a new series set in Rudolph, New York, a little Upstate town where it's Christmas year-round. Merry Wilkinson has returned home to open up a shop called Mrs. Claus's Treasures, which sells quality, artisan-crafted gifts. December is Rudolph's busiest season, but someone seems to be trying to sabotage the holiday for everyone. When Nigel Pearce, a journalist writing about "America's Christmas town," is found dead, the community is thrown into turmoil and potential ruin as tourists cancel reservations and avoid shopping there. With her best friend under suspicion and her livelihood at risk, Merry is determined to find the grinch who is destroying their Christmas.
The Bark Before Christmas - Laurien Berenson - Melanie Travis has her hands full with her two young sons, a part-time job, and a half dozen poodles. Even with the busy holiday season approaching, she still has time to solve a Christmastime murder. With her youngest son approaching toddlerhood, she’s decided to return to her old job at Howard Academy, a posh private school attended by the children of Greenwich’s well-heeled gentry. But everything goes awry when a prize show dog goes missing. The dog’s owner is one of the school’s most perfectly pedigreed alums, and she enlists Melanie to help find the missing show dog. Then Santa turns up dead. As Melanie starts looking for the truth, she digs up a bunch sinister secrets that leaves everyone feeling less than merry.
A Christmas Escape - Anne Perry - For many seasons, the holiday season has meant a new Anne Perry. In this her thirteenth in the Christmas Novellas series, we are transported to a Mediterranean island for an unconventional Yuletide adventure. Lonely Charles Latterly arrives at his small hotel hoping that the island’s blue skies and gentle breezes will brighten his spirits. Unfortunately, there’s no holiday cheer to be found among his fellow guests. The one exception is a charming orphaned teenager Candace Finbar, who takes Charles under her wing and introduces him to the island’s beauty. But the tranquility of the holiday is swiftly disrupted by a violent quarrel, with an unpleasant gentleman’s shocking claims of being stalked, and the ominous stirrings of the local volcano. Then events take an even darker turn,when a body is found and Charles quickly realizes that the killer must be among the group of guests.
Humbug Murders - L. J. Oliver - Ebenezer Scrooge from Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol investigates a shocking murder—before he becomes the next victim. Scrooge considers himself a rational man with a keen sense of deductive reasoning developed from years of business dealings, but that changes one night when he’s visited by the ghost of his former boss and friend, Fezziwig, who mysteriously warns him that three more will die and ultimately Ebenezer himself—if he doesn’t get to the bottom of a vast conspiracy!
The Iced Princess - Christine Husom - In the second of the Snow Globe Shop Mystery Series, Camryn Brooks, the gift shop manager and snow globe workshop teacher continues her mystery solving adventures. When a former high-school classmate asks for a job at least through the Christmas season, Camryn agrees to help out despite the fact that the socialite is not exactly what she was hoping for in seasonal help. When Molly turns up dead in the shop, poisoned by a cup of coffee, Camrym feels responsible and helps discover the murderer.
Ornaments of Death - Jane K. Cleland - This is the tenth in the Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery Series. Jane will be enjoying her holiday time in the coastal town of Rocky Point, New Hampshire, by hosting her annual holiday party. When a recently discovered relative (Ian) joins the party, she will need to solve the disappearance of not only Ian but also several priceless 17th century watercolor miniature portraits he had intended to give to his daughter and Josie's good friend, Lavinia.
