Christmas may be the most popular holiday topic for mysteries. When compiling this list, there were hundreds to choose from. Yes, hundreds. Do we, as readers, connect with the topic of murder at the holidays because our families and friends bring out the worst in us? Do the writers deliver a way for us to fantasize about doing in the dastardly boyfriend/cousin/landlord? Only you and your active imagination know for sure. 😉
If you are a fan of Christmas themed fiction, then this list of thirty-eight novels, novellas, and short stories is for you. The books were recommended by avid cozy booksellers, as well as NBR subscribers. Click on the titles to find out more about the books, then snuggle up with a great Christmas read.
Susan Wittig Albert: “The Darling Dahlias & the Poinsettia Puzzle”
Gretchen Archer: “Double Deck the Halls”
Carolyn Ridder Aspenson + 10 other authors: “The 12 Cozy Mystery Carols of Christmas”
Donna Andrews: “Owl Be Home for Christmas”
Mary Angela: “Very Merry Murder”
Joy Avon: “In Peppermint Peril”
Laurien Berenson: “Wagging through the Snow”
Leslie Budewitz: “As the Christmas Cookie Crumbles”
Ellen Byron: “A Cajun Christmas Killing”
Lynn Cahoon: “Santa Puppy”
Vicki Delany: “Silent Night, Deadly Night”
Leighann Dobbs: “Grievance in Gingerbread Alley”
Barbara Early: “Murder on the Toy Town Express”
Morris Fenris: “Miracle of Christmas Boxed Set”
Beatrice Fishback: “Winter Writerland”
Amanda Flower: “Premeditated Peppermint”
Joanne Fluke, Laura Levine, Leslie Meier: “Christmas Sweets”
Jacqueline Frost: “Twelve Slays of Christmas”
Daryl Wood Gerber: “Wreath between the Lines”
Patrice Greenwood: “As Red as Any Blood”
Carolyn Haines: “Gift of Bones”
Victoria Hamilton: “Breaking the Mould”
Jo A Heistand: “A Recipe for Murder”
Julie Hennrikus: “A Christmas Peril”
CeeCee James: “The Frosty Taste of Scandal”
Miranda James: “Six Cats a Slayin”
Laura Levine: “Death of a Neighborhood Scrooge”
Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis, Barbara Ross: “Yule Log Murder”
Liz Mugavero: “Purring around the Christmas Tree”
Nancy Naigle: “Christmas Joy”
Gail Oust: “The Twelve Dice of Christmas”
James Patterson, Maxine Paetro: “The 19th Christmas”
Anne Perry: “A Christmas Gathering”
Summer Prescott: “Christmas Reunion Killer”
Karen Schaler: “Christmas Camp”
Julie Seedorf: “The Discombobulated Decipherers”
Jane Willan: “The Hour of Death”
Sherryl Woods: “Christmas at White Pines”
Happy Choosing!
