Christmas Themed Mysteries – 2019
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!
“A Christmas Peril” by J.A. Hennrikus
“A Christmas Peril” introduces us to Sully (Edwina) Sullivan, Theater Cop, a former active duty detective in Massachusetts. Sully is now the managing director of the cash-strapped Cliffside Theater Company whose troupe is about to stage the iconic Christmas play, A Christmas Carol. But first, she has to keep Scrooge from quitting, while holding her ex-husband and an old boyfriend at bay. There’s also the matter of the murders.
In the five years since leaving law enforcement, Sully has not lost her sleuthing skills, so when an old friend becomes a person of interest in his father’s murder and needs Sully’s help, she agrees to look into the circumstances. It turns out that every single member of the family is hiding something. With big money, romantic intrigue, and a large company at stake, there is plenty of motive to go around and no shortage of suspects.
Her ex-husband, Gus, complicates matters just by being around, but he’s a lawyer for the dead man’s family, so he’s hard to avoid. Sully still has a soft spot for him, though, and any guy that can make her toes curl can’t be all bad.
“A Christmas Peril” is an absorbing peek behind the curtain at the world of theater production. Costumes have to last for years, tech rehearsals take longer than I would have thought, and the battle for Arts money is a continuing challenge. One of the characters says while half-kidding, (paraphrased so as not to give anything away) “We can’t kill the star. His name is above the title and we would have to refund the tickets.”
Can Sully’s savvy skills save her former boyfriend and the play from disaster? Will she be able to keep from adding her ex-husband to the rising body count? And, what about the murders?
Hennrikus has penned a complex, multi-layered plot that delivers jaw dropping surprises. I could have sworn one of the ‘obvious’ suspects did at least one of the deeds, but instead turned out to be guilty of something else.
I’m looking forward to a repeat performance from the personable core group of characters – some quirky, some serious, but always entertaining. You can pre-order book #2 in the series, “With a Kiss I Die,” now.
Please visit www.Jhauthors.com for more information about this Agatha nominated author and her other series.
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