10 New Christmas Murder Mystery Novels To Read This Holiday
What best times to read some great Christmas murder mystery novels than during the winter holidays? The atmosphere is there and if you are a seasonal reader (like me), you’ll enjoy reading a good Christmas mystery just about this time of the year.
There are many classic Christmas books to pick up and read, however, why not check out some of the new books published discover some new authors, or maybe pick up new books in popular mystery series that you might know already about? I always enjoy reading new material published and giving new authors a chance. Afterall without us readers they wouldn’t be anywhere and wouldn’t go ahead and publish new books.
So here are 10 new Chrismas mysteries that I can recommend for anyone who loves reading murder mystery novels, cozy mysteries or even a thriller or two for this fun white holiday. Also, scroll to the bottom to find the latest Christmas mysteries published in 2017.
Duck the Halls by Donna Andrew
If you like cozy mysteries, Donna Andrew’s new book Duck the Halls will be a welcome addition to anyone’s real (or virtual) shelf. It is the 16th book in the Meg Lanslow series following Meg, her family and the community where she lives preparing for the annual Christmas time. I love this series, it is quite funny and in this book Meg has to deal with a death following a prank in the New Life Baptist Church.
Meg has to not only solve the crime but also to reschedule a bunch of events around this holiday. And cleaning up all these skunks in the church can’t be fun either! Btw if you’ve never read any of the Meg Lanslow cozy mystery series, it’s worth catching up from the first book, Murder With Peacocks, it not only makes more sense, but you’ll get to really know, appreciate and love Meg and her crazy family.
Ten Lords A-Leaping by C.C. Benison
Ten Lords A-Leaping by C.C. Benison is the 3rd book in the Father Christmas Mystery cozy series about Father Tom Christmas, widowed who has a 9 year old daughter, who is the newest vicar of Thornford Regis, a small town in England.
In this third installment Father Tom has arranged a fundraiser for his local church, something which might just be the death of him: he has do not nothing more, nothing less than jump out of an airplane with a parachute, which finally causes not his death, but a sprained ankle. This keeps him in the house without being to go out, which just as well pushes him to solve a murder case of someone found dead in the estate labyrinth.
It is a fun novel which sort of reminds me of Agatha Christie and her style of solving murder cases within a house without ever leaving the estate.
Christmas Carol Murder by Leslie Meier
Christmas Carol Murder is the 20th book in the Lucy Stone cozy mystery series. A newspaper report in the fictional town of Tinker’s Cove, Maine, Lucy is quite excited to take part in the town organized play A Christmas Carol and when a major explosion and fire occurs at the manor of Jake Marlowe, resulting in his death. Marlowe was pretty much a scrooge all his life, which doesn’t mean he should have paid with his life for his avarice.
If you like Dickens, this story will be especially attractive to you due to the parallels presented in it. Marlow is the scrooge from Dickens’ story and several other characters and even some of the plot line are quite similar. The town is in economic troubles and this particular book is not as cheery as the previous ones. I guess the global economic crises we’re going through has also touched the fictional world.
Silent Night by Deanna Raybourn
If you want a quick read that you can breeze through relatively fast while enjoying the story anyway, Silent Night by Deanna Raybourn will do the trick quite well. At only about 70 pages it is indeed a quick read and a great way to get yourself familiar with Lady Julia Grey, living in Victorian times and solving murders with Nicholas Brisbane.
The whole series is in the historical mystery genre, one which I like to read now and then. Silent Night is the 4.5th in the series, a novella really. Lady Julia and Nicholas are long married and in this story they are visiting her parents with whom Julia is hoping to spend a nice and quite Christmas together, only to have her plans so rudely spoiled by missing jewels and a murder as well. At less than $2, it is a fun book to pick up and read in your leisure time.
The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries by Otto Penzler
No Christmas would be complete without a collection of 60 classic, rare and fun Christmas mysteries in one edition that make up The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries. Apparently some of these books are so rare that you literally can’t find them anywhere else.
Some of the stories included in this special anthology are works by Agatha Christie, Ed McBain, Mary Higgings Clark, Ngaio Marsh, Isaac Asimov, Max Allan Collins, Joseph Shearing, Stanley Ellin, John D. MacDonald, Damon Runyon, Donald E. Westlake, John Mortimer, and several more. This is the perfect book to read with the family gathered around the Christmas tree!
Christmas Crazy by Kathi Daley
Back to cozy mysteries, Christmas Crazy is the third book in the Zoe Donovan Mystery series. Zoe is an animal control officer who has to deal with the Christmas Spirit – which in this case is a state of temporary insanity in the town Ashton Falls. This usually happens between December 1 and December 24, right fore Christmas.
This is a fun book to read with not only a mystery to solve, but also a bit or romance that makes for a light reading. As with most cozy mysteries, at the book there is a recipe called Cheesy Potato Soup, which I’ll have to make because it sounds yummie!
Merry Market Murder by Paige Shelton
Merry Market Murder is the 5th book in the Farmer’s Market cozy mystery series involving jam and preserve maker Becca Robins who, as usual in cozies, is the person who will end up solving the murder of one of the local folks, in this book called Reggie Stuckey.
While it is part of a series, the book can be read on its own as each murder mystery starts and ends with its own book. For the sake of character development, however, reading the books in the order for this series is not a bad idea either.
A Christmas Hope by Anne Perry
A Christmas Hope is the 11th book in the Christmas Stories historical fiction series. I love Anne Perry’s books, I’ve read several in the William Monk and Thomas Pitt series and the author is great at bringing back in her books old times long gone.
One of the reasons why the Christmas Stories series is so popular with Anne Perry’s fans is because it doesn’t have a character of its own. Basically Anne Perry took a road less traveled in that in each of her books she features characters from some of her other books. Each book is relatively short and the A Christmas Hope is no different than the previous ones. At a bit over 250 pages it does read like a fun and quick novella. Perfect for reading this holiday season!
The Santa Klaus Murders by Mavis Doriel Hay
The Santa Klaus Murder by Mavis Doriel Hay in a reprint of a British classic mystery from from 1936. It is a book that I’ve read many years ago and the fact that now is republished gives me great joy to share it with crime mystery lovers.
During the Christmas celebrations at his house, Sir Osmond Melbury, a cookie manufacturer, is shot dead by someone looking just like the jolly Santa. Now Melbury was no saint and there are lots of people who could have had the motive to kill him. For example he cut off his daughter from his will when she eloped with an artist, his second daughter had to let her first love go be cause Melbury pressured her in doing so, the family driver was rudely let go and replaced with with a Cockney “Socialist, and these are just some of the victims of his evil personality that might just want him dead.
It is really a charming and classic mystery novel that is worth rediscovering.
I Saw Lexy Kissing Santa by Christa Charter
I Saw Lexy Kissing Santa is a short and fun novella in the Lexy Cooper Mystery series, the 2.5th in the series to be exact. Lexy is a community manager at the Xenon game company who needs to find the next-gen computer game that is put on display for this Christmas. Her uncle, the detective Mike Malick locks down the entire party and Lexy is happy to team up with him again to solve the crime – which this time, thankfully, includes no dead bodies, but the theft.
The short novella can be read on its own, which is a great way to get introduced to the fun, sexy and naughty Lexy, and you might just decide to get the whole series
And there you have them. 10 new Christmas themed mysteries published lately, some by new authors to the scene, while others by popular authors with a few classic mysteries included as well.
In addition, here are more Christmas mysteries published recently.
The Christmas Mystery by James Patterson
How the Finch Stole Christmas! by Donna Andrews
Mrs. Jeffries and the Three Wise Women by Emily Brightwell
A Cajun Christmas Killing by Ellen Byron
Slay Bells Ring by Karen Rose Smith
The Ghost of Christmas Past by Rhys Bowen
Hark the Herald Angels Slay by Vicki Delany
