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11 Festive Mystery Books That Are to Die for This Holiday Season
NEED TO KNOW
- The holiday season is the perfect time to settle in with a mystery novel
- Holiday mysteries come in all shapes, from cozy crime novels to chilling thrillers
- Check out PEOPLE’s picks for the best holiday mystery books to read this festive season
It’s the most wonderful time of year to solve a mystery — and not just who ate the last Christmas cookie.
The holiday season may be synonymous with festive romances, thanks in no small part to Hallmark, but there’s something about a cold winter evening that lends itself just as nicely to settling in with a good old-fashioned whodunit. Whether you’re a fan of edge-of-your-seat thriller reads or cozy crime novels that go down as easy as a cup of hot tea, there’s no shortage of holiday mysteries to choose from.
From Ally Carter’s romantic and mysterious The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year to Janice Hallett’s darkly funny novella The Christmas Appeal, the books on this list will leave you with thrills and chills. And truly, what more could a book lover ask for this holiday season than an on-theme mystery in their stocking?
Read on for 11 holiday mysteries that you need to add to your end of year TBR right now.
‘Miss Winter in the Library with a Knife’ by Martin Edwards
A small British village is on the verge of being cut off from the outside world due to a winter storm as this delightfully twisty novel begins. Enter six people with links to the world of crime writing, each with their own sad tale and in need of a reversal of fortunes. They each receive an invite from the mysterious Midwinter Trust to visit the town and solve a fictional murder in exchange for a prize, but there’s more to this strange invitation than first meets the eye.
‘The Mistletoe Murder Club’ by Katie Marsh
Clio, an actress-turned-struggling-PI, is elated when she’s cast in her local Christmas pantomime, but when the director is murdered on opening night, she’ll have to focus not only on her performance, but on solving a murder as well. Her solution? Bring in her two best friends to assist her on the case — while also playing a cow in the show. The Mistletoe Murder Club is a perfect cozy mystery, especially if you’re on the hunt for a book that’s as funny as it is clever.
‘Blackmail and Bibingka’ by Mia P. Manansala
Part of the A Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery series, Blackmail and Bibingka mixes family drama with murder as Lila Macapagal has to deal with her long-lost cousin returning to town just in time for the holidays. Ronnie has always been trouble, but when he ends up accused of murder, Lila will have to put her own doubts aside to prove her cousin is innocent.
’12 Ways to Kill Your Family at Christmas’ by Natasha Bache
If you like your mysteries dark and just a little bit twisted, then 12 Ways to Kill Your Family at Christmastime is the holiday mystery read for you. Olivia is just trying to make it through one last Christmas with her husband’s awful family before a big move, but then someone ends up murdered. Soon suspicions — and the body count — are on the rise, leaving Olivia more than a little afraid this Christmas could be her last.
‘The Winter Visitor’ by B.P. Walter
A dark family secret, a grandmother who is finally ready to face the truth and a mysterious stranger all collide in this eerie thriller that proves the past can’t be outrun. Add in a dead body found on Christmas morning, and the end result is a thriller that will keep you turning pages way past your bedtime.
‘The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year’ by Ally Carter
Love romance and mysteries? Ally Carter has you covered. The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year finds a cozy mystery queen reluctantly teaming up with a serious thriller writer to solve the puzzling disappearance of the most renowned author in the world. Sparks will fly, crimes will be solved and a good time will be had by all who crack open this gem.
‘Death Comes at Christmas’ edited by Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane
There’s no doubt the holidays are a busy time of year, so if you can’t commit to a full novel, pick up Death Comes at Christmas instead. This holiday anthology features 18 stories of crime, murder and the dark side of the season written by authors like Helen Fields, J. T. Ellison and Tom Mead.
‘The Christmas Appeal’ by Janice Hallett
Written in Janice Hallett’s trademark style, The Christmas Appeal is a blood-splattered holiday treat told through text messages, police files and Christmas correspondence. As a result, the reader gets to play armchair detective as they try to figure out how a small town holiday play ended in murder — and why.
‘The Christmas Clue’ by Nicola Upson
Set in 1943, reading The Christmas Clue is like watching your favorite old Hollywood movie. The story follows Anthony and Elva Pratt, who are in a small English town to run a murder mystery game, but when a real murder occurs, the lines between the game and reality begin to blur.
‘Christmas at Glitter Creek Lodge’ by Kjersti Herland Johnsen
Christmas at Glitter Peak Lodge is a wholly unique reading experience. The book is set up like an advent calendar with 24 chapters, each one doling out another piece of Alpinist Ingrid Berg’s story as she delves into an unsolved mystery that may hold the secret to saving her family’s quaint Norwegian ski lodge.
Set at a sprawling country estate in England, Murder for Christmas is peak cozy mystery. Sure, there’s a dead body dressed up like Santa found under the tree on Christmas morning, but Mordecai Tremaine is the kind of old school crime-solver you just know will crack the case by teatime.
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