Nothing says Christmas
like a bit of
Holiday Homicide
Fictional...of Course.
"Bones of Holly is the next novel from Carolyn Haines in the series that Kirkus Reviews characterizes as "Stephanie Plum meets the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" featuring sassy Southern private investigator Sarah Booth Delaney. Sarah Booth and Tinkie, along with baby Maylin, are in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi for Christmas this year, as judges for the annual library tree decorating contest. The other two judges are writers Sandra O'Day and Janet Malone. They're bestselling Mississippi authors, but bitter competitors. In fact, the feud between them is the stuff of legends. For years, they've brawled, their sales skyrocketing with each cat fight. Sandra's most recent true crime book documents the 1920s rum-running era of Al Capone, who built a mansion in BSL and a distribution network for his liquor. Janet's book, scheduled to be published in January, is a fictional account of the same material-which only heightens their bitter rivalry. Sarah Booth and Tinkie are shopping with little Maylin when they see Sandra and Janet outside a bookstore, fur flying, and when Sandra vanishes from her own gala later that night, suspicion turns to Janet. Janet accuses Sandra of attempting to manipulate the media by a fake disappearance, but is it a stunt, or is something more sinister at play? Sarah Booth and Tinkie will have to dive deep into the history of Bay St. Louis, and even Al Capone himself, to get to the bottom of this case. But the trail in fact leads them back to several prominent families still residing in the area. Families who may not want their secrets known..."--. Publisher's description.
"Christmas is coming to the Western New York village of Cascade Springs, and so is the long-awaited wedding of Charming Books proprietor Violet Waverly and police chief David Rainwater. Grandma Daisy and Violet's best friend, Sadie, go all out to make the nuptials the event of the season--whether Violet likes it or not. But the reception becomes memorable for all the wrong reasons when a woman's dead body floats by on the frigid Niagara River. Violet is shocked to recognize the deceased as a mysterious woman who visited Charming Books two days before the wedding, toting a rare first edition of Henry David Thoreau's Walden. Well aware that a mint condition copy could be worth more than $14,000, Violet told the woman she would have to have the book appraised before she could consider buying it. Most displeased, the woman tucked the precious tome under her arm and stormed out of the shop. Now she's dead, and an enigmatic message scrawled in pen upon her palm reads, 'They stole my book.' It's a confounding case, indeed. But fortunately, Violet can draw on the resources of her bookshop's magical consciousness, which communicates clues to Violet via quotes from Walden. With Emerson the tuxedo cat and Faulkner the crow at her side, Violet sets out to recover the priceless book by solving a murder most transcendental." -- Amazon.
"Dashing Through the Snowbirds is the next merry installment of Donna Andrews's New York Times bestselling Meg Langslow mystery series. Christmas in Caerphilly is wonderful! Unless you're a Canadian whose inconsiderate boss is forcing you to spend the holiday there, far from family and friends, with only a slim chance of a white Christmas. Meg already has her hands full, trying to make the season festive for the dozen programmers who are staying with her and Michael while working on a rush project with her brother's software company. At least it's an interesting project, since the Canadian company is doing forensic genealogy and DNA analysis. When the inconsiderate boss is found murdered, there are too many suspects. Even before their Christmas in exile, his own employees had plenty of motives, and the growing number of people suing the company for faulty DNA analysis and invasion of their genetic privacy include at least one notorious murderer. Can Meg crack the case in time to keep the Yuletide bright?"--. Provided by publisher.
"Lawyer Andy Carpenter and his humorous investigating team return in Santa's Little Yelpers, the next Yuletide mystery in David Rosenfelt's bestselling series. 'Tis the season in Paterson, New Jersey: Lawyer Andy Carpenter and his golden retriever, Tara, are surrounded by holiday cheer. It's even spread to the Tara Foundation. The dog rescue organization, not used to having puppies, has their hands full with a recent litter. Eight puppies are a lot to handle, and Andy is relieved when his co-worker Chris Myers agrees to foster them. Myers, a newer employee at the Tara Foundation, did time for a crime he swears he didn't commit. When Myers discovers a key witness against him lied on the stand, he goes to Andy to ask for representation in getting the conviction overturned. Myers thinks they can have this wrapped up by Christmas, no problem. But when the witness is murdered, and Myers is arrested for the crime, things go from bad to worse. Suddenly, it's all elves on deck to make a list and check it twice, so they can prove Myers is innocent"--. Provided by publisher.
A collection of three holiday-themed novellas includes Leslie Meier's "Christmas Card Murder," in which the discovery of an old Christmas card with a nasty message finds Lucy Stone investigating a decades-old murder.
When she stumbles over the lifeless body of the town's Santa Claus, professional foodie Samantha Barnes finds her plans for Christmas Eve getting complicated as she contends with her guests while trying to nab a killer.
Georgie is excited for her first Christmas as a married woman in her lovely new home. She suggests to her dashing husband, Darcy, that they have a little house party, but when Darcy receives a letter from his aunt Ermintrude, there is an abrupt change in plans. She has moved to a house on the edge of the Sandringham estate, near the royal family, and wants to invite Darcy and his new bride for Christmas. Aunt Ermintrude hints that the queen would like Georgie nearby. Georgie had not known that Aunt Ermintrude was a former lady-in-waiting and close confidante of her royal highness. The letter is therefore almost a royal request, so Georgie, Darcy, and their Christmas guests: Mummy, Grandad, Fig, and Binky all head to Sandringham. Georgie soon learns that the notorious Mrs. Simpson, mistress to the Prince of Wales, will also be in attendance. It is now crystal clear to Georgie that the Queen expects her to do a bit of spying. There is tension in the air from the get-go, and when Georgie pays a visit to the queen, she learns that there is more to her request than just some simple eavesdropping. There have been a couple of strange accidents at the estate recently. Two gentlemen of the royal household have died in mysterious circumstances and another has been shot by mistake during a hunt. Georgie begins to suspect that a member of the royal family is the real target but her investigation will put her new husband and love of her life, Darcy, in the crosshairs of a killer.--adapted from jacket flap.
"Spencer Quinn's It's a Wonderful Woof presents a holiday adventure for Chet the dog, "the most lovable narrator in crime fiction" (Boston Globe), and his human partner, PI Bernie Little. Holiday time in the Valley, and in the holiday spirit-despite the dismal shape of the finances at the Little Detective Agency-Bernie refers a potential client to Victor Klovsky, a fellow private eye. It's also true that the case-promising lots of online research but little action-doesn't appeal to Bernie, while it seems perfect for Victor, who is not cut out for rough stuff. But Victor disappears in a rough-stuff way, and when he doesn't show up at his mom's to light the Hanukkah candles, she hires Chet and Bernie to find him. They soon discover that Victor's client has also vanished. The trail leads to the ruins of a mission called Nuestra Señora de los Saguaros, dating back to the earliest Spanish explorers. Some very dangerous people are interested in the old mission. Does some dusty archive hold the secret of a previously unknown art treasure, possibly buried for centuries? What does the Flight into Egypt-when Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus fled Herod-have to do with saguaros, the Sonoran desert cactus? No one is better than Chet at nosing out buried secrets, but before he can, he and Bernie are forced to take flight themselves, chased through a Christmas Eve blizzard by a murderous foe who loves art all too much"--. Provided by publisher.
"Mia's busy with a full schedule of events at the family business--among them an over-the-top Nativity-themed first birthday party and a Sweet Sixteen for a teen drama queen. But her personal life is even more challenging. Her estranged mother has returned--and her lifelong friend Jamie has discovered a shocking secret about his past. He's so angry that he starts hanging out with Lorenzo, who claims to be his long-lost brother--even after it becomes clear that Lorenzo's story is as fake as a plastic Christmas tree. Then a body turns up among the elves in a Santa's-workshop lawn display, and amateur sleuth Mia has a buffet of suspects to choose from. Amid the holiday celebrations, she intends to find out who's the guilty party."--. Provided by publisher.
As the holidays approach, bookstore owner Summer Merriwether learns a dark secret in this second volume of Maggie Blackburn's Beach Reads mystery series. There's no place like home for the holidays, even if home is sleepy, beachside Brigid's Island, NC. During this season for giving, the town wakes up to a welcome throng of shoppers--and Beach Reads is no exception. But bookseller Summer Merriwether's Christmas cheer turns to cringing fear when she uncovers a deadly secret about her late mother--a secret someone will kill to keep. When the local library hosts a cozy mystery panel discussion, Summer learns that one of the authors on the panel based her book on an actual murder that shook Brigid's Island thirty-five years before. Worse, she soon learns that her dearly missed mother, Hildy, took a disturbingly deep interest in the case, going so far as to collect clippings and keep a journal of the dark doings. This doesn't jibe with Summer's memories of her usually cheery mother at all. Tidings get worse when Summer learns of her long-lost biological family's involvement in the crime...and still worse when the life of the book's author is threatened. With the help of Hildy's plucky book club, Summer puts her scholarly smarts to work on protecting the cozy author and solving the decades-old murder. But this ghost from Christmas past may still be deadly in the present, and if she can't find the killer, Summer's future will be brief.
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