Season’s readings! If you’ve happened upon this list (and obviously you have), then you probably agree that books make the perfect gift—both to give and receive. Alas, so many of them and such little time to read, let alone to curate. On that note, here you will find a round-up of recent releases perfect for bedside (or fireside) indulgence this winter, whether for yourself or others.
England’s Alexandra Benedict should be anointed the “Queen of Christmas Crime.” She has now published three seasonal suspense novels in as many years, with the first two taking place at a manor house and on a train, respectively. The Christmas Jigsaw Murders (Poisoned Pen Press; October 8, 2024) is less about the setting than the set-up, and finds crotchety crossword puzzle compiler Edie O’ Sullivan drawn into a dastardly game when she receives a parcel containing six bloody puzzle pieces and a taunting note signed: “Rest in Pieces.” Putting them together will mean revisiting the past, even as the body count continues to rise in the present. Thematic word puzzles are included throughout so you can try to match wits with the author!
Meanwhile, Ally Carter brings a peppermint twist to The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year (Avon; September 24, 2024), in which two rival American authors are invited to spend Christmas abroad at the (secret) behest of “Duchess of Death” Eleanor Ashley. But when their host goes missing, the stakes mount along with the snow outside her English estate. Whether it’s a caper or a competition remains to be seen, and “Queen of the Cozy (Cat) Mystery” Maggie Chase and “Mr. Big-time Thriller Guy” Ethan Wyatt must work together if they hope to solve their very own locked-room challenge. Romance ensues as Carter cleverly and comedically pokes fun at cliches that are sure to bring comfort and joy to readers familiar with the tropes of genre fiction.
Speaking of all things cat and cozy, Cate Conte returns with Shock and Paw (St. Martin’s Paperbacks; August 20, 2024), her eight book to feature Cat Café owner and amateur sleuth Maddie James (and her menagerie of friends, both furry and fleshed). Pressured into joining Daybreak Island’s Christmas event committee, and also on the case of a local breeder profiteering from “designer” pets sold as presents, Maddie is already overextended when her best friend, Becky, falls under suspicion of murder by means of deadly decorations. It’s the stuff that headlines are made of—which is ironic, given the fact that Becky is the town’s impassioned newspaper editor (and the victim her boss). Maddie must save her from byline-to-police blotter fate in a tail—err, tale!—that reminds us cozy and cutesy aren’t one and the same.
In the lean, mean serial killer department, writing partners James S. Murray and Darren Wearmouth unleash You Better Watch Out (St. Martin’s Press; October 15, 2024), a ticking-clock thriller in which a group of strangers have forty-eight hours to survive a series of fiendish traps (and each other) if they hope to see the light of Christmas morning. Just who brought them together and why serves as the central conundrum, though it’s the creativity (read: brutality) of the kills and the juxtaposition of a seemingly peaceful yet entirely perilous (and painstakingly manufactured) setting that makes the story sing like a fair-weather churchgoer at midnight mass. Think And Then There Were None … on steroids. This one belongs firmly on the naughty list.
Of a more sedate nature is Murder, She Wrote: A Killer Christmas (Berkley; October 8, 2024) by Jessica Fletcher and Terrie Farley Moran, in which quaint, if occasionally crime-ridden Cabot Cove is vying for the title of Maine’s Christmas Town in a statewide competition to drum up tourism in the off-season. But when a big city business tycoon expresses interest in buying the old Jarvis home, murder ensues—and threatens to tarnish the town’s semi-sterling reputation. Chock full of seasonal cheer (carols and cider and Christmas classics, oh my!) and communal spirit to offset the bah humbug of homicide, Moran revels in surrounding iconic J.B. Fletcher with a cast of familiar and fresh-faced characters that keep the series as appealing as diner maven Mara’s famous blueberry pancakes.
For those who only have brief respites from buying and wrapping (and baking and sampling), there are a few novellas of note. Nita Prose, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Maid and The Mystery Guest, offers up The Mistletoe Mystery (Ballantine Books; October 1, 2024), in which the Regency Grand Hotel’s Head Maid, Molly Gray, finds herself as tangled up as last year’s Christmas lights. Molly’s history of misreading people leads her to believe that her adoring boyfriend, baker Juan Manuel, may be sharing his sweets elsewhere. Her distress is amplified by the hotel’s upcoming Secret Santa exchange, which has gone embarrassingly wrong in the past. Don’t expect a traditional crime story but rather a mystery of miscommunications and misunderstandings that’s as charming as it is quirky.
Also on the slighter side of things is the awkward but aptly titled Everyone this Christmas Has a Secret (Mariner Books; October 22, 2024), entry 2.5 in comedian Benjamin Stevenson’s Australian-set series featuring Golden Age mystery buff turned unlikely sleuth Ernest (“Ern”) Cunningham. Here, beloved if bumbling Ern—who has a knack for finding himself at the center of real-life whodunits—comes to the aid of his ex-wife after she is accused of murdering her fiancé, a theater owner and mentor to acclaimed magician Rylan Blaze. Needless to say, the show must go on, proving that the line between illusion and reality is a fine one indeed. Structured as if an advent calendar, each of the book’s chapters reveals a clue to chew on before the Christie-like denouement. Fun, funny, and festive.
If prefer slice and dice confections to the break and bake variety, horror writer Brian McAuley resurrects his sweetly sinister (and surprisingly sympathetic) boogeywoman in Candy Cain Kills Again: The Second Slaying (Shortwave Media; November 12, 2024). Picking up immediately after the events of last year’s Candy Cain Kills, the story follows survivor siblings Austin and Fiona (as well as Austion’s new boyfriend, Mateo) to the Church of Nodland, where sins will be atoned for in blood. Twice as devious and depraved as its predecessor, it’s a(nother) love letter to the slashers of yore that melds nastiness and nostalgia to masterful, merry effect.
Satisfying the “variety is the spice of life” category are two new compendiums. Christmas Crimes at the Mysterious Bookshop (Mysterious Press; October 22, 2024) collects twelve short stories by the likes American mainstays Jeffery Deaver and Laura Lippman to international sensations including Ragnar Jónasson and Martin Edwards. Each features the legendary Mysterious Bookshop in some capacity, and many its proprietor (and the book’s editor), Otto Penzler. Despite the (literal) shared space, the entries seldom stray into overt sameness. If you like books, bookstores, and booksellers, you’ll love this miscellany of seasonal hijinks that highlights different storytellers, styles, and subgenres. It’s also an ideal stocking stuffer for the bibliophile in your life. Keeping that in mind, you may just want to buy an extra copy—because you’ll be hard-pressed to part with your own.
And while Christmas tends to dominate the season, Eight Very Bad Nights: A Collection of Hanukkah Noir (Soho Crime; October 29, 2024)—conceived as a companion to 2017’s The Usual Santas—welcomingly diversifies things. Edited by Tod Goldberg (who contributes an amusing foreword as well as the title story), the eleven very good contributions feature literary luminaries such as Lee Goldberg and Ivy Pochoda to “noir adjacent” novelist Liska Jacobs and relative newcomer Stefanie Leder. Boasting a range of crime and criminals, it’s also a celebration of culture—and an acknowledgment of how the holidays can bring out the best, and worst, in people. Perfect for reading by the light of the menorah, and complete with sprayed blue edges—which makes it even more attractive for gifting (or keeping).
Admittedly, these are but a sampling of the year’s thematic titles, but I guarantee there’s something to satisfy every craving, whether salty or sweet or somewhere in between. I wish you happy reading now, and always …
