If, like me, you love Christmas, then you know there’s nothing better than curling up under a blanket with a fabulous cozy mystery to enjoy. As I’m a huge fan of classic crime fiction, I thought I’d share some of my reading recommendations for the festive season!
Murder in the Snow, Gladys Mitchell
Mrs Bradley, sharp-eyed detective and celebrated psychiatrist, has decided to spend Christmas with her nephew at his beautiful house in the Cotswolds.
It isn’t long before a mystery unfolds. There are strange events occurring in the nearby wood and local villagers are receiving anonymous threatening letters. Then the snow begins to fall – and a body is discovered.
Mrs Bradley is on the case, but she’ll have to hatch an ingenious plan to reveal the truth and find the culprit…
Mystery in White, J. Jefferson Farjean
On Christmas Eve, heavy snowfall brings a train to a halt near the village of Hemmersby. Several passengers take shelter in a deserted country house, where the fire has been lit and the table laid for tea – but no one is at home. Trapped together for Christmas, the passengers are seeking to unravel the secrets of the empty house when a murderer strikes in their midst.
Murder for Christmas, Francis Duncan
Mordecai Tremaine, former tobacconist and perennial lover of romance novels, has been invited to spend Christmas in the sleepy village of Sherbroome at the country retreat of one Benedict Grame.
Arriving on Christmas Eve, he finds that the revelries are in full flow – but so too are tensions amongst the assortment of guests.
Midnight strikes and the party-goers discover that it’s not just presents nestling under the tree…there’s a dead body too. A dead body that bears a striking resemblance to Father Christmas.
With the snow falling and the suspicions flying, it’s up to Mordecai to sniff out the culprit – and prevent someone else from getting murder for Christmas.
The Winter Mystery, Faith Martin
Jenny Starling is spending Christmas in a snowed-in country house cooking all the traditional food she loves. But the family she’s working for are not full of the seasonal spirit. In fact, they seem to hate each other.
On Christmas Eve, someone is found dead on the kitchen table. And the head of the family is blaming Jenny!
But with an incompetent detective called in, and seemingly no motive for the murder, Jenny will have to give the police a hand.
She will stop at nothing to clear her name and find the real murderer.
Agatha Raisin and the Christmas Crumble, M C Beaton
Agatha is spending Christmas at home in the Cotswolds – and in a fit of goodwill towards all men (and women) she invites six of Carsley’s oldest residents to come around and share Christmas lunch with her.
Christmas jollity soon turns to disaster as Agatha accidentally kills one of her guests with a gruesome homemade Christmas pudding… so will it be Christmas in the cells for Agatha? Or can she fix an escape out of this particular festive mess!
Let me know your festive reading recs in the comments below!
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash