Holiday Murder Mystery!
It’s that time of year! Salted caramel mochas (move over pumpkin spice!), Christmas lights, Thanksgiving turkey, and Menorahs in the window. No matter what kind of celebrations you participate in or what your family relationships might be, there’s just something special about the final months of any year.
And what says happy holidays better than a little murder?
Holiday Murder Mysteries have been around for a long time. The late, great Agatha Christie even wrote one.
First published in 1938 as Murder For Christmas, HarperCollins rereleased it as Hercule Poirot’s Christmas.
Cozy mysteries lend themselves particularly well to death and the holidays.
This subgenre of mysteries is often connected to food, crafts, and small town celebrations.
It’s the perfect marriage of murder and getting into the holiday spirit . . . in a crime fiction kind of way.
So what’s a reader got to do to find a good holiday murder mystery?
I’m so glad you asked – here are two mysteries you definitely want in your stocking this year. Or maybe right now as the perfect way to start your holiday celebrations.
From USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bruns comes a hilarious holiday whodunit!
It’s the most wonderful time of the year… Unless you’re Sally Muccio.
The full-time baker and sometime sleuth is ready to burst into song. She and her husband are expecting a bundle of joy, her sister’s wedding is just around the corner, and it’s Christmas, her favorite time of year.
But when Sal’s the victim of a carjacking by Santa himself and a forgotten item links her to a murder, she doesn’t feel like ho-ho-hoing anymore.
Damian Ruger was a drug user, womanizer and first-class jerk. And unfortunately for Sal, she once had a connection to him in high school.
The dough really hits the fan when her bakery’s gingerbread cookies are found next to his dead body, and Sal’s cake server is used as a murder weapon.
Someone is trying to frame the expectant mother, but why? Sal has no choice but to try to clear her name…before she and the baby are singing Christmas carols in prison!
Don’t miss the yummy recipes included in the book!
To buy the book, click on the following links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and IndieBound
Ginger Snapped to Death is Catherine’s first holiday murder mystery.
Catherine, what do you love about holiday murder mysteries?
Catherine: I love holidays mysteries because they are such feel good type stories. Santa, cookies baking, hot chocolate . . . and some murder, lol.
But seriously, this book places a strong emphasis on why hope and faith are so important and not just at Christmas, but all year round.
Great answer, Catherine. I can’t wait to read your latest release!
To learn more about Catherine Bruns, click the link here to read my full interview with her from her previous release, Penne Dreadful.
And one of my favorite holiday murder mysteries . . .
A Very Merry Murder by Mary Angela!
It’s December in Copper Bluff, and from hillside to hallowed hall, everyone is merry—or will be as soon as semester break arrives. Students are studying, professors are grading, and Emmeline Prather is anticipating the university-sponsored holiday concert. Friend and colleague Lenny Jenkins will be accompanying the visiting quartet, Jazz Underground, and Em can’t think of a better way to kick-start the holiday season.
But before she can say “Jingle Bell Rock,” trouble arrives at Candlelight Inn, the bed and breakfast where the quartet is staying. One of the band members dies unexpectedly, and suspicion falls on Em, whose altercation with the man ends with him on the floor. He never recovers, and now she’s worried her reputation might not either. When Emmeline starts to see parallels between an Agatha Christie novel she’s teaching and the victim, Lenny claims she’s read one too many mysteries.
As the clues unravel, so does the murderer’s patience. Em is close to finding the truth, but will the truth—or the murderer—push her over the edge? It will take a Christmas miracle to solve this case, but if there’s one thing in surplus this time of year, it’s faith.
To buy the book, click on any of the following links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and IndieBound
A Very Merry Murder is Mary’s first holiday murder mystery.
Mary, what do you love about holiday murder mysteries?
Mary: I love the peacefulness of holiday cozies. Everything is just as it should be—minus the murder, of course! In A Very Merry Murder, there’s a sleigh ride, a holiday concert, and a winter bazaar.
Who wouldn’t want to live in Copper Bluff? Even if I can’t find peace during a busy shopping spree or big family dinner, I can retreat to my holiday cozy at night and feel peaceful.
I would totally love to live in Copper Bluff! Even with the occasional murder!
To learn more about Mary Angela, click on the link here. And don’t miss my upcoming interview with her for her latest title, Coming Up Murder launching November 12!
What are some of your favorite holiday murder mysteries?
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Happy holidays from my blog to you and your family!
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