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Letters from the Reading Perch: Farewell to 2025
As the skies get dark and the year winds down, it’s the season of reflection. As you read this, I’m likely drinking a mug of Poirot-themed tea, solving my Miss Marple puzzle, and looking forward to a bowl of desi tomato soup. A perfectly cozy end to an extremely busy year. So busy, in fact,
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Advent of Mystery ’25: The Final Bow
Here we are, Christmas Day! If you’ve followed along with the Advent of Mystery this long, thank you. It’s kind of crazy to think that what started as a one-off stretch challenge has become an annual tradition for the blog—a project I now look forward to wrapping up as much as I do starting. And
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Advent of Mystery ’25, Day 10: Merry Murdle
Here we are, once again, at the final entry in another Advent of Mystery. It’s our last book and our last advent calendar—one I’ve been especially looking forward to. I’ve already shared my immense love of Murdle, and I was thrilled to see the release of Merry Murdle this year. For those unfamiliar, Murdles are murder-themed logic puzzles.
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Advent of Mystery ’25, Day 9: Murder by Christmas
It’s time to pick up the pencils and start solving, because we’ve moved on from mystery novels to Advent calendars. While I’m sure these have been around for a while, my first experience with one was last year. Then, I read Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret straight through, as I hadn’t planned the daily solving into
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Advent of Mystery ‘25, Day 8: A Scrooge Mystery
We’re coming to the end of this year’s Advent of Mystery—and to the end of the traditional mystery novels. Today’s read is A Scrooge Mystery by Andreina Cordani, a familiar name for repeat Advent readers. Typically, her holiday crime books take a tradition (a country house party, Christmas shopping) and add a dark twist. This time, however,
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Advent of Mystery ‘25, Day 7: Miss Winter in the Library with a Knife
It’s time for the last of our luxurious Christmas vacation stories, and this one comes with an extra-mysterious twist. Martin Edwards’ new standalone, Miss Winter in the Library with a Knife, promises his usual fair-play sensibilities with a distinctive wintry edge. For those not familiar with Edwards, he’s the current president of the Detection Club and
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Advent of Mystery ’25, Day 6: The Dead of Winter
Today, we’re sticking with luxury holidays, but moving from the present to the past. After reading The Christmas Clue, I decided to look a bit further into Nicola Upson. I quickly learned that she writes a series of mysteries featuring Josephine Tey. Not only that, but the series has a Christmas entry — so of course
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Advent of Mystery ’25, Day 5: The Christmas Cracker Killer
It’s time to move on from cozies to slightly darker fare—which also means it’s time to return to one of my favorite holiday mystery writers, A. K. Benedict. In a first for the author, she continues the story of one of her protagonists, crossword setter Edie O’Sullivan. This sequel to The Christmas Jigsaw Murders brings Edie and
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Advent of Mystery ’25, Day 4: An Unfortunate Christmas Murder
Today marks post 200 — an incredible milestone for someone who once had to invent a challenge to make sure I’d have enough to post! Thank you for reading, commenting, and perching here with me over the years. It feels fitting to celebrate with a holiday murder, and today we’re diving into An Unfortunate Christmas Murder by
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Advent of Mystery ‘25, Day 3: The Cornish Christmas Pantomime Murder
One thing I always appreciate is a book with a simple, clear title. And on that front, it doesn’t get much clearer than Fiona Leitch’s The Cornish Christmas Pantomime Murder. The book is set in Cornwall. It is Christmas. There is a pantomime. Suddenly—murder! Exactly what it says on the cozy mystery tin. For a cozy