For today, we’ve got a British import: The Christmas Eve Murders by Noelle Albright releases June 2025 stateside. (This strikes me as strange timing for a Christmas mystery… But who am I to dictate to Big Publishing?)

When Maddie Marlowe’s car breaks down on Christmas Eve, she takes shelter in a tiny pub in Yorkshire. Local residents gather at the Merry Monarch every year to participate in a surprisingly intense scavenger hunt. Yet when the power fails, a murder occurs – and it’s up to this motley crew to solve it.

The Christmas Eve Murders has been billed as “cozy” and “festive”, which can be tough to achieve in a murder mystery. How well does it hold up to this specific bar?

A locked-pub mystery

As far as mysteries go, The Christmas Eve Murders has a classic setup. Take one group of misfits with grudges, give them an activity, add a stranger (Maddie), and then lock them together with bad weather. Et voilà! A closed-circle mystery, with the added suspense of a dwindling pool of suspects once the murder count starts to increase.

Albright does a good job with the premise, and the puzzle feels fair-play and reasonably interesting to solve. It’s almost too classic – reading The Christmas Eve Murders felt like watching a rehash of classic character tropes, without many surprises or insightful character observations. That puts this firmly in the category of entertaining mysteries, rather than great or gripping ones.

Stranger in a strange village

What about those “cozy” and “festive” claims? The Christmas Eve Murders has at least some points in its favor, given that: 1) it takes place on Christmas Eve; 2) it depicts the early parts of a celebration; and 3) it takes place in a cutely decorated pub with hot cocoa and a crackling fire. But there’s also the fact that our perspective character is stuck away from her family overnight, surrounded by angry and potentially murderous strangers. Any “Christmas” focus is quickly stripped away as we get into mystery-solving mode.

It’s what makes writing a truly Christmas mystery so difficult. Murder almost pre-supposes tense relationships, and uncovering those around the holidays can kill a cozy vibe. In The Christmas Eve Murders, it’s compounded by Maddie’s role as a stranger, increasingly the overall vibe of mistrust. Is this a Christmas mystery? Yes. Is it cozy or particularly festive? I’m a bit less certain.

The cozy Christmas trap

Of course, this is not at all Noelle Albright’s fault – I imagine someone in the marketing department decided that Christmas + mystery must mean cozy. I’d put this more in the realm of A. K. Benedict Christmas mystery – around the right time, and even with themes of family that feel relevant. It’s not really a thriller, and the Christmas is mostly contained to the setting. But if you’re looking for an entertaining mystery to read on a cold Advent night, this might do the trick.

For our next pick, we have another novella and another British mystery. Until tomorrow – stay cozy, and stay curious!

(This will count for my 52 Book Club challenge as an author debut in the second half of 2024!)