Our last day of book reviews brings us to A Lively Midwinter Murder, a continuation of the cozy Dahlia Lively series. For those unfamiliar, this series follows three actresses who have played three generations of the same female detective. They’re drawn together by this commonality – and when murders occur around them, of course they must investigate. Because the series revolves around adaptations of a book detective, it’s chock full of Golden Age references and features several flavors of female protagonists. And because the protagonists span three generations, there’s someone for every kind of cozy mystery reader to love.

If I’m honest, I started out as a bit of a Three Dahlias skeptic. But as I’ve spent more time with the characters, I’ve found myself really enjoying the world Katy Watson creates. And the mysteries have grown closer to fair play, with fewer action sequences and more solvable puzzles. And so I had high hopes for this winter installment of the series, which takes the Dahlias to a Scottish castle wedding, just in time for murder.

A truly Lively mystery…

This year, I’ve spent time establishing two points: mysteries benefit from a longer reading experience, and expanding series can allow authors to pack more holiday coziness in. A Lively Midwinter Murder is a great example of both points, starting with the murder element.

The latest installment takes our three protagonists to a Scottish castle, for the wedding of their friend Libby. It features several recurring characters – not just the Dahlias, but their significant others, and Libby herself. And those established characters allow Watson space to write more intricate puzzles and solutions, resolving them with explanations rather than dramatics.

The mystery itself is quite character driven, with plenty of scandal to uncover. It feels fair play but required a few more personality-based leaps than other recent traditional mystery. As someone who loves the psychology of Poirot and Marla, I’m happy to see more traditional mystery moving this direction.

…that’s cozy in both setting and spirit

Over the last three years of Advent of Mystery, I’ve learned how difficult it can be to make mysteries feels truly festive. Often, having a murder right around the holidays sap them of their happiness. Or, in order to keep the tone light, the author ends up easing up on the mystery.

A Lively Midwinter Murder has me convinced there’s a third path, but it relies on a scarce resource. An author with an existing series can leverage those well-known characters and relationships to up the festivity without losing the mystery. In this case, even though there’s a murder at a wedding, the investigation serves as a way to support a friend readers know and love.

The size of the supporting Dahlias cast makes it even easier to feel warm and cozy while reading the novel. Sure, the wedding may be populated by reasonably grumpy murder suspects. But the investigation required that the Dahlias and their beloved friends band together in community. And it’s hard not to feel warm and fuzzy about tree decorating scenes and Christmas markets, when it feels like you’re reading about the adventures of friends.

A Cozy Christmas Mystery – for fans

You could read A Lively Midwinter Murder as a standalone, but I think it would defeat the purpose. Most of the festive vibes – and even the believability of the investigation- rely on already knowing this world and these characters. Fortunately, I do, and that makes this the perfect blend of cozy, festive, and puzzly for me.

That’s it for the books in this year’s Advent of Mystery. Tomorrow will be a final wrap up – short and sweet. Until then, stay cozy and stay curious!