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Advent of Mystery, Day 3: Christmas Presents
It’s the third day of our Advent of Mystery and we’re looking at Christmas Presents by Lisa Unger. Unger’s work is a little out of my usual zone, but I was excited to see how I’d fare with another thriller-style mystery. Christmas Presents follows the story of a bookshop owner, Madeline Martin, whose life is…
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Advent of Mystery, Day 2: The Christmas Guest
Day 2 of the Advent of Mystery 2023 and we’re going even darker. Today we’re taking a look at The Christmas Guest by Peter Swanson. This recent novella has both straight and epistolary prose, following a cold case from the perspectives of two women on the scene. The crimes took place over a fateful Christmas…
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Advent of Mystery, Day 1: The Mistletoe Murders by P.D. James
It’s Year 2 of the Advent of Mystery! Over the next 12 days, I’ll share (short and sweet) thoughts on 12 crime and mystery books that are set at Christmas or have a Christmas theme to them. Like last year, I’ll work through both the quality of mystery and the actual Christmas coverage. This year,…
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Long-term loves: a list of underrated romances for Valentine’s day
Happy Valentine’s Day! I’m not typically a reader of romance novels – I tend to like my romance subplots with a big ol’ helping of plot on the side. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have favorite literary romances. And because I’m feeling mushy, I thought I’d share some of my favorites with y’all today.…
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Wrapping the Advent of Mystery: one final bow
We have made it through a week of Golden-Age murder mysteries together. I hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as I have. This has been the most ambitious series I’ve created so far, and it’s been such a treat to read and write. I started this series hoping to find some new authors and stories,…
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Advent of Mystery, Day 7: Hercule Poirot’s Christmas by Agatha Christie
And so we’ve made it to Christmas Eve, to Nochebuena. Later today, my family will be gathered around the Christmas tree, sharing cocoa and buñuelos and laughing as the family unwraps my husband’s prank gift boxes, But before we get there, it’s time for one last Christmas mystery to wrap up 2022. And of course,…
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Advent of Mystery, Day 6: An English Murder by Cyril Hare
As we’ve read through Christmas mysteries this week, things have stayed on the reasonably light-hearted side. (At least, as light-hearted as you could expect with murder in the mix). Because house parties often involve friends and family, the genre is a great way to explore family tension. most of these stories limit their suspect pool…
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Advent of Mystery, Day 5: Murder for Christmas
Continuing our exploration of Christmas Manor House Mysteries, we’re looking at Murder for Christmas by Francis Duncan, featuring aging amateur sleuth Mordecai Tremaine. Before we get into the details, let’s take a moment to admire the immaculate cover art for this one. It’s the perfect design to evoke a Manor House Christmas in the Golden…
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Advent of Mystery, Day 4: The Santa Klaus Murder by Mavis Doriel Hay
So far, many of the the stories this week have been Christmas-adjacent. (Somehow, even having Christmas in the title is not enough to guarantee a Christmas-centric timeline.) That ends today. From here on out, it is straight manor house closed-circle mysteries that take place on Christmas. Some poor unfortunate soul invites a bunch of friends…
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Advent of Mystery, Day 3: Midwinter Murder by Agatha Christie
The holidays are a busy time for everyone, and it can be tricky to find the time to read a full-length novel. Luckily, we have short stories to fill that gap – bite-sized wintry puzzles that can fulfill your mystery fix. Recently, the folks at William Morrow have pulled together a new collection of Agatha…