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Advent of Mystery, Day 10: The Twelve Days of Murder
We’re nearing the home stretch, and that takes us towards some of the more unique Christmas stories I’ve read this year. Today we’ll be discussing The Twelve Days of Murder by Andreina Cordani. This mystery / thriller has serious Dark Academia vibes, telling the story of a college murder mystery club that fell apart when…
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Advent of Mystery, Day 9: Murder at Maybridge Castle
Last up in Ada Moncrieff’s Christmas Mysteries is Murder at Maybridge Castle*. We’re sticking with Daphne as our protagonist – but this time, she’s supporting her family member, Charles, as he soft-opens a new hotel at the titular Maybridge Castle. Plus, local legends (and Charles) say the hotel is haunted! It all adds up to…
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Advent of Mystery, Day 8: Murder at the Theatre Royale
We’re continuing the Ada Moncrieff read-through with the nect of her Christmas mysteries, Murder at the Theatre Royale. We’ve moved on from Hugh to a new protagonist (and a surprisingly popular type). Daphne is an agony aunt for a London newspaper who longs for a “real” beat. She talks her way into covering a new…
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Advent of Mystery, Day 7: Murder Most Festive
We are moving away from the dark and shocking side of holiday crime into lighter fare. We’ll start with three days of Ada Moncrieff, a modern writer with a taste for the historical. The first in her holiday mysteries is Murder Most Festive, an homage to the classic Manor House Mystery genre. Murder Most Festive…
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Advent of Mystery, Day 6: Murder on the Christmas Express
On to our final day of Alexandra Benedict’s Christmas mysteries. Murder on the Christmas Express has a classic setup with a holiday twist: murder on a stuck train, nowhere to go, and it’s Christmas Eve. By now we know a little bit of what to expect: a lonely – and clever – protagonist, reluctant to…
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Advent of Mystery, Day 5: The Christmas Murder Game
I first found Alexandra Benedict’s The Christmas Murder Game while trying to find Golden Age stories for this series last year. At the time, I was intrigued – puzzle hunt + country house + closed circle mystery + cold case seemed right up my alley. I had to table it, since it wasn’t Golden Age…
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Advent of Mystery, Day 4: The Christmas Jigsaw Murders
We’re almost through the thriller phase of this Advent of Mystery – we just need to cover the first Alexandra Benedict on our list. The Christmas Jigsaw Murders is Benedict’s most recent release, and it contains her hallmark twisted puzzles and holiday settings. Just a couple of factors throw it from a mystery to a…
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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,…