-
Advent of Mystery 2024, Day 6: The Christmas Eve Murders
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.
-
Advent of Mystery 2024, Day 5: Christmas Crimes at the Mysterious Bookshop
As a US-based mystery reader, it is a literal bucket list goal to visit The Mysterious Bookshop one day. (Or to live in the hopes that they decide to open West Coast branch, which seems… unlikely.) Until that happens, I can live a little vicariously through Christmas Crimes at the Mysterious Bookshop. Christmas Crimes at
-
Advent of Mystery 2024, Day 4: The Case of the Ghost of Christmas Morning
Last year, just as I was wrapping up the final Advent of Mystery post, a recommendation from crossexaminingcrime landed in my inbox. Not only that – a comedic Christmas mystery with a strong rating from a blogger who cares just as much (if not more) about the puzzles! Despite having just binged several Christmas crime
-
Advent of Mystery 2024, Day 3: The Mistletoe Mystery
For day 3 we’ve got a short and sweet novella that continues the Maid series by Nita Prose. The Mistletoe Mystery catches us up with Molly the maid and her cinnamon roll boyfriend Juan as they celebrate the holidays together. This one is really tiny, clocking in at just 128 pages. (I’ve also seen a
-
Advent of Mystery 2024, Day 2: Murder at Holly House and The Christmas Stocking Murders
Next up is a double feature with a bit of an epistolary twist: Denzil Meyrick’s Inspector Frank Grasby series. This first came on my radar last year with Murder at Holly House, as an epistolary mystery potentially worth reading. This year, Meyrick expanded the series with The Christmas Stocking Murders, which follows up with Grasby
-
Advent of Mystery 2024, Day 1: Everyone this Christmas Has a Secret
Every year, I tell myself that this is my last year with the Advent of Mystery. And every year, new Christmas mysteries pop up on my radar that I feel I have to read. And if I’m already reading them, why not share my thoughts with y’all? Two years ago, we did Golden Age murder
-
A cozy mystery lover’s gift list, Part 2: For the joy of the solve
Welcome to the second part of my gift list for the cozy mystery lover. A quick recap: I realized most gift lists “for readers” felt both under-useful and under-explained. So I decided to make my own list of my favorite reading / cozy mystery-related items – and quickly realized I had too many ideas to
-
A cozy mystery lover’s gift list, Part 1: For the love of cozy reading
Every year, around this time, I find myself trying to decide what presents I want for the holidays. Inevitably, I end up searching through lists of gift recommendations to see whether anything catches my eye. Inevitably, I can’t find any list of presents that speaks to my personal tastes in reading paraphernalia. Plus, most lists
-
Reading adventures, Pt. 4: Seaside shenanigans in the Côte d’Azur
The last stop on my summer adventures was Nice – and what a treat for a Golden Age mystery fan! The Côte d’Azur was a favorite destination for many of the wealthy class in the Golden Age. There’s a wealth of mysteries that take place in and around that favorite summer playground. While we only
-
Reading adventures, Pt. 3: Luxury rail revival in The Main Character
As the setting for a mystery, there’s nothing as perfect as a train. A mixed cast of characters, scenic views, time pressure, and locked-room constraints make for the perfectly suspenseful read. If you throw in a “vintage” train setting, you also get the vicarious joy of true luxury travel. Stories like Murder on the Orient