There’s something undeniably magical about the holidays (or so I’m told — don’t hate me, but I’m not exactly a lover of the Christmas season): the twinkle of fairy lights, the scent of cinnamon-spiced baking in the air, and the soft hush of snow falling outside your window. That said, if your ideal Christmas includes a little intrigue tucked in among the tinsel, you’re very much in the right place. This year’s collection of Christmas-themed cozy mysteries proves that festive cheer and clever whodunnits can go hand-in-hand — from small towns caught up in yuletide shenanigans to crackling fireplaces where secrets are quietly unraveled. These seasonal reads are perfect for curling up under a blanket with a mug of cocoa… even if you’re only tolerating the holiday spirit for the sake of a good mystery.
Have yourself a merry little mystery…
Heathervale’s Christmas traditions are well underway in the five short stories of this collection. Arrina is hanging a wreath, the Morgans are decorating their woods, and Julie is concocting creative new bakes in Do-Re-Mi.
But in this rural English village, even the holidays aren’t safe from mysteries, and nothing is going to plan.
In these festive stories, the residents of Heathervale point fingers and follow clues (still taking time to eat mince pies and drink mulled wine) while they race to solve mysteries and save the special day.
As an extra treat, each story is paired with a recipe, so you can bring a Heathervale Christmas right to your kitchen.
This clean read is book four of The Heathervale Mysteries. Enjoy the books in this series as standalones or read in order for more twists than a country lane and a cast of cosy characters you’ll be right at home with.
A Secret Santa. A cryptic riddle. A ticking clock counting down to Christmas…
Bank security expert Izzy Paterson knows computers, coffee, and CSI reruns—not corporate conspiracies delivered via festive rhyme. But when her office Secret Santa gift contains a mysterious puzzle hinting at financial fraud, her tech skills and stubborn curiosity won’t let her walk away.
There’s a cyber villain hiding in network shadows, and the anonymous clues point to misconduct that could destroy her colleagues’ livelihoods. And hers. As Izzy races through digital rabbit holes to unmask the wrongdoer, the stakes escalate from the virtual to dangerously physical.
Can she crack the case before the company implodes? Before her adversary strikes? And still make it home to Scotland in time for Christmas?
A French Christmas Dinner with a Side of Jewel Theft
I thought I’d have a Christmas dinner the way it should be: a loving family gathered together at a candlelit table, delicious smells of the capon in the oven, and… stolen jewels hidden in the study? I should never have joined my criminal ex-in-laws for Christmas.
With the Beaujolais wine flowing, the family is turning into a bigger problem than the stolen jewels. Dodging old and new grudges, can I find the thief or should I run for my life?
It’s pantomime season in the Cotswolds… but this year’s performance is a real killer!
Winter has settled over the Cotswolds, and Dotty Sayers and her friends are in the spotlight as part of the local amateur dramatics pantomime production of Jack and the Beanstalk. With costumes to sew, lines to memorise, and rehearsals to juggle, the village is buzzing with excitement.
But on opening night, the show comes to an abrupt halt when a cast member dies on stage. As whispers of foul play sweep through the audience, Dotty and her friend Keya are drawn into a mystery that’s anything but make-believe.
With suspects lurking in the wings and a tangle of alibis to unravel, the pair must tread carefully to uncover the truth. Can they solve the case before the final curtain falls, or will the killer steal the show?
A Pantomime of Peril, the third book in Victoria Tait’s charming Cotswold Antique Mystery series, is a feel-good festive whodunnit brimming with village drama, vintage treasures, and pantomime antics. With determined sleuths, loyal friendships, and a mystery that treads the boards between fiction and fatality, it’s a delightfully English cozy with heart.
Take your seat for a charming performance of A Pantomime of Peril today!
A fatal shooting, a vexing vandal, a Christmas conundrum.
It’s December 1892 and at her father’s first house party in the Scottish Highlands in the days before Christmas, aspiring photographer, Persi (never call her by her real name, Lady Persephone Millicent Merrit) takes a lucky—or perhaps unlucky—photograph just as a rich financier is shot. Accidentally.
Or was it?
When Persi finds evidence that the shooting was intentional, not a tragic misfire, she realises that one of the party assembled in the mansion house must be a killer! And, of course, just as she discovers this, snow starts to fall, which makes everything look very pretty but blocks their access to the village and any help from the local police.
It’s up to Persi, her eccentric Aunt Evangeline, and the rather handsome young Lord Glendinning to piece together the clues and identify the murderer before they can kill again, and—more importantly—before they ruin Christmas. Because nothing is more important than a good, old-fashioned Yuletide, with enough mince pies, mistletoe and marzipan to counteract the manslaughter and mayhem.
Can Persi and her friends pull off a Christmas miracle? Discover the answer in this festive story, which starts the Lady Persephone Historical Cozy Mysteries, and should get fans of Benedict Brown, Catherine Coles or Sara Rosett properly into the spirit of Christmas!