Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Holiday mysteries

If you're in the mood for something light and easy to page through between rounds of cookie baking, present wrapping and tree trimming, there's nothing like a cozy holiday mystery to keep you entertained.  More and more authors have hopped onto the holiday bandwagon, and in most cases, they are great additions to ongoing series.  Here are a few of my holiday favorites...

Plum Pudding Murder, by Joanne Fluke.  Fluke, whose Hannah Swensen bakery mysteries have kept mystery readers cozy for over a decade, outdoes herself when a local loony turns up dead and Hannah is on the case to find the homicidal Scrooge who is plotting her demise, as well!  Cute, fast, and a must for any mystery reader with a sweet tooth!


Holly Blues, by Susan Wittig Albert.  China Bayles is one busy amateur sleuth.  With an herb shop and a catering business/tea room to run, as well as a family to care for, she peeved when her husband's ex-wife, Sally, shows up around the holidays broke and with nowhere to go.  When Sally's dangerous past follows her to Pecan Springs, it's up to China to get to the bottomof things.  I've mentioned before, I'm a real fan of this series, so if you like this one, I highly recommend starting at the beginning of the series and reading them all!


Busy Body, by M.C. Beaton.  While Agatha Raisin herself has often been ambivalent about the holiday season, her little village of Carsely prides itself on its Christmas traditions.  When a member of the Health and Safety Board decrees the traditional decorations as unsafe and bans a number of long-held traditions, it's no surprise when someone gives the Scrooge his due. Whether he deserved it or not, Agatha and her agency mean to solve the case!


Happy reading!

1 comment:

Ann Summerville said...

Great list. I love each of these authors.
Ann