In January, my Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mysteries launches with Sticks and Stones and a Bag of Bones. While it’s not a Christmas story, it is a mystery series set in and around a Christmas store in the fictional little beach down of Mermaid Bay.

Here’s a sampling of Christmas-themed mysteries (in no particular order) that you may want to add to your holiday TBR list.

Hercule Poirot’s Christmas by Agatha Christie
The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding by Agatha Christie
The Mistletoe Murder and Other Stories by P. D. James
The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers
The Christmas Train by David Baldacci
The 19th Christmas by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
Merry Christmas, Alex Cross by James Patterson
The Twelve Clues of Christmas by Rhys Bowen
Away in a Manger by Rhys Bowen
Blackmail and Bibingka by Mia Manansala
Candy Cane Murder Joanna Fluke
Lark! The Herald Angels Sing by Donna Andrews
Owl Be Home for Christmas by Donna Andrews
Twisted Tea Christmas by Laura Childs
A Gift of Bones by Carolyn Haines
He Sees You When You’re Sleeping by Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark
“The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle” by Arthur Conan Doyle
Blue Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews
Deck the Hounds by David Rosenfelt
Dachshund Through the Snow by David Rosenfelt
Holiday Buzz by Cleo Coyle
The Diva Cooks a Goose by Krista Davis
A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny
Rest Ye Murdered Gentlemen by Vicki Delany
Dying in a Winter Wonderland by Vicki Delany
Six Cats a Slaying by Miranda James
A Merry Murder by Kate Kingsbury
A Deadly Inside Scoop by Abby Collette
An Eggnog to Die for by Amy Pershing
Christmas Cocoa Murder by Carlene O’Connor
A Puzzle in a Pear Tree by Parnell Hall
Sacred and Profane by Faye Kellerman
Death, Taxes, and Mistletoe Mayhem by Diane Kelly

What would you add to the list?

I’d like to welcome Lois Winston to the blog for #WriterWednesday. She has a guest post on her holiday cozies. Perfect timing for this season. Check these out and add them to your collection.

Christmas with Anastasia

By Lois Winston

My amateur sleuth, Anastasia Pollack, makes no bones about her feelings toward me. I suppose her animosity is justified. After all, I write cozy murder mysteries, which means I’m constantly placing her in life-and-death situations.

Most cozy mysteries feature busybody amateur sleuths who make a habit of sticking their noses where they don’t belong. Anastasia is more a reluctant amateur sleuth, forced to investigate because I’m always writing her into situations where I don’t give her any choice.

And much to her dismay, I don’t even let up at Christmas. I tried explaining my reasoning for this to her, that readers love holiday books. Her answer? I should go back to writing romances and leave the solving of murders to the professionals. What fun would that be, though?

And speaking of fun, I had so much fun setting Drop Dead Ornaments, the seventh book in the series, days before Christmas, that I decided the eighth book in the series, Handmade Ho-Ho Homicide, should pick up where Drop Dead Ornaments left off. That means I have two holiday mysteries available this year. And better yet, the ebook version of Drop Dead Ornaments is currently on sale for only .99 cents through Christmas Eve.

Drop Dead Ornaments

An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, Book 7

Anastasia Pollack’s son Alex is dating Sophie Lambert, the new kid in town. For their community service project, the high school seniors have chosen to raise money for the county food bank. Anastasia taps her craft industry contacts to donate materials for the students to make Christmas ornaments they’ll sell at the town’s annual Holiday Crafts Fair.

At the fair Anastasia meets Sophie’s father, Shane Lambert, who strikes her as a man with secrets. She also notices a woman eavesdropping on their conversation. Later that evening when the woman turns up dead, Sophie’s father is arrested for her murder.

Alex and Sophie beg Anastasia to find the real killer, but Anastasia has had her fill of dead bodies. She’s also not convinced of Shane’s innocence. Besides, she’s promised younger son Nick she’ll stop risking her life. But how can she say no to Alex?

Buy Links
Paperback https://amzn.to/2s1VYii

Kindle https://amzn.to/350ueJq

Kobo https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/drop-dead-ornaments

Apple Books https://books.apple.com/us/book/drop-dead-ornaments/id1431548050

Nook https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/drop-dead-ornaments-lois-winston/1129345148?ean=2940161937181

Handmade Ho-Ho Homicide

An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, Book 8

Two and a half weeks ago magazine crafts editor Anastasia Pollack arrived home to find Ira Pollack, her half-brother-in-law, had blinged out her home with enough Christmas lights to rival Rockefeller Center. Now he’s crammed her small yard with enormous cavorting inflatable characters. She and photojournalist boyfriend and possible spy Zack Barnes pack up the unwanted lawn decorations to return to Ira. They arrive to find his yard the scene of an over-the-top Christmas extravaganza. His neighbors are not happy with the animatronics, laser light show, and blaring music creating traffic jams on their normally quiet street. One of them expresses his displeasure with his fists before running off.

In the excitement, the deflated lawn ornaments are never returned to Ira. The next morning Anastasia once again heads to his house before work to drop them off. When she arrives, she discovers Ira’s attacker dead in Santa’s sleigh. Ira becomes the prime suspect in the man’s murder and begs Anastasia to help clear his name. But Anastasia has promised her sons she’ll keep her nose out of police business. What’s a reluctant amateur sleuth to do?

Buy Links

Paperback https://amzn.to/2OXfaqu

Kindle https://amzn.to/3594OJC

Kobo https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/handmade-ho-ho-homicide

Nook https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/handmade-ho-ho-homicide-lois-winston/1132607263?ean=2940163093748

Apple Books https://books.apple.com/us/book/handmade-ho-ho-homicide/id1473711082

About Lois:

USA Today bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books, and nonfiction under her own name and her Emma Carlyle pen name. Kirkus Reviews dubbed her critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” In addition, Lois is a former literary agent and an award-winning craft and needlework designer who often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts industry.

Let’s Be Social:

Website: www.loiswinston.com

Newsletter sign-up: https://app.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/z1z1u5

Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers blog: www.anastasiapollack.blogspot.com

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/anasleuth

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Anasleuth

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/722763.Lois_Winston

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/lois-winston