Christmas Mystery Thriller

Five fun cozy mystery books with pet-sitter Polly Parrett.

Charles Kendrick, a senior U.S. senator, is a suspect in the disappearance of a young female staff member. A multi-state manhunt is already underway, and the district attorney is pressuring Kendrick for an interview, which his lawyer, Marty, doesn't want to grant. At the same time, Marty and her law partner and lover, Harry Madigan, are preparing the defense of a man accused of murdering a priest. Both defendants are lying, but to whom? And can their actions be justified?

Dark legends come to life With the execution of a serial killer known as the Artiste, Cheyenne Donegal thinks a grim part of her past is finally put to rest. Her cousin had been the twisted killer’s final victim, and then-teenage Cheyenne was integral in bringing him to justice. That tragedy...

Rosemary Bell's got a brand new bag. She has a great circle of friends, a sexy Irish boyfriend, and a daughter following in her witchy footsteps. But when she becomes the prime suspect in her grinch husband's disappearance, the halls she'll be decking might be behind bars. Things get even bleaker when she's called home to clean up her husband's mess. When Rosie finds clues about a family she never knew she had, she realizes she doesn't know as much about her past as she thought. And her present isn't much better, when the local sheriff joins the investigation into her crimes.

Luckily, Mina Wilde loves him anyway, as well as her two other literary boyfriends—the 'Napolean of Crime,' James Moriarty, and Poe's contemplative raven, Quoth. It's tough buying the perfect Christmas gifts for three lovers, but Mina's determined to make this year the best Christmas Nevermore Bookshop has ever seen. That is until the charity Christmas tree and all the presents donated by the village go missing. Heathcliff's grinching makes him the obvious culprit, but Mina knows Heathcliff isn't mean enough to steal gifts for the animal shelter . . . or is he?

Detective Chief Inspector John Shadow is reluctantly attending York Minster’s Advent Ceremony when the new Dean is taken ill after drinking wine. Was her allergic reaction a simple case of human error or could she have been poisoned? Shadow becomes suspicious when he learns someone else has died under similar circumstances. He begins to quietly investigate, but when the body of a young woman is recovered from the river, he knows he must act quickly. And this time, Shadow requires the help of someone from his past.

It's that time of year again! It's always Christmas in Holiday Haven, but this December is a special one. Carolyn Highcrest is preparing for her parents to visit for the inn's annual celebration . . . and to finally meet her boyfriend, Spencer. But when a mysterious package thief strikes the local postal service, Carol finds herself compelled to help Spencer find the culprit. Someone seems intent on ruining the holiday fun, with presents disappearing left and right and a spate of bad luck, which reminds Carol of the havoc the previous year wreaked by an out-of-control wishing box.

It's Christmas in 1911, and John Decker is stuck in London, far from those he loves. When he gets invited to a holiday party at a manor house in the country, he reluctantly agrees to go, expecting a quiet few days of holiday cheer. But Blackthorn Manor is not just any country house. It hides a dark secret from centuries past, and a restless spirit that never left.

All Holly wants for Christmas is to prove to her parents that her pricey college education was worth it. When she lands a reporting job in tiny Blue Lake, where the chill winds blow off Lake Huron all winter long, and a guest dies at a dinner party, she isn't sure she can meet that goal. Holly has a second writing gig as a true crime reporter in mind, but there's only one problem: The new love interest keeping her warm is determined she should not write about the one thing her heart desires.

Detective Kylie "KC" Cassidy's career wilts like a thirsty poinsettia in the Florida heat. When a councilman is found dead during Christmas week, KC must solve this high-profile case before the New Year's Eve fireworks or face unemployment. As she delves deeper, more bodies surface like unwanted gifts. KC is running out of time, the clock ticking down as though in a twisted Advent calendar.

Rachel's plans to spend Christmas with her fiancé are in tatters after he is called to Italy at short notice. Rather than spend Christmas with her parents, Rachel decides to take a last-minute Canary Island cruise. Sarah, cruise ship nurse and Rachel's best friend, is only too pleased to have her along, as Sarah's parents are taking their first cruise. With her mother keen for her to settle down, she is glad of the moral support.

As the Christmas decorating season approaches, Thyme & Seasons proprietor China Bayles feels overwhelmed. While she tries to balance her new roles of wife and step-mom with the demands of her thriving herbal shop, her business partner and best friend, Ruby, mysteriously disappears. Soon China's cantankerous mistletoe supplier Carl turns up dead. With Ruby missing and friends suspected of murder, China must investigate before tragedy strikes again.

From the creator of Dalziel and Pascoe comes a fantastic collection of crime stories complete with a foreword by Mick Herron.

Mildred Kilgore and Earlynne Biddle are planning to open a bakery on the square - if they can come up with the right recipes. Charlie Dickens faces two of the biggest puzzles of his career as an investigative reporter, and one of them involves his wife. Cute little Cupcake's talent as a singer and dancer makes her a tempting target for an unscrupulous exploiter. Lizzy must enlist the Dahlias to protect her while she herself is confronted by a romantic puzzle. And Sheriff Norris is forced to reopen a puzzling mystery that the town thought was solved.

PI Jackson Rivers and Defense Attorney Ellery Cramer have barely recovered from last November, when stopping a serial killer nearly destroyed Jackson in both body and spirit. But their previous investigation poked a new danger with a stick, forcing Jackson and Ellery to leave town, so they can meet the snake in its den. Jackson Rivers grew up with the mean streets as a classroom, and he learned a long time ago not to give a damn about his own life. But he gets a whole new education when the enemy takes Ellery.

It's December in White Eagle, and Tess and Tony are preparing for a huge Christmas celebration. The town is planning their annual festival, which has Tess and Tony struggling to stay ahead of things. In addition to their work with the festival, Tess fills in for the mail carrier who took over her route, and Tony spends long days with Shaggy working to finish the development of their most recent video game. In spite of their busy schedules, things seem to be going smoothly until an unexpected visitor comes to town with an unusual request.

Lilith Jones was a statistical anomaly. Her mother found her face down on the frozen sidewalk by the light of the single streetlamp on Pugsley Avenue, with her neighbor’s scissors stuck in her back. The scissors belonged to her neighbor, and so did all the fingerprints on them. Her neighbor, Pat Perkins, hated Lilith. She hated her because her own husband, her brother, and her daughter all loved Lilith. Lilith was charming, beautiful, smart, and adorable.

When Eric and his friend Robbie decide to spend Christmas at Eric's aunt's hotel, they were expecting mince pies and brandy. However, one of the guests at Eve Manor has something entirely different planned for Christmas: murder. As Eric and Robbie attempt to unravel the mystery and find the killer, who can they trust from the other guests, and can they keep Eric's aunt Patricia alive until Boxing Day?

Christmas in Ashton Falls is always a magical time of year. The first big snow has arrived, the tree in the town square has been decorated, and the window displays completed. Zoe finds herself knee-deep in holiday shopping and children’s wishes, as she and Zak play host to nine-year-old Scooter Sherwood, and his friend, Alex. Things couldn’t be more perfect - until Zoe finds the body of history teacher Holly Jolly in the Ashton Falls High School Christmas Tree lot, run by best friend Levi Denton, and is pulled into a dangerous holiday investigation.

Everybody's looking forward to Christmas, but not Celia.Why? Because she's been making promises all year that she can't seem to keep. Promises to take her young children on a luxurious holiday. Promises to her clients to make them look like a million bucks over the holiday season. She's in for a shock when a client dies at one of the corporate functions she's a part of. The incident seems coincidental, until someone else dies. It seems Celia is the common denominator at both scenes. Celia's blood pressure goes through the roof when she's identified as a person of interest.