Holiday Thriller

A man dies during a dinner party Zak and Zoe are attending, Alex has a famous friend staying with her, a suspicious federal agent shows up creating more questions than answers, and what should be a fairly cut and dried murder investigation turns into a complicated mess, which makes it difficult to tell the good guys from the bad guys.

Ah, the pleasures of Christmas: the hanging of lights, the traditional feasts, the gathering of families, and...a bit of murder, conspiracy, and theft. The holiday season seems to inspire the imagination of the best mystery writers, and their talents shine here in these delightful tales of Yuletide crime. In this busiest of seasons, seize a few hours to enjoy a sleigh—or slay—full of mysterious treasures, served with the finest of flair.

Christmas elf Tinklebelle Holly loves her new job at the Elven Bureau of Investigation, but not everyone takes her seriously. In an effort to change that, and to impress her hot boss Jax Grayson, Tink sets up an undercover operation on her own. Unfortunately, things go South Pole very quickly, and Tink’s friend, exotic dancer Scarlet Knickers, ends up dead.

Nicole und Sarah wollen ihre Ferien auf einem einsam gelegenen Hof im Thüringer Wald verbringen. Nach einem heftigen Schneesturm ist der Hof von der Außenwelt abgeschnitten. Die Frauen vertreiben sich die Zeit mit alten Märchen und Thüringer Sagen. Aber es sind nicht nur die gruseligen Geschichten von den zwölf Raunächten, die sie zunehmend beängstigen, sondern vor allem die unheimlichen Geräusche, die sie Nacht für Nacht aus dem Schlaf reißen. Als tagsüber wie aus dem Nichts unbekannte Spuren im Haus auftauchen, steigert sich ihre Angst bald zur Panik.

Interior designer Shelby Nelson is looking for a new start. She gets a lucky break when she's hired to help decorate the homes in a wealthy subdivision for the holidays. But not everyone is thrilled with being forced to follow the strict rules set by the homeowners' association. And the person they're angriest with is Heather Redstone, the president of the HOA. So when Shelby is found standing over Heather's dead body under the Christmas tree, she quickly becomes the prime suspect. To clear her name, she’ll need to find the killer.

Since Father Tibor Kasparian escaped the Soviet Union, he has done his best to keep his philosophy to himself - not out of fear, but because he knows that few people could stomach an honest account of life under Stalinism. When he gets an invitation to spend a semester teaching philosophy at Independence College, Kasparian hesitates, but his friend Gregor Demarkian, a former FBI investigator, convinces him to accept. They will both wish he had decided to stay away.

The Vengeful One: A Christmas Tale, the second novel by Aydin Guner, takes the listener on an exhilarating journey of magic and wonder. Adam Goldman is alarmed by a ruckus in the early hours of Christmas morning and nervously leaves his bedroom to investigate. Frightened by an ominous figure, he hits the perceived burglar over the head with a vase. After the subsiding shock, he turns on the light, and to his horror, lying before him is a motionless Santa Claus.

Carrie's best friend has an accident and can no longer make the round-the-world trip they'd planned together, so Carrie decides to go it alone. Violet is also travelling alone, after splitting up with her boyfriend in Thailand. She is desperate for a ticket on the Trans-Siberian Express, but there is nothing available. When the two women meet in a Beijing Hotel, Carrie makes the impulsive decision to invite Violet to take her best friend's place. Thrown together in a strange country, and the cramped cabin of the train, the women soon form a bond

As usual, 17-year-old Alice Teale walked out of school at the end of a bright spring day. She's not been seen since. Alice was popular and well-liked, and her boyfriend, friends and family are desperate to find her. But when the police start asking questions, it becomes clear that almost everyone has something to hide. Torn between a host of suspects, Detectives Beth Winter and Lucas Black don't know which way to turn. But then they receive a disturbing package: pages from Alice's precious diary. Who could have sent them? And have they done with Alice?

We all want to live like a local. Stay in a 'home away from home'. But if it's someone else's house, then you're not the only one with the key. Lauren has finally dumped her dead-weight boyfriend, and what better way to celebrate a breakup than by going on holiday with your best friend? Except the holiday isn't turning out as planned - their cosy twosome has become a three, and while Barcelona might be heaven, their rented apartment is anything but. It's small, shabby but, more than that, Lauren can't help but feel...hunted.

A cozy small-town Thanksgiving featuring a wedding, a cookoff, and a murder. The Inn at Holiday Bay is a heartwarming cozy mystery series about losing everything, taking a chance, and starting again. After suffering a personal tragedy Abby Sullivan buys a huge old seaside mansion she has never even seen, packs up her life in San Francisco, and moves to Holiday Bay Maine, where she is adopted, quite against her will, by a huge Maine Coon Cat named Rufus, a drifter with her own tragic past named Georgia, and a giant dog with an inferiority complex named Ramos.

Two action-packed, romantic comedy holiday crime capers from The Wall Street Journal bestselling Maizie Albright Star Detective series. Find out why fans love these light and fun mystery novellas with a touch of romance and a heavy dose of holiday cheer featuring the ex-celebrity turned detective (Almost. She’s still in training), Maizie Albright.

Roxy Bloom and Patrick Cane are hosting the ultimate Christmas Day Diner for all of their friends and family at The Bean Hive. Roxy has been so busy with her Jingle Bells Lattes and planning the party that Patrick whisks her off for a romantic dinner at the Watershed for some alone time. Their dinner turns out to be a headache. They were seated next to Ryan and Yvonne Moore, who fought the entire time. After dinner, Roxy and Patrick see the couple drive off the road into Lake Honey Springs, Patrick dives into the frigid lake to save the couple, only to find Ryan was already dead.

It looks like a regular advent calendar. Until DC Becky Greene starts opening doors...and discovers a crime scene behind almost every one. The police hope it's a prank. Because if it isn't, a murderer has just surfaced - someone who's been killing for 20 years. But why now? And why has he sent it to this police station? As the country relaxes into festive cheer, Greene and DS Eddie Carmine must race against time to catch the killer. Because there are four doors left, and four murders will fill them....

When Santa Claus is a cop, you better watch out. It’s not looking like a very merry Christmas for San Diego cop Nick Pappas. Suspended from his job, alienated from his family, and persecuted by the press, he’s sorely tempted to turn his gun on himself. Except for his first name, he couldn’t possibly have less in common with jolly old St. Nicholas. But when a local mall decides it needs a secret Santa to help collar some vicious muggers preying on its holiday shoppers, Nick’s persuaded to red-suit up so as to take the naughty punks down and avert a ho-ho homicide.

Holiday for the Hostile, second book in the Hostile series, is probably even stranger than the first. Serena, plus her unusual friend and partner in crime, Tile X, reluctantly find themselves suffering a family holiday at her eccentric grandfather's hovel in Ireland. Who will escape intact from their dramatic holiday from Hell? A gripping paranormal thriller with a splash of horror.

If love for his father makes a man weak, what’ll happen when he gives his heart to a woman? When Special Agent Finnegan O'Reilly gets shot, and the news brings on his father’s heart attack, he decides to take leave from further undercover assignments. The O'Reilly has suffered enough, and Finn can’t be the cause of more distress for this beloved old rascal. Unexpectedly, his boss forces one more case on him - to take place in their own pub.

Hemlock Falls is one of the most picturesque villages in Upstate New York, with the Hemlock Inn, owned by the amateur sleuth Quilliam sisters, as its centerpiece. For the Quilliam sisters, there’s nothing jolly about this Christmas. Meg and Quill are near-broke. At least there’s one bright start on the horizon: A big-time magazine and television show will feature the Inn. But soon the editor’s husband skis to his death. Now, if the Quilliams are to save the Inn from a lawsuit, they’ll need to prove this was no accident.

After getting reassigned from the North Pole by a jealous Mrs. Claus, misfit elf Holly Hopewell is sent to work in the worst place imaginable - The North Pole Emporium Department store in Mistletoe, Oregon. The elves call it Mistletoe Row, a place so devoid of joy and Christmas spirit, that many a curly-toed folk has lost their poor mind working there. But just when Holly thinks things can’t get any worse, the store’s manager, who also happens to be Mrs. Claus’s nephew, is found murdered in his office.

The Darkness of New Orleans dozed fitfully during the war years, waiting for its chance to play with its toys again. It was a Darkness as carefully hidden as the gates to the small courtyards that lurk between buildings in the French Quarter. In the Le Prete Mansion, a movie is just now wrapping up, having spawned madness in trying to film a seductive tale of death and mystery. Disenfranchised spirits have been sent to the hell of their birth. One lost spirit has found a new home in the body of a French Quarter policewoman.