Holiday Thriller

Kyle Colbert just wants to go home for Christmas. So, why does everyone suddenly want to kill him? Kyle savors his train commute from a hectic Manhattan job to his idyllic, small town. But as he arrives on Christmas Eve, his family tries to kill him. His neighbors and the entire community suddenly want him dead. He can’t flee to the authorities because even the FBI is in a deadly pursuit.

December 1860. Headed for the morning shift at the Swindon Locomotive Works is an army of men pouring out of terraced houses built by the GWR, a miniature town and planned community that aims to provide for its employees from cradle to grave. Unfortunately, boilersmith Frank Rodman is headed for the grave sooner than he'd expected, or he will be once his missing head is found. Colbeck, the Railway Detective, finds his investigation into Rodman's murder mired in contradictions.

Beautiful Catherine Carnegie had it all. Life was golden and right on track - that is until he showed. An old college acquaintance continually entered her life. He seemed to know everything about her. Frank's preposterous claims of belonging to a secret government agency caused her to snicker. Eventually, the handsome man offered her a chance to privately meet his "group." The government agent was not lying. There was such a group. As she understood the importance of this group's actions to the country, her desire for entry became strong. When she realized her mistake, it was too late.

Lori Maddox chooses to spend the year after university travelling and visits China, where she finds casual work as a private English tutor. Back in Manchester her parents, Joanna and Tom, who separated when Lori was a toddler, follow her adventures on her blog. When Joanna and Tom hear nothing for weeks, they become increasingly concerned and travel out to Chengdu in search of their daughter.

Dr. Georgia Thackery is back at home with her parents after finding a new adjunct position at Bostock College. Everyone is excited for their first family Christmas with nothing to hide. Why? Because Georgia’s daughter, Madison, is now in the know about Sid, their walking, talking family skeleton. But their Christmas cheer is interrupted when the Thackerys' dog, Byron, goes missing on a cold December night. When he’s finally found, he has a femur clutched between his jaws, and Georgia and Madison race to apologize to Sid for letting the dog gnaw on him yet again

Some say that casting crusty attorney Allen Sharpe as Scrooge in the Kindred Players production of A Christmas Carol is just playing to type. He's not the most beloved man in town. In fact, you'd have a dickens of a time finding someone who liked him. Still, it's a shock when the Ghost of Christmas Past stabs him during the first rehearsal. Suzanne, the co-owner of the Cackleberry Club Cafe (Kindred's favorite combination diner, craft store, and bookshop), chases the murderer out of the building but loses him in the alley. As the days pass, the list of suspects grows longer.

Elizabeth and friends prepare to celebrate Christmas, with all its joys and complications. Not to mention short-staffing at the local TV station with changes to come. But that’s not all Elizabeth has on her plate for the holidays. Someone’s put a wish on the Christmas Wishing Tree set up at KWMT-TV that has her name on it...and it’s a weird one.

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.

Mayor Parish is determined Silverlake should win the prestigious Best Fall Getaway award for Witch Reader's Magazine—especially since the town is already a top contender. But when the journalist covering Silverlake writes a scathing review and is found dead, things go from fall festive to fatal misfortune. The Mystic Inn guest had his fair share of critics, but the killer couldn't possibly be someone living in Silverlake, could they? Angelica and her friends are racing to find out.

Welcome to Normal, Kentucky, a small town in the Daniel Boone National Forest and Happy Trails Campground, where the annual Christmas activities are in full swing. But behind the twinkling lights and festive cheer lies a sinister secret. When a local delivery driver is found murdered in Seymore's Candy Cane Factory, suspicion quickly falls on the eccentric cast of characters who call Normal home. From the grumpy old man who owns the candy cane factory, to the bubbly town fiddle player, Otis Gullett, who is secretly in a rendezvous with the factory owner's wife. No one is above suspicion.

Brought to you by Penguin. Mix one old flame with a splash of suspicion for the perfect. . . murder. In the seaside haven of Carmel-by-the-Sea, Willa Keane’s marriage is in a rut. As a retired interior-designer-turned-influencer, she’s sure life begins at fifty-five, whereas her husband...

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.

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.

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

What holiday could bring more warmth to a skeleton’s chest cavity than Halloween? And when you’re a living skeleton who’s not supposed to be seen outside the house, it’s a welcome chance to get some fresh air and rub bony elbows with people. That’s why Sid doesn’t mind wearing a full-body dog suit and going as Scooby-Doo along with Georgia Thackery’s Velma to the Halloween Howl. Sid can’t wait to go through the haunted house - but he gets rattled for real when a genuine dead body is discovered.

When the bewitching Diana Ravenscroft comes to quiet Tinker's Cove and opens Solstice, a quaint little shop offering everything from jewelry to psychic readings, Lucy Stone writes her off as eccentric but harmless. Even after Diana gives her a disturbingly accurate reading, Lucy can’t help but befriend the newcomer. But not everyone in town is so enchanted. And when Lucy stumbles upon a dead body near her home, she can’t shake the feeling that something ominous is lurking in the crisp October air...

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.

With twinkling lights and Christmas trees, the small seaside town of Pembroke Cove, Maine, is dressed up for the season. Lily Michaels, bookstore owner and witch, is excited to attend the Glow and Glide ice skating festival. This year, as part of a couple with her new fiancé, Gage Erikson—who Milo, her familiar, calls Detective Cutie. It’s the holidays, what could go wrong?

Matty Iapen is the most average bounty hunter and investigator you could hire in Cleveland. He graduated college with a journalism degree only to find work chasing criminals and solving B-rate mysteries. Along with his colleagues Mariah and Alison, Matty will solve any mystery -- mainly because he needs to pay the bills.

Abby is offered the chance to participate in an author event being held at Firehouse Books with one of her own favorite authors. When the guest author turns up dead, Abby realizes that clues to the author’s death could be found in the new novel. Abby joins Colt as he investigates the death of a local man who died after eating pudding dosed with poison during a community dinner. Colt receives a call to check out a light inside an abandoned lighthouse closed for renovations. The pair respond only to find evidence of two trespassers, one of which is now dead.