Get Cozy with 12 of the Best Christmas Mysteries
By: Denise Shelton
Tags: Books, Christmas, Mystery, Who Done It, Reading

Books

Get Cozy with 12 of the Best Christmas Mysteries

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

Note: There are no affiliate links in this story. The author does not receive compensation for click-through purchases.

Just as popular singers give their sales a boost by recording Christmas songs and albums, many best-selling authors do the same by using Christmas settings and themes in some of their novels and short stories. The cozy mystery genre has countless examples of these. Cozies go with Christmas like raindrops on roses, and many mystery readers look forward to these releases each year.

But beware! Not all Christmas cozies are created equal. Some of them are so bad that their authors should be on the naughty list. So, in service to readers with discriminating tastes, here are twelve Christmas stories that deserve the Sugarplum Fairy seal of approval. Enjoy!

Book cover of A Highland Christmas

A Highland Christmas by M.C. Beaton

Set in the tiny Scottish Highlands village of Lochdubh, the book’s protagonist, police officer Hamish Macbeth faces a quiet and dreary holiday as most of the town’s ultra-religious residents frown on Christmas merrymaking. A missing cat, a mysterious woman, and a stolen Christmas tree keep Hamish hopping as he investigates. The Macbeth series is full of charm, atmosphere, and quirky characters you’re sure to enjoy.

Book cover of The Twelve Clues of Christmas

2. The Twelve Clues of Christmas: A Royal Spyness Mystery by Rhys Bowen

Lady Georgiana Rannoch is 35th in line to the British throne and virtually penniless. At loose ends with her boyfriend Darcy in South America, and her actress mother keeping Christmas with Noel Coward, Georgie takes a job as a hostess at a posh holiday party.

When the bodies start turning up, she endeavors to unmask a killer. This series is full of fun and details about the royal family during the Depression. There are recipes and instructions for traditional English Christmas party games at the book’s end, too!

“Exceptional . . . Perry unobtrusively incorporates insights about the true meaning of the season into the engrossing plot. “— Publishers Weekly

Book cover of A Christmas Return

3. A Christmas Return by Anne Perry

Each year, author Anne Perry releases a Christmas novella where she features a minor character from one of her Victorian series mysteries in a story of their own. A Christmas Return is one of my favorites as cantankerous matriarch Mariah Ellison, a thorn in the side of all her relations, is called upon to play detective. She accepts an invitation from her late friend’s grandson to help solve the cold case that led to that friend's long-ago death. In the story, we discover how Mariah’s past shaped her character and see her undergo a change of heart worthy of Ebenezer Scrooge. It’s a mystery with a message: the perfect Christmas story.

Book cover for Hercule Poirot’s Christmas

4. Hercule Poirot’s Christmas by Agatha Christie

Written in 1938, Hercule Poirot’s Christmas is one of the earliest holiday mysteries on record. In this outing, Christie’s celebrated Belgian detective is called upon to investigate the Christmas Eve murder of tyrannical Simeon Lee. Discovering “who done it” is particularly challenging for Poirot because the victim was universally hated, and his death has made Christmas merrier for just about everyone.

“If nothing else, Ms. Penny knows how to plumb the depths of people’s souls and make the reader relate.” — New York Review of Books

Book cover of How the Light Gets In

5. How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny

Chief Inspector Gamache lives in the picture-perfect Canadian village of Three Pines, but most of his detecting is conducted on Montréal's mean streets and in its suburbs. A bit darker than most of this list’s books, How the Light Gets In continues a plot begun earlier in the series and also tells a story unique to this book. The victim’s past is a fascinating one and is based on a true story.

Book cover of Envious Casca

6. Envious Casca by Georgette Heyer

Best known for her delicious Regency romances, the prolific Georgette Heyer also penned several best-selling mysteries. Envious Casca is a classic English country house mystery with a locked room murder, an inheritance at stake, a bevy of suspects with axes to grind and secrets to hide, and a delightfully snobbish butler. Inspector Hemingway arrives to untangle the perplexing mystery.

“Concocting a satisfying Christmas mystery is as tricky as making a good eggnog: you want a jigger of low-proof danger to mix smoothly with a measure of sweet deliverance. Mary Higgins Clark has whipped up a portable brew. . . .” — The Wall Street Journal

Book cover for All Through the Night

7. All Through the Night by Mary Higgins Clark This light-hearted suspense tale set in New York City involves a baby girl abandoned at a church just as a thief is making off with a diamond-embedded chalice. As he makes his escape, the thief sees the baby and makes off with her as well. Seven years later, cleaning woman turned amateur detective Alvirah steps in to solve the case.

Book cover of The Mistletoe Murder

8. The Mistletoe Murder: And Other Stories by P.D. James This collection of stories by celebrated author P.D. James is sure to please. James regular Sgt. Adam Dalgliesh is featured in two: the first involves a reluctant murder witness, and the second delves into Dalgliesh’s family secrets. Another story is about a mystery novelist whose past comes back to haunt her.

“Each of the five stories highlights English barrister Horace Rumpole’s quirky personality, his love of food and drink, and life with his formidable wife, Hilda (aka “She Who Must Be Obeyed”). But most of all, each illustrates Rumpole’s sense of justice and commitment to the law as well as his dry wit.” — Publishers Weekly

Book cover of A Rumpole Christmas

9. A Rumpole Christmas by John Mortimer

This collection of five holiday stories features grumpy yet warm-hearted barrister Horace Rumpole, who defends those unfortunate enough to be tried at the Old Bailey, London’s criminal court. Anxious to escape a dull holiday with She Who Must Be Obeyed (his wife), Rumpole eagerly takes on a series of cases at Christmas.

Book cover of I Am Half-Sick of Shadows

10. I Am Half-Sick of Shadows: a Flavia de Luce Novel by Alan Bradley

It’s Christmastime, and eleven-year-old Flavia de Luce is busy in her laboratory cooking up a surprise for old St. Nick. A movie crew arrives in town, and everyone turns out to watch the filming. Just after midnight, a body is found strangled with a length of film. As a blizzard descends, engulfing the town, Flavia draws on her considerable intellect to solve the mystery and catch the killer in their midst.

“One of Andrews’ most successful balancing acts between creating a brand-new whodunit and showcasing her zany regulars.” — Kirkus Reviews

Book cover of Owl be Home for Christmas

11. Owl Be Home for Christmas: a Meg Langslow Mystery by Donna Andrews Meg Langslow is a decorative blacksmith and amateur sleuth residing in Caerphilly, Virginia. Her grandfather hosts an international scientific conference on owls at a local inn in the run-up to Christmas. When a severe snowstorm prevents the conference-goers from leaving, one of the visiting ornithologists is murdered. Police Chief Burke enlists Meg’s help to catch the killer before his suspects spread out across the globe.

Book cover of Christmas at the Grange

12. Christmas at the Grange by TE Kinsey

This Edwardian era tale involves Lady Hardcastle and her maid Florence Armstrong. The two have an unusually democratic relationship, so when Lady Hardcastle is invited to spend Christmas with her friends Sir Hector and Lady Farley-Stroud at their country house, The Grange, Florence is also invited. Having gained a reputation as a top-notch amateur detective, the lady and her faithful retainer are called upon to help recover a valuable pearl necklace that has been stolen from one of the other guests. But theft isn’t the only mischief afoot at the Grange, and, as it usually does, the plot thickens!