Holiday Mysteries Part Two

            Relax and enjoy some more Christmas-themed mysteries from our library.

            The Mistletoe Murder: And Other Stories is from renowned British mystery author P.D. James, who passed away in 2014. Two of the stories feature poet-detective Adam Dalgliesh; the other two bear some resemblance to the writing style of Agatha Christie.  

            In Murder for Christmas, written by Francis Duncan, the party guests of Benedict Grame discover a body that bears a striking resemblance to Father Christmas under the tree. It is up to Mordecai Tremaine to find the culprit before another death occurs.

            Nantucket Red Tickets is written by Steven Axelrod. It’s Christmas Eve on Nantucket and prominent businessman Jackson Blum is about to live out his own version of A Christmas Carol.

            The Usual Santas: A Collection of Soho Crime Christmas Capers is published by Soho Crime. This is a compilation of eighteen holiday crime short stories set in locations around the globe.

            Wagging through the Snow is written by Laurien Berenson and is another in the series of Melanie Travis canine mysteries. With Christmas approaching, Melanie investigates a possible murder after discovering a whimpering Maltese beside the dead body of a squatter on the property that her ex-husband just bought.

            Yuletide Homicide is written by Jennifer David Hesse. Family law attorney and Wiccan Keli Milanni goes undercover when mayoral candidate Edgar Harrison, her boss’s old friend, is blackmailed. Before finding the culprit, Harrison winds up dead, and Keli must risk her own rebirth during the Wiccan holiday Yuletide to catch the killer.  

           

Holiday Mysteries

            Though the season may be merry and bright, murder and mayhem never take a holiday at Christmas. Here are some novels that prove the point.

            A Cajun Christmas Killing: A Cajun Country Mystery, written by Ellen Byron, describes how Maggie Crozat must pair up with an unlikely ally and longtime family enemy to catch the killer before Christmas on the bayou is ruined. Includes recipes.

            The Christmas Mystery: A Detective Luc Moncrief Story is written by James Patterson. The story follows French NYPD detective Luc Moncrief during a busy Christmas season as he investigates the theft of a cache of priceless paintings and the murder of a wealthy socialite.

            A Christmas Return: A Novel is the newest annual Christmas mystery by author Anne Perry. Spurred by holiday cheer and a surprise hidden in a Christmas pudding, and elderly aristocrat endeavors to correct a past wrong by solving a decade-old murder.

            Crimson Snow: Winter Mysteries is a short story collection edited by Martin Edwards. It shares Christmas mysteries from such authors as Fergus Hume, Margery Allingham, and Michael Gilbert.

            The Ghost of Christmas Past, written by Rhys Bowen, features Molly Murphy Sullivan and her husband Daniel. They are invited to spend the holidays at a Hudson mansion, only to be embroiled in the mystery of their hosts’ daughter’s disappearance.

            How the Finch Stole Christmas! A Meg Langslow Mystery is written by Donna Andrews. When Meg’s husband organizes a full-scale production of “A Christmas Carol” with a famous veteran actor in the starring role, she finds herself navigating unexpected challenges in the star’s baggage and enemies.  

 

Afternoon Book Discussions

Join us for our Afternoon Book Discussions, held on the third Wednesday of every month from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. We select books from a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction, encourage lively discussion, and enjoy delicious refreshments. The reading selections for the first half of 2018 are:

January 17^th -- Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking/ written by Susan Cain. Demonstrates how introverted people are misunderstood and undervalued in modern culture, charting the rise of extrovert ideology while sharing anecdotal examples of how to use introvert talents to adapt to various situations.

February 21^st – The Little Paris Bookshop: A Novel/written by Nina George. Prescribing books that offer therapeutic benefits to his customers, a literary apothecary in a floating bookstore on the Seine struggles with private heartbreak before embarking on a journey of healing at the side of a blocked writer and a lovelorn chef.

March 21^st – I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban/written by Malala Yousafzai. Describes the life of the young Pakistani student who advocated for women’s rights and education in the Taliban-controlled Swat Valley, survived an assassination attempt, and became the youngest nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize.

April 18^th – All the Light We Cannot See: A Novel/written by Anthony Doerr. A blind French girl on the run from the German occupation and a German orphan-turned-Resistance tracker struggle with respective beliefs after meeting on the Brittany coast.

May 16^th – The Cuckoo’s Calling/written by Robert Galbraith. Working as a private investigator after losing his leg in Afghanistan, Cormoran Strike takes the case of a legendary supermodel’s suspicious suicide and finds himself in a world of multi-millionaire beauties, rock star boyfriends, desperate designers, and hedonist pursuits.

June 20^th – Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation/written by Cokie Roberts. Explores the lives of women who helped shape the United States, profiling such key figures as Abigail Adams, Eliza Pinkney, Dolley Payne Madison, Deborah Read Franklin, and Catherine Littlefield Greene.