CHANUKAH (HANUKAH) MYSTERIES

The Jewish Holiday of Chanukah (no matter how you spell it - Hanukah, Hanukkah) starts Sunday night. Because the holiday lasts eight days, you will have plenty of time to read these books and stories! Let me know if I've missed any authors or titles. Put a note in the comments. This is an updated list for 2025. Happy Chanukah!

Want some chocolate with your reading? Make Sufganiyot! Chocolate Donuts or Hannukah Gelt Cookies!

Hanukkah Mystery Novels 

A Crafty Christmas by Molly Cox Bryan
As Dog is My Witness by Jeff Cohen

Holiday Grind by Cleo Coyle (mostly about Christmas but Hanukah is mentioned)
Beautiful Lie the Dead by Barbara Fradkin
Strength to Stand by Sheyna Galyan
Festival of Deaths by Jane Haddam
Hanukkah Gelt by T. Lee Harris
Out of the Frying Pan into the Choir by Sharon Kahn
Saturday the Rabbi Went Hungry by Harry Kemelman

Murder at the Minyan by Shlumat E. Kustanowitz
The Body in the Sleigh by Katherine Hall Page (mostly about Christmas but Hanukah is mentioned)
Dog Have Mercy by Neil Plakcy
Sleep in Heavenly Pizza by Mindy Quigley (a Chrismukkah house party) 

Chanukah Guilt by Rabbi Ilene Schneider
The Tattooed Rabbi by Marvin J. Wolf
Mom Lights a Candle by James Yaffe

Children's Hanukah Mysteries

Rabbi Rocketpower and the Mystery of the Missing Menorahs - A Hanukkah Humdinger! by Rabbi Susan Abramson and Aaron Dvorkin and Ariel DiOrio
Too Many Latkes: A Chanukah Mystery by Sonia Zylberberg
The Mohel from Mars by Miri Ariel
The Case of the Disappearing Chanukah Candles by Ellen Roteman
The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming by Lemony Snicket.

Hanukkah Mystery Short Stories

"Mom Lights a Candle" by James Yaffe, appeared in Mystery: The Best of 2002, ed. by Jon L. Breen.

"Hanukah" by Morris Hershman in Cat Crimes for the Holidays, ed. by Martin Greenberg, Edward Gorman and Larry Segriff
"The Worse Noel" by Barb Goffman in The Gift of Murder, ed. by John M. Floyd
"A Great Miracle Happened There" by Alan Orloff in Black Cat Weekly (Issue 119, 2023)

"Death on the List" by B.K. Stevens (AHMM, January 1999)

For more info on Jewish short story mysteries, check out Steven Steinbock who blogs on Criminal Brief, the Mystery Short Story Web Log Project.
"Navidad" by Elizabeth Zelvin, EQMM, January 2011
"No Candles for Antiochus" by Barry Ergang
Murder is no Mitzvah: Short Stories about Jewish Occasions, edited by Abigail Browning
The Latke in the Library & Other Mystery Stories for Chanukah by Libi Astaire

Mystery Chanukah Anthologies

The Melancholy Menorah (Jewish Regency Mystery Stories Book 4), Libi Astaire
The Latke in the Library and Other Mystery Stories for Chanukah, Libi Astaire
36 Candles: Chassidic Tales for Chanukah, Libi Astaire

Murder is No Mitzvah: Short Mysteries About Jewish Occasions, Abigail Browning
Eight Very Bad Nights: A Collection of Hanukkah Noir, edited by Tod Goldberg

Jewish Noir, Edited by Kenneth Wishnia

Jewish Noir II, edited by Kenneth Wishnia and Chantelle Aimee Osman

CHRISTMAS MYSTERIES: Authors F-L // Christmas Crime Fiction

Today, I continue my Christmas Mystery/Crime Fiction list, with books by Authors F-L. It's amazing how many mysteries are set during the holidays, but it's such a stressful time, I shouldn't be all surprised.

Christmas Crime Authors F-L. Be sure and check the previous list Christmas Mysteries, Authors A-E. I've updated today's list, but please let me know if I've forgotten an author or book. Please comment below.

More authors and titles to come. Be sure and come back to check--also Winter Solstice, Boxing Day, and New Year's. 

CHRISTMAS MYSTERIES: AUTHORS F-L

Fairstein, Linda A.: The Deadhouse; The Crime and the Crystal; A Small World of Murder.
Farjeon, J.J.: Mystery in White: A Christmas Crime Story.
Faricy, Mike: Suspect Santa

Farrow, John: City of Ice.

Farrow, Sharon: Hollyberry Homicide.
Fawcett, Quinn: Siren Song.
Fennelly, Tony: Home Dead for Christmas.
Fenris, Morris: Miracle of Christmas Boxed Set.

Ferrars, E.X.: Smoke Without Fire; The Small World of Murder; The Crime and the Crystal.
Ferris, Monica: Crewel Yule; A Stitch in Time.

Finch, Charles: The Fleet Street Murders.
Finnis, Jane: A Bitter Chill.
Fishback, Beatrice: Winter Writerland.
Fitt, Mary: Death Starts a Rumor.

Fitzsimmons, P.J.: The Case of the Ghost of Christmas Morning.

Fletcher, Jessica (Donald Bain): A Little Yuletide Murder; Manhattans and Murder. 
Fletcher, Jessica and Terrie Farley Moran: Murder, She Wrote: A Killer Christmas.

Flower, Amanda: A Plain Disappearance; Candy Cane Crime.
Fluke, Joanne: Sugar Cookie Murder; Plum Pudding Murder; Candy Cane Murders; Gingerbread Cookie Murder; Christmas Caramel Murder; Christmas Cake Murder.
Flynn, Brian: The Murders Near Mapleton: Exit Sir John.
Foley, Rae: Hundreth Door; Where is Mary Bostwick?.
Follett, Ken: Whiteout.
Ford, Leslie: The Simple Way of Poison.
Forest Katie (writing as Mona Marple): Yule Be Sorry.

Fowler, Earlene: The Saddlemaker's Wife.
Fowler, Mark L.: White Christmas
Fox, Sarah: Yeast of Eden; Baking Spirits Bright. 
Frankland, Maria: Last Christmas

Fraser, Anthea: The Nine Bright Shiners; White Christmas with a Wobbly Knee; Snowballs and Scotch Mist; Christmas Mourning.
Frazer, Andrea: Snowballs and Scotch Mist; Christmas Morning.
Frazer, Margaret: The Servant's Tale; The Widow's Tale.
Freeburn, Christina: Not a Creature Was Stirring.

Fremlin, Celia: The Long Shadow.
Freydont, Shelley: A Merry Little Murder; Silent Knife.
Frommer, Sara Hoskinson: Witness in Bishop Hill.
Frost, The Killer's Christmas List. 

Frost, Jacqueline: Twelve Slays of Christmas; 'Twas the Knife Before Christmas.
Fruttero, Carlo & Franco Lucentini: Enigma in Luogo di Mare.
Furlong-Bolliger, S.: Christmas in Killarney.
Furst, Clyde Bowman: The Observations of Professor Maturin.
Fry, Patricia: A Picture-Purrfect Christmas.

Gaardner, Jostein: The Christmas Mystery.
Gagnon, Michelle: Kidnap and Ransom.
Galenorn, Yasmine: Ghost of a Chance.
Gano, John: Inspector Proby's Christmas.

Garner, Deborah: Sleigh Bells at Moonglow.
Garner, James Finn: Politically Correct Holiday Stories--For an Enlightened Yuletide Season (collection).
Garnet, A. H.: The Santa Claus Killer.
George, Anne: Murder on a Bad Hair Day.
Gerber, Daryl Wood: Wreath between the Lines.
Gilchrist, Aimee: Mele Kalikimaka Murder. 

Gilruth, Susan: Death in Ambush.
Giroux, E. X.: Death for a Dietician.
Gold, Ginny: Gingerdead Man.
Goldenbaum, Sally: A Holiday Yarn; Trimmed with Murder.

Gonda, Judith: Murder in the Christmas Tree Lot.
Goodhind, J.G.: The Ghost of Christmas Past.
Goodman, Jonathan: Murder on the Aisle.
Gordon, Alan: Thirteenth Night; The Moneylender of Toulouse.
Gorman, Edward: Murder on the Aisle.
Gouze, Roger: A Quiet Game of Bambu.
Grabenstein, Chris: Hell for the Holidays; Slay Ride.
Grace, Alexa: Deadly Holiday.
Grace, C.L.: The Merchant of Death.
Grace, Margaret: Mayhem in Miniature; Manhattan in Miniature.

Grafton, Sue: E is for Evidence.
Graham, Heather: The Last Noel; A Season of Miracles.
Granger, Ann: A Season for Murder; Dead in the Water.
Grant, Ellie: Treacherous Tart.
Graves, Sarah: Wreck the Halls.
Greeley, Andrew: The Bishop and the Three Kings.
Green, Christine: Deadly Partners.
Greenwood, Kerry: Murder in the Dark; Forbidden Fruit.
Greenwood, Patrice. As Red as Any Blood.

Gregory, Lena: Mistletoe Cake Murder.
Gregory, Susanna: A Conspiracy of Violence.
Griffey, Jackie: The Nelson Scandal.
Griffiths, Elly. Smoke and Mirrors.

Grimes, Martha: Jerusalem Inn; The Old Fox Deceived; The Man with a Load of Mischief.
Guest, Judith: Killing Time in St. Cloud.
Gunn, Victor: Death on Shivering Sand.
Gunning, Sally: Ice Water.
Gustafson, Johana: Yule Island.
Haddam, Jane: Not a Creature Was Stirring; A Stillness in Bethlehem.
Hager, Jean: The Last Noel.
Haines, Carolyn: Buried Bones; A Gift of Bones.
Hall, Parnell: A Puzzle in a Pear Tree.
Hall, Robert Lee: Benjamin Franklin and a Case of Christmas Murder.
Hallet, Janice: The Christmas Appeal

Halliday, Gemma: Christmas in High Heels.
Hallinan, Timothy: Fields Where They Lay.
Hamilton, Victoria: White Colander Crime.
Hammett, Dashiell: The Thin Man.
Handler, David: The Snow White Christmas Cookie.

Hannah, Darci: Murder at the Christmas Cookie Bake-Off.
Hannah, Sophie: Agatha Christie Hercule Poirot's Silent Night.

Hardwick, Richard: The Season to be Deadly.
Hare, Cyril: An English Murder.
Harmon, Ken: The Fat Man--A Tale of North Pole Noir. 

Harnetiaux, Trish. White Elephant.
Harper, Karen: The Queene's Christmas.
Harris, Charlaine: Shakespeare's Christmas.

Harris, Joanne: Chocolat.
Harris, Lee: The Christmas Night Murder.
Harrison, Janis: Murder Sets Seed.
Hart, Carolyn: Sugarplum Dead; Merry, Merry Ghost.
Hart, Ellen: Vital Lies; Murder in the Air.
Hart, Roy: Seascape with Dead Figures.
Harvey, John: Cold Light.

Hathway, L.B. The Vanishing of Dr Winter.
Haven, Heather: The CEO Came DOA; Iced Diamond; Christmas Trifle
Hay, Mavis Doriel: The Santa Klaus Murder.
Heald, Tim: Classic Christmas Crime.
Healy, Mel: Black Marigolds.
Heath, Sandra: Mistletoe Mischief.
Hechtman, Betty: You Better Knot Die.
Heistand, Jo: A Recipe for Murder.

Hellmann, Libby: Set the Night on Fire.
Hemlin, Tim: A Catered Christmas.
Hennrickus, Julie: A Christmas Peril.

Hess, Joan: A Holly, Jolly Murder; O Little Town of Maggody.
Hesse, Jennifer David: Bell, Book & Candlemas; Yuletide Homicide.
Heyer, Georgette: Envious Casca; A Christmas Party.
Hiassen, Carl: Tourist Season.

Hill, Joe: NOS4A2.
Hill, Reginald: Death's Jest Book; A Clubbable Woman; Red Christmas.
Hilton, John Buxton: Death in Midwinter.
Hinkemeyer, Michael: A Time to Reap.
Hochgatterer, Paulus: The Sweetness of Life.
Hodgkin, Marion Rous: Dead Indeed.
Holland, Isabelle: A Fatal Advent.
Holliday, Susi. The Deaths of December.
Hollis, Lee: Death of a Christmas Caterer.
Holmes, Dee. The Unexpected Gift.
Holms, Joyce: Thin Ice.
Honigford, Cheryl: Homicide for the Holidays. 

Howell, Dorothy: Slay Bells and Satchels.
Howie, Edith: Murder for Christmas.
Howlett, John: The Christmas Spy.
Hughes, Cledwyn: The Inn Closes for Christmas; The Different Drummer.
Hughes, Mary Ellen: Wreath of Deception.
Hume, Fergus: The Coin of Edward VII.
Hunter, Alan: Landed Gently.
Hunter, Ellen Elizabeth: Murder on the Candlelight Tour; Christmas Wedding; Murder at the Holiday Flotilla.
Hunter, Evan: Come Winter.
Hunter, Fred: Ransom for a Holiday; 'Tis the Season for Murder; Homicide for the Holidays.
Husom, Christine: The Iced Princess.
Hyatt, Georgette: Envious Casca.

Hyzy, Julie: Hail to the Chef.

Iams, Jack: Do Not Murder Before Christmas.
Indridason, Arnaldur: Voices.
Innes, Michael: A Comedy of Terrors; Christmas at Candleshoe; There Came Both Mist and Snow.

Ireland, Liz: Mrs. Claus and the Santaland Slayings; Mrs. Claus and the Nightmare Before New Year's
Irving, Karen: Jupiter's Daughter.
Iron, Graham: Hardcastle's Actress.

Ivie, Judith: Drowning in Christmas.
Jackson, Melanie: Murder on Parade; Requiem at Christmas.
Jackways, K.M.: Murder for a Song

Jaffe, Jody: Chestnut Mare, Beware.

Jahn, Cathie: Add One Dead Critic.
Jahn, Michael: Murder on Fifth Avenue.
James, CeeCee: The Frosty Taste of Scandal.

James, Miranda: Six Cats a Slayin'.
James, P. D.: The Mistletoe Murder and Other Stories (collection).
Jarvis, Nancy Lynn: Buying Murder.
Jecks, Michael: The Boy Bishop's Glove Maker.
Jeffers, H. Paul: Murder on Mike.
John, Cathie: Add One Dead Critic.
Johns, Madison: The Great Christmas Caper; Meows, Magic & Elves.
Johnsen, Kjersti Harland: Christmas at Glitter Peak Lodge

Johnson, Craig: Death Without Company; Christmas in Absaroka; Spirit of Steamboat.
Johnson, Sybil: Ghosts of Painting Past. 

Johnston, Antony. The Dog Sitter Detective's Christmas Tail.

Jonasson, Ragnar. Whiteout.
Jones, Gin: Old-Fashioned Holiday Homicide.

Jordan, Cathleen: A Carol in the Dark.
Jordan, Jennifer: Murder Under the Mistletoe.

Kales, Jenny: Spiced and Iced.
Kane, Henry: A Corpse for Christmas (aka Homicide at Yuletide).
Kaplan, Arthur: A Killing for Charity.
Kappes, Tonya: Freshly Ground Murder, Tangled Up in Tinsel; Christmas, Criminals, and Campers; Eggnog Extortion & Evergreens; Elves, Evergreens, & Evidence; Santa Claus Surprise.
Kashian, Tina: Stabbed in the Baklava; Mistletoe, Moussaka Murder.  

Katz, Fred: Not a Creature Was Stirring.
Kaufman, Karin: The Witch Tree.
Kavanaugh, Brian: A Canterbury Crime; Calamity at Crime Cottage.
Kaye, M. M.: Death in the Andamans.
Kellerman, Faye: Sacred and Profane.
Kelley, Lee Charles: 'Twas the Bite Before Christmas.
Kelly, Mary: The Christmas Egg.
Kelly, Sofie: A Midwinter's Tail.
Kelner, Toni L.P.: Mad as the Dickens.

Kendrick, Stephen: Night Watch.
King, John: The Big Mouth.
King, Laurie R.: A Monstrous Regiment of Women.
Kingsbury, Kate: No Clue at the Inn; Ringing in Murder; Shrouds of Holly; Slay Bells; Decked with Folly; Mistletoe and Mayhem; Herald of Death; The Clue is in the Pudding; Mulled Murder; A Merry Murder
Kinsey, T.E.: Christmas at The Grange; A Merry Murder.

Kirk, JD: Eastgate.
Kirby, Peter. The Dead of Winter. 
Kisor, Henry: Season's Revenge.
Kitchin, C.H.B.: Crime at Christmas.

Kitson, Bill: Killing Christmas.
Klavin, Andrew: When Christmas Comes.
Klein, Libby: Silent Nights are Murder.

Kleinholz, Lisa: Exiles on Main Street.
Knight, Alanna: The Dagger in the Crown.
Knight, Bernard: Crowner's Quest.
Knight, Kathleen Moore: They're Going to Kill Me.
Koch, Edward I.: Murder on 34th Street.
Koontz, Dean R.: Mister Murder; Santa's Twin; Robot Santa.
Krotow, Geri: A Santa Stabbing.

Kuhn, Cynthia: The Study of Secrets.
Lake, M.D.: A Gift for Murder; Grave Choices.
Landreth, Marsha: The Holiday Murders.
Lane, Vicki: In a Dark Season.
Langley, Bob: Death Stalk.
Langston, Josh & Barbara Galler-Smith: Christmas Beyond the Box.
Langton, Jane: The Shortest Day--Murder at the Revels; The Memorial Hall Murder.
Lanyon, Josh: So This is Christmas.
Lanyon, Josh & Sarah Black: I'll be Dead for Christmas.
Lathen, Emma: Banking on Death.

Latimer, Rupert: Murder After Christmas.
Lavene, Joyce and Jim: Treacherous Toys; A Dickens of a Murder; Murder Fir Christmas.
Lawley, Cate: Makin' a List.
Lawrence, Alfred: A Christmas Killing.
Lawrence, David: Cold Kill.
Lawrence, Hilda: Blood Upon the Snow; Death of a Doll.
Lawrence, Treat: Q As in Quicksand.

Leach, Christopher: A Killing Frost.
Lee, Amanda: Better Off Thread.
Lee, Ashton: A Cherry Cola Christmas.
Lee, Simon: The First Lockdown Christmas Mystery. 

Leitch, Fiona: A Cornish Christmas Murder; The Cornish Christmas Pantomime. 
Leon, Donna: Blood from a Stone.
Levine, Joan & Gail Owens: The Santa Claus Mystery.
Levine, Laura: Death of a Neighborhood Scrooge.
Lewin, Michael Z.: The Enemies Within.
Lewis, Ted: Carter's Law.

Licio, Adriana. A Mystery Before Christmas.
Lin, Harper: Fur-Miliar Felines; Killer Christmas.
Little, Constance: The Black-Headed Pins.
Livingston, Nancy: Quiet Murder.
Loan-Wilsey, Anna: Anything But Civil.
Locke, M. Louisa: Kathleen Catches a Killer.
Locke, William J.: A Christmas Mystery.
Lockridge, Richard: Dead Run.
London, Collette: The Peppermint Mocha Murder.
Long, Manning: Vicious Circle.
Lord, Christopher: The Christmas Carol Murders.
Lovegrove, James: Sherlock Holmes and The Christmas Demon.

Loweecey, Alice: Veiled Threat. 

Lourey, Jess: December Dread.
Luber, Philip: Deadly Convictions.
Ludwig, Ken: The Game's Afoot OR Holmes for the Holidays.
Lynn, Sherry: Murder Under the Mistletoe

Lyttek, Susan. Plundered Christmas.  

More to come. Here's a link to the first list (that's been updated since posting). Christmas Mysteries, Authors A-E. 

MIDSOMER MURDERS, Series 25, starts streaming today!

Midsomer Murders, Series 25, starts today,  Monday, December 8th, on Acorn TV.

From a mudlarking murder to a bowling club killing and a grammar school homicide, DCI Barnaby (Neil Dudgeon) and DS Winter (Nick Hendrix) solve perplexing crimes whilst also exploring the quirks of their delightfully picturesque yet deadly shire,  features four new, feature-length episodes 

And, yes, Midsomer Murders has been renewed for a 26th Season. The new season continues to star Neil Dudgeon as DCI Barnaby. 

Cartoon of the Day: Happy Caturday!

 Wellie!

Cartoon of the Day: Writer's Life

 

CHRISTMAS MYSTERIES: AUTHORS A-E

 

Crime for the Holidays. Christmas time is a major time for murder! Every year I post a list of mysteries set during the Christmas holidays. It's such an extensive list, that I divide it into multiple parts. Here's the first installment, Authors A-E, of what will be a huge Christmas Crime Fiction list. I'll be posting the rest of the list over the next week, so be sure and stop back. I will be updating as the month goes on. There's something for everyone, from cozy to noir to thriller. Enjoy!   

Although the list is updated every year, I'm sure I've still managed to miss a few authors and titles. Let me know, and I'd be glad to add them. I will be updating throughout the month. Please comment below or send me an email.

Christmas Mysteries: Authors F-L (to come) 

Christmas Mysteries: Authors M-Z (to come)

Christmas Mysteries: Short Story Anthologies and Novellas (to come)

Christmas Crime Fiction: 
Authors A-E

Abbott, Allyson: Shots in the Dark 
Abbot, Anthony: About the Murder of a Startled Lady; About the Murder of Geraldine Foster.
Abresch, Peter: The Faltese Malcom.

Ace, Cathy. The Case of the Absent Heirs; The Case of the Unfortunate Fortune Teller.
Adams, Deborah: All the Crazy Winters.
Adair, Gilbert: The Act of Roger Murgatroyd.

Adamson, Lydia: A Cat in the Manger; A Cat in the Wings; A Cat on Jingle Bell Rock; A Cat Under the Mistletoe.
Alan, Isabella: Murder, Served Simply.
Albert, Susan Wittig: Mistletoe Man; Rueful Death; Holly Blues: The Darling Dahlias and the Poinsetta Puzzle.
Alexander, David: Shoot a Sitting Duck.
Alexander, Ellie (aka Kate Dyer-Seeley): A Cup of Holiday Fear; A Holiday Homicide.
Alexander, Hannah & Jill Elizabeth Nelson: Season of Danger; Silent Night; Deadly Night/Mistletoe Mayhem.
Alexander, Maria: Snowed.
Alexander, Victoria: What Happens at Christmas.
Allan, Barbara: Antiques Flee Market.
Allen, E.A.: The Fifth Christmas; The Dandridge Charter.
Allen, Michael: Spence and the Holiday Murders.
Ambrose, Terry: The Killer Christmas Sweater Club.
Amo, Gary: Silent Night.
Amsden, Pat: A Christmas to Die For.
Andre, Joel: A Death at the North Pole.
Andrews, Donna: How the Finch Stole Christmas; Six Geese A-Slaying; Duck the Halls; The Nightingale Before Christmas; Lark! The Herald Angels Sing; Owl Be Home for Christmas; The Gift of the Magpie; The Twelve Jays of Christmas; Let It Crow, Let It Crow; Let it Crow; Rockin' Around the Chickadee 
Andrews, Mary Kay (Kathy Hogan Trocheck): Fatal Fruitcake; Blue Christmas; Christmas Bliss; Midnight Clear.
Traci Andrighetti & Elizabeth Ashby: A Poison Manicure and Peach Liqueur. 

Kate Angel: Gingerbread Man.
Angela, Mary: A Very Merry Murder.
Appignanesi, Lisa: The Dead of Winter. 
Archer, Gretchen. Double Deck the Halls. 

Armstrong, Vivien: Fly in Amber.
Arnold, Carolyn. Christmas is Murder.
Arsenault, Emily: The Broken Teaglass.
Arts, David Jay: Quiet Desperation.
Ash, Maureen: Murder for Christ's Mass.
Ashe, Ellie: Chasing Tinsel.
Atherton, Nancy: Aunt Dimity's Christmas; Aunt Dimity and the Heart of Gold.
Atkins, Ace: Leavin' Trunk Blues.
Aubert, Rosemary: The Feast of Stephen.
Avon, Joy: In Peppermint Peril.
Baantjer, Albert: Murder in Amsterdam.
Babcock, Dwight V.: A Homicide for Hannah.

Babson, Marian: Twelve Deaths of Christmas; Line Up for Murder; Murder on a Mystery Tour.
Bailey, Jodie, Debby Giusti & Susan Sleeman: Holiday Defenders.
Bain, Donald (as Jessica Fletcher): A Little Yuletide Murder; Manhattans and Murder.
Baker, Deb: Murder Trims the Tree.
Baker, North: Dead to the World.
Baldacci, David: The Christmas Train.
Ball, Donna: Silent Night.
Ballard, Mignon F.: Deadly Promise; Hark! The Herald Angel Screamed.

Banks, Carolyn: Horse to Die For. 
Barnett, T.L.: Murder for the New Year.

Banville, John. Snow.

Barnard, Robert: Death in a Cold Climate; The Habit of Widowhood.

Barre, Richard: Bethany.
Barrett, Kathleen: Homicide for the Holidays.
Barritt, Christy. High-Stakes Holiday Reunion; It Came Upon a Midnight Crime.
Barron, Stephanie: Jane and the Wandering Eye; Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas.
Bartlett, Lorraine & Gayle Leeson: Yule Be Dead.
Barton, Beverly: Sugar and Spice.

Battison, Brian: The Christmas Bow Murder.
Baxt, George: Scheme and Variations; A Christmas Story.
Bayard, Louis: Mr Timothy.
Beaton, M.C.: Death of A Snob; A Highland Christmas; Agatha Raisin and Kissing Christmas Goodbye; Death of a Prankster; Christmas Crumble; Busy Body.
Beaumont, Cyril: The Mysterious Toyshop.
Beechy, Alan: Murdering Ministers.
Bell, Cindy: Mistletoe, Makeup and Murder; Christmas Chocolates and Crime.
Bellairs, George: The Dead Shall Be Raised.

Belle, Josie: Buried in Bargains.
Benedict, Alexandra: The Christmas Murder Game; Murder on the Christmas Express; The Christmas Jigsaw Murders; The Christmas Cracker Killer; The Merry Christmas Murders.
Benison, C.C. Death at Sandringham House.

Bennett, Jenna: A Done Deal.
Bennett, Virginia K.: I'm Dreaming of a Battered Christmas; Hand Caught in the Christmas Cookie Jar.
Benrey, Ron & Janet: Season of Glory.
Bentley, Jennie: Home for The Homicide.

Berenson, Laurien: Jingle Bell Bark; Once Bitten; Wagging through the Snow.
Bernhardt, Susan: Murder Under the Tree.
Bernhardt, William: The Midnight Before Christmas.
Berry, Carole: This Year Will Be Different; The Year of the Monkey.
Bingham, John: Crime at Lark Cottage.
Bird, Nigel. Let It Snow.

Bishop, Claudia: A Carol for a Corpse.
Black, Gavin: Dragon for Christmas.
Black, McGarvey: Twice on Christmas.
Black, Sarah & John Lanyon: I'll be Dead for Christmas.
Blackburn, Cindy: Three Odd Balls.

Blackstock, Charity: The Foggy, Foggy Dew.
Blake, Bethany. Paw Prints and Predicaments; A Midwinter's Tale.
Blake, K.B.: Crisis at the Christmas Party.
Blake, Nicholas: The Corpse in the Snowman; The Smiler With the Knife; Thou Shell of Death.

Blanc, Nero: A Crossworder's Delight; A Crossworder's Gift; A Crossworder's Holiday; Wrapped Up in Crosswords.

Boatwright, Alice K.: What Child is This?.
Bodelson, Anders: Think of a Number.
Bohart, Lynn: Inn Keeping with Murder.
Boland, Peter. The Christmas Market Murder.
Bolen, Cheryl. The Theft before Christmas. 

Bolton, Ginger (aka Janet Bolin): Deck the Donuts.
Borger, Gale: Totally Decked.
Borthwick, J. S.: Dude on Arrival; The Student Body.
Boucher, Anthony: The Night Before Christmas.
Bowen, Rhys: The Twelve Clues at Christmas; Away in a Manger; The Ghost of Christmas Past; God Rest Ye, Royal Gentlemen.
Boyd, Eunice Mays, with Elizabeth Reed Aden: Slay Bells.

Boylan, Eleanor: Pushing Murder.
Boyle, Thomas: Post-Mortem Effects.
Bradley, Alan: The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches; I Am Half Sick of Shadows; As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust.
Brady, James: Hampton's Christmas.
Bramble, Forbes: Dead of Winter.
Bran, Helen. Silent Night.
Braun, Lilian Jackson: The Cat Who Turned On and Off; The Cat Who Went into the Closet.
Bredes, Don: Cold Comfort.
Breen, Jon: Probable Claus.
Brett, Simon: The Christmas Crimes at Puzzle Manor; The Shooting in the Shop; The Cinderella Killer.
Bright, Verity: Murder on the Cornish Cliffs.

Brightwell, Emily: Mrs. Jeffries and the Feast of St. Stephen; Mrs. Jeffries & the Yuletide Weddings; Mrs. Jeffries & the Mistletoe Mix Up; Mrs. Jeffries and the Silent Knight; Mrs. Jeffries and the Three Wise Women; Mrs. Jeffries and the Alms of the Angel.
Brockman, Suzanne: All Through the Night.
Brook, Allison. Read and Gone.
Brown, Benedict: A Corpse for Christmas; The Mystery of Mistletoe Hall; The Snows of Weston Moor; The Christmas Bell Mystery; The Christmas Candle Murders; The Alpine Christmas Mystery; The Holly Village Murders; Murder at Everham Hall. 

Brown, Carter: A Corpse for Christmas.
Brown, Frederic: Murder Can be Fun.
Brown, Rita Mae: Rest in Pieces; Santa Clawed; Homeward Hound; Hiss & Tell.
Bruce, Leo: Such is Death.
Brunette, Lisa: Framed and Burning.

Bruns, Catherine: The Enemy You Gnocchi: Planes, Candy Canes, and Hearses.
Bryan, Mollie Cox: A Crafty Christmas.; Christmas Cow Bells.
Buchanan, Edna: The Ice Maiden.
Buckley, Julia: Cheddar Off Dead.
Buchanan, Edna.The Ice Maiden.

Budewitz, Leslie: As the Christmas Cookie Crumbles; Peppermint Barked 
Burdette, Lucy: Death with all the Trimmings.
Burke, Anna Celeste: A Merry Christmas Wedding Mystery.
Burke, Declan: Eightball Boogie.
Burke, James: A Present for Santa.
Burley, W. J.: Death in Willow Pattern; Wycliffe and the Quiet Virgin.
Bush, Christopher: Dancing Death. 

Byerrum, Ellen: Grave Apparel
Byron, Ellen: A Cajun Christmas Killing; Grave Appeal.
Cahoon, Lynn: If the Shoe Fits; Have A Holly, Haunted Christmas; Merry Murder Season; A Killer Christmas Wish.

Caine, Leslie: Holly and Homicide.
Cairns, Alison: New Year Resolution.
Callaghan, Hope. Reindeer & Robberies; Merry Masquerade in Savannah.
Carl, Joanna: The Chocolate Bear Burglary; The Chocolate Snowman Murders.

Carlisle, Kate. Deck the Hallways; The Knife Before Christmas.

Carmack, Amanda. Murder at Whitehall. 
Cantrell, Rebecca: The World Beneath.
Carr, Carol K.: India Black and the Widow of Windsor.
Carrier, Warren: Justice at Christmas.

Carpenter, Sally. Flower Power Fatality.

Carrington, Tori: Queen's Ransom.
Carson, Jo-Ann: The Nanaimo Bar Christmas Mystery

Carter, Ally: The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year.

Carter, John Franklin: The Corpse on the White House Lawn.

Carter, Nick: The Christmas Kill.
Carver, A. The Christmas Miracle Crimes.

Casey, Elizabeth Lynn: Let It Sew.
Caunitz, William J.: Exceptional Clearance.
Challinor, C. S.: Christmas is Murder.
Chan, Cassandra: Spider on the Stairs.
Chapman, Brenda: Cold Mourning.
Chaput, W. J.: The Man on the Train.

Chase, Clare. Mystery at Mistletoe Place.
Chase, Erika: Read and Buried.
Chastain, Thomas: 911 (aka The Christmas Bomber).
Chaze, Elliott: Goodbye Goliath.
Cheever, Sam: Christmas Grift.
Chesbro, George C.: Second Horseman Out of Eden; Colde Smell of Sacred Stone.
Childs, Laura: The Teaberry Strangler; Eggs on Ice; Twisted Tea Christmas.
Christie, Agatha: Hercule Poirot's Christmas (aka Murder for Christmas, aka Holiday for Murder); The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding (novella); The Sittaford Mystery.
Christmas, Joyce: Dying Well; Fete Worse than Death.
Churchill, Jill: Farewell to Yarns; The Merchant of Menace; From Here to Paternity.
Clad, Noel: Savage.
Claire, Edie: Never Mess with Mistletoe.
Clark, Carol Higgins: Iced.
Clark, Mary Higgins: All Through the Night; Silent Night; My Gal Sunday; Silent Night.
Clark, Mary Higgins and Carol Higgins Clark: Deck the Halls; The Christmas Thief; He Sees You When You're Sleeping; Dashing Through the Snow; Santa Cruise.

Cleland, Jane: Ornaments of Death.
Cleverly, Barbara: Fall of Angels.
Coco, Nancy: All I Want for Christmas is Fudge.
Coggin, Joan: Who Killed the Curate; Dancing with Death.
Cohen, Charles: Silver Linings.
Cohen, Tammy: Dying for Christmas.

Collette, Abby: A Deadly Scoop Inside.
Collier, Christine: Christmas at Cliffhanger Inn; A Holiday Sampler.
Collings, Rex: Clerical Crimes for Christmas.
Collins, Kate: Missing Under the Mistletoe.
Collins, Max Allen: Blue Christmas and Other Holiday Homicides (collection); No Cure for Death; Spree.
Colt, Jennifer: The Con Artist of Catalina Island.

Conant, Susan: Gone to the Dogs.
Connelly, Lucy: Death at a Scottish Christmas.
Connelly, Michael. The Black Ice.

Connolly, Sheila. Gone to the Dogs.
Constantine, K.C.: Upon Some Midnights Clear.
Conte, Cate: Whisker of a Doubt; Shock and Paw.
Cook, Sharon Love: A Deadly Christmas Carol.
Cooper, Natasha: Evil is Done.
Cordani, Andreina: The Twelve Days of Murder; Murder at the Christmas Emporium; A Scrooge Mystery.
Cornish, Constance: Dead of Winter.
Cornwell, Patricia: Scarpetta's Winter Table.

Corrigan, Maya: Gingerdead Man.
Cortez, Donn: Miami--Harm for the Holidays.
Cousins, Caroline: Fiddle Dee Death.
Coyle, Cleo: Holiday Grind; Holiday Buzz; Latte Trouble.
Craft, Michael: Body Language.
Craig, Alisa: Murder Goes Mumming.
Craig, Philip R.: A Deadly Vineyard Holiday; Off Season.
Crane, Hamilton: Starring Miss Seeton.
Cranston, Kathy: Mistletoe is Murder.
Crawford, Isis: A Catered Christmas; A Catered Christmas Cookie Exchange.
Creasey, John: Death of a Postman.
Crespi, Trella: Trouble with Thin Ice.
Crider, Bill: Cursed to Death.
Crighton, Michael: Coma.
Crockett, Jessie: Live Free or Die.
Crombie, Deborah: Water Like a Stone; And Justice There is None.
Cross, Amanda: No Word from Winifred.

Cox, Helen: A Body at the Christmas Book Fair.

D'Amato, Barbara: Hard Christmas.
Daheim, Mary: The Alpine Christmas; Nutty as a Fruitcake; The Alpine Winter.
Dain, Catherine. The Last Noel.
Daley, Kathi: Christmas Cozy; The Cat of Christmas Past; Alaskan Alliance; The Mystery Before Christmas; Celtic Christmas; The Catnap Before Christmas.
Dams, Jeanne M.: The Body in the Transept; Indigo Christmas; Winter of Discontent.
Dane, Joel: The Christmas Tree Murders.
Danielewski, Cynthia: Night Fire.
Darrell, Elizabeth: Czech Mate.
Davenport, Chari: The Christmas Party.
Davidson, Diane Mott: Sweet Revenge.
Davidson, Mary Janice: Undead and Unreturnable.
Davis, Frederick: Drag the Dark.
Davis, Kim: Frosted Yuletide Murder.

Davis, Krista: The Diva Runs Out of Thyme; The Diva Cooks a Goose; Not a Creature was Purring; The Diva Wraps It Up.
Davis, Mildred B.: Tell Them What's Her Name Called; Three Minutes to Midnight.
Dawson, Janet: Nobody's Child.

Day, Maddie: Candy Slain Murder.
Day, Marlis: Curriculum Murders.
De Castrique, Mark: Grave Undertaking.
Dean, Spencer: Credit for a Murder.
DeAndrea, William L.: Killed on the Ice.
Dee, Ed: Little Boy Blue.
Deeb, Mary Jane: Christmas Mystery in Provence.
Delaney, Devon: A Holiday for Homicide.

Delany, Kathleen: Murder Half-Baked; Purebred Dead; Dying in a Winter Wonderland.
Delany, Vicki: Winter of Secrets; Rest Ye Murdered Gentlemen; We Wish You a Murderous Christmas; Hark the Herald Angels Slay; Dying in a Winter Wonderland; Have Yourself a Deadly Little Christmas; A Slay Ride Together With You.
Demaree, Steve. A Body under the Christmas Tree.
Dengler, Sandy: Murder on the Mount.
Dentinger, Jane: The Queen is Dead.
DeSmet, Christine: Holly Jolly Fudge Folly; When Rudolph Was Kidnapped.

Deverell, Diana: Twelve Drummers Drumming.
Dexter, Colin: The Secret of Annexe 3; Morse's Greatest Mystery and Other Stories (collection).
Dickson, Carter: The White Priority Murders.

Diehl, Lesley. Claws for Concern.
DiRico, Maria. It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Murder.

Dixon, Helena: Murder in New York
Dobbs, Leighann: Grievance in Gingerbread Alley.
Dobson, Joanne: Quieter Than Sleep.
Donnelly, Deborah: Died to Match; May the Best Man Die.
Donovan, Rose: The Mystery of Ruby's Mistletoe.

Dorsey, Tim: When Elves Attack.
Douglas, Carole Nelson: Cat in a Golden Garland.
Douglas, Charlotte: Holidays are Murder.
Downing, Todd: The Last Trumpet.
Drew, Ana T.: The Twelve Suspects of Christmas.

Driscoll, Patricia: Shedding Light on Murder.
Drummond, John Keith: Tis the Season to be Dying.
Dubois, Brendan: The Gift of King Herod.
Duffy, James: The Christmas Gang.
Dunbar, Sophie: Shiveree.
Duncan, Elizabeth: A Killer's Christmas in Wales.
Duncan, Francis: Murder for Christmas.
Dunn, Carola: Mistletoe and Murder; Death at Wentwater Court.
Dunnett, Kaitlyn (Kathy Lynn Emerson): A Wee Christmas Homicide; Ho-Ho-Homicide.
Durham, Laura: Marry and Bright.
Durham, Mary: Keeps Death His Court.

Early, Barbara: Murder on the Toy Town Express; Death of a Russian Doll.
Eason, Lynette: Holiday Hideout.
Eberhart, Mignon G.: Postmark Murder.
Eddenden, A. E.: A Good Year for Murder.
Edwards, Martin: Miss Winter in the Library with a Knife.

Egan, Lesley: Crime for Christmas.
Ehrhart, Peggy: Silent Knit, Deadly Knit; Death of a Christmas Card Crafter.
Eickhoff, Randy Lee: Then Came Christmas.
Ekwensi, Cyprian: Restless City; Christmas Gold.
Emerson, Kathy Lynn (as Kaitlyn Dunnett): A Wee Christmas Homicide; Ho-Ho-Homicide.
Emrick, K.J.: Murder, Wrapped Up; Christmas Spirit; The Naughty List.
Englehart, Steve: Christmas Countdown.
Erickson, Alex: Death by Eggnog; Death by Peppermint Candy.
Erskine, Margaret: A Graveyard Plot.
Estleman, Loren D.: The Glass Highway.

Evanovich, Janet: Visions of Sugar Plums.
Everett, F.L.: Murder at Mistletoe Manor.

AND MORE TO COME! I'll link here when available.

Christmas Mysteries: Authors F-L. 

Christmas Mysteries: Authors M-Z.

Christmas Mysteries: Short Story Anthologies and Novellas

LEFT COAST CRIME 2027 News!

BIG NEWS: Congratulations to the Guests of Honor!

Left Coast Crime 2027: The Big Chile Rides Again

The Big Chile Rides Again, the 37th Left Coast Crime convention, will be held April 1–4, 2027, at the Eldorado Hotel in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Santa Fe was recently selected as the #1 city in the U.S. in Travel + Leisure's 2025 World’s Best Awards and placed #2 in Condé Nast Traveler's 2025 Best Small Cities in the U.S.
We are thrilled to announce our Special Guests for LCC 2027. 

More information can be found on The Big Chile Rides Again website. Registration will open soon.

Cartoon of the Day: Hallmark Christmas Movies

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. 😂🎄

 

DIANE A.S. STUCKART: R.I.P.

More sad news. Author Diane Stuckart passed away yesterday after a long illness. My love and sympathy goes out to her family, friends, and fans. She will be missed. 

Diane was the author of the Georgia B&B Mysteries (writing as Anna Gerard) and the Black Cat Bookshop Mysteries (writing as Ali Brandon), the Tarot Cat Mysteries, and the Leonardo da Vinci Mysteries, as well as many short stories and historical romance novels.  

From Diane's FB page:

A Celebration of Life will be held in January in West Palm Beach, Florida. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to a no-kill animal shelter, the gift of a teddy bear to a children’s charity, or planting a bee-friendly tree in her memory. 

Diane A. S. Stuckart, 68, of Loxahatchee, Florida, passed away on November 30, 2025, after a long illness. She was born on January 28, 1957, in Lubbock, Texas, to Helen and Gene Smart.

Diane spent her professional life working as a purchasing agent, but her true passions were many: caring for animals, beekeeping, exploring the supernatural, collecting unique treasures, and writing. A gifted storyteller, she became a New York Times Bestselling Published Author, a distinction that brought her great joy and connected her with readers around the world.

In every group or community she joined, Diane’s warmth, curiosity, and steady presence quickly led others to seek her out for leadership. She had a natural ability to bring people together, make them feel welcome, and quietly guide with generosity and grace. She was known for her kindness, humor, creativity, and boundless spirit.

She will be deeply missed by her husband of 46 years, Gerard “Gerry” Stuckart; her beloved fur babies—Winston, Nina, Ophelia, Harley, and Newt; her sister, Valerie Smart Shoup; and her brothers, David, Tom, and Paul Smart.

Diane will be laid to rest in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, beside her mother and father.

DANIEL WOODRELL: R.I.P.

Sad news. American novelist and short story writer  Daniel Woodrell passed away Friday (11/28), at his home in West Plains, MO. Woodrell coined the phrase "country noir."

My heart and sympathy go out to his family and friends. He was an amazing writer, and a valued member of the mystery community. He will be missed. 

From the NYT: 

Mr. Woodrell was best known for his 2006 novel, “Winter’s Bone,”which became an acclaimed, Oscar-nominated movie four years later. A teenage Jennifer Lawrence starred as Ree Dolly, a girl in rural Missouri whose family home will be seized unless she finds her father, a meth cook on the lam.
Two more of Mr. Woodrell’s novels were adapted as films: “Woe to Live On” (1987), which became “Ride With the Devil” (1999), directed by Ang Lee, and “Tomato Red” (1998), which in 2017 became a movie of the same title starring Julia Garner.

Despite the attention from Hollywood, Mr. Woodrell did not become a public figure himself. Instead, he was an artist admired by close observers of contemporary fiction as a master storyteller of rural America.

Read more here.

NY Post obituary 

More to come. 

Getting Serious about Writing a Series: Guest Post by donalee Moulton

I have a new book out—and with the publication of Melt, I officially have something else. My first series: the Lotus Detective Agency. Melt is the second book to feature Charlene, Lexie, and Woo Woo, three women who meet in a yoga studio and go on to discover they have a penchant for more than downward dogs.
 
When I wrote Bind, the first book that brought these women together, I knew it would be a series. I do not know why I knew that, but it was a feeling I didn’t question. That feeling also shaped how the first book unfolded, knowing a second would soon be in the works. I could give some things away; I couldn’t give everything away. What happened in the first book had to be the reality on which the second book would be founded.
 
While each book must stand on its own, they are indelibly interconnected. The women grow as detectives. They refine their skills, and their collaboration. Their friendship also deepens. There’s also a romance that blossoms in the pages of Bind and is more firmly rooted in Melt. There is also a dog whom I’ve become quite fond of.
 
I realized that the style and tone of the first book, my voice, must also be the same in book two. Readers expect consistency, within reason. What resonated with them in the first book should be found in the second, third and subsequent books. Personalities do not abruptly change unless this is part of the plot and clearly spelled out. Lighthearted stories do not suddenly become dark without buildup and explanation. 
 
That said, sequels cannot be mere reproductions of the original. There must be growth, there must be new challenges, there must be hiccups, stumbles, and imperfections that will further be explored in future books.
 
Logic must also prevail. My three women are not in law enforcement and have no background in crime solving. As I result, I didn’t feel they could realistically help to solve a murder in book one, or book two. Their credibility and expertise had to develop over several hundreds of pages. Now they’re ready. 
 
The real question is: Am I? I’ve discovered the joy of writing a series also comes with angst. I feel an obligation to get it “right” for readers who have embraced Bind and Melt. I also feel an obligation to Charlene, Lexie, and Woo Woo.
 
And, of course, I’ll need another one-word title that reflects what goes on inside a yoga studio and what happens outside that studio when a crime has been committed. 
 
About Melt
 
At its heart, Melt is a puzzle. Luke Castle is arrested for transporting narcotics in the back of a food truck. He confesses. Everyone knows the teenager is not the mastermind behind the $6 million in cocaine nestled among 150 sacks of flour. The lead prosecutor, the defence attorney, and the reluctant detective first class hauled into the judge’s office all admit the kid is innocent. The problem is his professed guilt – a confession he refuses to recant. The legal eagles are at a loss. First question that must be answered: Why is Luke Castle lying?
 
At its heart, Melt is about friendship. Three women met at a yoga studio. They’re now part owners of that studio – after helping to catch a thief. Now, they’re asked to help figure out what is going on with Luke Castle, bringing new approaches and new ways of ingratiating themselves with the likely suspects: drug lord, drug lord’s sons, bitter daughter-in-law, rebellious younger brother. Lending a helping hand brings them together in unexpected and ultimately profound ways. We root just as much for these women as we do for the dealer (or dealers) to be unveiled. There is a cast of regulars, including the police detective and the yoga instructor. Each a three-dimensional, likeable, and flawed human being. (Madoff, a Westie, makes periodic appearances.)
 
At its heart, Melt is funny and fun to read. It’s like coming home to a steaming bowl of tomato soup on a cold winter day. Comfortable and delicious. Like a perfect downward dog.

***

 
donalee Moulton’s first mystery book Hung out to Die was published in 2023. A historical mystery, Conflagration!, was published and won the 2024 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense (Historical Fiction). donalee has two books out in 2025, Bind and Melt, the first two books in the Lotus Detective Agency series.

 

A short story “Swan Song” was one of 21 selected for publication in Cold Canadian Crime. It was shortlisted for an Award of Excellence. donalee’s short story “Troubled Water” was shortlisted for a 2024 Derringer Award and a 2024 Award of Excellence from the Crime Writers of Canada.  
 
donalee is an award-winning freelance journalist. She has written articles for print and online publications across North America including The Globe and Mail, Chatelaine, Lawyer’s Daily, National Post, and Canadian Business. 
 
As well, donalee is the author of The Thong Principle: Saying What You Mean and Meaning What You Say and co-authored the book, Celebrity Court Cases: Trials of the Rich and Famous.
 

Cartoon of the Day: Doodle

 Love this!

Black Friday: Death in Department Stores By Aubrey Nye Hamilton

Department Stores: perfect for murder, and Aubrey Nye Hamilton's Death in Department Stores is the perfect article to post for Black Friday. Black Friday is the Friday after Thanksgiving when millions of people in the U.S. start their holiday shopping. Aubrey Nye Hamilton's Death in Department Stores appeared in Mystery Readers Journal: Retail Sales (41:2) Summer 2025. 

Death in Department Stores by Aubrey Nye Hamilton 

The History of Retail: a Timeline by Matt Portnoy, https://metrobi.com/blog/the-history-of-retail-a-timeline/, states that initially the exchange of goods was a barter system since currency did not exist. Once a universal currency was established, trade commenced in the form of bazaars and marketplaces, where goods and buyers met in a central location. Then sellers became itinerant, seeking out their customers. When trade routes became more well-known, merchants set up storefronts near the river ports and train stops where their goods arrived, and the buyers had to come to the seller. These vendors focused on a narrow range of products, creating the requirement for multiple stores to meet a growing community’s demands.

The introduction of the department store, where many kinds of merchandise are sold under one roof, was revolutionary. The first department store, Bon Marché, opened in Paris in 1838, pioneering the concept of fixed-price shopping. Macy’s was founded in 1858. Others soon followed. The department store catered to the emerging middle class, which had more leisure and money than earlier generations due to the economic impacts of industrialization. The department store became the equivalent of the marketplace of ancient times, where people met to shop, eat, and socialize. And as the following list of crime fiction titles shows, they also came to kill.

One of the earliest instances of fictional murder in a department store is The French Powder Mystery(Frederick A. Stokes, 1930), the second Ellery Queen mystery. A model demonstrating furniture in the display window pushes a button to unfold the bed and the murdered body of the owner’s wife falls out. The case comes to Inspector Richard Queen of the New York Homicide Department and his son Ellery Queen. 

Killers seem to be fond of the large plate glass display windows in department stores. Inspector Devenish of Scotland Yard encounters one in The Shop Window Murders (Collins, 1930) by Vernon Loder. Both the owner and a shop assistant are found murdered in the display window of Mander’s Stores, the newest department store to grace Oxford Street in London.

Murder in the French Room (Mystery League, 1931) by Joan Hultman is set in a Midwestern department store near the Indiana-Ohio border. A customer is found dead in the designer clothing section of the store and the detective in charge tries to trace everyone who was in the vicinity on a busy Saturday. 

Dead Man Inside (Doubleday, Doran & Company Crime Club, 1931) by Vincent Sterrett is the second book about amateur sleuth Walter Ghost. Chicago haberdashery clerk Rufus Ker finds a sign on the door to Bluefield, Inc. that says “Dead Man Inside”. Once inside Ker realizes the mannequin in the window is the body of the store owner Amos Bluefield. Ghost, who is in Chicago for business, becomes involved in the investigation.

The Case of the Shoplifter’s Shoe (William Morrow, 1938) by Erle Stanley Gardener starts with Perry Mason and Della Street entering a department store to avoid a sudden rainfall. After lunch they see an elderly lady being accused of shoplifting by the store detectives and Mason intervenes. Of course murder soon ensues.

Zelda Popkin wrote five books about investigator Mary Carner beginning in 1938. Carner was on the security staff in a large department store in New York City and a forerunner of the female detectives of the late 20^thcentury.

Minna Bardon used her advertising agency experience to describe murder in the back office of a large department store in the Midwest during its annual store-wide sale. The Case of the Advertised Murders was first published in 1939 by Hillman-Curl.

In Death Demands an Audience (Doubleday Crime Club, 1940) by Helen Reilly, the 10^th of her 31-book series about Inspector Christopher McKee of New York Police Homicide, the browsers along Fifth Avenue are used to seeing elaborate presentations in the windows of Garth & Campbell but not a bloody body in an evening dress. 

Another author with an advertising background Eleanore Kelly Sellars wrote a mystery surrounding the fashion show planned by an exclusive Fifth Avenue department store. Murder a la Mode seems to be her sole contribution to the genre. It won the Dodd, Mead Red Badge prize for best new mystery by a new author in 1941.

The Red Carnelian (Ziff-Davis, 1943) by Phyllis A. Whitney was originally published as Red Is for Murder. It is set in Cunningham’s, a gigantic Chicago department store. When store sign-writer Linell Wynn’s ex-boyfriend Michael Montgomery is found dead in a display window, she’s immediately a prime suspect. However, Montgomery had plenty of enemies. 

File for Record (W.W. Norton, 1943) by Alice Tilton was retired academic Leonidas Witherall’s sixth case. Deficient customer service at Haymaker's Department Store moves him to call on Mr. Haymaker to complain, only to find Haymaker stabbed with a samurai sword. Witherall enlists the assistance of an ill-assorted group to track down the murderer.

Stolen Goods (Harper, 1949) by Clarence Budington Kelland has advertising copywriter Sherry Madigan in Prothero’s, the colossal metropolitan department store, on the scene when a body is discovered in the fitting room. And she’s around when the next one is discovered so she takes an interest in investigating the crimes.

In Everybody Always Tells by E.R. Punshon (Gollancz, 1950) Bobby Owen of Scotland Yard and his wife Olive are busy bargain-hunting in a famous London department store. Olive discovers a necklace stuffed in her handbag which turns out to have been placed there by one Lord Newdagonby, whose stout denial of the act is swiftly followed by a fatal knife blow to a prominent scientist in a locked-room mystery. 

The Knife Behind You (Harper & Brothers, 1950) by James Benet is an inside look at the skullduggery of a large department store. California lawyer Allen Tinker works to save truck driver Bill Olmstead who was framed in the murder of Spargo, Rand Department Store’s detective. Another murder soon follows. 

Private investigator Carney Wilde is hired by a large department store in Philadelphia to discover who is stealing its merchandise in The Golden Door (Dodd, Mead & Company, 1951; Collins Crime Club, 1951), the fourth title in a series of seven by Bart Spicer.

Spencer Dean wrote nine books about Don Cadee, Chief of Store Protection at Ambletts, the high-end Fifth Avenue department store. They were published between 1954 and 1961, first by Washburn and then by Doubleday. Shoplifting, disappearing merchandise shipments, and murdered buyers are some of the crimes Cadee dealt with.

Death Department (John Long, 1959) by Bill Knox, the second Thane and Moss case, is set in a large Glasgow department store, where shoplifting is common. But when the losses increase sharply, the managing director decides the theft is organized and demands action from the police. Then the head buyer disappears and murder follows. 

“Evening Primrose” by John Collier is a much-reprinted short story about a poet who decides to live in a local department store. He discovers the department store is inhabited by a society of human-like individuals. It was first published in 1940, then in Presenting Moonshine (Viking Press, 1941) and again in Fancies and Goodnights (Doubleday, 1951; Bantam 1953). Adapted for radio three times and by Stephen Sondheim for the ninth episode of ABC Stage 67 which aired on November 16, 1966. 

Line Up for Murder by Marian Babson (Collins, 1980) describes Dorrie Wilson’s experience with the famous New Year's sale at Bonnard's department store which starts out great. But things begin to go south by the fourth day, and Dorrie realizes that something is rotten in the line for the Sale of the Century.

Murder in Store (Walker, 1989) by D.C. Brod is the first Quint McCauley book. Preston Hauser, owner of a famous department store, asks McCauley to investigate some threatening letters he received. Soon after Preston is poisoned and suspicion falls on Hauser’s wife, but McCauley quickly learns she’s not the only one to benefit from the millionaire’s death.

Death in Store by Jennifer Rowe (Allen & Unwin, 1993) is a collection of short stories about Australian researcher turned sleuth Verity Birdwood. The final story is a tale about Christmas in the Fredericks' department store, whose seasonal lavish decorations are famous. Verity Birdwood is assigned to gather information about Christmas in a big store for a TV program and instead investigates the murder of the store Santa Claus and his photographer. 

In The Steel Kiss (Grand Central Publishing, 2016) by Jeffrey Deaver, Amelia Sachs chases an anti-consumerist killer through a department store in Brooklyn when an escalator malfunctions. One man is badly injured and Sachs is forced to let her quarry escape as she helps the victim. Forensic detective Lincoln Rhyme is working on a civil case involving a wrongful death suit against an escalator manufacturer. They eventually find the two cases intersect.

In the sixth Junior Bender case Fields Where They Lay (Soho Crime, 2016) by Tim Hallinan, Junior has been hired to find a shoplifter but instead he finds a murder victim on the upper floor of an abandoned department store in a failing shopping mall. The fading shopping mall phenomenon is thoroughly explored while Junior finds a killer.

Psycho by the Sea (Raven Books, 2021) by Lynne Truss is the fourth Constable Twitten mystery. Constable Twitten, Sergeant Brunswick, and Inspector Steine of the 1950s Brighton police force deal with the death of a U.S. researcher in the music section of Gosling’s department store as well as a missing gang member and an escaped criminally violent prisoner.

The Devil’s Draper (Fly on the Wall Press, 2025) by Donna Moore is set in 1920s Glasgow. Three story lines include one about Beatrice Price, owner of an employment agency, who discovers that the young women she places in the drapery section of Hector Arrol and Sons department store are victimized by the owner. She goes undercover to investigate.  

Children’s fiction has not escaped the concept of crime in department stores. The Crimson Thread (Reilly & Lee, 1925) by Roy J. Snell is the fifth book in his “An Adventure Story for Girls” series. Lucile Tucker is working at the Marshall Fields in Chicago before Christmas in the book department. A best-selling author disappears, Lucile’s worn coat is taken and an expensive fur is left in its place, coworkers leave the store via the package chute, and other puzzles occupy Lucile’s attention. 

The Clue in Blue (Grossett & Dunlap, 1948) by Betsy Allen is the first of 12 books about Connie Blair. Connie models high-end clothes at Campion's in Philadelphia, where her aunt works. Expensive clothing disappears and then reappears days later. Connie explores the back-end mechanics of the store to learn why.

Cherry Ames, Department Store Nurse (Grossett & Dunlap, 1956) is one of 27 titles in the Cherry Ames Nurse Stories by Helen Wells and Julie Tatham. Cherry investigates missing jewelry and antiques in between dealing with lost children and handing out aspirin to employees of a large department store.

British author Katherine Woodfine has written four books so far about Sinclair’s Department Store, an Edwardian emporium in London. Miss Sophie Taylor and Miss Lilian Rose are the juvenile detectives. The first book in the series, The Clockwork Sparrow (Egmont Books, 2015), was nominated for multiple awards including the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2016.

The publication dates of these books illustrate the importance of department stores to society at the time they were written. That department stores are not common as a scene of crime now shows the focus of commerce has shifted to other settings.

_______________________________

Lifelong reader Aubrey Nye Hamilton works as a systems engineer in R&D. In her other life she review newish books on Kevin’s Corner kevintipplescorner.blogspot.com, review olders mysteries on Happiness Is a Book happinessisabook.com, and writes occasional pieces for Mystery Readers Journal, mysteryreaders.org.

Cartoon of the Day: Thanksgiving

Still one of my favorite cartoons! Happy Thanksgiving!

Cartoon of the Day: English Villages

 

Cartoon of the Day: Thanksgiving Double Standard

My Not So Secret Love Affair: Guest Post by Jeffrey Siger

Thank you, Janet Rudolph, for inviting me to share with your Mystery Fanfare readers the essence of what’s driven me to set my fourteen-volume Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis series amid the beauty, history, and wiles of Greece. 

It isn’t fame, it isn’t fortune. It is an irrepressible desire on my part to express through my novels why I, a non-Greek by birth, am so intensely drawn to share with the world the majesty of Greece as if it were my homeland, and the spirit of the Greek people as if they are my family.

Anyone who knows me understands that my heart and soul are Greek—even though my tongue can’t quite make the language transition…so much so that as I’ve often said, and many can attest, whenever I try to speak Greek, my friends rush into English to save their mother tongue. Thankfully, my inability to voice the words, has not held me back from chronicling the wonders and beauty of Greece and the ways and resilience of its people.

Without all I’ve learned from Greeks and fellow grecophiles I never would have discovered the true character of my protagonist, Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis, nor that of his vibrant supporting cast of good guys, bad guys, rich folk and poor, high society and not.

I owe sincere thanks to many for their candid contributions to the success of my series. They and their tales of customs, secrets, and intrigues inspired me in one way or another to reach this point in my career.

By now I think it’s obvious how much I appreciate the support Greeks have shown my novels, and the reciprocal obligation I feel to fairly present Greece and its resilient, creative, hardworking people to the world. Indeed, despite the many accolades my work has received, the greatest honor I ever received was when The New York Times Book Review selected me as Greece’s thriller-writer of record.

I say that because my overall goal as a writer has always been the same.  To explore issues confronting modern day Greece in a way that touches upon its ancient roots. And to do so honestly and with love for the land and its people.

The fourteen books I’ve written in my Kaldis series are not a record, but in retrospect they certainly validate the depth of desire that lingered within me for at least half a century. It was with me when as a child I found myself making up stories every night as I fell off to sleep.

And it was there with me in high school when as a freshman I thought I could make it as a writer … until I realized how unlikely I was to earn a living as a writer––leading me to become a lawyer.

That decision to practice law played a huge, unexpected role in my emergence as a creative writer. And by that I don’t mean that my many years as a lawyer taught me to be creative with the facts.  Rather, those years and experiences developed my style, my voice, taught me how to write clearly, concisely and convincingly – and to do so quickly.

The practice of law also taught me how to graciously accept and channel criticism, a vital skill for one to develop if as a writer you wish to survive critical analyses of your work by your editors, critics and reviewers.

Having said all that, I never imagined I’d find something that’s brought as much fun and joy to my life as does the time I spend with the Chief Inspector and his crew seeking to further entertain all the wonderful friends my wife Barbara and I have made through the writing life. 

I’ve come to accept that whatever honors have come my way do so in large measure because of one person…my protagonist Andreas Kaldis.  He and I have been through fourteen adventures together, all the while battling with each other over who gets to write them. It’s Andreas who insists on writing about life on the edge of societal change, then drags me into exploring family dynamics, ancient practices, political intrigues, the military, Orthodoxy, refugees, corruption, wild nightlife, vendettas, the business of bomba, preservationists versus developers, the impact of Artificial Intelligence, and on and on. 

The one thing we agree upon is no matter what the story line, the setting for each novel is always presented in keeping with the series’ longstanding international reputation for sharing Greece’s breathtaking beauty and unique lifestyles with the reader. 

So, here I am, more than 20 years into my writing gig, celebrating the series that’s brought plaudits for my work from so many I deeply respect in the mystery writing world.  All of that truly has me feeling blessed that the dream of the young boy I once was to someday become a writer came true.

But where to now, one might ask. Allow me to assure you that this is not a retirement speech…though with the latest title being NOT DEAD YET, it’s understandable how one might get that impression.  

Not only am I working on Kaldis #15, but I have a new book in an entirely different series coming out on February 3, 2026 ––A Study in Secrets, the debut novel in my The Redacted Man series. Plus, the folks with an option on TV/film rights to my Kaldis series say they’re close to making it all come together.
And did I mention that my entire Kaldis backlist, fitted with brand new B-2 format covers has just been re-released by my publisher Severn House and is available here:  https://jeffreysiger.com/books/

In other words, I’m still happily strolling along the road that’s led me from the Pittsburgh of my roots to a Manhattan legal career, and onto an ever-evolving love affair with Greece. 

Yiasas, y’all.

––Jeff

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Jeffrey Siger fled his position as a name partner in his own NYC law firm to write Greece-based mystery thrillers on Mykonos. The New York Times picked him as Greece’s thriller novelist of record, Reader’s Digest Select Editions described him as among its “new favorite authors,” and the Greek National Tourism Organization recently honored him as “one of our country’s shining ambassadors to the world.” He’s received Lefty and Barry “Best Novel” nominations for his fourteen-book Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis series, been Chair of Bouchercon, and served as an adjunct college professor teaching mystery writing.  www.jeffreysiger.com