NOIR CITY XMAS: Who Killed Santa Claus?

NOIR CITY Xmas is on its way! Join host Eddie Muller on Wednesday, December 18, 7:30 pm, at Oakland's historic Grand Lake Theatre for NOIR CITY Xmas! To darken your Yuletide spirit, the Film Noir Foundation is presenting Who Killed Santa Claus? (L'Assassinat du père Noël), a 1941 French mystery. The evening will also feature the unveiling of the program (and poster!) for NOIR CITY 22, the 22nd year of the world's most popular film noir festival, coming to the Grand Lake Theatre January 24 - February 2, 2025. 

Tickets for NOIR CITY Xmas are available online from Eventbrite for $15 and can also be purchased at the theatre box office on the day of the show. Doors will open at 6:30 pm on the day of the event. What a Great Deal!!!

LUCY WORSLEY’S HOLMES VS. DOYLE - PBS

LUCY WORSLEY’S HOLMES VS. DOYLE: a three-part series featuring the popular British historian and lifelong Sherlock Holmes fan who seeks to answer why author Arthur Conan Doyle came to despise the character that made him rich and famous. 

Throughout the series, Worsley explores the parallel lives of Doyle and Holmes in the historical context of their times. From the dying years of Victorian England, through the imperial crisis of the Boer war, the optimism of the early Edwardian years, to the trauma of the First World War, Arthur and Sherlock lived through them all. 

LUCY WORSLEY’S HOLMES VS. DOYLE premieres Sundays, December 8-22, 2024, 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET (check local listings) on PBS, PBS.org and the PBS App. 

Featured in over 60 original stories and countless film and television adaptions, Sherlock Holmes has intrigued and excited fans with his intellect and powers of deduction for more than a century. Over the course of three episodes, Worsley investigates the curious relationship between detective and author. 

In Episode 1, “Doctor and Detective” (December 8), Lucy unearths Holmes’ origins in Doyle’s early life as a medical student in Edinburgh. She unpacks the early stories, revealing the dark underbelly of late Victorian Britain, from drug use to true crime. She explores how Doyle infused his stories with cutting-edge technological developments and traces the author’s growing disenchantment with his detective, heading to Switzerland to visit the site of one of the most famous deaths in literature. 

In Episode 2, “Fact and Fiction” (December 15), Lucy explores Doyle’s desire to distance himself from Sherlock after the detective’s apparent death at the Reichenbach Falls. From the delights of the ski slopes to the horrors of the Boer War, she reveals how far Doyle went to make himself the hero of his own story. He even took on the role of detective himself in one of the most important legal cases of the 20th century.  

In the finale, “Shadows and Sleuths” (December 22), Lucy investigates the return of Sherlock. Doyle began the Edwardian age delighting in all it had to offer, but as the First World War approached, the darkness of the later stories mirrored the reality of Doyle’s life. After losing his eldest son, he became an evangelist for spiritualism, and his star declined after a public spat with a famous magician. Sherlock Holmes, in contrast, found a life beyond his author on stage and screen. 

LUCY WORSLEY’S HOLMES VS. DOYLE will stream simultaneously with broadcast and be available on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS app.

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THE CHELSEA DETECTIVE SEASON 3 NEWS!

Well this is good news! I've been waiting for the return of The Chelsea Detective, one of my favorite detective shows. Acorn TV has announced that the Christmas episode, starring Adrian Scarborough, will drop on December 16. This special will also serve as the start of Season 3, which will be comprised of four 90 minute episodes that will continue into 2025. (Not enough, but I'll take them!) 

Also reprising their roles in Season 3 are Peter Bankolé (DI Ray, Bodkin) as DC Connor Pollock, Lucy Phelps (Grace) as DC Jess Lombard, Sophie Stone (Shetland) as Chief Forensics Officer Ashley Wilton, and Frances Barber (Whitstable Pearl) as Max’s Aunt Olivia. 

 

THANKSGIVING MYSTERIES // THANKSGIVING CRIME FICTION

Thanksgiving is next week, so you'll want to get reading these Thanksgiving crime novel and short stories. This is an updated Thanksgiving Crime Fiction list, but let me know if I've missed any titles. It's quite the mix of cozy, noir, and whodunit.  

As Thanksgiving approaches, I give thanks for my family, my friends, and the wonderful mystery community.

I'm posting daily recipes for Chocolate Thanksgiving desserts, sides, and main courses (Chocolate Turkey Rub!) on DyingforChocolate.com.

Thanksgiving Mysteries

Victoria Abbott The Wolfe Widow

Susan Wittig Albert Bittersweet
Laura Alden Foul Play at the PTA
Dianne Ascroft Thanksgiving and Theft
Deb Baker Murder Talks Turkey
S.H. Baker The Colonel's Tale
Mignon Ballard, Miss Dimple Disappears
Sandra Balzo Hit and Run
Richard Bausch Thanksgiving Night 

Cindy Bell Fatal Festivities

Kate Bell, Kathleen Suzette Thankfully Dead
Bob Berger The Risk of Fortune
William Bernhardt, Editor, Natural Suspect
Kate Borden Death of a Turkey
Amy Boyles Southern Magic Thanksgiving
Ali Brandon Twice Told Tail

JJ Brass The Turkey Wore Satin
Lilian Jackson Braun The Cat Who Went into the Closet, The Cat Who Talked Turkey
Lizbie Brown Turkey Tracks
Catjerine Bruns In the Blink of a Pie
Carole Bugge Who Killed Mona Lisa?

Lucy Burdette A Deadly Feast
Lynn Cahoon A Very Mummy Holiday
Sammi Carter Goody Goody Gunshots
Lowell Cauffiel Dark Rage
Jillian Chance The Fall of the Sharp Sisters
Joelle Charbonneau Skating Under the Wire

George C. Chesbro Bleeding in the eye of a Brainstorm
Jennifer Chiaverini A Quilter's Holiday 
Laura Childs Scones & Bones 
Bobbi A. Chukran Short mystery stores in her Nameless, Texas series

Leena Clover Turkeys and Thanksgiving
Christine E. Collier A Holiday Sampler
Sheila Connolly A Killer Crop
Cleo Coyle Murder by Mocha
Isis Crawford A Catered Thanksgiving
Bill Crider with Willard Scott Murder under Blue Skies
Jessie Crockett Drizzled with Death
Amanda Cross A Trap for Fools
Barbara D'Amato Hard Tack, Hard Christmas
Mary Daheim Alpine Fury, Fowl Prey, The Alpine Vengeance
Kathi Daley Turkeys, Tuxes and Tabbies; The Trouble with Turkeys; The Thanksgiving Trip: The Inn at Holiday Bay, Pilgrim in the Parlor; Thanksgiving in Paradise; The Catsgiving Feast
Jeanne Dams Sins Out of School
Claire Daniels Final Intuition
Evelyn David Murder Takes the Cake
Mary Janice Davidson Undead and Unfinished
Krista Davis The Diva Runs Out of Thyme; A Good Dog's Guide to Murder

Robert Davis Stuffed
Devon Delaney Double Chocolate Cookie Murder
Vicki Delany (aka Eva Gates) Silent Night, Deadly Night
Jana Deleon Cajun Fried Felony
Wende and Harry Devlin Cranberry Thanksgiving
Michael Dibdin Thanksgiving
Leighann Dobbs Thanksgiving Dinner Death; Turkey Tragedy 

Joanne Dobson Raven and the Nightingale

Alice Duncan Thanksgiving Angels
Christine Duncan Safe House
Susan Dunlap No Footprints
Kaitlyn Dunnett Overkilt
Lauren Elliott To the Tome of Murder

Alex Erickson Death by Hot Apple Cider
Janet Evanovich Thanksgiving (technically a romance)*
Nancy Fairbanks Turkey Flambe
Christy Fifield Murder Ties the Knot
Maureen Fisher Deadly Thanksgiving 
Courtney Flagg Criminally Ungrateful

Jessica Fletcher & Donald Bain Murder She Wrote: A Fatal Feast
Amanda Flower Peanut Butter Panic
Joanne Fluke Raspberry Danish Murder
Katherine V. Forrest The Beverly Malibu
Shelley Freydont Cold Turkey
Heather Day Gilbert Cold Drip 

Noreen Gilpatrick The Piano Man
Martin H. Greenberg (editor) Cat Crimes for the Holidays
Jane Haddam Feast of Murder
Janice Hamrick Death Rides Again
Susannah Hardy A Killer Kebab
Lee Harris The Thanksgiving Day Murder
Ellen Hart The Grave Soul
J. Alan Hartman, editor, The Killer Wore Cranberry; The Killer Wore Cranberry: A Second Helping; The Killer Wore Cranberry: Room for Thirds; The Killer Wore Cranberry: A Fourth Meal of Mayhem; The Perp Wore Pumpkin 
Robin Hathaway The Doctor Makes a Dollhouse Call
Richard Hawke Speak of the Devil
Victoria Houston Dead Hot Shot
Dorothy Howell Fanny Packs and Foul Play
Linda Joffe Hull Black Thursday
Carolyn Q. Hunter Killer Thanksgiving Pie

Ellen Elizabeth Hunter Murder on the ICW
Melanie Jackson Death in a Turkey Town; Cornucopia
Sue Ann Jaffarian Cornucopia, Secondhand Stiff
J. A. Jance Shoot Don't Shoot
Madison Johns The Great Turkey Caper

Gin Jones & Elizabeth Ashby Deadly Thanksgiving Sampler

Tonya Kappes Trapping, Turkeys, & Thanksgiving 
Karin Kaufman At Death's Door
Alex Kava Black Friday
Marvin Kaye My Son, the Druggist
Faye Kellerman Serpent's Tooth
Harry Kemelman That Day the Rabbi Left Town
John Lescroat The Keeper
Clyde Linsley Death of a Mill Girl
Georgette Livingston Telltale Turkey Caper
M. Louisa Locke Pilfered Promises
Nial Magill Thanksgiving Murder in the Mountains
G.M. Malliet Wicked Autumn
Margaret Maron Up Jumps the Devil
Evan Marshall Stabbing Stefanie
K. L. McCluskey Three for Pumpkin Pie
Robert McDavis: Stuffed

Shawn McGuire Silent Secrets

Ralph McInerny Celt and Pepper
Leslie Meier Turkey Day Murder
Wendy Meadows Turkey, Pies and Alibis
Addison Moore Thanksgiving Day Murder

Deborah Morgan The Marriage Casket
Meg Muldoon Roasted in Christmas River 

Joan Lowery Nixon The Thanksgiving Mystery (children's)
Carla Norton The Edge of Normal
Carol O'Connell Shell Game
Jack Pachuta Gobble, Gobble, Death and Trouble
Nancy J Parra Murder Gone A-Rye
Louise Penny Still Life

Cathy Pickens Southern Fried
Michael Poore Up Jumps the Devil 
Craig Rice The Thursday Turkey Murders
Ann Ripley Harvest of Murder
J.D. Robb Thankless in Death
Delia Rosen One Foot in the Gravy
M.L. Rowland Zero Degree Murder
Ilene Schneider Chanukah Guilt
Maria E. Schneider Executive Retention
Willard Scott and Bill Crider Murder under Blue Skies
Sarah R. Shaber Snipe Hunt
Sharon Gwyn Short, Hung Out to Die
Paullina Simons, Red Leaves

Page Sleuth Thanksgiving in Cherry Hills
Alexandra Sokoloff The Harrowing
Rex Stout Too Many Cooks
Denise Swanson Murder of a Barbie and Ken; Murder of a Botoxed Blonde

Kathleen Suzette Roast Turkey and a Murder; Pumpkin Pie Peril
Marcia Talley Occasion of Revenge
Sharon Burch Toner Maggie's Brujo
Teresa Trent Burnout
Lisa Unger In the Blood
Jennifer Vanderbes Strangers at the Feast
Debbie Viguie I Shall Not Want
Auralee Wallace Haunted Hayride with Murder
Livia J. Washburn The Pumpkin Muffin Murder
Leslie Wheeler Murder at Plimoth Plantation
J.A. Whiting Sweet Thanksgiving
Rachel Wood Gobble, Gobble Murder
Angela Zeman The Witch and the Borscht Pearl

***

For the Younger Set:

Thanksgiving Thief: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew
Ron Roy and John Steven Gurney: November Night
Marjorie Weinman Sharmat, Mitchell Sharmat Nate the Great Talks Turkey

Julie Campbell: Trixie Belden and the Mystery Off Glen Road  (Trixie Belden #5)

***

Let me know if I've forgotten any authors and titles!