8 Christmas Cozy Mysteries For a Bloody Good Holiday

In this holiday novella, Davi’s beloved sleuth Sophie finds herself being roped into helping her sister plan a Swan Lake themed flash mob proposal. When the prima ballerina ends up murdered and the extravagant diamond engagement ring goes missing, all eyes are on the sisters as prime suspects. They must team up to clear their names and avoid spending the holidays behind bars or worse: on a slab at the city morgue.

Harry and her husband Fair are, to say the least, shocked when the Christmas tree that they’ve chosen for the holiday season comes decorated with the dead body of a local curmudgeon. When the bodies of even more of the well-known men of their community began to pile up, Harry knows that it’s up to her and her trusty feline friends to solve the mystery and stop the murders before she is added to the body count.

After her parade float is sabotaged, Merry, owner of Mrs. Claus’s Treasures, believes someone has placed her firmly on the naughty list. When a visiting reporter who is severely lacking in the Christmas spirit is found dead, a gingerbread cookie from her best friend’s bakery is the suspected murder weapon, she knows that there is a malevolent Scrooge in their midst. Determined to clear her friend’s name and prevent her from having a very un-merry little Christmas, Merry vows to crack the case.

When one of Lila’s wayward cousins comes home for the holidays, bragging of his recent purchase in a successful winery, she suspects that trouble will soon follow. These suspicions soon prove to be well-founded after he is named as the number one suspect in a murder. Soon, secrets about him and the winery start being spilled left and right, much to the distress of her family. She decides to put aside her annoyance with her cousin, if for no other reason but the sake of her beloved Tita Rosie, and find out who is really behind the crime.

It’s Christmastime at the Buttercup Christmas Market and owner Lucy couldn’t be more thrilled. Between selling holidays gifts to meet-ups with her knitting circle, she has lots of ways to celebrate. When local citizen Randy is found dead with a knife in his back, the sheriff is convinced it was his wife. Lucy thinks there’s more to this and begins to investigate. As she does, she begins to discover that there was more to Randy’s life than anyone knew and that the suspect pool is much wider than she could have anticipated.

Tearoom owner Gemma is looking forward to having an actual white Christmas in Oxford with her loved ones. Those plans are derailed just a bit when they discover a body in the library at the manor they are staying at. Together with her trusted tabby cat and a group of friends affectionately known as the Old Biddies, Gemma vows to solve the case and still have time to sing carols by the fire.

Coffeehouse manager Clare is distraught when Alfred, the man who has been portraying Santa at the Village Blend for years, is brutally gunned down in an alley. Not believing that this was a random mugging, Clare strikes out on her own to solve the case of who did in her favorite Jolly Old Saint Nicholas. She will need to tread carefully, though, because anyone who is willing to kill Santa would have no trouble taking down a coffee shop owner.

In the days following the holiday, Sam joins her Nana and some of her friends on a shopping trip in the city. On the bus ride back, one of their fellow passengers drops dead on the way back. The women quickly put their heads together to solve this mystery and seek justice for the elderly gentleman. This one may be splitting hairs just a bit, since it takes place after Christmas. But it’s close enough, so I’m counting it.