Christmas Mysteries

It's the first week in April, and like much of the country we've experienced a chilly spring in Louisiana--but not the surprise snowfall that some of our friends and relatives recently had in Virginia .  While we gird our loins here in the Deep South for the approaching summer heat, in my volunteer life I met yesterday with a group of women to plan the Christmas Tour of Historic Homes that we do every other year in our National Historic Districts neighborhood.  I can't believe we are starting this early, but such an event takes a lot of advance planning and behind-the-scenes work just to line up the venues. 

We have several Bed and Breakfasts in our neighborhood, and we hope to feature a newly renovated one in this year's tour.  Below is the entrance to another B & B featured on our last tour!

I guess prepping for Christmas this early isn't freaking me out as much as it might, because I had so many Christmas mysteries laying around the house that I continued to read them long past the holidays.

In my mind I subtitle a post like this as Book by Book: Reading a Home Library, because I continue to pick books off my shelves to read as the mood strikes me.  Then a few other books enter my life through gifts and passalongs from friends.

Christmas mysteries I've read since Christmas:

A Fatal Winter, by G. M. Malliet (2012)
A former spy who became a cleric, Max Tudor serves a rural English parish as their pastor but still manages to use the skills of his former profession to solve murders that mar the peacefulness of village life.  When several members of the wealthy Footrustle family die as the estranged and far-flung relatives gather in the family homestead (a castle) for the holidays, Max is asked by the local authorities to assist.  The setting of the castle and the Footrustle family became tedious for me as I read this book, though Max and other village characters are likable.  This was a passalong book from a friend.

Antiques Flee Market (a Trash 'n' Treasures Mystery), by Barbara Allan (2008)

This paperback appeared on my front porch left by the neighbor who passes books on to me and I to her.  Written by husband/wife writing team, Barbara Collins and Max Allan Collins, this light mystery series is set in Mississippi and features a neurotic mother-daughter duo who "pick" and sell antiques. In this book, they track down the killer of one of the mother's old boyfriends.  Mildly entertaining read for the holiday scene.









Dude on Arrival: A Christmas Mystery, by J.S. Borthwick (1992)
Who knows where I got this book but I found it packed away with some holiday decorations.  A dude ranch and resort in Arizona appealed to me as a different place to spend Christmas.  Add to the western setting some colorful characters, a feisty older woman and her English teacher niece as protagonists and this was an enjoyable, escapist mystery.










'Twas the Bite Before Christmas, by Lee Charles Kelley (2005)
I learned so much about training dogs and dog behavior in this book by dog trainer Kelley that I was ready to read more in this mystery series just to add to my knowledge.  The mystery features an ex-cop and kennel owner, Jack Field, and the plot to me was forgettable but I was fascinated by the dog psychology information.






Holly Blues, by Susan Wittig Albert (2010)
If I let time elapse between reading books in Albert's China Bayles series, I enjoy them.  This mystery set at Christmas is the 18th book in this series.  The ex-wife of China's husband comes to town with a hard luck story and an expressed desire to spend some time with her son, China's step-son, Brian.  While the ex-wife is Trouble with a capital "T," China can't turn her back on Brian's mother and when a killer begins to stalk the whole family, China has no choice but to act.  Reading this book was like catching up with an old friend.



The Fleet Street Murders, by Charles Finch (2009)
The story begins Christmas 1866 and finds amateur sleuth Charles Lennox newly engaged to his neighbor, Lady Jane Grey, and standing for a Parliament. seat in Northern England when the murder of two newspapermen captures Lennox's attention. The police appear to be after the wrong men, which pulls Lennox into the case.  The climax comes rather abruptly, but the man who is pulling the strings of the "puppet perps" is brought to justice.  The ancillary characters are well-drawn in this series, and I've enjoyed all of Finch's books that I've read.





The Snowman, by Jo Nesbo (2011 audio book)
I listened to this unabridged version of Norwegian author Nesbo's 2010 (English version) mystery when I drove to and from Virginia at Christmas.  If the other books in this list are cozies and forgettable, though relaxing, reading, this thriller was the opposite.  It served its purpose in keeping me awake during the
drive, but the stark horror of the murders and the
graphic descriptions of the violence made this book hard to listen to at times.  Don't get me wrong, Nesbo is a masterful writer and the intricate, terrifying plots are extremely well-done.  If you enjoy "Nordic Noir" (as some critics term the books coming out of Scandinavia, such as The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series), you will love detective Harry Hole.  In this book, a serial murderer stalks women in Oslo and seeks to show he can outwit Harry, and even if you guess the murderer's identity before the end of the book, it doesn't matter, this book keeps you holding your breath until the final scene.  With a giant exhale, I felt like I had accomplished something by completing the book, but oddly enough I was ready to read more thrillers featuring Harry Hole.