The Dark Side of Yuletide

We all love the warm and fuzzy feelings we get around the holidays. It is a comfort we can anticipate, and yet we fail to understand the other side of the bright holidays. 

Did you know that murders are statistically more common around major holidays, including Christmas? Amidst the glow of the firelight and mistletoe, the sinister reality is that people are still dying on the most joyous day of the year.

If that's the case, maybe we can alchemize this fact into something at least entertaining? Murder mysteries might relieve a little bit of the discomfort of this fact. To save you too much trouble, I divided them into two categories so you can pick your poison. If you can't stand the darkness, I've balanced it out with a little light 😁

Dark Reads

On Christmas Eve, heavy snowfall brings a train to a halt and passengers decide to take shelter in a nearby country house. It appears that someone should be home, and yet no one is apparently there. When a murder takes place as they search the house for clues, the passengers have to unravel the mystery before their time runs out.

Each of these stories is as playful as it is ingeniously plotted, the author's sly humor as evident as her hallmark narrative elegance and shrewd understanding of some of the most complex--not to say the most damning--aspects of human nature. A treat for P. D. James's legions of fans and anyone who enjoys the pleasures of a masterfully wrought whodunit.

If you are looking for a horror that blends Stephen King and the humor of The Office, Secret Santa might be for you. This horror-comedy is set in the 1980s starting with Lussi landing a job at a publisher that tasks her with finding the next big horror story. The difficulty of such a task is compounded by the fact that she is bullied by her co-workers which culminates when they give her a demonic-looking object during a Secret Santa exchange. However, before long these same co-workers become victims of horrific "accidents" that makes Lussi suspicious of the very gift they gave to her.

 Rose Grandon is a college sophomore when she is attacked, assaulted, and left for dead after a midnight mass choir practice. The last thing she hears is a tenor voice singing Silent Night. She is found several hours later in a ditch, beaten but alive. As she is treated in the hospital, she finds out that she is pregnant and makes the difficult decision to keep the baby. When she finally gives birth to a baby girl, she names her Mary. Rose raises her daughter in her small Connecticut hometown as she tries to get her old self back. Yet, twice a year the evil attacker strikes - once on Christmas Eve and the other on Christmas Day. Until the attacker is behind bars, neither Rose nor her baby can ever be truly safe, but now that he's found out that he has a daughter - it changes everything.

Cozy Reads

Following the charmingly inept Inspector Frank Grasby and his boss, Superintendent Juggers, this Christmas mystery occurs in 1953 at a seaside village. When a fisherman is found with a stocking around his neck, the investigation starts out simple enough but devolves into darker tones as these two investigators are trapped by a violent storm. The body count starts to rise as they encounter sinister villagers, stockings mysteriously washing ashore, and the village's obsession with fine hosiery. This story moves along with humor, depth, and even a bit of romance and could be a perfect cozy entertainment for the holidays. 

 Murder occurs during a Christmas house party and the victim, the owner of the substantial estate, is found in a room locked from the inside. Mathilda Clare was one of the guests resigned to spending Christmas at the Lexham Manor, along with 5 others: Nat Herriard, Joseph, Stephen, Paula, and Nat's sharp-dealing partner. Inspector Hemingway of Scotland Yard investigates only to find that each guest has something to hide. Through the investigation that seems to only grow more complicated as it goes along, readers will find the answer is hidden in plain sight. 

A book restoration expert and her husband travel to Loch Ness, Scotland at behest of their dear friend who is getting married. Since they plan on being married on New Year's Day, the couple travels there for the holidays, but are also roped into the mystery of twelve very rare and important books having gone missing.

While looking into this mystery, one of the guests gets poisoned and another gets shot in the heart, raising the stakes on the entire case. Now they must race to find a killer and book thief before more murders occur and their friend's future is at stake. 

Christmas of 1923, Lady Eleanor Swift has received a letter from an old friend of her uncle, Mr. Godfrey Cunliffe, asking her to stay in Cornwall for the holidays. The reason being, he believes his gardener is trying to kill him. Eleanor, along with her butler and detective beau, hurry to the manor house only to find a dead body. But, it is not Mr. Cunliffe - rather it is his gardener! Winter, 1923. It’s nearly Christmas and Lady Eleanor Swift has received a rather strange letter from an old friend of her uncle. Mr Godfrey Cunliffe has asked her to stay in Cornwall for the holidays – but only because he believes his gardener is trying to poison him! Eleanor quizzes the family and finds that everyone from the handyman to Mr. Cunliffe himself is keeping secrets, but he is still scared for his life.

Then the bulldog, Gladstone, pulls a charred corner of the missing garden plans from the fireplace and Eleanor believes she might have the clue that can find the hidden answer somewhere on the grounds. However, she is thwarted when someone tries to run her over with a lawnmower and she knows she had better solve this mystery before her time is up.