Book picks similar to
The Christmas Tree Thief by Chris Grabenstein


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Absinthe of Malice


Pat Browning - 2001
    When Krill Press bought the rights in 2008 they repackaged the story with a new cover and marketed it as "Absinthe of Malice".Old crimes come back to haunt a small California town in this intriguing urban cozy. ABSINTHE OF MALICE introduces Penny Mackenzie, Lifestyle reporter for The Pearl Outrider, and a cast of unforgettable characters who find their lives turned upside down when old secrets and new secrets all come to light after chance discovery of a skeleton in a cotton field leads to murder...and romance.

A Very Merry Billionaire Christmas (Special Edition Holiday Novella)


Melanie Marchande - 2014
     Eccentric billionaire Conrad Wolverton is throwing the holiday party of the century. Rumor has it, he’s just looking to sell off his mansion, and an in-person showing disguised as an elegant soiree is the easiest way to do it. But whatever the reason, the buzz is that all the rich and influential power couples will be there. Daniel and Maddy Thorne, Benjamin and Jenna Chase, Adrian and Meghan Risinger, and maybe even a surprise guest are rumored to be in attendance. WILL YOU BE THERE? - 100% of my profits from this book will be donated to charity. Please see melaniemarchande.com for more details.

Tim Dorsey Collection #1


Tim Dorsey - 2014
    Mystery fans are in for a wild ride along with Dorsey's favorite character, the lovable serial killer and Floridaphile Serge A. Storms.

Dennis Lehane Collection: Sacred, Gone Baby Gone, Prayers for Rain


Dennis Lehane - 2002
    Howe, engineered by Kim King) Dying billionaire Trevor Stone hires Boston private detectives Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro to find his missing daughter. Grief-stricken over the death of her mother and the impending death of her father, Desiree Stone has been missing for three weeks. So has the first investigator hired to find her: Jay Becker, Patrick's mentor. Gone Baby Gone (read by Robert Lawrence, directed by Bill Weideman, engineered by Jeremy Spanos) Boston PIs Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro have been hired to find a six-year-old girl who vanished from her home without a trace. Despite enormous public attention, extensive news coverage, and dogged police work, the investigation has gone nowhere. But it's a case rife with sinister circumstances: a strangely indifferent mother, a pedophile couple, a bizarre subculture of homeless parents, and a shadowy police unit with a covert agenda and no qualms about enforcing it. Prayers for Rain (read by Thomas J.S. Brown, directed by Sandra Burr, engineered by Jill Sovis) Boston private investigators Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro's relationship has hit the skids. But despite their problems, they join forces to close down a predator whose modus operandi seems to put him beyond the law. This killer's insidious murder weapon is within his victim's mind: no smoking gun, no bloody knife, just merciless manipulation that drives his targets to kill themselves.

Scary Mommy's Guide to Surviving the Holidays


Jill SmoklerNatalie Hoage - 2014
    Then you’re screwed.But wait, there’s hope: Scary Mommy Guide to Surviving the Holidays to the rescue!Yes, in this handy holiday guide, you’ll find everything you need to survive the fall/winter rush of cheer in style, and without having a mental breakdown. From relatable, hilarious essays on everything from the Santa myth to being seated at the dreaded kids’ table, to easy-to-follow recipes that might include just a little something special to take the edge off (can anyone say Kahlua?), to fun and accessible gift ideas, this book is your ticket to peace of mind—and a laugh—during the busy, crazy holiday season!

The Trophy Wife


Diana Diamond - 2000
    She has devoted herself completely to her successful husband, Walter, on his climb to the top of the banking world, kept his home, raised his children, and entertained his clients. Now he is about to dump her for the younger, more beautiful Angela Hilliard, the perfect trophy for his life of conspicuous achievement.But suddenly Emily vanishes from her home amidst clear evidence of violence. The kidnapper - demanding an enormous ransom - is known only by his mysterious computerized voice. Is this Walter's sick plan to get rid of his wife without the scandal that might ruin his career? Is it his mistress's way of moving Emily aside? Or is it one of Walter's business rivals, determined to beat him in the race to the chairman's office? From her basement prison, Emily pleads with her husband to save her. But as her captors panic, she realizes that she will have to save herself. In a thriller that spans the financial towers of the world's money centers and the underworld markets of the Caribbean, Detective Andrew Hogan races against the ransom deadline to discover the identity of Emily's kidnapper. The ending to this novel of marriages, mistresses, and money is a shocker that serves as a warning to men who are reaching for that one final trophy.

A Christmas Carol / A Christmas Tree


Charles Dickens - 1850
    A Christmas Tree is about an old man whose memories are stirred as he reminisces about the toys and gifts that have decorated his Christmas tree over the years.

It Came Upon a Midnight Crime


Christy Barritt - 2012
    All around crime-scene cleaner Gabby St. Claire’s hometown, anything pointing to Jesus as the “reason for the season” is being sabotaged. The crimes become more twisted as dismembered body parts are found at the vandalisms. Who would go to such great lengths to dampen the joy and hope of Christ’s birthday? Someone’s determined to destroy Christmas . . . but Gabby St. Claire is just as determined to find the Grinch and let peace on earth and goodwill to men prevail.

The Snake Handler


Anthony Doerr - 2011
    Carlos Ninguna is seventeen. His father is a snake-handler and Carlos is his apprentice. When a man who may or may not be on the FBI's Most Wanted List moves into the apartment above them, Carlos is faced with a whole tangle of complicated decisions.Anthony Doerr is one of the country's most honored young story writers. His short stories have appeared in the Atlantic, McSweeney's, the Paris Review, and Zoetrope: All-Story, where "The Snake Handler" originally appeared. His most recent collection, Memory Wall, won the 2010 Story Prize.

Winning


Alafair Burke - 2010
    A female officer who is attacked in the line of duty must protect her own husband from his worst impulses in this short story, first published in The Blue Religion (Michael Connelly, ed.) and recognized as one of 2009's Best American Mystery Stories (Jeffery Deaver, ed.).

A Birmingham Family Christmas


Cheryl Bolen - 2017
    Brazen Brides, Book 5 When spinster Annabelle Lippencott is invited by her cousin, Emma Birmingham, to spend Christmas with the extended Birmingham Family, little does she expect to find Spencer Woodruff, the man who broke her heart eleven years earlier.

Shit Happens


Eileen Wharton - 2012
    She's got problems though when bits of her ex-husband turn up in different places and the slimy DI Savage seems to be bending the evidence to link her to the death. Add the fact that she's being pressured into taking a ‘job’ by hard-nosed Vera Devlin from the estate and having to work in a topless bar to make ends meet and you can see she's up against it. Desperate to extricate herself from the mess she breaks into her old marital home to find the diary of her dead husband, except that his mother has taken up residence and arrives back early from bingo… Set against a backdrop of Northern council estate life, this fast paced, humorous novel exemplifies the problems caused by poverty, piles and unruly children, think Jeremy Kyle meets the Thorn Birds and you won't be far wrong!

South Village Singles Collection: Roughing It with Ryan\Tangling with Ty\Messing with Mac


Jill Shalvis - 2010
    In SOUTH VILLAGE SINGLES, three strong, independent women decide they don't need a man in their lives�but you can never plan when that special one will come along. Quirky dessert caterer Suzanne Carter is definitely cursed in love, so when Ryan Alondo, a man who is her polar opposite, shows up, there's no problem resisting him. Until she remembers that opposites attract! Dr. Nicole Mann's work as a surgeon consumes her whole world. But then architect Ty O'Grady and his sexy Irish accent lead Nicole to prescribe herself an intense�and temporary�round of seduction! Taylor Wellington doesn't do relationships. However, she does do flings�steamy affairs that burn hot…and brief. And her sexy new contractor, Thomas "Mac" Mackenzie, has her thinking about burning up some sheets. Problem is, now that she's got him right where she wants him, she can't seem to stop playing with fire. Read Roughing It With Ryan, Tangling With Ty, and Messing With Mac for romances full of sexy, sassy fun!

The Murder Before Christmas


Michele Pariza Wacek - 2021
    She does NOT do love potions.Not even for Courtney, her pregnant new client who showed up three weeks before Christmas seeking a love potion because her husband was cheating on her.So, Courtney asked about poison, instead.She said she was joking. That's what happens between wives and husbands. They get angry and talk about killing each other. They don't really mean it.It seems to make sense ... until Courtney’s husband turns up dead on Christmas Eve.He was poisoned, of course.And who is the number one suspect? Courtney. Of course.But did she actually do it? Or is she being set up?It's up to Charlie to sort through all the twists and turns in a case that gets more complicated the deeper she digs.Meet Charlie. Better known as “Aunt Charlie” from the award-winning Secrets of Redemption series. She's back, making teas and solving cases in this funny, twisty, cozy mystery series set in the 1990s in Redemption, Wisconsin.

My Wolfy Wedding: In Between


Renee George - 2018
    To celebrate (survive) their union on Friday, the Twenty-First of December, Two Thousand Eighteen at Four-Twenty-Three p.m. Destination: Peculiar, Missouri. The only thing Chavvah wants more than to marry Billy Bob is to have his baby, but since that ship has sailed thanks to prior trauma, she's happy just to get down the aisle with him and make their life together official. The date is set for the Winter Solstice, marking the longest night of year, but a challenge from an unexpected guest, is turning her special day into a fight-club nightmare. And after having postponed the wedding twice already, Chav is starting to think fate hates her guts. On top of that, there are almost forty werewolves camped out on Billy Bob's property, claiming that Chav and Billy Bob are their new leaders. But when Chav tries to get her spirit guide, Brother Wolf, to cough up answers, he ignores her. Worst, the silent deity is sending her BFF Sunny visions that are taking a physical toll on her human friend's all too frail body. Throw in Billy Bob's manipulative father, Chav's pushy mother, and other surprise guests, these two furry lovebirds may never make it to "I do!" Peculiar Mysteries series from USA Today bestselling author Renee George are laugh-out-loud, grip the edge of your seat, and swoon as you fall in love tales of mystery, humor, and romance that take place in the small (fictional-not the actual) Ozark shifter town of Peculiar, Missouri.