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The Agatha Frost Cozy Mystery Winter Anthology: 5 Festive Cozy Mystery Short Stories


Agatha Frost - 2020
    

A Murderous Valentine (Admiral Shackleford Mystery #1)


Beverley Watts - 2021
    Having been instrumental in improving the lives of so many (his words - others might be inclined to call it something slightly different...), he was struggling to reignite the spark in his own love life with the feisty Mabel. Short on ideas, he decides to gatecrash his much put upon former Master At Arms and best friend Jimmy Noon's Valentine idea and ends up in the middle of a murder mystery weekend... where real murder is on someone else's script. Stranded in the middle of nowhere with a hotel full of potential murderers, the unstoppable duo embark on a series of blundering escapades in an attempt to uncover the Murderous Valentine... The Admiral and Jimmy may be more Laurel and Hardy than Holmes and Watson, but can they catch a murderer...? This humorous cozy mystery short read is the first in The Admiral Shackleford Mysteries.

Road to Matchmaker


Elise Sax - 2017
    Living in Los Angeles in a small apartment over an Italian restaurant, she works in a used book store doing inventory, but she spends most of her time reading a mystery series. After an accident involving the books, Gladie has lost her memory and believes she’s the detective in the last book that she read. Determined to track down her arch nemesis, Gladie finds herself in an adventure of a lifetime.Road to Matchmaker is perfect for fans of the Matchmaker Mysteries or for those interested in starting this funny, romantic mystery series.

A Recipe for Love


Nicola Yeager
    Not just a little bit, but quite a damn lot. She can’t even stand having a boyfriend over the Christmas period and habitually dumps them just before the season begins.Even the restaurant she co-owns, a French bistro called Carol’s, doesn’t do a Christmas menu and doesn’t do Christmas decorations, either. In short, there is no Christmas at Carol’s.But then she gets some bad news. The bistro is failing. There’s too much local competition, they don’t have enough customers and there’s a risk that the business may need to be sold.As it’s early December, her mother and some of her colleagues suggest that she may like to reconsider her attitude to Christmas. Maybe cook up a Christmas menu for once. Maybe even risk putting up some decorations and a few sprigs of mistletoe.But it’s an uphill struggle. There’s a reason that Carol doesn’t like Christmas and it’s one that she keeps to herself.Eventually, she reluctantly agrees to give it a go, for the sake of the restaurant, her glamorous, eccentric partner Roksana and all its much-loved employees.But the minutes are ticking by. Has she left it too late? Can she catch up and compete with her competitors?Will there be Christmas at Carol’s?

Silent Night


Deanna Raybourn - 2012
    There are missing jewels, new faces at the Abbey, and a prowling ghost that brings back unwelcome memories from a previous holiday—one that turned deadly. Is a new culprit recreating crimes of the past? And will Brisbane let Julia investigate—?

My Name Is Lydia


Stephen Leather - 2014
    Supernatural detective Jack Nightingale is called in to investigate a young girl who appears to be possessed by an evil spirit.

Nine Months Part 2


Beverly Barton - 2014
    L. Montgomery might be the perfect husband and father—if he loves her.Jared is used to getting what he wants, so he can't understand Paige's reluctance to marry him. Is she just a gold digger hoping to make him want her more by playing it cool? Or the most independent—and sexy—woman he's ever met?What will it take for Jared to see Paige as more than an acquisition, and for Paige to get her elevator cowboy back?The story concludes in Nine Months Part 3.

Gifts of Love


Carol Moncado - 2016
    But somehow, since they started teaching at Serenity Landing Elementary II, he’s managed to worm his way into her life and make himself indispensable. Vince Roberts has loved Samantha since their first date, though he hasn’t done the best job of showing it. Spending time together is one reason he volunteered both of them to plan the staff Christmas party. They work together to take care of one of their own, dealing with the recent death of her husband in a house fire. As they plan the party, Samantha tries to keep Vince from finding his way into her heart. Will she admit the feelings that have been growing for so many years or walk away from Gifts of Love?

Six Merry Little Murders


Lee Strauss - 2019
    Dressed in her finest Parisian low-waisted gown, feather-topped tiara, and T-strapped Italian leather shoes, Ginger is ready to host the delectable event.It's a jolly good time, until someone chokes on the pudding.Is it an accident or is it murder? And can Ginger unravel the mystery before the church bells ring and New Year's Day dawns?Karen MacInerney - SLAY BELLS RINGIt's Christmastime on Dewberry Farm, and homesteader Lucy Resnick is busy bundling mistletoe bunches and cedar swags for the Buttercup Christmas Market when a neighbor's houseguest keels over right next to her peach orchard. Was it a stray bullet from a hunter that took him out? Or did a guest at the fancy ranch next door decide to scratch somebody off his or her Christmas list? It's up to Lucy to unwrap the mystery… before the holiday killer strikes again.CeeCee James - CHRISTMAS AT BAKER STREETIn this Baker Street spin-off, Oscar and Cecelia find themselves and the guests snowed in this Christmas holiday. What should be all sugar cookies and hot cocoa takes a drastic turn when one of the guests turns up cold—as in stone cold dead. With no help in sight, the two hope to find the killer before anyone else gets iced out, including them.Nancy Warren - CAT'S PAWS AND CURSESIn this classic closed room mystery, someone is murdered during a knitting class. But how was it possible? Lucy Swift and her band of undead knitters must catch the culprit before there's a second Christmas catastrophe!Molly Fitz - MEOWY CHRISTMAS MAYHEMIt's Angie's first Christmas as a pet owner, and she can't wait to celebrate with Octo-Cat, Paisley, and Nan. All it takes is a little finely-crafted trickery to get her crabby tabby into the local pet supply store for a special photo opportunity with Santa. Unfortunately, the jolly old soul is found dead in the stock room before he ever gets the chance to say "cheese." Angie and her motley crew of sidekicks need to work fast to find the culprit and prevent any further suspicious holiday slaying... Otherwise, the most wonderful time of the year could end up becoming the most murderous season Blueberry Bay has ever seen.Addison Moore - CHRISTMAS FUDGE FATALITYMy name is Lottie Lemon, and I see dead people. Okay, so I rarely see dead people, mostly I see furry creatures of the dearly departed variety, aka dead pets, who have come back from the other side to warn me of their previous owner's impending doom.The holidays have arrived and the Jolly Holly Tree Lot is hosting a special event that has the entire town bustling to get a picture with the jolly old elf himself. And I'm just as anxious as anyone to get to the front of the line, but that body I stumble upon threatens to take the joy right out of the season.

Ghost of a Chance


Angie Fox - 2016
    Verity Long has come to terms with the fact that she can see spirits, and talk to them, and...she's actually making cookies for one of them. But she's drawing the line at any more ghost hunting or mystery solving. Until a dear friend needs help locating a missing antique at the party of the year. Not one to leave a friend in need, Verity straps on her sparkly heels and sneaks in to see what she can find—only to uncover a startling secret that will change everything.

One More Game


Ernie Lindsey - 2014
    Then, the breathtaking sequels, Sara's Past and Sara's Fear, continued the terrifying journey where no one was safe and evil played by its own rules. Now, Lindsey returns with a final chapter, One More Game, the thrilling spin-off from The Sara Winthrop Series. **Novella-length title.**Teddy Rutherford, former coworker and arch nemesis of Sara Winthrop, now turned trusted friend and multi-millionaire, has left the United States behind for the supposed safety of Moscow. His beautiful and tolerant wife, Irina, pregnant and thrilled to once again be back in her homeland, has only one word of advice: "Relax." As if anything were really ever that easy in the life of Teddy Rutherford, especially when his closest in-laws are aren't shy about their connections to the Russian mafia. When Teddy tries to help, and the delivery of a small briefcase goes terribly wrong, he may find out just how many lives he has left.

Christmas in Absaroka County


Craig Johnson - 2012
    In these four stories—“Ministerial Aid,” “Slick-Tongued Devil,” “Toys for Tots,” and “Unbalanced” (three of which have been sent to Johnson’s fans over the years in the author’s “Post-it” e-mails)—Walt is alternately at his best and his worst. He helps a somewhat delusional elderly victim of domestic abuse while sporting a bathrobe and a mean hangover on New Year’s Day. He’s sidelined by grief when his wife’s obituary reappears in the paper and there’s an unexpected knock on his door two days before Christmas. He strives to help even those who don’t want it when he picks up a young female hitchhiker, and he’s forced into some last-minute Christmas shopping by the Greatest Legal Mind of Our Time, during which he might just end up saving a young Navy chaplain’s Christmas.Full of Longmire’s dry wit and good heart, Christmas in Absaroka County is a holiday must-have for every Longmire and Craig Johnson fan, and it also includes the first chapter of The Cold Dish, the first novel in the Walt Longmire Mystery Series. Amazon review

Candy for Christmas


Joanne Fluke - 2008
    Perhaps this individual is simply sleeping there to stay warm. Whoever this individual is, they clean up before they leave. So Hannah plans, with Norman's help, to catch the intruder in the act (and they do). What unwinds is a tale of innocence and a dysfunctional family who is reunited due to Hannah's understanding and sense of fairness.

Leaphorn & Chee: Skinwalkers / A Thief of Time / Talking God


Tony Hillerman - 1992
    25,000 first printing. $25,000 ad/promo.

Gingerbread to Die For (The Dunbarton Christmas Mysteries Book 2)


Valerie Tate - 2019
    Mix thoroughly for the perfect Christmas murder.Well, almost perfect.It’s one month until Christmas in Dunbarton and the town is buzzing with the news that a famous celebrity chef is coming to judge and televise the gingerbread competition at the new community centre. Confident that the event will attract hordes of food-loving visitors to town, the mayor has Dunbarton decked out in all its Christmas finery and directs Alicia and the deputy mayor to make sure everything runs smoothly.All is going as planned until a body is found in the life-sized gingerbread house outside the community centre, with a gingerbread dove stuffed in the victim’s mouth. The distraught mayor once again calls on Alicia and Chris to solve the murder before it sounds a death-knell to the holiday festivities.It’s not long before Alicia and Chris discover that it’s not all sugar and spice in the world of big-time baking and that one too many cookies can be the death of you.