Curl up with Christmas Crime

If you’re looking for a sprinkle of contrast amongst the Christmas lights, generosity and warmth this year, look no further than the sub-genre of Christmas crime. It’s a perfect pairing with the season’s sparkle with its heightened suspense. Think snowed-in isolation and family gatherings. An amplification of cosy crime, Christmas crime offers another level of comfort and escapism - yes please to all the log fires and mince pies!

Woman and girl reading by Christmas tree

Murder Under the Mistletoe by Richard Coles

It is Christmas Day and at Champton Rectory, Canon Daniel Clement and his mother Audrey are joined by the residents and guests of the big house to drink, eat and be merry.

The Christmas Stocking Murders by Denzil Meyrick

A festive mystery for one and all.

Hundreds of pairs of stockings, in neat cellophane bags, soon wash up on the shore. A blizzard cuts off the detectives from help, and the local innkeeper is murdered. Why does everyone seem to be enjoying strangely high standards of hosiery? Who is the sinister bespectacled man snooping around their hotel? And how can they solve the murder when everyone in the village is a suspect?

A case of the claws: classic tales of feline crime by Catherine Aird, Edmund Crispin and Patricia Highsmith

Slink through shadows in these classic cat-themed mystery tales from beloved crime authors Catherine Aird, Edmund Crispin, Patricia Highsmith and Ellis Peters.

Everyone this Christmas has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson

Ernest Cunningham is not a detective. He just happens to have a knack for what makes mysteries tick. Backstage at the Christmas show of world-famous magician Rylan Blaze, a benefactor has just been murdered. From the magician's assistant to the hypnotist, Ernest's suspects are all professional tricksters. Solving the murder is the only gift he wants this year.

Miss Winter in the Library with a Knife by Martin Edwards

Six down-on-their-luck people with links to the world of crime writing have been invited to play a game this Christmas by the mysterious Midwinter Trust. The challenge seems simple but exciting: solve the murder of a fictional crime writer in a remote but wonderfully atmospheric village in north Yorkshire to win a prize that will change your fortunes for good. The game is set - but playing fair isn't on everyone's Christmas list.

The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett

Christmas in Lower Lockwood, and the Fairway Players are busy rehearsing their festive pantomime, Jack and the Beanstalk. But there's not much good will among the amateur dramatics enthusiasts. Sarah-Jane is fending off threats to her new position as Chair, the beanstalk might be full of asbestos, and someone is trying to ruin the panto before the curtain even goes up. Plus, there's the small matter of the dead Santa. Will the show go on?

The inn closes for Christmas: and other dark tales by Cledwyn Hughes

A deliciously dark and haunting tale of one man's nightmarish obsession and how far he'll go to escape it. For fans of Shirley Jackson, MR James, and Andrew Michael Hurley, rediscover this forgotten classic.

The Christmas Cracker by Alexandra Benedict

When Edie O'Sullivan wins a two-day Christmas break in a hotel on a remote Scottish island, she's looking forward to a picture-perfect Christmas full of winter walks, roaring fires, good books and even better whisky. But when a guest dies in mysterious circumstances, Edie realises that they have a killer amongst them. Can Edie solve these Christmas killings before she becomes the next victim?

Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie

It is Christmas Eve. The Lee family reunion is shattered by a deafening crash of furniture, followed by a high-pitched wailing scream. Upstairs, the tyrannical Simeon Lee lies dead. But when Hercule Poirot, who is staying in the village with a friend for Christmas, offers to assist, he finds an atmosphere not of mourning but of mutual suspicion.

A Lively Midwinter Murder by Katy Watson

Planning the perfect Christmas wedding can be murder. A high society Christmas Eve wedding at a remote Scottish castle sounds like the perfect winter getaway for the three Dahlias and their partners - until a snowstorm hits, cutting them off from the mainland, and civilisation.

Murder at the Christmas emporium by Andreina Cordani

Christmas shopping can be murder. It's Christmas Eve at the Emporium, a bespoke gift shop hidden in the depths of London's winding streets, where a select few shoppers are browsing its handcrafted delights. But when they go to leave, they find the doors are locked and it isn't long before they realise this is no innocent mix-up. The shoppers have been trapped here by someone who knows their darkest secrets, who will stop at nothing until they have all been unwrapped - and there is a gruesome gift waiting in Santa's grotto.

The Christmas Eve Murders by Noelle Albright

There's the landlord, Mickey, his wife Sofia and their wayward son, James; local policeman Alex and his supernaturally minded deputy Don; as well as Sita, Mrs Fazarkaley, the Kapoors and Curtis, who's never far from his beloved dog Barkley. Quite the crowd. Maddie, a journalist is an unexpected arrival. When the power is cut off and darkness descends, the hunt turns deadly. Maddie and her unexpected Christmas companions must try to find the murderer amongst them, as it seems one of the group would kill to win.