Yuletide Murder and more….

As the snow fell and temperatures dropped, I turned to some totally fun reading by several favorite mystery authors.  Look for their short stories in Mistletoe Mysteries or Christmas Stalkings – two collections edited by Charlotte McLeod and just re-released in eBook form.  It was so relaxing to pick Mistletoe Mysteries, a definite “Christmas cozy,” and to read these older works (first published in 1989) by bestselling authors like Sharyn McCrumb, Mary Higgins Clark, Aaron Elkins, Marcia Muller – even Isaac Asimov contributes a tale about training department store Santas. The list could go on and on but look especially for Peter Lovesey’s “Haunted Crescent” set in Bath, England. There is as much of a “feel good” holiday spirit as there is mystery to this collection.  

 

Christmas Stalkings is somewhat darker set of stories and features a different set of authors, including Reginald Hill, Elizabeth Peters, and Margaret Maron to name just a few.  If you don’t readily recognize some of the contributors, it is a great introduction to their writing and to their often well-known characters.