If you liked this post, check out some more Bookish Bites:
It’s time to make a list of festive thrillers to read in December!
What better way to see out the year, than with a full stocking of festive crime fiction! But remember, murder isn’t just for Christmas!
“Hercule Poirot’s Silent Night” by Sophie Hannah!
You don’t need to ‘sign up’ or have ‘special elite access’ to join the Fishbird Central Book Club. Just read along with our chosen book for the month, and let us know how you like it!
We’ll talk a little more in depth about the Book Club and our thoughts on the monthly book pick in our Fishbird Central Newsletter. We’d love to chat with you in the newsletter comments!
Join us as we read some great new titles and tick off some reading prompts! Book reviews are published in 3’s as we finish and find them friends 🙂
* * *
We encourage you to always source books from your local independent bookshop. However, we understand this is sometimes not practical based on location or budget.
Therefore, this post contains Amazon affiliate links. This means, if you click on the link and purchase the book from that link, I get a few dollars at no extra cost to you! This way we can both restock our TBR stack! 😀
Happy Reading, Friends!
Series or Standalone?:
This is Book 5 in the ‘New Hercule Poirot Mysteries’.
'Hercule Poirot's Silent Night' Back Blurb:
It’s 19 December 1931. Hercule Poirot and Inspector Edward Catchpool are called to investigate the murder of a man in the apparent safe haven of a Norfolk hospital ward. Catchpool’s mother, the irrepressible Cynthia, insists that Poirot stays in a crumbling mansion by the coast, so that they can all be together for the festive period while Poirot solves the case. Cynthia’s friend Arnold is soon to be admitted to that same hospital and his wife is convinced he will be the killer’s next victim, though she refuses to explain why. Poirot has less than a week to solve the crime and prevent more murders, if he is to escape from this nightmare scenario and get home in time for Christmas. Meanwhile, someone else – someone utterly ruthless – also has ideas about what ought to happen to Hercule Poirot.
Grab yourself a copy:
Series or Standalone?:
This is a standalone novel.
'Portrait of a Murderer' Back Blurb:
Adrian Gray was born in May 1862 and met his death through violence, at the hands of one of his own children, at Christmas, 1931. Thus begins a classic crime novel published in 1933, a riveting portrait of the psychology of a murderer. Each December, Adrian Gray invites his extended family to stay at his lonely house, Kings Poplars. None of Gray’s six surviving children is fond of him; several have cause to wish him dead. The family gathers on Christmas Eve – and by the following morning, their wish has been granted. This fascinating and unusual novel tells the story of what happened that dark Christmas night; and what the murderer did next.
Grab yourself a copy:
Series or Standalone?:
This is Book 52 in the ‘Murder She Wrote‘ series.
'Murder in Season' Back Blurb:
With work on the reconstruction of her beloved home almost complete, Jessica Fletcher is in high holiday spirits, spearheading the annual Christmas parade and preparing for her nephew Grady and his family to come to town. The only thing dampening the holiday cheer is the discovery of two sets of bones on Jessica’s property- one set ancient, the other only about a year old. It’s concluded that they were both placed there during the reconstruction, and Jessica suspects that, despite the centuries between them, the remains might be connected. Soon tabloid reporter Tad Hollenbeck arrives in Cabot Cove to write a story about what he calls “the murder capital of the country.” But when Tad himself is murdered, Jessica speculates that his arrival, his death, and the discovery of the bones are all somehow linked. As Jessica digs deeper to find the connection between the bones and Tad’s murder, everything seems to come back to a mystery that has long plagued Cabot Cove. If she wants to solve the case, she’ll need to delve into her beloved town’s dark history, or else this holiday season may be her last.
Grab yourself a copy:
Series or Standalone?:
This book is part of the ‘Christmas Mysteries‘ series.
'Murder at Maybridge Castle' Back Blurb:
It’s Christmas 1937 and an eclectic list of guests and staff have gathered for the grand re-opening of Maybridge castle, a newly renovated yet still crumbling hotel deep in the Cumbrian countryside. They are: The ex-socialite owner. The Doctor and his new wife. The stylish journalist. The know-all housekeepers. The still-grieving widower and his son. The tarot readers. The passionate academic. The persistent investigative reporter. The elder amateur sleuth, and her cat. An innocent game of murder-in-the-dark will turn into a real game of life and death. And by the time the first sherries have been drunk, one of these people will be dead – and one of them the killer. Someone has changed the rules, but who?
Grab yourself a copy:
Series or Standalone?:
This is Book One in the ‘Frank Grasby Mysteries‘ series.
'Murder at Holly House' Back Blurb:
A village of secrets. Yorkshire, 1952. Christmas is fast approaching when a dead stranger is found lodged up the chimney of Holly House in the snow-covered village of Elderby. Is he a simple thief, or a would-be killer? A mystery that can’t be solved. Inspector Frank Grasby is ordered to investigate. But as is often the way for him, things don’t go according to plan. A Christmas to remember. When the local doctor’s husband is murdered, Grasby begins to realise that everyone in Elderby is hiding something. And if he can’t uncover the truth soon, the whole country will pay a dreadful price.
Grab yourself a copy:
Series or Standalone?:
This is a short story collection and Book One in the ‘Vintage Murders‘ series.
'Murder at Christmas' Back Blurb:
Christmas is a season of overindulgence. For most of us, that means an extra mince pie, a second helping of turkey, or perhaps a third glass of mulled wine. But for some among us, the festive season is a time to settle old scores, dispatch new enemies and indulge…in murder. Here, 10 masters of the genre serve up mystery and mayhem aplenty. From a dowager’s missing diamonds to a Christmas party gone horribly wrong, these classic crime stories will delight, puzzle and satisfy long after the last strands of tinsel have been packed away.
Grab yourself a copy:
‘Murder at Christmas: 10 Classic Crime Stories for the Festive Season’ Edited by Cecily Gayford
Series or Standalone?:
This is Book 3 in the ‘Year-Round Christmas Mystery‘ series.
'Hark the Herald Angels Slay' Back Blurb:
The town of Rudolph, New York, has the Christmas spirit all year long—but when homicide heats up a summer holiday, it’s up to shop owner Merry Wilkinson to wrap up the case. In Rudolph, Christmas in July heralds Santa’s arrival by boat to begin his summer vacation at the lake, and Merry Wilkinson, owner of Mrs. Claus’s Treasures, is looking forward to a busy weekend. But she’s caught off guard when her ex-fiancé, Max Folger, unexpectedly arrives with a team from a lifestyle magazine wanting to do a feature on the July festivities. It’s clear that Max’s visit has less to do with business and more to do with winning back Merry’s heart. Merry has too much on her plate to deal with an old flame, but when Max is found strangled to death in Mrs. Claus’s Treasures, she must find out who wanted him dead—and stop a killer from ruining the summer holiday cheer.
Grab yourself a copy:
Series or Standalone?:
This is a short story collection.
'Christmas is Murder' Back Blurb:
Val McDermid is a master of the dark and sinister story, and these powers are in full force in ‘Christmas is Murder’, a festive collection of chilling tales. From an irresponsible baron whose body is discovered beneath a silver birch tree, to a classic detective duo solving a historic case as the lights go out across Europe, and an exclusive Tony Hill and Carol Jordan story, the characters McDermid conjures are enigmatic and dangerous. These evocative, atmospheric tales will shock and delight. This is the perfect book to curl up with as the frosty winter draws in and each night gets darker than the last, written by one of our greatest living crime writers.
Grab yourself a copy:
Series or Standalone?:
This is a short story collection.
'Christmas and Other Horrors' Back Blurb:
The winter solstice is celebrated as a time of joy around the world—yet the long nights also conjure a darker tradition of ghouls, hauntings, and visitations. This anthology of all-new stories invites you to huddle around the fire and revel in the unholy, the dangerous, the horrific aspects of a time when families and friends come together—for better and for worse. From the eerie Austrian Schnabelperchten to the skeletal Welsh Mari Lwyd, by way of ravenous golems, uncanny neighbours, and unwelcome visitors, ‘Christmas and Other Horrors’ captures the heart and horror of the festive season. Because the weather outside is frightful, but the fire inside is hungry. Featuring stories from: Tananarive Due, Christopher Golden, Stephen Graham Jones, Richard Kadrey, Alma Katsu, Josh Malerman and Garth Nix, to name just a few.
Grab yourself a copy:
If you liked this post, check out some more Bookish Bites:
