christmas mysteries
‘The perfect gift for quizzers and mystery addicts’ VAL McDERMID
Whatever you unwrap for Christmas, you had better hope it’s this book. This is 21st-century cosy Christmas crime that doesn’t shy away from the darkness’ JANICE HALLETT
‘A thrilling journey from start to finish. Highly recommended’ ELLY GRIFFITHS
‘It’s wonderful! A page-turning homage to the Golden Age, with a dash of Poirot and a dark, modern heart’ S J BENNETT
‘The conquering queen of cosy Christmas crime’ JAMES LOVEGROVE, FINANCIAL TIMES
When Edie O’Sullivan receives an invitation from an old friend to spend a pre-Christmas break in the picturesque town of Rye, she jumps at the chance to escape - and reconnect. But when she arrives with her wife, Riga, it quickly becomes clear this is no festive getaway.
Edie hasn’t been invited for comfort, but for help.
Four days earlier, her friend’s daughter Rebecca - the town crier - received an unusual gift: a handcrafted wooden advent calendar shaped like Rye itself. At first, it seemed like a charming curiosity, part of her public role. Then, on December 1st, a burglary at 1 Church Square. December 2nd, an ABH at 2 Martello Close. December 3rd, a GBH at 3 Allendale Drive.
Each door opened. Each crime escalating.
Now Rebecca is certain the calendar is counting down to something far worse - and she’s turned to the only person she believes can stop it.
With Christmas approaching and the body count rising, Edie must decipher the deadly pattern before the final door is opened.
BUY THE HARDBACK
IT'S THE MOST MURDEROUS TIME OF THE YEAR…
Puzzle compiler and former Christmas sceptic Edie O’Sullivan returns in the newest seasonal mystery from bestselling author and ‘Queen of the Christmas Mystery’ 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 under mysterious circumstances, Edie realises that there is a killer amongst them. As more guests begin to die, it's up to her to solve the strange riddles found in the victims’ Christmas crackers and stop the killing spree. But as she gets closer to the truth, she puts herself in the way of a devious and clever murderer.
Can Edie solve these Christmas killings before she becomes the next victim?
BUY THE PAPERBACK
THIS CHRISTMAS, A KILLER TAKES FAMILY GAMES TO A MURDEROUS NEW LEVEL.
On 19th of December, renowned puzzle setter, loner and Christmas sceptic Edie O’Sullivan finds a hand-delivered present on her doorstep. Unwrapping it, she finds a jigsaw box and, inside, six jigsaw pieces. When fitted together, the pieces show part of a crime scene – blood-spattered black and white tiles and part of an outlined body. Included in the parcel is a message: ‘Four, maybe more, people will be dead by midnight on Christmas Eve, unless you can put all the pieces together and stop me.’ It’s signed, Rest In Pieces.
Edie contacts her nephew, DI Sean Brand-O’Sullivan, and together they work to solve the clues. But when a man is found near death with a jigsaw piece in his hand, Sean fears that Edie might be in danger and shuts her out of the investigation. As the body count rises, however, Edie knows that only she has the knowledge to put together the killer’s murderous puzzle.
Only by fitting all the pieces together will Edie be able to stop a killer – and finally lay her past to rest.
BUY THE PAPERBACK
Eighteen passengers. Seven stops. One killer.
In the early hours of Christmas Eve, the sleeper train to the Highlands is derailed, along with the festive plans of its travellers. With the train stuck in snow in the middle of nowhere, a killer stalks its carriages, picking off passengers one by one. Those who sleep on the sleeper train may never wake again.
Can former Met detective Roz Parker find the killer before they kill again?
All aboard for . . . Murder on the Christmas Express.