Holiday Crime

December 1860. Headed for the morning shift at the Swindon Locomotive Works is an army of men pouring out of terraced houses built by the GWR, a miniature town and planned community that aims to provide for its employees from cradle to grave. Unfortunately, boilersmith Frank Rodman is headed for the grave sooner than he'd expected, or he will be once his missing head is found. Colbeck, the Railway Detective, finds his investigation into Rodman's murder mired in contradictions.

A woman is found dead in a local businessman’s holiday let. Detectives uncover some shady dealings. But did he kill her? The charm of a West of Ireland holiday home is somewhat tarnished when a woman’s body is found in the property. There are few clues as to her identity. However, in her hand is found a small solid-gold ingot. Galway-based DI Maureen Lyons is drawn out to the sticks to take on the case. Suspicion naturally falls on the property’s owner, who runs a large discount store, lives beyond his means and has an over-zealous interest in the ladies.

HO HO HOMICIDE? When the man who plays Santa for the Maycroft Christmas Festival goes missing, the committee turns to Deena Sharpe to find him. Her reputation for solving mysteries is legendary. But when the case becomes a kidnapping, she's worried something sinister has happened. Sharpe Claus has plenty of suspects and enough finger pointing to keep Deena on her toes. Follow along as she tries to solve the case of the missing Santa! This fun, cozy Christmas novella can be read as a standalone in the Maycroft Mysteries by USA Today Bestselling Author Lisa B. Thomas. Like all the books in ...

A dead Santa under the mall’s Christmas tree has a way of taking the ho, ho, ho out of the holidays. The dead man was dressed in a red Santa suit, furry cap and black shiny belt and boots. There was though one item of clothing obviously missing – his pants. The attention grabber, other than dead Santa’s lack of pants, was the chalk board sign resting in his lap. The sign read: “I’ve Been a Naughty Boy.” Pam and Paul and their Sunrise Harbor, Maine early morning mall walking friends quickly decide that if Santa’s murder is going to get solved, it’ll be up to them to solve it....

Death has come twice to Ravenbank, a remote community in England’s Lake District, each time on Halloween. Just before the First World War, a young woman’s corpse was found, with a makeshift shroud frozen to her battered face. Her ghost - the Faceless Woman - is said to walk through Ravenbank on Halloween. Five years ago, another woman, Shenagh Moss, was murdered, and again her face was covered to hide her injuries.

"The cows moved away from him as he stepped into the mud. The stench of manure and wet soil wafted over the area as Hamid saw something lying on the ground before him. Pushing one beast away from the site, Hamid saw a foot and a black gumboot sticking out from the mud. There was a mound of dirt around the boot, and as Hamid pulled on the boot, it came away. Ted Lassiter's red wool sock stood out in contrast to the brown of the mud. Hamid pulled out his phone and called the police." Detective Inspector Linden McCoy is called out to investigate a series of murders in the farming communities ...

It looks like a regular advent calendar. Until DC Becky Greene starts opening doors...and discovers a crime scene behind almost every one. The police hope it's a prank. Because if it isn't, a murderer has just surfaced - someone who's been killing for 20 years. But why now? And why has he sent it to this police station? As the country relaxes into festive cheer, Greene and DS Eddie Carmine must race against time to catch the killer. Because there are four doors left, and four murders will fill them....

Detective Alex Cross is called into action on Christmas Eve - and he'll be lucky to see the New Year. Christmas celebrations with his family are cut short when Detective Alex Cross receives a phone call. A drug-crazed man has taken his own family hostage and their lives depend on Alex. But it's not just them. As the suburban nightmare unfolds, a greater threat arises - a terrorist attack like Washington has never seen. And Alex is caught in the middle.

Sugarbury Falls in the fall—cinnamon spice, craft fairs, and pumpkin carving competitions. But when a reporter is murdered at a local haunted house event, the festive spirit takes a sinister turn, scaring the whole community. With one of the town’s detectives away on his honeymoon, true crime writer and former journalist Emily Fox steps in to help unravel the eerie web of suspects and motives. The victim made dangerous enemies in his pursuit of juicy stories—a wealthy businesswoman accused of killing a squatter in her warehouse, a jealous girlfriend, and even Emily’s daughter’s ...

When Evelyn Eldritch’s landlord Randolph is poisoned at his own James Bond-themed party, she needs to find the killer fast. Who killed him? The nephew and heir? The best friend? Or the faithful secretary? Evelyn wants to prove to Detective Inspector Taylor that she’s more than just a bumbling baker with a missing witness—that cat-turned-waitress spell is proving hard to explain! But how many clues did Evelyn miss while wrangling her diva cat? It’s clear Randolph drank a poisoned cocktail, but was the cyanide really meant for him?

Those two bad men, Lanky Len and Hefty Hugh, are back! They may be in the city instead of the farm, but they haven't changed their thieving ways. In fact, they're even more ambitious. They're planning to steal a monkey from the zoo and use it to pinch the Queen's crown. It's a pity for them that a certain crime-busting ladybird is holidaying in the very same city...and she's got a good idea that will ensure the dastardly pair won't get away with it!

Why can't they just leave Christmas alone? Kris Kringle left behind his mercenary life to atone and accept the responsibility of delivering presents to the children each year. The children will smile on Christmas morning at all costs. Someone has set a trap for Kris Kringle - but the problem is, Kris is willing to go anywhere to get those gifts to the children. Including to his dark place. Be careful, world. You don’t want to piss off Saint Nick.

The god of death is allowed to take a holiday, conditional on completing a task. Eamon the Handsome Ghoul deputises, but grows to like the job. Mason, a violent misogynist detective, agrees to let the god of death assume his identity.

Welcome to Christmas Creek, where Santa reigns all year and crime is as rare as a snowflake in July—or so Sheriff Brad Wing thought. With Christmas just around the corner, the cozy town is thrown into a festive frenzy by a string of mysterious package thefts. As Sheriff Wing dives deep into the investigation, his orderly world is upended by the mischievous Ivy Jolly, a woman who’s as sweet as she is unpredictable. Caught between his duty to uphold the law and his heart’s yearning for Ivy, Brad must navigate a whirlwind of holiday hijinks, stolen gifts, and a magical Christmas surprise...

Things are a little different in Aspen, Colorado, at the office holiday party for the real estate firm owned by Henry Calhoun and his wife, Claudine. Each Christmas sparks a contest among the already competitive staff to see who can buy the most coveted gift: the one that will get stolen the most times, the one that will prove just how many more commissions they earned that year than their colleagues. Everyone is puzzled when a strange gift shows up in the mix: an antique cowboy statue. In fact, the gift makes sense only to Henry and Claudine.

As usual, 17-year-old Alice Teale walked out of school at the end of a bright spring day. She's not been seen since. Alice was popular and well-liked, and her boyfriend, friends and family are desperate to find her. But when the police start asking questions, it becomes clear that almost everyone has something to hide. Torn between a host of suspects, Detectives Beth Winter and Lucas Black don't know which way to turn. But then they receive a disturbing package: pages from Alice's precious diary. Who could have sent them? And have they done with Alice?

THE OPPORTUNIST – AN ENTERPRISING LIFE IN SPAIN is Craig K. Kirkland’s account of his inventive and ignoble efforts to make his fortune. After a rather unscrupulous apprenticeship in the north midlands he is forced to flee abroad to further his ambitions and in this amusing chronicle he recounts his unethical exploits with brazen honesty. Mr Kirkland’s eye-opening tale of ingenuity and avarice, though not for the overly righteous, makes for an entertaining and thought-provoking read. This book is not intended as an instruction manual and the publisher does not condone the author’s ...

Seamus, a down-to-earth park ranger, has always been modest about his background. Living with three roommates and driving a trusty old pickup truck, he never gave Shayla any reason to suspect he was anything but ordinary. Until they land in Ireland, and Shayla discovers he's practically Irish royalty. A holiday that was meant to be filled with festive family fun now carries the weight of public scrutiny. The getting-to-know-you dinner party sets the stage for a complicated holiday. But the celebration takes a dark turn when a guest ends up dead.

Emma Oxley and Nellie Yarrow have been inseparable their whole lives. Ever since they reinvented themselves, changing their names and wiping clean their digital footprints, they have made a game of following wherever the next adventure leads and challenging themselves to thefts, street cons, and mind games. Adhering to only two rules—they will only con men, and only ones who deserve it—Emma and Nellie are secure in their reputation as the most trustworthy swindlers on the European black market. Until suddenly, they must play to save their own lives.

Emily is on holiday with her best friend, Kristen, in the stunning mountains of Chile. They're having the time of their lives until, on the last night of the trip, Emily enters their hotel suite to find it covered in blood. Kristen claims a backpacker attacked her. She shouted, but no-one heard. She struggled, but he was too strong. She had no option but to kill him. With no evidence of the assault, Emily must help her hide the body. Back home, Emily tries to forget what happened, but a surprise visit from Kristen forces her to confront the events of that night.