Lifestyle
Christmas Crime: Six Cosy Capers To Read Over The Holiday
Settle down and turn sleuth this Christmas amid a slew of wholesome whodunnits.
Setting is everything in crime fiction – the setting of the narrative, sure, but also the setting you’re in when you read it. A Christmas sitting room, fire ablaze, could be the single best place in which to curl up and read such a caper. Here are six of our favourites.
The Fairway Players theatre group has worked hard to prepare their Christmas show for the village. When petty rivalries and backstage shenanigans combine with a dead body on stage, lawyers Femi and Charlotte take it upon themselves to investigate. India Knight describes The Christmas Appeal as: ‘Cosy, but clever cosy, and a perfect stocking filler.’
Colette works for the wealthy residents of a beautiful house in Addison Square. Her employers barely know her name. She sees all their secrets, though, and the lengths they go to in order to conceal them. A tense and stylish thriller.
Fans of the three Thursday Murder Club novels that precede this one will be delighted to reunite with Richard Osman’s four crime-solving pensioners, who this time around are on the case of a murdered antiques dealer. The Guardian says: ‘The Last Devil to Die is as warm-hearted and entertaining as its three predecessors.’
Set in an alternative 1920s Midwest, Cahokia Jazz investigates both the murder of a lowly clerk and a febrile racial, cultural and political scene. The Guardian says it ‘rattles through the urban jungle in the manner of a fast-paced dime-store thriller’.
The parishioners of Champton are still reeling from the first murder in their midst when a ritualistic killing casts a black shadow over the village once again. It is up to Canon Daniel Clement to steady his freaked-out flock. Damian Barr says: ‘Champton joins St Mary Mead and Midsomer in the great atlas of fictional English villages where the crimes are as dastardly as the residents delightful.’
This elegant volume from the British Library’s series of crime classics brings together 12 vintage mysteries, all set in winter, by prominent and lesser known authors. Classic crime expert Martin Edwards introduces each one. A cosy read and a keeper for the downstairs loo.
By Becky Ladenburg
December 2023
The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett
The Fairway Players theatre group has worked hard to prepare their Christmas show for the village. When petty rivalries and backstage shenanigans combine with a dead body on stage, lawyers Femi and Charlotte take it upon themselves to investigate. India Knight describes The Christmas Appeal as: ‘Cosy, but clever cosy, and a perfect stocking filler.’
The Square by Celia Walden
Colette works for the wealthy residents of a beautiful house in Addison Square. Her employers barely know her name. She sees all their secrets, though, and the lengths they go to in order to conceal them. A tense and stylish thriller.
The Last Devil To Die (The Thursday Murder Club Book Four) by Richard Osman
Fans of the three Thursday Murder Club novels that precede this one will be delighted to reunite with Richard Osman’s four crime-solving pensioners, who this time around are on the case of a murdered antiques dealer. The Guardian says: ‘The Last Devil to Die is as warm-hearted and entertaining as its three predecessors.’
Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford
Set in an alternative 1920s Midwest, Cahokia Jazz investigates both the murder of a lowly clerk and a febrile racial, cultural and political scene. The Guardian says it ‘rattles through the urban jungle in the manner of a fast-paced dime-store thriller’.
A Death In The Parish by The Reverend Richard Coles
The parishioners of Champton are still reeling from the first murder in their midst when a ritualistic killing casts a black shadow over the village once again. It is up to Canon Daniel Clement to steady his freaked-out flock. Damian Barr says: ‘Champton joins St Mary Mead and Midsomer in the great atlas of fictional English villages where the crimes are as dastardly as the residents delightful.’
Crimson Snow: Winter Mysteries
This elegant volume from the British Library’s series of crime classics brings together 12 vintage mysteries, all set in winter, by prominent and lesser known authors. Classic crime expert Martin Edwards introduces each one. A cosy read and a keeper for the downstairs loo.
By Becky Ladenburg
December 2023
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Becky Ladenburg
Features Editor
As The Guide's features editor, Becky has her discerning finger on the cultural pulse. She's also our go-to expert on the property market.
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