Great Christmas Mysteries - Is Your Christmas to Die For?

Christmas is the time of good cheer and love and peace and good will among men, right? Well, maybe. How about curling up in an armchair, in front of a crackling fire, and losing yourself in a delicious mystery book? If the idea seems way too uncharitable for the Christmas season (or if a crackling fire doesn't figure in your living arrangements), take heart: There is a treasure trove of great Christmas mystery books that will entertain and delight even the most demanding mystery enthusiast. Whether you see them as murder mysteries against a festive background or as Christmas stories with a murderous twist, one thing is for sure: they will leave you asking for more. Here is a sampler to give you an idea (just an idea, mind you) of what is out there:

Hercule Poirot's Christmas (also published as Murder for Christmas and a Holiday for Murder) by Agatha Christie. From the Queen of Crime, a mind-blowing locked room mystery involving a sadistic multi-millionaire, a family with more than enough skeletons in the closet to go around, a creepy quote from Macbeth, a particularly bloody murder, and, well, a locked room. The inimitable Poirot grapples with one of his most baffling cases as the countdown to Christmas begins.

The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. No juicy murder here, but lots of interesting stuff going on to make up for it: a precious jewel that ends up in the Christmas goose, a desperate thief, and a miscarriage of justice. Sherlock Holmes and John Watson set out across Victorian London, with Christmas festivities providing the backdrop.

Frost at Christmas by R.D. Wingfield. Irreverent and cantankerous Detective Inspector Jack Frost investigates the case of a missing eight-year-old girl. Ten days to Christmas, but DI Frost has a murderously hard time getting into the holiday spirit.

The Twelve Deaths of Christmas by Marian Babson. Not one but twelve gruesome murders haunt this Christmas story that alternates between the claustrophobic serenity of an English boarding house and the frenzy during the peak of the holiday season. Definitely not a cozy.