Over at the Mystery Fanfare blog, Janet Rudolph has added to her annual roundup of Christmas Crime Fiction lists, which has grown so large, it has to be divided into segments. You can check out Authors A-E here; F-L here; and M-Z here. Plus, there's a separate listing for Christmas Mystery Short Story Anthologies and Novellas A-Z and another for Winter Solstice Mysteries.
The December issue of Mystery Magazine has several holiday themed stories including "Cajun State" by O’Neil De Noux, where there is not much crime at Cajun State University … until someone steals the big Christmas tree from campus; "The Christmas Caper" by Sharon Hart Addy, where even a Grinch’s best laid plans get tripped up; "A Hungarian Christmas" by Vicki Weisfeld, in which Veronika convinces her young fiancé, Bert, that every Hungarian girl must have a present on Hungarian Christmas; "Santa Walks Into A Bar" by Frank Oreto, where wearing the Santa suit to Drake's Bar and Grill had been a joke, but after that night Officer Paul Drazdzinski wouldn't laugh for years; "The X In Xmas" by Robert Jeschonek, in which to solve the murder of a Mafia boss at Christmastime, Detective Charlie Collins joins forces with a female detective who has plenty of mob connections; plus more from Maura Yzmore, Brandon Barrows, Joseph Goodrich, Steve Beresford, and Eric B Ruark.
Also out with their Christmas issue is The Strand, where it's the holiday season for ghosts, small town rivalries, Holmes on the hunt, and suspense in Amish country, with stories by Meg Gardiner, Linda Castillo, Joe Giordano, Carla Kaessinger Coupe, and John Floyd.
Kings River Life has a free online Christmas story for you, "Aunt Jewel and the Christmas Spirits: A Christmas Mystery Short Story," by Bobbi A. Chukran. The magazine's Mysteryrat's Maze Podcast also featured the Christmas mystery short story, "Lady Barbara's Christmas Miracle," written by Connie Berry, read by local actor Ariel Linn, plus an excerpt from the mystery novel, Ghosts of Painting Past, by Sybil Johnson as read by actor Karina C Balfour.
The pandemic led to the delay of the online mystery ezine, Mysterical-E, but they're back with a holiday-themed issue that includes some great features, reviews, and stories, including one by the prolific, award-winning short story master, John M. Floyd.
On the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine podcast, former radio worker Bonnie Hearn Hill, who is also author of sixteen suspense novels, read her seasonally appropriate story "Feliz Navidead," from the January/February 2020 issue of EQMM and first-place winner of Writer's Digest Magazine's genre short story award.
The Dark and Stormy Book Club podcast featured an episode on "What We Are Reading: Christmas Cozy Mysteries."
A Christmas Carol’s lesser-known successor is getting its moment in the spotlight thanks to the Charles Dickens Museum, which is hoping to attract new attention to the festive story, "The Cricket on the Hearth," with the first display of some of its illustrations. The tale, which was published in 1846, is the third of Dickens’ five Christmas books and tells the story of John Peerybingle and his wife Dot, who have a cricket in their home that brings happiness to the family. The toy-maker Tackleton, a malicious old man who "despised all toys [and] wouldn’t have bought one for the world," convinces Peerybingle that Dot has cheated on him, but all finally ends well.
Mystery Lover's Kitchen has an array of holiday recipes for you, including Gingerbread Cookie Sticks via Cleo Coyle; Armenian White Christmas Cookies from Tina Kashian; Lucy Burdette's Peanut Butter & Jelly Cookies; and many more.
If you've been wondering what is the most-searched Christmas cookie in your state, look no further.
How well do you know Dr. Seuss's "How the Grinch Stole Christmas?" Sarah S. Davis created a trivia quiz over at Bookriot so you can find out.
This week's crime poem at the 5-2 is "White Christmas" by Joseph Donato.
Comments