The Santa Klaus Murder

Tied Up in Tinsel

Ngaio Marsh · 259 pages

A Christmas pageant turns unholy. Holed up at Hilary Bill-Tasman's manor estate for Christmas, Troy Alleyn is to paint the man's portrait and, while she's there, view the Druid Christmas pageant. Along with a pack of eccentric guests, Troy enjoys the festivities-- until one of the pageant's players mysteriously disappears into the snowy night. Did the hired help-- each a paroled murderer from t

An English Murder

Cyril Hare · 176 pages

A country house murder mystery classic, as a party find themselves snowed-in on Christmas Eve with a murderer among them... The snow is thick, the phone line is down, and no one is getting in or out of Warbeck Hall. All is set for a lovely Christmas, with friends and family gathered round the fire, except as the bells chime midnight, a murder is committed. But who is responsible? The scorned yo

Hercule Poirot's Christmas

Agatha Christie · 256 pages

On the night before Christmas, cruel, tyrannical, filthy rich Simeon Lee is found in his locked bedroom with his throat cut. Now Hercule Poirot must put his deductive powers to the test to solve one of his most chilling cases - and to prevent a clever killer from spilling more blood. Also published as Hercule Poirot's Christmas and Murder for Christmas

Mystery in White

J. Jefferson Farjeon · 256 pages

On Christmas Eve, heavy snowfall brings a train to a halt near the village of Hemmersby. Several passengers take shelter in a deserted country house, where the fire has been lit and the table laid for tea – but no one is at home. Trapped together for Christmas, the passengers are seeking to unravel the secrets of the empty house when a murderer strikes in their midst.

Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas

Stephanie Barron · 337 pages

"The twelfth installment in Stephanie Barron's fan-favorite Being a Jane Austen Mystery series. Christmas Eve, 1814: Jane Austen has been invited to spend the holiday with family and friends at The Vyne, the gorgeous ancestral home of the wealthy and politically prominent Chute family. As the year fades and friends begin to gather beneath the mistletoe for the twelve days of Christmas festivities,

Envious Casca

Georgette Heyer · 332 pages

Inspectors Hannasyde & Hemingway #6 'Tis the season--to be dead... Resigned to spending Christmas at Lexham Manor, Mathilda Clare wasn't sure what she dreaded most--the foul temper of Nat Herriard, the filthy-rich old Scrooge who owned the place, or the sweetness-and-light of his brother, Joseph. Joseph had concocted a guest list brilliantly headed for mayhem... acid-tongued young Stephen, h

The Mistletoe Murder: And Other Stories

P.D. James · 156 pages

"As the acknowledged "Queen of Crime," P. D. James was frequently commissioned by newspapers and magazines to write a special short story for Christmas. Four of the best have been collected together for the first time in one volume [...] P. D. James's understanding of human nature illuminates each of these stories, making them ideal reading for the darkest days of the year. Each treats the reader

The Clock Strikes Twelve

Patricia Wentworth · 259 pages

**Miss Silver investigates the murder of a great British industrialist.** Though they share a manor house, the Paradines are not close, and their patriarch does nothing to discourage the petty jealousies that divide wealthy families. A cold figure, James Paradine prefers work to his relations, but on New Year’s Eve he convenes the household. Valuable plans have been stolen from his office, and

A Speedy Death

Gladys Mitchell · 305 pages

If anything rouses the rancour of guests at Chayning Court, it is that someone should dare be late for dinner. But as it turns out, the object of their disdain and speculation on this occasion, the intrepid explorer Everard Mountjoy, would never apologise for his tardiness. In fact, he would never eat dinner again, for he was slumped dead in the bath... The alarming Beatrice Adela Lestrange Bra

The Moonstone

Wilkie Collins · 444 pages

One of the first English detective novels, this mystery involves the disappearance of a valuable diamond, originally stolen from a Hindu idol, given to a young woman on her eighteenth birthday, and then stolen again. A classic of 19th-century literature.

Murder at Maypole Manor

L.B. Hathaway

Excitingly, Private Detective Posie Parker has been asked to accompany Inspector Richard Lovelace of New Scotland Yard on an undercover mission. Their destination is a glittering New Year's Eve party at Maypole Manor, the cliff-top home of Lord Robin Glaysayer. Among the twelve members of the house-party are a famous film star, an artist, an Italian nobleman, a government spy and a clairvoyant. Wi

Auntie Mayhem

Mary Daheim · 268 pages

Though lurching through London is ever so jolly, hostess on-holiday Judith McMonigle Flynn and her cantankerous cousin Renie are looking forward to an unharried weekend at a real English country manor. They find the estate taxing, however, what with vacationing relations crowding every nook and cranny of Ravenscroft House, while its awesomely aged mistress, Aunt Petulia, holds court—until a box of

The Dark Side of the Road

Simon R. Green · 224 pages

Arsenic for Tea

Robin Stevens · 352 pages

The Affair of the Mutilated Mink

James Anderson · 313 pages

"The Earl of Burford can't believe his luck; Rex Ransom, his favourite star from the 'talkies', and his hot-shot producer, Haggermeir, want to film their next feature at Aldersley, the family's seventeenth-century country estate. Somewhat less enthusiastic is the Countess, who suddenly finds herself hosting an impromptu house party for the incoming Hollywood crowd. And before long the guest list g

The Crime at Black Dudley

Margery Allingham · 211 pages

The Burglar in the Library

Lawrence Block · 344 pages

Bookseller and New-Yorker-to-the-bone, Bernie Rhodenbarr rarely ventures out of Manhattan, but he's excited about the romantic getaway he has planned for himself and current lady love Lettice at the Cuttleford House, a remote upstate b&b. Unfortunately, Lettice has a prior engagement—she's getting married . . . and not to Bernie—so he decides to take best buddy Carolyn instead. A restful respite f

The Act of Roger Murgatroyd: An Entertainment

Gilbert Adair · 287 pages

Murder at Dareswick Hall

Margaret Addison · 246 pages

Death of a Cozy Writer

G.M. Malliet · 297 pages

Sweet Poison

David Roberts · 288 pages

It is 1935 and the Duke of Mersham is hosting a party at his country house, when one of the guests is poisoned. Was it an accident or something more sinister? The Duke's younger brother, Lord Edward Corinth, and journalist Verity Browne set out to investigate.

The Murders of Richard III

Elizabeth Peters · 240 pages

In a remote English manor house, modern admirers of the much-maligned King Richard III -- one of Shakespeare's most extraordinary villains -- are gathered for a grand weekend of dress-up and make-believe murder. But the fun ends when the masquerade turns more sinister ... and deadly. Jacqueline Kirby, an American librarian on hand for the festivities, suddenly finds herself in the center of strang

The Art of Killing Well

Marco Malvaldi · 192 pages

Murder At Madingley Grange

Caroline Graham · 295 pages

"Having agreed to manor-sit rich Aunt Maude's stately Madingley Grange, Simon Hannaford and his sister Laurie decide to put the gloomy old estate to profitable use. So they hire a bogus boozing butler and a cross-dressing maid, and assemble a motley group of well-heeled eccentrics for a weekend of staged recreational murder and mayhem. But the innocent game goes awry when a singularly obnoxious gu