Death Under The Mistletoe

Murder in the holiday spirit It was Christmas in Lickin Creek, and all through the town something was stirring..The borough council was quarreling about the color of the Christmas lights. A social worker wouldn't let a living baby be part of the town's living crèche. And some ladies were stretching the limits of their leotards in a pageant called the Nutcracker. All in all, former New Yorker Tori Miracle was basking in the quaint glow of her adopted Pennsylvania town, when suddenly the season went sour. A boy was missing. A thirty-year-old mystery resurfaced. And now two people have been murdered. With her boyfriend--the town police chief--out of town, Tori must help his befuddled replacement. And what she finds out, or should be finding out, is making Tori the next target--of someone only in the mood for murder....

As the acknowledged "Queen of Crime," P. D. James was frequently commissioned by newspapers and magazines to write a special short story for Christmas--and here, together, are four of the best. 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 to her masterfully atmospheric storytelling, a mystery to be solved, and enjoyable puzzles to keep the reader guessing. With wry humour, she pays tribute to her English crime-writing forebears, delighting in the secrets that lurk beneath the surface at enforced family gatherings and in old country houses--from the title story about a strained family reunion on Christmas Eve, to another about an illicit affair that ends in murder, and two cases that introduce James's poet-detective Adam Dalgliesh as a young detective sergeant.

“As entertaining as ever.” —The Horn Book Hazel and Daisy trade mistletoe for a murder investigation and set out to save the day (Christmas Day that is!) in this fabulously festive fifth novel of the Wells & Wong Mystery series. Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong are spending the Christmas holidays in snowy Cambridge. Hazel is looking forward to a calm vacation among the beautiful spires, cozy libraries, and inviting tea-rooms. But there is danger lurking in the dark stairwells of ancient Maudlin College and two days before Christmas, there is a terrible accident. At least, it appears to be an accident—until the Detective Society looks a little closer, and realizes a murder has taken place. Faced with several irritating grown-ups and fierce competition from a rival agency, they must use all their cunning and courage if they’re going to find the killer before Christmas dinner.

Recently engaged Jane Wunderly is celebrating Christmas with her fiancé at his ancestral home at the quaint English market town of Barnard Castle—where murder is the new family tradition . . . Northern England, 1926: Surprised by her eager acceptance of Redvers’ proposal, Jane is ready to spend the festive season deciphering the mysterious man she agreed to marry, while surviving scrutiny from the icy Dibble clan at their snow-dusted manor. But all attention shifts to the announcement of upcoming nuptials between the humorless Evelyn Hesse and the man who will become Jane’s father-in-law. One fact is clear—Evelyn shouldn’t be trusted. Not as rumors swirl about the deaths of her other husbands. Not after a man is murdered at a party before Christmas Day. With one wedding approaching and their own in peril, Jane and Redvers must dash to unravel dark secrets that could ruin their first holiday together . . . or cost another person their life.

The first six mysteries in the popular Darcy Sweet Cozy Mystery series: Death Comes to Town, Mists of the Past, From the Ashes, The Ghost of Christmas, The Stolen Valentine and Hiding From Death.Introducing Darcy Sweet... She isn't what you would call a girly girl. She almost never wears makeup and loves nothing more than to wear a well-worn pair of jeans, a t-shirt and her most comfortable pair of sneakers. She would like to think she is just an ordinary woman, but she's not. She has a connection to the spirit world that seems to draw her into mysterious situations more often than not. Add to the mix the antics of a rather naughty, slightly psychic cat and the eccentric ghost of her great-aunt Millie, and you have a life that is anything but ordinary.658 pages of paranormal mystery fun. Over 200 positive reviews. Find out why over 100,000 readers have fallen for Darcy Sweet!Pick up your copy to get six books you won't want to put down!

Originally published: London: Puffin Books, 2016.

A thrilling mini Murder Most Unladylike mystery, specially written and published for World Book Day 2020. Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong are best friends, schoolgirls - and detectives. And wherever they go, mysteries will find them... While on a seaside holiday with their friends George and Alexander, the Detective Society discover the body of famous swimmer Antonia Braithwaite - nicknamed The Pearl - on the beach. Everyone presumes that she drowned accidentally - but how could such a famous swimmer have struggled to swim? Even more mysteriously, three guests at the girls' hotel all wanted Antonia dead... Can the Detective Society solve this mystery? Or will they sink under the pressure? Praise for the Murder Most Unladylike mysteries: 'This is that rare thing: a series that gets better with every book' Telegraph 'Thrilling' Guardian 'A total delight' Metro

A murdered heiress, a missing necklace, and a train full of shifty, unusual, and suspicious characters leaves Daisy and Hazel with a new mystery to solve in this third novel of the Wells & Wong Mystery series. Hazel Wong and Daisy Wells are taking a vacation across Europe on world-famous passenger train, the Orient Express—and it’s clear that each of their fellow first-class travelers has something to hide. Even more intriguing: There’s rumor of a spy in their midst. Then, during dinner, a bloodcurdling scream comes from inside one of the cabins. When the door is broken down, a passenger is found murdered—her stunning ruby necklace gone. But the killer has vanished, as if into thin air. The Wells & Wong Detective Society is ready to crack the case—but this time, they’ve got competition.