Secret Staircase Holiday Mysteries

Take a mysterious secret staircase into the holiday season, from Halloween to New Year's Day, with this collection of cozy mystery short stories from an elite group of authors. Each story features the characters from the author's ongoing series. Read about your old favorites, meet some new ones!Halloween, Hound, & Housesitting - Mary Seifert's new Katie & Maverick mystery kicks off the holiday season with a delightfully spooky house of tricks and a few ghostly surprises. As always, Maverick the search-and-rescue retriever finds the clues!The Case of the Secret Staircase - J.M. Poole, author of The Corgi Case Files. A family celebration for Dia de los Muertos gets interrupted by a series of thefts, small items intended to honor the ancestors. Does it have something to do with Highland House, the venue that's suspected of harboring a few of its own ghosts? The Birdless Thanksgiving Affair by Rick Adelmann sees our favorite trio of 1920s detectives gathering for Thanksgiving dinner. It's going beautifully-until the turkey disappears! Luckily, the MG&M Detectives are on the scene to solve the mystery.Hanukkah Sweets - Connie Shelton, gives magical baker Samantha Sweet something new to ponder, as a family from New York comes to Taos, to celebrate Hanukkah. But what surprises await visitors and locals alike when a secret staircase at the B&B leads to a hidden treasure? The Christmas Fairy - Libby Madsen and partner are anticipating the grand opening of their luxurious day spa, and the budget barely allows for the decorations and food. But an unscrupulous party planner takes off with their money, the party is only days away, and it's starting to look pretty bleak for Christmas this year. Champagne Can Be Murder - Charlie Parker and her husband don't normally celebrate New Year's Eve in grand style, but an invitation from Drake's richest client comes along. They'll hobnob with the Hollywood crowd for one night and win some points with the client. But when big-name producer falls down dead after a trip to the food table, it looks like there's a murder for Charlie to solve.

Take a mysterious secret staircase into the holiday season, from Halloween to New Year’s Day, with this collection of seasonal cozy mystery short stories from an elite group of authors. Each story features the characters from the author’s ongoing series. Read about your old favorites, meet some new ones! Halloween, Hound, & Housesitting – Mary Seifert’s new Katie & Maverick mystery kicks off the holiday season with a delightfully spooky house of tricks and a few ghostly surprises. As always, Maverick the search-and-rescue retriever makes sure the clues are found before the witching hour! The Case of the Secret Staircase from J.M. Poole, the bestselling author of The Corgi Case Files. A family celebration for Dia de los Muertos gets interrupted by a series of thefts, small items intended to honor the ancestors. Does it have something to do with Highland House, the venue that’s suspected of harboring a few of its own ghosts? At once, the smart and lovable corgis are on the case. Sherlock and Watson, along with their human helpers, Zack and Jillian Anderson, will unravel the mystery, clue by clue. The Birdless Thanksgiving Affair by Amazon bestselling author, Rick Adelmann, sees our favorite trio of Roaring ’20s detectives gathering at the Mallory family home for Thanksgiving dinner. It’s going beautifully—until the turkey disappears! Thank goodness the MG&M Detectives are on the scene to solve the mystery. Hanukkah Sweets – USA Today bestselling author, Connie Shelton, gives magical baker Samantha Sweet something new to ponder, as a family from New York comes to Taos, New Mexico to celebrate Hanukkah at the local B&B. But what surprises await visitors and locals alike when a secret staircase leads to a hidden treasure? And who among the group has darker intentions for the festival of lights? The Christmas Fairy – Jennifer J. Morgan makes her series debut with this enchanting short story. Libby Madsen and her business partner are eagerly anticipating the grand opening of their luxurious day spa, and the budget will just barely allow for the fantastic decorations and food the ladies want, to set the tone. But an unscrupulous party planner takes off with their money, the party is only days away, and it’s starting to look a little bleak for Christmas this year. What will they do? Champagne Can Be Murder – Charlie Parker and her husband don’t normally celebrate New Year’s Eve in grand style, but an invitation to the Montaña Verde Ranch from Drake’s richest client is not to be ignored. What the heck, they figure, they’ll hobnob with the Hollywood crowd for one night and win some points with the client. But when a big-name producer falls down dead after a trip to the food table, it looks like there’s a killer in their midst. Charlie is on the case, as usual, in Connie Shelton’s USA Today bestselling series.

Tempest Raj’s next puzzle is wrapped in a festive, Scottish Yuletide package. The Christmas Caper is a locked-room mystery short story from multiple award-winning author Gigi Pandian, and includes two holiday recipes! A baffling art heist. A mysterious Christmas Market. A thief in the shadows of Edinburgh Castle. With Secret Staircase Construction taking well-earned time off for the holidays, Tempest Raj travels across the pond, looking forward to a renewed family tradition: celebrating Christmas in Scotland. Tempest’s grandmother has even booked an artist’s flat with a stunning view of Edinburgh Castle. But in the city’s snow-covered, historic Old Town, a recent museum art heist has made chilling headlines. No one can figure out how the thief pulled off the crime. When a family friend asks for help, Tempest agrees to look into the impossible theft—before the festive city’s holiday mood darkens and the Christmas lights fade for good.

Come visit New Mexico at Christmas! Three full-length books and a novella by USA Today and international bestselling author, Connie Shelton. Featuring the characters from both of her popular cozy mystery series, each of these stories features a holiday setting that is sure to whet your appetite for the season! "Shelton again has done a superb job in bringing New Mexico to life in her colorful, vivid description..." -- Albuquerque Journal "Connie Shelton gets better with every book she writes." -- The Midwest Book Review Sweet Holidays This book is third in the Samantha Sweet mystery series which features a fifty-something woman who breaks into houses for a living. Her sideline business—baking delectable cakes and goodies—has now blossomed into a full-time pastry shop and Sam is about to experience her first Christmas season as entrepreneur, which she juggles with the commitments of her previous job and a budding romance with Beau Cardwell, the county sheriff. Honeymoons Can Be Murder This book is sixth in the Charlie Parker mystery series, in which Charlotte “Charlie” Parker finds herself drawn somewhat against her better judgment into the cases that come into her family private investigation firm. This time, Charlie and her husband Drake—newlyweds—have been given the chance for an extended Christmas-season honeymoon at a cozy cabin in the snowy mountains near Taos, New Mexico. While the fireplace burns brightly indoors, a new mystery presents itself and Charlie becomes wrapped up in a puzzle involving false murder accusations, stolen artifacts, and someone whose actions mean to leave Charlie to die in the cold. Buried Secrets Can Be Murder Charlie Parker is hoping for a holiday season without drama but that just isn’t going to happen. Her office assistant’s baby is due any moment, her brother is engaged to a woman Charlie is only now beginning to know, and her social calendar is becoming incredibly full. When she and Drake are invited to a soiree at a showplace historic home, she’s eager to go. But before she can fully settle in and enjoy the season, a disturbing case comes through the door at RJP Investigations and Charlie can’t turn away the distraught man whose life was ripped apart by the disappearance of his children several years earlier. She has to do everything in her power to make his family holiday a happy one, even if the effort might very well destroy her own. Holidays Can Be Murder This Christmas novella brings together all that we love about the holidays—special foods, plenty of sweets, and visiting mothers-in-law. Charlie is about to host Drake’s mother for the week and isn’t at all sure how that will work out. They make ready for the visit with all the extras that make a New Mexico Christmas so special—setting out luminarias, hanging the outdoor lights, putting up the tree, making green chile stew and hoping for snow. It should be perfect. It would be perfect, except for the murder that happens right in their neighborhood. (Includes two bonus New Mexico holiday recipes.)

From New York Times bestselling author Sheila Connolly, The Secret Staircase is the third Victorian Village Mystery, which finds Kate Hamilton discovering a long-dead body in a hidden staircase. Kate Hamilton is feeling good about her plans to recreate Asheboro, Maryland as the Victorian village it once was. The town is finally on her side, and the finances are coming together. Kate's first goal is to renovate the Barton Mansion on the outskirts of town. Luckily, it's been well maintained in the century since the wealthy Henry Barton lived and died there. The only substantial change she's planning is to update the original kitchen so that it can be used to cater events in the building. But when the contractor gets started, he discovers a hidden staircase that had been walled in years earlier. And as Kate's luck would have it, in the stairwell is a body. After her initial shock wears off, Kate is relieved when the autopsy reveals that the man had died around 1880. Unfortunately, it also reveals that his was not a natural death—he was murdered. And serious questions remain: who was he and what was he doing there? Kate begins a hunt to identify the man and figure out what he was doing at the Barton Mansion. But when a second body is found—this time from the present day—Kate realizes that real dangers lie in digging up the past...

In heroine Tempest Raj, modern-day queen of the locked room mystery Gigi Pandian has created a brilliant homage to the greats of classic detective fiction. Secret Staircase Construction is under attack, and Tempest Raj feels helpless. After former client Julian Rhodes tried to kill his wife, he blamed her "accident" on the home renovation company’s craftsmanship. Now the family business—known for bringing magic into homes through hidden doors, floating staircases, and architectural puzzle walls—is at a breaking point. No amount of Scottish and Indian meals from her grandfather can distract Tempest from the truth: they’re being framed. When Tempest receives an urgent midnight phone call from Julian, she decides to meet him at the historic Whispering Creek Theater—only to find his dead body, a sword through his chest. After a blade appears from thin air to claim another victim, Tempest is certain they’re dealing with a booby trap... something Secret Staircase Construction could easily build. Tempest refuses to wait for the investigation to turn to her or her loved ones. She knows the pieces of the puzzle are right in front of her, she just has to put them together correctly before more disaster strikes. Multiple award-winning author Gigi Pandian and her sleuth Tempest Raj return in A Midnight Puzzle, where an old theater reveals a deadly booby trap, secrets, and one puzzle of a mystery.

"Wildly entertaining." —The New York Times Book Review A Lefty Nominee for Best Mystery Novel Known for her wonderfully addictive characters, multiple award-winning author Gigi Pandian introduces her newest heroine in this heartfelt series debut. Under Lock & Skeleton Key layers stunning architecture with mouthwatering food in an ode to classic locked-room mysteries that will leave readers enchanted. An impossible crime. A family legacy. The intrigue of hidden rooms and secret staircases. After a disastrous accident derails Tempest Raj’s career, and life, she heads back to her childhood home in California to comfort herself with her grandfather’s Indian home-cooked meals. Though she resists, every day brings her closer to the inevitable: working for her father’s company. Secret Staircase Construction specializes in bringing the magic of childhood to all by transforming clients’ homes with sliding bookcases, intricate locks, backyard treehouses, and hidden reading nooks. When Tempest visits her dad’s latest renovation project, her former stage double is discovered dead inside a wall that’s supposedly been sealed for more than a century. Fearing she was the intended victim, it’s up to Tempest to solve this seemingly impossible crime. But as she delves further into the mystery, Tempest can’t help but wonder if the Raj family curse that’s plagued her family for generations—something she used to swear didn’t exist—has finally come for her.

Rediscover one of the great mystery authors of the twentieth century in this Depression-era tale of a wealthy family's dark secrets turned deadly on their secluded lakeside estate. An urgent note from a friend spurs Ann Gay to visit her recently married cousin, Jacqueline Heaton. Upon her arrival at Fiddler's Fingers, a remote, pine-grown estate on Lake Superior, Ann immediately senses her cousin's fear—someone has been playing increasingly malicious tricks on the Heatons, a proud family of Minnesota lumber tycoons, and worse yet, they seem determined to frame Jacqueline. Ann quickly resolves to take Jacqueline and her young daughter, Toby, away from the danger. But what began as seemingly trivial pranks—ruined clothes, a burnt bed, a smashed boat—escalates to direct attacks and ultimately murder. Dangerous waters crash against the finger-like rocks on the lakeshore, making a sound like a guttural chuckle, one that seems to mock the murder that took place there—but no one is laughing when everyone on the estate becomes a suspect. Potential motives are revealed as Ann learns more about the Heaton family, and with no chance of anyone leaving Fiddler's Fingers until the killer is caught, Ann realizes that the only way to prove her cousin's innocence is by snaring the murderer herself. The trap is set; with herself as bait, Ann's door creaks open in the night as a cloaked figure moves silently toward her bed....