First of all, Merry Christmas everyone, especially you, dear reader. I hope you are having whatever sort of break that you need and that it is going as well as it can. And you know what would make it even better? A good Christmas mystery novel.

Christmas mysteries are a big marketing thing these days. It seems that more and more mystery novelists are either producing a Chrismas entry in their series (usually a short one) or just specialising exclusively in Christmas mysteries. But despite the volume of Christmas mysteries, the quality is variable. So in the spirit of the season, and to pass a minute or two of your time while the sprouts are cooking, here’s the best of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Yet To Come…

Christmas Past

OK, we can’t avoid the elephant in the room. Hercule Poirot’s Christmas is the star here. The world’s greatest detective, a locked room mystery and Agatha Christie at her peak -even if you know her tricks, you’ll still be caught out by this one. An absolute masterpiece – I’ve said it before, if you want to read about Hercule Poirot, then read the originals.

There are others though. I’d be remiss not to champion The Murders Near Mapleton by Brian Flynn. Yes, I know I’m biased, as Brian is the author that I’ve been involved in the reprinting of, but this tale of the double murder of Sir Eustace Vernon – shot on the nearby railway line – and his mysterious butler Purvis – drowned in the bath – is a great example of his work. There are even mysterious messages hidden in Christmas crackers (or bonbons as they were known at the time in the Flynn household).

My final Christmas Past suggestion is another Dean Street Press reprint, Dancing Death by Christopher Bush, a superbly plotted tale of murder at a Christmas celebration at a stately home. All the traditional mystery setting cliches are ticked, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and it’s nice and Christmassy too.

Oh, and a quick mention to the various British Library Crime Classics collections of Christmas short stories – Who Killed Father Christmas?, Silent Nights, Crimson Snow, The Christmas Card Crime, and more

Christmas Present

Now here’s the difficulty because, if I’m honest, I haven’t got on with a lot of the modern Christmas mysteries. Yes, they’re perfectly readable and entertaining, but it’s really rare that the author gets the mystery element right. But it does happen…

The best of the Christmas-exclusive authors that I’ve encountered is Andreina Cordiani. The Twelve Days Of Murder is spot on, especially as it starts with Lady Partridge hanging from a pear tree. The second book, the unrelated Murder At The Christmas Emporium is a similarly festive treat – a group of select customers trapped by a murderous Wonkaesque toyshop owner (or is someone else pulling the strings?).

So far the only Christmas book that has been produced as a “Christmas Special” in a series that has been worth it is Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret by Benjamin Stevenson, and more that just being worth it, it’s absolutely marvellous. The narrator even refers to it as a Christmas Special and gets away with it. You can read it without having the other books spoiled, but do read them too.

Christmas Yet To Come

So I complained that Christmas Present was tricky but predicting the future isn’t? Well, actually it is, because I know of one book for next Christmas that is definitely going to be on your list because I’ve already got a proof of it – Miss Winter In The Library With A Knife. I’ve read the first part but I’m not going to read more until I get a final version. It looks tricky as heck, combining traditional mystery ideas, puzzles and modern cleverness. It’s a book I want to savour hence the wait. But it’s already clear that it’s going to be fabulous. Here’s the blurb to whet your appetite…

Six down-on-their-luck people with links to the world of crime writing have been invited to play a game this Christmas by the mysterious Midwinter Trust. The challenge seems simple but exciting:

Solve the murder of a fictional crime writer in a remote but wonderfully atmospheric village in north Yorkshire to win a prize that will change your fortunes for good.

Six members of staff from the shadowy Trust are there to make sure everyone plays fair. The contestants have been meticulously vetted but you can never be too careful. And with the village about to be cut off by a snow storm, everyone needs to be extra vigilant. Midwinter can play tricks on people’s minds.

The game is set – but playing fair isn’t on everyone’s Christmas list.

After all, when the prize is to die for, it’s so tempting to inject a little murder into the mystery.

Intriguing, isn’t it?

So, once again, Merry Christmas (or Happy Holidays) to all my readers – I do hope you manage to spend some quality time relaxing with your loved ones, your books or both. Still plenty of books to come before New Year – still need three more to hit my target for the year…