A Cup of Holiday Fear is a Bakeshop Mystery by Ellie Alexander. It’s Christmastime in Ashland, Oregon and the halls are decked, stockings hung, and eyes are all aglow—thanks to a bit of buttered rum. Jules Capshaw and her staff at Torte bakery are busy, busy, busy. Even the town’s most in-demand baker needs a break, though, so Jules invites everyone to celebrate at the Winchester Inn’s Dickens Feast—a six course spectacular complete with Yorkshire Pudding, Christmas goose, and all the trimmings. The weather outside turns frightful and one of the guests turns up deader than a doornail. Jules and her helpers take it upon themselves to search for clues and track down suspects. Who’s naughty? Who’s nice? And who’s a murderer?
A Merry Murder is a new Pennyfoot Holiday Mystery by Kate Kingsbury. The Pennyfoot halls are all decked out for a spectacular Christmas celebration. There are actual boughs of holly, a magnificent decorated tree in the lobby, and the hotel’s guest list is finally looking healthy. The Pennyfoot’s owner, Cecily Sinclair Baxter is loving the holiday spirit until a tragedy strikes and threatens to ruin another Yuletide. Her chief housemaid Gertie has found a man’s body in the laundry room. He has a woman’s scarf wrapped around his neck and a note in his pocket from the hotel’s newest maid. Cecily gets to work tracking down the culprit, but she is thwarted at every turn with suspects lying about crucial clues. This is one slippery murderer and Cecily is on a timetable. She refuses to let another tragedy ruin the holiday festivities and Pennyfoot’s reputation.
Christmas in Vermont is a novel by Anita Hughes. Emma can’t believe her luck when she finds an open jewelry store in Manhattan two days before Christmas. She is there to sell a bracelet her ex-boyfriend gave her when a familiar watch catches her eye. It’s the same engraved watch she gave her college sweetheart, Fletcher, years ago. She decides to trade the bracelet for the watch and the synchronicity of it all crosses her mind. Emma shrugs it off as a coincidence, but her best friend, Bronwyn, believes it is divine destiny. Fletcher is the one who got away and Emma never really got over it. Bronwyn does some digging and finds out that Fletcher is spending Christmas in a romantic inn in snowy Vermont, she gives destiny a push and signs Emma up to help the innkeeper as the children’s activity coordinator. Emma can’t help but feel that a week with quaint shops and maple syrup might do her some good. That is until she sees Fletcher with his daughter and his fiancée. Suddenly, Emma’s idea of a fairy tale seems doomed to fail—much like the innkeeper’s cashflow. It’s going to take a Christmas miracle to save Emma’s heart and the inn.
