A small-town realtor must solve Santa’s murder in this Southern holiday whodunit from the author of the Pooch Party Cozy Mysteries. Christmas is just around the corner, and the entire town of Bramblett County, Georgia, is ready and waiting for the big event! But a terrible tragedy threatens the celebration and leaves a key component of the holiday dead. Now Lily must uncover the truth and save Bramblett County’s Christmas . . . before it’s too late. Join Lily in her holiday hunt for the truth! Praise for the mysteries of Carolyn Ridder Aspenson “I love the charming Southern small-town dynamic and all the drama it brings. And the supporting characters are a hoot!” —Caroline Fardig, USA Today–bestselling author “If you like southern charm and laughter with deadly mysteries, this is your series.” —Wulfwyn Reads Excessively “Has all the earmarks I look for in an engrossing whodunnit; a couple of plausible red herrings, a few rescue dogs for interest, and a budding romantic interest that will keep at least this avid reader coming back with each new installment. An excellent read, I am highly recommending!” —Roxx Is Reading

THIS EXCLUSIVE MURDER MYSTERY PARTY KIT WILL WORK FOR GROUPS OF SIX TO 50. You WON'T NEED to copy anything. Simply take apart this 8.5" X 11" book and you'll have what you need to orchestrate the mystery. Those who aren't suspects help investigate the case. Can you solve the case called "I Saw Mommy Killing Santa Claus"? Here's the scenario: It's Christmas time again and the toy department at Lacy's is selling more merchandise than its chief competitor, Tidewater's Toys. The main reason for this explosion of sales is Elmer Ellsworth, Lacy's holiday Santa Claus. Before Elmer was hired for last year's Christmas season, Lacy's toy receipts were so bad that the store was ready to stop selling toys altogether. Now, business is booming because Elmer makes Santa come alive to young and old alike. In a daily holiday ritual, kids hug Santa and mothers give him kisses as photos are taken for Christmas albums. But, in the midst of parents and children lined up to tell the jolly old elf all about their wish lists, Elmer stands up, utters a faint "ho, ho, ho," and falls to the floor in front of his chair. He is dead. Someone has done in the department store Santa before he could grant everyone's wishes. The suspects . . . Yul Tidewater-The owner of Tidewater's Toys. Elmer used to work for Yul until they had an argument and Elmer took his talents to Lacy's. Tidewater's sales took an immediate dip. Mary Mostly-Christmas tree lot owner and the mother of five. Last year, Elmer promised that Santa would bring her brood everything it asked for. When the presents didn't materialize, Mary's Christmas turned chilly. Kip Ringle-the former Santa at Lacy's. When Kip was replaced by Elmer last year, Kip got a job as the Santa at Kimble's Department Store, directly across the street from Lacy's. Ginger Redman-Seamstress and costume maker. She supplies all of the stores in the city with Christmas costumes for Santa and the elves. Elmer asked for some unusual alterations to his Santa suit. Mick Flashburg-the photographer at Lacy's. During the Christmas season, he takes photos of children sitting with Santa and sells the photos to proud parents. Holly Hall-Elmer's high school sweetheart. He left her standing at the altar on Christmas eve many years ago. She's never forgotten how he destroyed the holiday season for her. ------------------------------------------------- This complete Murder Mystery Party Kit from Mysteries on the Net contains everything you need to host your own event at home or in a large facility. YOU WON'T NEED TO COPY ANYTHING for a party of up to 50 people. The kit includes: - Complete instructions on how to run your party, - Facilitator instructions, - 6 suspect roles and role player instructions, - 16 invitations to your party, - 12 copies of "The Metro Spotlight" newspaper, - 14 copies of a letter from the Police Chief, - 24 individual clues, - 8 copies of the answer sheets to be completed by your investigative teams, - And, of course, the solution to the case. You'll need to take apart the kit to prepare the material for your party, and everything will be right there at your fingertips. Your friends and colleagues will enjoy the challenge of solving a murder mystery that will be talked about for years to come.

In the town of Santa Claus, Georgia, the holiday spirit lived all year round...until Jerry Scott Heidler came to town... In Santa Claus, Georgia, the streets were named Candy Cane Road and December Drive. Christmas was the lifeblood of the people. One terrible night in December 1997, Heidler broke into the home of his former foster family and brutally murdered them. Doug Crandell describes the harrowing incident that changed this one town forever.

April Claus knows being married to the real Santa makes every day feel like Christmas. But when a different holiday arrives at the North Pole, so does murder . . . For the first time ever, Christmastown is celebrating a strange new tradition—Halloween. But not everyone is willing to watch their dependable winter wonderland get overrun by carved pumpkins and costume parties. As a series of scary happenings hit Santaland, each one more intense than the last, April realizes having a role in the festivities could cost her family, friends—even her own life. April isn’t the only unlucky target. Outspoken elf Tiny Sparkletoe is found dead in the snow outside his cottage, crushed in the middle of what appears to be a monstrous footprint. With mayhem descending like reindeer on rooftops, April must stop the Halloween killer before the fate of Mrs. Claus becomes another creepy tale to tell in the dark . . . “An exceptional series launch . . . This fun, well-plotted mystery is the perfect holiday entertainment.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Exceptional…the perfect holiday entertainment.”— Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW This Christmas season, travel to the North Pole you’ve never seen before—where Santa’s new wife, April Claus, is not only set on creating the perfect holiday—she’s also set on solving the perfect crime… Love is full of surprises—though few compare to realizing that you’re marrying the real-life Santa. April Claus dearly loves her new husband, Nick, but adjusting to life in the North Pole is not all sugarplums and candy canes. Especially when a cantankerous elf named Giblet Hollyberry is killed—felled by a black widow spider in his stocking—shortly after publicly arguing with Nick. Christmastown is hardly a hotbed of crime, aside from mishaps caused by too much eggnog, but April disagrees with Constable Crinkle’s verdict of accidental death. As April sets out to find the culprit, it’ll mean putting the future of Christmas on the line—and hoping her own name isn’t on a lethal naughty list . . .

The acknowledged 'Queen of Crime', P. D. James, was a past master of the short story, weaving together motifs of the Golden Age of crime-writing with deep psychological insight to create gripping, suspenseful tales. The Mistletoe Murder and Other Stories contained four of these perfectly formed stories, and this companion volume contains a further six, published here together for the first time. As the six murderous tales unfold, the dark motive of revenge is revealed at the heart of each. Bullying schoolmasters receive their comeuppance, unhappy marriages and childhoods are avenged, a murder in the small hours of Christmas Day puts an end to the vicious new lord of the manor, and, from the safety of his nursing home, an octogenarian exerts exquisite retribution. The punishments inflicted on the guilty are fittingly severe, but here they are meted out by the unseen forces of natural justice rather than the institutions of the law. Once again, P. D. James shows her expert control of the short-story form, conjuring motives and scenarios with complete conviction, and each with a satisfying twist in the tail.

Barbara Love is a famous TV star who, just before her Christmas party, is threatened by a chilling voice on her answering machine and then receives a macabre present boxed in a miniature coffin. Not so much a 'whodunnit' but more a 'who's going to do it', as along troop the staff of her television show for the Christmas buffet, each one of them with a motive to murder her. The tension mounts as this cunningly plotted thriller twists and turns towards the final spine-tingling revelation.2 women, 6 men

"[Murder After Christmas] supplies cheerfully calculating relatives, decorously brutal dialogue, and a fiendishly intricate set of Chinese boxes before the surprising reveal...no, they don't make them like this anymore."—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review "A war's on and a murder has been committed—and we sit here talking nonsense about almond whirls and mince pies!" Good old Uncle Willie—known for an insatiable sweet tooth and being an epic pain in the rear—has come to stay with the Redpaths for the holidays. As luck would have it, he's found dead in the snow, in a Santa suit on Boxing Day. It seems as though someone may have poisoned his chocolate...or was it the mince pie? As the police flock to the house, Willie's descendants, past lovers and distant relatives are drawn into a perplexing investigation to find out how the old man met his fate, and who stands to gain by such an unseasonable crime. First published in 1944, Murder After Christmas is a lively riot of murder, holiday desserts, and misdirection, cleverly twisting the tropes of Golden Age detective fiction to create a pacey, light-hearted package admirably suited for the holiday season. Featuring an introduction by CWA Diamond Dagger Award-winning author and series editor Martin Edwards.

Aunt Mildred declared that no good could come of the Melbury family Christmas gatherings at their country residence Flaxmere. So when Sir Osmond Melbury, the family patriarch, is discovered - by a guest dressed as Santa Klaus - with a bullet in his head on Christmas Day, the festivities are plunged into chaos. Nearly every member of the party stands to reap some sort of benefit from Sir Osmond's death, but Santa Klaus, the one person who seems to have every opportunity to fire the shot, has no apparent motive.

There's a murder in the heart of Manhattan, a simple corpse... stretched out upon a bench in Herald Square Park. On any other day, in any other city, the bloody slaying would be a sidebar of filler news for the networks to bury. But this was Christmas in the city that never slept, the Big Shiny Apple... a 24-hour media show of spectacular brilliance. At the center of the universe, the King of Christmas, Mr. Jolly Old Santa Claus didn't end up dead in broad daylight. The Mayor knew the murder was a real tourist killer, a heartbreak story that could destroy the biggest shopping season of the year. Thus, with City Hall wanting answers, the Police Commissioner is leaning on his men for answers. Enter the tough talking, street savvy, Puerto Rican Lieutenant, Rico Martinez, and his crackerjack Irish Sergeant, Mike Murphy. Dispatched to the scene to hunt down leads, they are intent on cracking the case. What nobody expected was a parallel FBI Serial Killer Task Force investigation into similar murders. When the agencies come together, it doesn't take long for everyone to figure they're hunting the same psychotic, diabolical lunatic who's already on police radar. In a rush against time... New York's Finest must break out the killer's Naughty List, and hunt down the monster intent on ruining Christmas. Lock the doors, close the blinds, and run for your life. It's gonna be a merry, scary Christmas. Called 'The 'Scariest book since The Exorcist', Smith hits a home run with this psychological thriller.