I am here with my list of Thrilling New Christmas Mysteries for 2024! Cozy Holiday Mysteries (see my post on New Cozy Christmas Mysteries for 2024 here) have long been a thing, but starting last year I began to feel like there was a new holiday trend of darker and more thrilling Christmas Mysteries. Last year I ran down all the ones I found, and you can check out my 2023 Christmas Mystery List too, as it has even more titles!
Thrilling New Christmas Mysteries for 2024
I am here to tell you all about the Best Thrilling New Christmas Mysteries for 2024.
My format last year was very popular, so it’s BACK!
I will rate these new 2024 books on my Chocolate Santa scale, rating for:
- Holiday spirit
- Suspense
- Thrilling plot
I also have a list of 2024 Cozy Christmas Mysteries for those who prefer to keep murder and mayhem out of the holiday season!
The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter
- Setting of The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter: an English country manor
- Published on September 24, 2024 by Avon; 304 pages. I read this book in November 2024.
- Who is the author? You might be familiar with Ally Carter as the author of the popular Gallagher Girls YA series. She also wrote one thriller, The Blonde Identity.
Jen’s Take on The Most Wonderful Crime of The Year
Finding this in the bookstore was a merry chase. I checked the mystery section. No. I checked fiction. No. YA? No. I asked an employee, who said it should be shelved in romance, but it was not.
Finally I found it in a Christmas book display that also included Freida McFadden books.
That’s not to say that The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year isn’t fun.
It has a slightly spicy rivals to lovers romance between two writers that felt a bit Emily Henry, an English country manor setting, and a disappearing bestselling author.
I supected the plot was inspired by the real-life disappearance of Agatha Christie (as was the plot of this Reese’s Book Club pick) and I was right.
Jen’s Rating of The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year
- Holiday Spirit: 4/5
- Supense 5/5
- Thrilling Plot (if you like romantic supsense) 4/5
For a total of four-and-a-half chocolate santas:
The Mistletoe Mystery by Nita Prose
- Setting of The Mistletoe Mystery by Nita Prose: The Regency Grand Hotel, setting of the other Molly the Maid Books (see below)
- Published on October 1, 2024 by Ballantine Books. 107 pages. I read this in November 2024.
- Who is the author? Nita Prose wrote The Maid and The Mystery Guest, both of which feature hotel maid and detective Molly Gray.
Jen’s Take on The Mistletoe Mystery by Nita Prose
Wow. I was a bit surprised. In my opinion this book was a sweet Christmas story, but not much of a mystery. And the title says “mystery.”
It was more a Molly the Maid Christmas story that focused on kindness and compassion for others.
I’ve discussed Molly’s “specialness” in my Spoiler Discussion for The Maid. Molly is definitely neurodivergent, and in this book we see more of how the cruelty of others affects her.
This book was also filled with Christmas cheer, from preparations at the Regency Grand Hotel to a Secret Santa exchange for the staff.
Any “mystery” revolved around Molly’s boyfriend, Juan, acting in a way that was perplexing to Molly but will not be to most other readers.
Great if you are looking for a short, heartwarming story, but NOT mysterious.
Jen’s Rating of The Mistletoe Mystery
- Holiday Spirit 5/5
- Suspense 3/5
- Thrilling Plot (only if you consider romance thrilling): 3/5
For a total of 3/5 Chocolate Santas
The Christmas Eve Murders by Noelle Albright
- Setting of The Christmas Eve Murders by Noelle Albright: the Merry Monarch Inn in the Yorkshire Dales of Northern England
- Published on November 7, 2024 by Quercus 336 pages. Thanks to the publisher for providing an advance copy for review.
- I read this book in November 2023.
- Who is the author? I’m putting my detective hat on and guessing this is a pseudonym based on the Christmas-forward name and the fact that the author has no Goodreads bio.
Jen’s Take on The Christmas Eve Murders:
I was pleasantly surprised by this classic Christmas mystery with a locked room setting. I’m not putting this in my cozy section, even though it borders on a cozy, because it did have a very ominous beginning and some gory murders.
Maddie is just trying to drive from Manchester to Edinburgh for Christmas when she’s stuck in a storm. A man with a dog offers to lead her to the local inn, where she and the other guests and employees are stuck.
The Christmas Eve Murders is a fun read that blends the comic and the suspenseful.
Jen’s rating of The Christmas Eve Murders:
- Holiday Spirit: 5/5
- Suspense 4/5
- Thrilling Plot 3/5
For a total of 4/5 Chocolate Santas
Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson
- Setting of Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret: the Blue Mountains of NSW, Australia
- Published on October 22, 2024 by Minotaur. 175 pages. Thanks to the publisher for providing an advance copy for review.
- I read this book in November 2023.
- Who is the author? Benjamin Stevenson wrote Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone and Everyone on This Train is a Suspect, which is on my list of Vacation Thrillers.
I often have an issue with novellas, which to me are an awkward length. They are wordier than the elegant short story, but often try to cram all the plot of a novel into half the pages.
I really wished this had been longer, because the plot was (for me) a bit too elaborate to squish into 175 pages. My other issue was that the Christmas spirit aspect was low, and that wasn’t because the book takes place in the Southern Hemisphere.
What Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret does have is a diabolically clever plot.
When Ernest’s ex-wife is accused of her new husband’s murder, he sneakily goes to her aid, and has to unravel an elaborate murder plot that involves a magician (which got up my suspicion right away.)
My Rating of Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret:
- Holiday spirit: 2/5
- Suspense: 4/5
- Thrilling Plot: 4/5
For a total of 3.5 Chocolate Santas (but Goodreads gives it 3.9 stars!)
Christmas Crimes at the Mysterious Bookshop
- Setting of Christmas Crimes at the Mysterious Bookshop: all these short stories are inspired by the Mysterious Bookshop, a bookstore located on West 56th Street in New York from 1979 to 2006, when it moved to Tribeca.
- Published on October 22, 2024 by Mysterious Press. 228 pages. Thanks to the publisher for providing an advance copy for review.
- I read this book in November 2024.
I always have that Forrest Gump quote in mind when I read anthologies because they ARE like that proverbial box of chocolates.
My favorite two stories (by far) were A Christmas Puzzle by Ragnar Jónasson ( A Scandinavian Noir writer) and Snowflake Time by Laura Lippman author of Prom Mom, The Lady in the Lake, and Dream Girl, among many others.
Some stories I thought were okay, others weren’t my taste (like a cherry cordial chocolate).
It’s a bit hard to rank an anthology, so I’m not sure I will. In the Christmas spirit!
Death Comes at Christmas
- Setting of Death Comes at Christmas: Varied! London, New York, 1930s Ireland, 1950s Bombay, and more!
- Published on October 22, 2024 by Titan Books.Thanks to the publisher for providing an advance copy for review.
- I read this book in November 2024.
This group of Christmas mysteries and thrillers was truly eclectic, with different tones, lengths, and settings.
There was no unifying theme tying the stories together. But this anthology is a great way to become familiar with some new British and American crime authors.
Coming soon: my rating of The Christmas Jigsaw Murders!
Be sure to check out these related posts:
New COZY Christmas Mysteries to Read in 2024
New Christmas Mysteries for 2023 – last year’s post has some GREAT titles!
