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...

Step into the exquisite, miniature world of the mice of Brambly Hedge in this beautiful new edition of the classic picture book. It is Midwinter's Eve and the mice of Brambly Hedge are very busy. This evening, after dark, they will all be gathering round a blazing fire for the traditional midwinter celebrations. A grand entertainment is planned and Primrose and Wilfred have chosen to recite a poem. They go up to the attics to rehearse in pace and quiet but there are so many things to look at and places to explore, it is hard to concentrate. And when they stumble upon a dusty staircase, all thoughts of practising are put aside...

Good Press presents to you a collection of the greatest mystery cases and puzzles for you to solve and relax with during Christmas and winter holidays: Agatha Christie: The Mysterious Affair at Styles The Murder on the Links The Kidnapped Prime Minister The Million Dollar Bond Robbery The Secret Adversary R. Austin Freeman: Dr. Thorndyke's Cases The Adventures of Dr. Thorndyke Dr. Thorndyke's Casebook Arthur Conan Doyle: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes A Study in Scarlet The Sign of Four The Hound of the Baskervilles The Valley of Fear A. E. W. Mason: At the Villa Rose The Affair at the Semiramis Hotel Mary Roberts Rinehart: The Circular Staircase The Amazing Adventures of Letitia Carberry Tish – The Chronicle of Her Escapades and Excursions More Tish Edgar Allan Poe: The Murders in the Rue Morgue The Mystery of Marie Rogêt The Purloined Letter Charles Dickens: Hunted Down Wilkie Collins: The Moonstone The Woman in White The Haunted Hotel Robert Barr: The Triumph of Eugéne Valmont Jennie Baxter, Journalist The Adventures of Sherlaw Kombs The Adventure of the Second Swag E. W. Hornung: The Amateur Cracksman The Black Mask; or, Raffles: Further Adventures A Thief in the Night Mr. Justice Raffles John Kendrick Bangs: Mrs. Raffles R. Holmes & Co Melville Davisson Post: The Sleuth of St. James's Square Edgar Wallace: The Four Just Men The Clue of the Twisted Candle Victor L. Whitechurch: The Canon in Residence Anna Katharine Green: The Leavenworth Case A Strange Disappearance The Mystery of the Hasty Arrow That Affair Next Door Lost Man's Lane The Circular Study G. K. Chesterton: The Innocence of Father Brown The Wisdom of Father Brown The Donnington Affair Ellis Parker Butler: Philo Gubb Correspondence-School Detective Maurice Leblanc: Arsene Lupin The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsene Lupin Mabel & Paul Thorne: The Sheridan Road Mystery Marion Harvey: The Mystery of the Hidden Room Grace Livingston Hill: The Mystery of Mary

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.