Christmas lights don’t tell you what kind of mystery is waiting behind them. You might want to follow a detective under pressure, or spend time with an amateur sleuth whose questions make the neighbors uncomfortable. Both can belong on a holiday reading list.
Here’s a spoiler-free way to choose between Christmas Murders and The Candy Cane Secret.
If you want to follow a police investigation
In Christmas Murders, detective Kylie “KC” Cassidy faces a deadline with consequences for her career. A councilman is found dead during Christmas week, and she has to solve the case before New Year’s Eve or face unemployment.
More bodies complicate the investigation. This is a crime mystery built around a working detective trying to solve a high-profile case while time runs out. If you enjoy the pressure of an official investigation, KC’s case may fit your reading mood.
If you prefer questions close to home
Mae Cassidy Reeves is a retired attorney and bookshop owner, not a police detective. In The Candy Cane Secret, a tampered candy cane delivery interrupts Pine Grove’s Christmas Market preparations. An envelope, an old photograph, and a brass key draw her into an older crime.
Former intelligence officer Cyrus Jagers and his German shepherd are alongside her. But Mae’s investigation also takes her among respected local people. Knowing a familiar face doesn’t necessarily mean knowing whether to trust its answers.
This begins the Pine Grove Christmas Mysteries, with small-town warmth, family secrets, gentle wit, and suspense. It isn’t another KC police case.
Choose your next Christmas read
Christmas Murders is available now. The Candy Cane Secret is available to preorder for December 8. The book pages have the descriptions and current purchase links.
Which sounds more like your kind of holiday mystery: a detective facing a deadline, or an amateur sleuth asking difficult questions around town?