I have several mystery series that I read as each new title comes out. Some have one or more holiday mysteries out. Many have been (or will be) listed in other December blogs but this was a recent read: The Nightingale Before Christmas, by Donna Andrews. A house full of decorators, each responsible for one room, is preparing an old, vacant house (with a bit of a history) for a fund raiser for the local historical society. Meg has been designated as the coordinator of decorators, no easy task. She copes with the timeline, flaring tempers, missing packages, incorrect paint colors, not to mention things such as lost keys to the house, parking concerns, and tickets for the event. On the home front there are the twin boys and all their winter activities, her mother, and mother-in-law. Oh, and don't forget the murder. As with the other Donna Andrews mysteries, this is a fun read.

This book is exactly what it says it is The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries: the Most Complete Collection of Yuletide Whodunits Ever Assembled. It is edited by Otto Penzler, the stories are divided by type: traditional, funny, pulpy, scary, and so on. This is a book I can read just a few stories each year, and then, when I'm done, start all over again. :-)

Other mysteries: Ten Lords a Leaping, by E.C. Bennison. Christmas Cookie Killer, by L.J. Washburn.

Reading Hermit With Dog