It's the time of year for holiday and winter season mysteries and I have started working my way through those books on my shelf. :-) A Murder of Christmas Past is a novella by Magda Alexander, and is book five in her Kitty Worthington Mystery series. Folks have gathered for a Christmas wedding. In a castle. The former resident was a miser and let the place run down so there's lots that needs repair and cleaning. The new resident is determined to do so. In cleaning the library, a secret passage is found (you learn about Priest Holes!) and then (of course) a body. It's a young woman, and there is a crib in the room as well. Family history comes to light (some good, some bad) as they discover who she is and what happened. Wonderful descriptions of sleigh rides (brrr!), decorating a huge tree, a yule log ... delightful!

The Winter Widow, by Charlene Weir is a re-release of a one time popular author by the independent publisher Joffee Books, from the UK. They also feature new authors. This is all good ... and really, I just have one comment/complaint! This book is listed as a cozy, both on the cover, where it is A Kansas Cozy Mystery, Book One, and the title page (where it is an 'enchanting cozy'). It is neither! I double and triple checked the definition of a cozy. This doesn't even come close. I looked up a bio of the author, (who is dead) who described her books as "mysteries and thrillers" with no mention of the word cozy! In the very first chapter there is a violent murder, described in detail, and there are other such events as well as an assault ... all with vivid details! Now, having given fair warning I will also add that it is a good story ... dark, grim, and gripping, I was up reading far into the night! Susan Wren is a new bride, married after a whirl wind romance when she met her husband to be at a police convention in San Francisco (where she worked as a detective). She now finds herself in Kansas. In the winter. Cooking dinner (a skill new to her). Then her husband is shot and killed. She determines to find out who, but she is new to the area, new to the small town, new to the folks that live there ... it won't be easy. A good read, but not a cozy! (I understand there is now something called a cozy thriller, which I think is a contradiction in terms, but this is too vivid for even that).

Reading Hermit With Dog