Book Review: Last minute Stocking fillers? Contemporary fiction : Cold Christmas by Alastair Gunn or Classic Historic: Murder for Christmas by Francis Duncan

Tis the season to be jolly' - well if you follow The Crime Warp you'll realise that, here on the blog, we also see Christmas as a time for reading criminally great crime fiction, so it is fitting that the last two books to be reviewed before 'Christmas' descends, are indeed all about that other Christmas tradition - Christmas Crimes, because we all know Christmas can be Murder!




Cold Christmas by Alastair Gunn

Gunn's detective Antonia Hawkins isn't having a great time of

Available here

it in the run up to Christmas.  With her recent engagement on the verge of collapse, her peace of mind in tatters and three dead bodies, all with a link to a place called Cold Christmas, the chances of her having a peaceful Christmas are degenerating by the minute.  then, things get more intriguing as cults and paranormal mystic societies rear their heads in the investigation making it even more complicated than first thought .  An absorbing read to snuggle up with whilst the Chestnuts are roasting.

Murder for Christmas by Francis Duncan
Is a classic Christmas read that will watm the cockles of your

Available here

heart Full of mistletoe and wine and roaring fires... and of course MURDER! This is a fantastic nostalgic read for a lovely traditional Christmas. 

Amateur sleuth Mordecai Tremaine, arrives in a sleepy village on Christmas Eve all set for a relaxing, enjoyable festive season.  However, in the midst of a Christmas Eve party a body is found deposited under the Christmas tree among the presents ... a body that looks very like old Santa Claus.  

Mordecai must discover who has killed the spirit of Christmas in this old fashioned gentle, yet murderous read.  Get the mulled wine on, you'll need a steady supply so as not to be disturbed when reading this