December Berkley Prime Crime Line-up

Here are some great new December releases from Berkley!!!


The Christmas Cookie Killer

Livia J. Washburn

Reprint - Originally published in Trade Paperback

Phyllis Newsom stands a good chance in the Christmas cookie contest with her snowflake-shaped lime sugar cookies. But Mrs. Simmons' gingerdoodles might give her a run for her money—until she's found strangled in a pile of cookies. With many on Santa's naughty suspect list, this case is a cookie Phyllis means to crumble...

(A Fresh-Baked Mystery #3)
Obsidian, November 2009
ISBN-10: 0451226666
ISBN-13: 9780451226662
272 pages Paperback (reprint)
$6.99

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Decked with Folly

Kate Kingsbury

Make room for murder with all the trimmings in the latest of the Pennyfoot Hotel Christmas mystery series.

It's the holiday season and the Pennyfoot staff is brimming with anticipation. The scents of the season overflow from the kitchen and the country club's halls are decorated with festive displays thanks to Cecily's dear friend Madeline. But when one of Cecily's candlesticks disappears, she realizes someone is lacking in Christmas spirit.

Petty thievery seems the least of Cecily's problems after she learns a former employee has been found dead in her duck pond. He hasn't worked at the Pennyfoot in years, but his ex-wife is still their head maid—and now she heads the list of suspects. And when Madeline has a vision of more misfortune to come, Cecily starts feeling more jinxed than jolly. Now a killer and a thief must be taken off the guest list in order to put the merry back into Christmas.

(A Special Pennyfoot Hotel Mystery)
Berkley Trade, November 2009
ISBN-10: 0425230015
ISBN-13: 9780425230015
304 pages Trade Size
$14.00

Editor's Note: I have been meaning to check these Kate Kingsbury mysteries out for a while... this and the next are both Christmas mysteries!

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Ringing In Murder

Kate Kingsbury

Originally published in Trade Paperback

This season, Cecily has a surprise for her guests: gorgeous Christmas crackers handmade for the Pennyfoot. But when a mysterious fire breaks out in an upstairs room, it kills the Christmas mood—and two guests. Now Cecily's dead-set on solving this mystery before another deadly present turns up.

(A Special Pennyfoot Hotel Mystery)
Berkley (Prime Crime), November 2009
ISBN-10: 0425231208
ISBN-13: 9780425231203
256 pages Paperback (reprint)
$6.99

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Mrs. Jeffries & the Yuletide Weddings

Emily Brightwell

Upper Edmonton Gardens looks forward to a jolly Christmas, until one humbug sings of murder—in Mrs. Jeffries's 26th mystery.

'Tis the week before Christmas, and all through the house, every creature is stirring...

But just as Inspector Witherspoon's staff prepares for the long-awaited wedding of Betsy and Smythe, a Yuletide murder falls in the Inspector's lap.

A middle-aged spinster has been killed in what her murderer hoped would look like a random crime. But the Inspector's investigation reveals a web of lies, intrigue, and long-buried secrets. With uncooperative witnesses, sulking relatives, and a second Christmas wedding, a simple investigation seems unlikely. And the household will have to put aside its holiday spirit to save the Inspector's reputation.

(A Victorian Mystery #26)
Berkley, November 2009
ISBN-10: 0425230465
ISBN-13: 9780425230466
272 pages Hardcover
$23.95

**Editor's Note... Betty and Smythe are finally getting married? I'll have to read this one!! Great very fun series.

Have any of you read these, or any other by these authors? Do tell us about them! I have read several of the Mrs. Jeffries historical mysteries and they are light, entertaining and great fun. Not deep in any sense, but good solid murder mystery entertainment.