Spell the Month in Books is a linkup hosted by Jana on Reviews From the Stacks on the first Saturday of each month. The goal is to spell the current month with the first letter of book titles, excluding articles such as ‘the’ and ‘a’ as needed. That’s all there is to it! Some months there are optional theme challenges, such as “books with an orange cover” or books of a particular genre, but for the most part, any book you want to use is fair game!

The theme this month is Winter, Christmas, or Christian themes… I’ve chosen mainly mystery stories set at Christmas.

The links in the titles of each book go to my posts on the books, where they exist, or to Amazon, or Goodreads for the books I haven’t read.

D is for Dalziel and Pascoe Hunt the Christmas Killer & Other Stories by Reginald Hill – a TBR

A vicar nailed to a tree in Yorkshire.
The theft of a priceless artefact during a fire.
A detective forced to tell the truth for 24 hours.
A body hidden in a basement.

From the restless streets of London to the wilds of the Lake District, displaying all his trademark humour, playfulness and clever plotting, this landmark collection brings together the very best of Reginald Hill’s short stories for the first time, complete with a foreword from Val McDermid. (Goodreads)

E is for An English Christmas by John Julius Norwich – a TBR

The snow is thick, the phone line is down, and no one is getting in or out of Warbeck Hall. With friends and family gathered round the fire, all should be set for a perfect Christmas, but as the bells chime midnight, a mysterious murder takes place.
Who can be responsible? The scorned young lover? The lord’s passed-over cousin? The social climbing politician’s wife? The Czech history professor? The obsequious butler? And perhaps the real question is: can any of them survive long enough to tell the tale? (Amazon)

C is for  A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens – I’ve read this many times over the years since I was about 10!

A Christmas Carol tells the story of a bitter old miser named Ebenezer Scrooge and his transformation into a gentler, kindlier man after visitations by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come.

The book was written at a time when the British were examining and exploring Christmas traditions from the past as well as new customs such as Christmas cards and Christmas trees. Carol singing took a new lease of life during this time. Dickens’ sources for the tale appear to be many and varied, but are, principally, the humiliating experiences of his childhood, his sympathy for the poor, and various Christmas stories and fairy tales. (From Amazon)

E is for Edie Kiglatuk’s Christmas by  M. J. McGrath – a TBR.

The shortest day of the year didn’t count for much up on Ellesmere Island. By the time 21 December arrived, the sun hadn’t come up for two months and it would be another two before it managed to scramble over the High Arctic horizon. Objects, animals and even people could disappear during the Great Dark without anyone much noticing. Which was why no one reported Tommy Qataq missing . . .

Christmas is fast approaching on Ellesmere Island, in the vast frozen landscape of the High Arctic, and half Inuit ex polar bear hunter Edie Kiglatuk is drawn into a mystery when a young man dies in suspicious circumstances. (Amazon)

M is for A Maigret Christmas by Georges Simenon (my review)

It’s set in Paris on Christmas Day – Inspector Maigret has the day off. Madame Martin and Mademoiselle Doncoeur, who live in the apartment opposite, visit him to tell him that Colette, a little girl staying with her aunt and uncle, Madame Martin and her husband, had woken in the night. She said she had seen Father Christmas in her room, making a hole in the floor. He gave her a present, a big doll and then held up his finger to his lips as he left. But who was he and why was he trying to take up the floorboards?

B is for The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries: 100 of the Very Best Yuletide Whodunnits edited by Otto Penzler – I’ve read several of these stories and will be reading more this Christmas.

Festive felonies, unscrupulous santas, deadly puddings, and misdemeanors under the mistletoe…

From Victorian detective stories to modern mysteries, police procedurals to pulp fiction, comic gems to cozy crime, there’s something for every festive mood in this must-read collection starring sixty of the world’s favourite detectives. (Amazon)

E is for An English Murder: The Golden Age Classic Christmas Mystery by Cyril Hare – a TBR

The snow is thick, the phone line is down, and no one is getting in or out of Warbeck Hall. With friends and family gathered round the fire, all should be set for a perfect Christmas, but as the bells chime midnight, a mysterious murder takes place.
Who can be responsible? The scorned young lover? The lord’s passed-over cousin? The social climbing politician’s wife? The Czech history professor? The obsequious butler? And perhaps the real question is: can any of them survive long enough to tell the tale? (Amazon)

R is for Ryan’s Christmas: A DCI Ryan Mystery (The DCI Ryan Mysteries Book 15) by L J Ross – a TBR.

Christmas can be murder…

After a busy year fighting crime, DCI Ryan and his team of murder detectives are enjoying a festive season of goodwill, mulled wine and, in the case of DS Phillips, a stottie cake or two—that is, until a freak snowstorm forces their car off the main road and into the remote heart of Northumberland. Their Christmas spirit is soon tested when they’re forced to find shelter inside England’s most haunted castle, where they’re the uninvited guests at a ‘Candlelit Ghost Hunt’. It’s all fun and games—until one of the guests is murdered. It seems no mortal hand could have committed the crime, so Ryan and Co. must face the spectres living inside the castle walls to uncover the grisly truth, before another ghost joins their number…

Murder and mystery are peppered with romance and humour in this fast-paced crime whodunnit set amidst the spectacular Northumbrian landscape. (Amazon)

The next link up will be on January 6, 2024 when the theme will be New (interpret as you wish: new releases, recent acquisitions, “new” in the title, etc.)