Christmas mysteries (Anne Perry)

This new novel features Lady Vespasia Cumming-Gould. Itś Christmas in the Berkshire countryside and well-born guests have gathered at Applecross for a delicious weekend of innocent intrigue and passionate romance are warmed by roaring fires and candlelight, holly and mistletoe, good wine and gorgeously wrapped gifts. But soon one young woman lies dead, a suicide, and another is ostracized, held partly responsible for the shocking turn of events....

Grandmama Ellison--left with distant relatives when her daughter and son-in-law go to Paris for Christmas--decides to be disagreeable until her interest is captured when uninvited guest Maude Barrington is found dead in bed and she becomes caught up in investigating her mysterious demise.

Superintendent Runcorn of Scotland Yard is spending Christmas on the wild and beautiful island of Anglesey off the north coast of Wales. On one of his solitary strolls, the lonely bachelor stumbles upon a lifeless body in the village churchyard. The unfortunate victim is quickly identified as Olivia Costain, the local vicar’s younger sister.

Three days before Christmas, in the freezing slums of London's East End, thirteen-year-old Gracie Phipps and eight-year-old Minnie Maude Mudway join together in a search for Charlie, the donkey who belonged to Minnie Maude's Uncle Alf. Gracie is shocked to learn that only the day before, someone brutally murdered Uncle Alf and made off with his rag-and-bones cart and the beloved beast who pulled it.

Charlotte Pitt's mother, Caroline, has traveled with husband Joshua Fielding and his theatrical troupe to Whitby, the Yorkshire fishing village where Dracula first touched English soil in the sensational novel. Joshua has arranged to produce a stage adaptation of the book, but the project is a disaster. Then a black-cloaked stranger emerges from a snowstorm who turns out to be a theatrical genius. But at the same time, a brooding evil makes itself...

London, 1868. Claudine Burroughs dreads the holiday season for forcing her to face how empty her life has become. She no longer expects closeness with her coldly ambitious husband, and she has nothing in common with their circle of wealthy, status-minded friends. Then, at a glittering yuletide gala, she meets the charming poet Dai Treggaron and finds her spirits lifted. But scarcely an hour later, the charismatic Dai is enmeshed in a nightmare --...

"A Christmas Escape ... transports us to the Mediterranean island of Stromboli for an unconventional Yuletide adventure--and an unforgettable volcanic encounter."-- On the Mediterranean island of Stromboli, lonely Charles Latterly arrives at his small hotel hoping that the island's blue skies and gentle breezes will brighten his spirits. Unfortunately, there's no holiday cheer to be found among his fellow guests, who include a pompous novelist, a...

"As Charlotte Pitt's grandmother Mariah Ellison finds herself investigating a long-unsolved slaying, it becomes clear that grappling with intrigue and foul play runs in the family. A festive Christmas package left on Mariah's doorstep contains an ominous present, sparking memories of a twenty-year-old murder that shattered her friendship with the victim's widow. Though the gift is a bitter reminder of that tragic time, in the spirit of the season...

"As beautiful as it may be, their friends' country home is not where Lady Vespasia wishes to spend Christmas with her new husband, Victor Narraway. She would rather pass a relaxing holiday at home with him--especially because Victor, former head of the London Special Branch, seems to be hiding some undercover dealings with the other guests who have gathered at the spacious estate. As tensions grow among the couples, the young and beautiful Iris Watson-Watt...

"After leaving her position with Charlotte and Thomas Pitt to get married, Gracie thought her days as a maid were behind her. But when her good friend’s daughter, Millie, turns up on her doorstep just before the holidays, frantic because things are going missing from the kitchen in the household she serves, Gracie knows she has to find out what is happening. Millie, whose mother died years before, can’t risk being accused of theft and getting...

Mariah Ellison, Charlotte Pitt's grandmother, accepts her long-time friend Sadie's gracious invitation to spend Christmas with her and her husband, Barton, in their picturesque village. But upon arrival, Mariah discovers that Sadie has vanished without a trace, and Barton rudely rescinds the invitation. Once Mariah finds another acquaintance to stay with during the holiday season, she begins investigating Sadie's disappearance. Mariah's uncanny knack...