PVLF 2025

Holiday Page-Turners: 7 Books That Capture the Magic and Mystery of Christmas!

Discover 7 enchanting books perfect for the holidays, capturing the magic, mystery, and festive spirit of Christmas. Ideal reads for cozy winter nights!
on Dec 23, 2024

Holiday season with it, Christmas. Sparkling lights, a cold breeze in the air, a scent of gingerbread cookies in house, and an all-round feeling of huddling together with a wonderful book. Wait, a holiday page-turner is far from just a book it whisked you off to worlds of mystery, romance, and festive fantasy. Well, it is that season, during which you might go awfully amok about these incredibly exciting books, a nice fix for your mental health from time to time. For how wonderfully great is a good yarn told? And who's there to set alight a little holiday magic as great Indian writers tell?

So, grab your hot chocolate, snuggle up by the fireplace (or your favorite reading nook), and dive into these 7 Christmas-themed books that will not only give you a thrill but also make you feel the magic of the season.

1. Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie

Published by: HarperCollins

A facsimile first edition hardback of the wartime Poirot book, published to mark the 80th anniversary of his first appearance and commemorate the tradition of a ‘Christie for Christmas’.

It is Christmas Eve. The Lee family reunion is shattered by a deafening crash of furniture, followed by a high-pitched wailing scream. Upstairs, the tyrannical Simeon Lee lies dead in a pool of blood, his throat slashed.

But when Hercule Poirot, who is staying in the village with a friend for Christmas, offers to assist, he finds an atmosphere not of mourning but of mutual suspicion. It seems everyone had their own reason to hate the old man…

To mark the 80th anniversary of Hercule Poirot's first appearance, and to celebrate his renewed fortunes as a primetime television star, this title in a collection of facsimile first editions is the perfect way to experience Agatha Christie. Reproducing the original typesetting and format of the first edition from the Christie family's own archive, this book sports the original cover which has been painstakingly restored to its original glory.

2.The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict

Published by:Poisoned Pen Press

"Curl up by the fire (and lock all the doors) for this Christmas cracker of a book." ―C.S. Green, author of Sleep Tight

Twelve clues. Twelve keys. Twelve days of Christmas. But how many will die before Twelfth Night?

Agatha Christie meets Clue in this delightful, tense manor house murder mystery.

The annual Christmas Game is afoot at Endgame House, the Armitages' grand family home. This year's prize is to die for―deeds to the house itself―but Lily Armitage has no intention of returning. She hasn't been back to Endgame since her mother died, twenty-one years ago, and she has no intention of claiming the house that haunts her dreams.

Until, that is, she receives a letter from her aunt promising that the game's riddles will give her the keys not only to Endgame, but to its darkest secrets, including the identity of her mother's murderer.

Now, Lily must compete with her estranged cousins for the twelve days of Christmas. The snow is thick, the phone lines are down, and no one is getting in or out. Lily will have to keep her wits about her, because not everyone is playing fair, and there's no telling how many will die before the winner is declared.

Including additional scavenger hunts for the reader, this clever murder mystery is the perfect gift for fans of classic mysteries, festive Christmas books, and armchair detective work.

3.The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter

Published Avon Books

Knives Out gets a holiday rom-com twist in this rivals-to-lovers romance-mystery from New York Times bestselling author Ally Carter.

The bridge is out. The phones are down. And the most famous mystery writer in the world just disappeared out of a locked room two days before Christmas.

Meet Maggie Chase and Ethan Wyatt:

She’s the new Queen of the Cozy Mystery.

He’s Mr. Big-time Thriller Guy.

She hates his guts.

He thinks her name is Marcie (no matter how many times she’s told him otherwise.)

But when they both accept a cryptic invitation to attend a Christmas house party at the English estate of a reclusive fan, neither is expecting their host to be the most powerful author in the world: Eleanor Ashley, the Duchess of Death herself.

That night, the weather turns, and the next morning Eleanor is gone.

She vanished from a locked room, and Maggie has to wonder: Is Eleanor in danger? Or is it all some kind of test? Is Ethan the competition? Or is he the only person in that snowbound mansion she can trust?

As the snow gets deeper and the stakes get higher, every clue will bring Maggie and Ethan closer to the truth—and each other. Because, this Christmas, these two rivals are going to have to become allies (and maybe more) if they have any hope of saving Eleanor.

Assuming they don’t kill each other first.

4. One Day in December by Josie Silver

Published by: Ballantine Books; Reprint edition

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Get ready to be swept up in a whirlwind romance. It absolutely charmed me. ”—Reese Witherspoon (A Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick) The perfect book to get lost in . . . Josie Silver’s characters sneak their way into your heart and stay. ”—Jill Santopolo, author of The Light We Lost Two people. Ten chances. One unforgettable love story. Laurie is pretty sure love at first sight doesn't exist anywhere but the ;movies. ;But then, through a misted-up bus window one snowy December day, she sees a man who she knows instantly is the one. Their eyes meet, there's a moment of pure magic. . . and then her bus drives away. Certain they're ;fated to find each other again, ;Laurie ;spends a year scanning every bus stop and cafe in London ;for him. But she doesn't find him, ;not when it matters anyway. Instead ;they "reunite" at a ;Christmas ;party, when ;her best friend ;Sarah giddily introduces her new boyfriend to Laurie. It's ;Jack, ;the man from the bus. It would be. What ;follows for ;Laurie, Sarah and Jack is ten years of friendship, heartbreak, missed opportunities, roads not taken, and destinies reconsidered. One Day in December is a joyous, heartwarming and immensely moving love story ;to escape ;into and a reminder that fate takes inexplicable ;turns along the route to happiness.

5. Snowed In for Christmas by Sarah Morgan

Published by: ‎HQN; Original edition

"Morgan is a masterful storyteller…. For fans of Jojo Moyes, Taylor Jenkins Reid, and Stacey Ballis. - Booklist

What happens if the only Christmas celebration you want to attend is one you haven't been invited to? USA Today bestselling author Sarah Morgan delights with this hilarious and heartwarming Christmas cracker of a novel!

A family gathering

This Christmas the Miller siblings have one goal—to avoid their well-meaning family’s endless stream of prying questions. Ross, Alice and Clemmie have secrets that they don’t intend to share, and they are relying on each other to deflect attention.

An uninvited guest

Lucy Clarke is facing a Christmas alone and the prospect of losing her job. Unless she can win a major piece of business from Ross Miller, the season promises to be anything but festive. She’ll just deliver her proposal to his family home and then leave. After all, she wouldn’t want to intrude on the Miller family’s perfect Christmas.

A Christmas to remember

When Lucy appears on the Miller family’s snow-covered Highland doorstep, she's mistaken for Ross’s girlfriend. By the time the confusion is cleared up, they're snowed in - she can’t leave, even if she wants to! But does she want to? As secrets spill out like presents from an overstuffed stocking and the chemistry between her and Ross ignites, this is going to be either Lucy's worst Christmas ever or the best mistake of her life.

6. Rest Ye Murdered Gentlemen by Vicki Delany

Published by: Berkley

As the owner of Mrs. Claus’s Treasures, Merry Wilkinson knows how to decorate homes for the holidays. That’s why she thinks her float in the semi-annual Santa Claus parade is a shoe-in for best in show. But when the tractor pulling Merry’s float is sabotaged, she has to face facts: there’s a Scrooge in Christmas Town.

Merry isn’t ready to point fingers, especially with a journalist in town writing a puff piece about Rudolph’s Christmas spirit. But when she stumbles upon the reporter’s body on a late night dog walk - and police suspect he was poisoned by a gingerbread cookie crafted by her best friend, Vicky - Merry will have to put down the jingle bells and figure out who’s really been grinching about town, before Vicky ends up on Santa’s naughty list…

7. The Christmas Thief by Mary Higgins Clark Carol Higgins Clark

Published by :Gallery Books; Reprint edition

Alvirah Meehan, the lottery winner turned amateur sleuth, teams up with private investigator Regan Reilly to solve another Christmas mystery. In Deck the Halls, they rescued Regan's kidnapped father. This time they get in the middle of a case involving a beautiful eighty-foot blue spruce that has been chosen to spend the holidays as Rockefeller Center's famous Christmas tree. The folks who picked the tree don't have a clue that attached to one of its branches is a flask chock-full of priceless diamonds that Packy Noonan, a scam artist just released from prison, had hidden there over twelve years ago.

An excited Packy breaks his parole and heads to Stowe, Vermont, to reclaim his loot. Once there, he is horrified to discover that his special tree will be heading to New York City the next morning. With a bumbling crew consisting of Jo-Jo, Benny, and an unsuccessful poet, Milo, he knows he has to act fast.

What Packy does not know is that Alvirah and Regan are on a weekend trip to Stowe with Alvirah's husband, Willy; Regan's fiancé, Jack; Regan's parents, Luke and Nora; and Alvirah's friend Opal, a lottery winner who lost all her winnings in Packy's scam. On Monday morning when they're supposed to head home, they learn that the tree is missing, Packy Noonan may be in the vicinity, and Opal has disappeared.

From two of America's beloved storytellers, The Christmas Thief is filled with suspense, comic characters, and holiday cheer, and is sure to delight its readers.

Wrap-Up

From thrilling mysteries to heartwarming romances, these Christmas-themed novels by Indian authors are the perfect way to unwind and get into the holiday spirit. Not only will these stories take you on delightful journeys, but they'll also provide that much-needed dopamine boost to keep your mental health in check during this festive season. After all, reading isn't just about escaping into a story - it's about feeling the joy, warmth, and magic of the holidays with every page.

So whether it's mulled wine by the fire, a holiday escape from the hustle, or just a distraction, these books can make your Christmas shine all the brighter. So take a turn of the page, and let the magic of Christmas begin!