Join bestselling authors Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis and Peggy Ehrhart for a collection of the coziest Christmas capers! Everyone dreams of a picture-perfect small-town Christmas, but when murder is in the cards, some holiday greetings are addressed to kill…
Christmas Card Murder by Leslie Meier
In the midst of holiday home renovations, Lucy Stone accidentally unwraps a murder mystery decades in the making when she discovers an old Christmas card with a nasty message belonging to one of her farmhouse’s previous residents. The case may be colder than a New England Christmas, but Lucy’s determined to sort it out before Santa comes to town.
Death of a Christmas Carol by Lee Hollis
The Island Times Christmas soiree gets off to a scroogey start when Hayley Powell, Mona Barnes, and Rosana Moretti receive a Christmas card from the town flirt, Carol Waterman, who threatens to run off with one of their husbands! The ladies chalk it up to an imprudent prank…until they find Carol mistletoe-up under her tree…
Death of a Christmas Card Crafter by Peggy Ehrhart
Slay bells ring when the body of Arborville High School’s beloved art teacher (and annual Christmas card designer), Karma Karling, is discovered on the first day of the Holiday Craft Fair. Now, Pamela Paterson and the Knit and Nibble crew must swap swatching for sleuthing in order to put a Christmas killer on ice.
Click here for the Amazon Christmas Card Murder page. Click here to order from Bookshop.org. Click here for the Barnes & Noble Christmas Card Murder page.
“This trio of novellas is a perfect holiday read.” – Suspense Magazine
“A Christmas card provides the starting point for each of the three entertaining novellas, which star a series protagonist from each of the authors, in this welcome anthology…All feature appealing characters and straightforward plots. Cozy readers seeking undemanding escape from real-life holiday hoopla will be satisfied.”- Publishers Weekly
In December 2022 Art Kilmer interviewed me for his Cozy Christmas Podcast. We talked about Death of a Christmas Card Crafter, my other Christmas-themed Knit & Nibbles, and lots of fun Christmas-related things. Click here for the podcast.
Here’s the cover for the large-print edition with library binding, from Thorndike Press:
And here’s the cover for the audio version, from Recorded Books:
My novella, Death of a Christmas Card Crafter, is now out on its own as an e-book. Click here to order from Amazon. Click here to order from Barnes & Noble.
A few readers have contacted me to say that they are disappointed that my new release is e-book only, so I want to let people know that it’s not a new release and if you’ve read Christmas Card Murder you’ve already read this. It looks new because Kensington gave the e-book its own “cover” design (though not really a cover because e-books aren’t physical objects).
KNIT
Cozy Doll Sweater
Bettina’s son and daughter-in-law don’t want to impose “girly” expectations on their young daughter, so they request that gifts not be the traditional things often given to young girls. Bettina had looked forward to taking her granddaughter shopping for cute clothes and showering her with dolls and doll clothes, but that is not to be. If such gifts were welcome, however, she would be busily at work knitting this cozy doll sweater.
It’s not as tiny as the knitted sweaters, mittens, and stockings that feature as tree ornaments in Death of a Christmas Card Crafter, but it’s small enough to be a quick, fun project. You’ll find directions at the end of Death of a Christmas Card Crafter.
NIBBLE
Chocolate Mousse Cake
This delicious cake is a three-layer creation—if you count the dusting of cocoa powder that gives it its distinctive taste. The other two layers are a dense not-too sweet flourless chocolate cake and a rich chocolate truffle-like mousse. It’s not technically a mousse, since it’s composed only of chocolate and heavy cream, but the effect is very mousse-like. You’ll find the recipe at the end of Death of a Christmas Card Crafter.
Have a slice.
Helpful hint: After you cut the parchment paper circle to line your cake pan, you’ll have a leftover square of parchment paper with a cake-sized hole in the middle. To keep your serving plate clean when adding the cocoa powder, tuck the leftover parchment paper around the cake before you start sifting. Carefully remove the parchment paper when you are finished.
Note: The mousse layer will tend to absorb the cocoa powder as the cake sits and the top will become darker in spots. This won’t affect the yummy flavor of the cake at all, but if you’re preparing the cake for a company meal, you might want to set part of the cocoa powder aside and sift a bit more over the dark spots just before serving.
BONUS NIBBLE
Nell’s “Not Too Sweet” Quick Bread
This recipe hints at the holiday season because it’s dense with dried fruit and nuts, suggesting fruitcake or stollen, but it’s not nearly as rich or sweet. You’ll find the recipe at the end of Death of a Christmas Card Crafter.
