Some Cozy Holiday Cover Love

One of my favorite things to see this time of year are the covers on all the holiday-themed cozy mysteries. Cozy mystery book covers are fun any time of the year, but there's just something extra special about the holiday ones. That's why I thought I would share a few with you. Some of them are so good that you can feel the snap of cold in the air or smell the cookies baking!

Now...how did someone commit murder yet not knock the tree over?

I can feel the warmth of the fire, and since I haven't had lunch yet, that food looks mighty good!

This one has a good holiday vibe even if there's no snow on the ground. Hmmm...I wonder if there's a desert-themed holiday cover anywhere?

Mmmmmmm! Gingerbread men!

Donna Andrews always seems to have fun with her bird-themed titles!

Shut the door-- you're letting all the heat out!

I love the tree and the fireplace, don't you?

Now I'm starving. Fork over those cookies and no one will get hurt!

Lovely village scene, snow, mittens, hot chocolate...

My favorite. The colors. The houses, the water, the boats. The peace and tranquility...

I've told you my favorite cover. Which one is yours? Inquiring minds would love to know. Happy Holidays!

A Christmas Hope by Anne Perry

First Line: Claudine Burroughs did not look forward to the party.

London, 1868. Claudine Burroughs is trapped in a loveless marriage to a man whose overriding interests in money and prestige are the farthest from her own. The only happiness she has in her life is her volunteer work in a woman's clinic run by Hester Monk.

Mandatory attendance at a yuletide gala holds only one bright spot: a brief conversation with poet Dai Tregarron, but when Tregarron is found outside standing over the body of a prostitute, he is quickly branded a murderer and must run before he's hustled off to jail. Try as she will, Claudine can't overcome the feeling that her upper-class acquaintances are closing ranks to conceal the real killer. There seems to be little she can do to solve the crime, but Claudine must try.

Several years ago when I read very little crime fiction, I did indulge in both of  Anne Perry's historical mystery series featuring William Monk and Charlotte Pitt. After a gap this long, I was interested in sampling one of her Christmas mysteries, so I was happy to receive a copy of A Christmas Hope through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program.

It goes without saying that Perry is completely at home in the Victorian world, and the strongest part of this book is watching Claudine strive to solve a murder when her life is so strictly circumscribed and she is surrounded by disapproving acquaintances and a hateful husband. To me, the miracle of A Christmas Hope isn't that a man's life can be saved, but that Claudine's level-headedness and altruism haven't been totally destroyed over the years. That, in itself, is a triumph.

This latest Christmas mystery is a must for Anne Perry fans, and those who are unfamiliar with her books will be rewarded with a good, solid historical mystery.

A Christmas Hope by Anne Perry

ISBN: 9780345530752

Ballantine Books © 2013

Hardcover, 208 pages

Historical Mystery, #11 Christmas mystery

Rating: B

Source: LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program