Publication Date: September 27, 2022
Have yourself a DEADLY little Christmas.
Celebrate the holidays with mistletoe, mayhem, and murder. Join your favorite authors as they cozy up by the fire with twelve festive short mysteries that feature treasured holiday traditions. Serve up a slice of fatal fruitcake and deck the halls with danger, because the holiday season has never been so much fun.
This original collection is available for a limited time only, so grab your copy today.
Includes:
A Pickle in a Pear Tree by Erin Scoggins
Mistletoe and Murder by Dianne Ascroft
O Deadly Night by Estelle Richards
Larceny and Gingerbread Lattes by Justine Maxwell
Have Yourself a Scary Little Christmas by Gayle Leeson
Deadly Traditions: A Cozy Mystery Christmas Anthology consists of twelve short stories penned by twelve new-to-me authors. Set in a variety of locales and even in different countries, they all have Christmas, amateur sleuths, and a mystery to be solved in common.
Each story was introduced with a short blurb which was a nice touch. The stories drew me in, introducing me to various characters and lots of amateurs sleuths who think they are helping the local police—some are, and some aren’t.
It was fun to figure out whodunnit with Christmas as the backdrop, but all the stories ended too abruptly, in my opinion. There were Santas, gingerbread houses, Christmas cookies galore, parties and get-togethers, a quaint Victorian town, caroling, holiday décor, and even a hayride, but all had the town’s traditions or a family’s tradition at its core. Some stories are part of a series the author writes, and I might try a few of their books just to get to know the characters or the town a little better.
Some of the stories had more depth than others, but all were an enjoyable read. There was a multitude of characters—family and friends and even some enemies and exes. There were some corpses but also injuries and illnesses. There were cities, towns, and villages, along with farms and various animals. There were a few twists and turns throughout. The cover is simplistic but conveys the Christmas season.
With twelve fabulous authors contributing to Deadly Traditions: A Cozy Mystery Christmas Anthology, set during the holiday season, how can you possibly go wrong? Sit back and relax and maybe nibble on a cookie or two!
About Gayle Leeson
Gayle Leeson is a pseudonym for Gayle Trent. Gayle has also written as Amanda Lee. She is currently writing the Kinsey Falls chick-lit/women’s fiction series, the Down South Cafe cozy mystery series, and the Ghostly Fashionista cozy mystery series. Her book KILLER WEDDING CAKE won the Bronze Medal in the 20th Anniversary IPPY Awards. Gayle lives in Southwest Virginia with her family and enjoys hearing from readers.
About Mollie Cox Bryan
Mollie Cox Bryan writes cozy mysteries with edge. She’s the author of several bestselling mystery series, also writing under the pen name Maggie Blackburn. Her books have been selected as finalists for an Agatha Award and a Daphne du Maurier Award and as a Top 10 Beach Reads by Woman’s World. She has also been short-listed for the Virginia Library People’s Choice Award. She’s also penned a historical fiction: MEMORY OF LIGHT: AN AFTERMATH OF GETTYSBURG. She’s the mother of two nearly perfect daughters, each pursuing careers in music.
About Erin Scoggins
USA Today Bestselling Author Erin Scoggins is a long-time Southerner with a fondness for offbeat humor and fresh fried chicken. After fifteen years in marketing with a Fortune 500 company, she traded her MBA for fictional crime scenes and feisty small-town families. She writes fun, flirty mysteries that are celebrations of food, family, and the killer South.
Visit her at www.erinscoggins.com for book news and shenanigans.
About Estelle Richards
Estelle Richards lives in the beautiful American Southwest and writes cozy mysteries. Connect with Estelle at estellerichards.com or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/estellerichardswriter/.
About Justine Maxwell
Justine Maxwell writes cozy mysteries with brave heroines, strong family bonds, and a touch of romance. She has degrees in psychology from Northern Arizona University and Grand Canyon University. She hopes to one day become a reclusive author in a mountain cabin near Flagstaff, AZ. Until then, she’ll be a busy mom of four small children and one (allegedly) hypoallergenic pup, writing in the midst of chaos.
About Wendy H. Jones
International Award Winning Author Wendy H. Jones lives in Scotland, and her police procedural series featuring DI Shona McKenzie are set.Wendy has led a varied and adventurous life. Her love for adventure led to her joining the Royal Navy to undertake nurse training. After six years in the Navy she joined the Army where she served as an Officer for a further 17 years. Killer’s Countdown was her first novel and the first book in the Shona McKenzie Mysteries. Killer’s Crew won the Books Go Social Book of the Year 2017. The seventh book in the series. Killer’s Curse will be released early august 2020. The Dagger’s Curse, the first book in The Fergus and Flora Mysteries, was a finalist in the Woman Alive Magazine Readers Choice Award Book of the Year. Turning to humorous crime the Cass Claymore Investigates series was born. She is also a highly successful marketer and is currently in the process of rereleasing her completely updated marketing book Marketing Matters. This will be part of the Writing Matters Series following the release of Motivation Matters. She is also the author of the Bertie the Buffalo picture book and associated soft toy and colouring book. Wendy is delighted to be one of the authors in two anthologies aimed at empowering women – The Power of Why, and Women Win Against All Odds. She is proud to be the President of the Scottish Association of Writers and is the host of The Writing and Marketing Show podcast, a writing and marketing coach. and CEO of Writing Matters online writing school, Authorpreneur Accelerator Academy.
About Dianne Ascroft
Dianne Ascroft is a Canadian writer living in Britain. Since moving to Britain in 1990 she has lived in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Online she can be found at http://www.dianneascroft.com.
She writes cozy mystery, historical and contemporary fiction, often with an Irish connection. Her non-fiction articles and short stories have been printed in Canadian and Irish magazines and regional newspapers including the Toronto Star, Ireland’s Own, Senior Times, Celtic Connection and Irish Connections Canada.
She was co-editor of The Fermanagh Miscellany, the Fermanagh Authors’ Association’s yearly anthology for several years and she also contributes material to other local history and writers’ anthologies.
Dianne is a member of the Alliance of Independent Authors, Sisters in Crime, Historical Novel Society, Writers Abroad, Fermanagh Authors’ Association and Fermanagh Writers.
Dianne started life in a quiet residential neighbourhood in the buzzing city of Toronto and has progressively moved to smaller places through the years. She now lives on a small farm in Northern Ireland with her husband and an assortment of strong willed animals. If she ever decides to write her autobiography the working title will be ‘Downsizing’.
USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author Sam Cheever writes mystery and suspense, creating stories that draw you in and keep you eagerly turning pages. Known for writing great characters, snappy dialogue, and unique and exhilarating stories, Sam is the award-winning author of 80+ books.
NEWSLETTER: Join Sam’s Monthly newsletter and get a FREE book! You can also keep up with her appearances, enjoy special content, and get previews of her upcoming work! https://www.samcheever.com/newsletter.html
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September 20 – Reading Authors Network – SPOTLIGHT
September 20 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog – SPOTLIGHT
September 20 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
September 21 – Island Confidential – SPOTLIGHT
September 21 – Lady Hawkeye – SPOTLIGHT
September 21 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW
September 22 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW
September 22 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT
September 23 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
September 23 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT
September 23 – fundinmental – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
September 24 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
September 24 – Mystery Review Crew – CHARACTER GUEST POST
September 24 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT
September 25 – The Mystery Section – GUEST POST
September 25 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
September 26 – Maureen’s Musing – SPOTLIGHT
September 26 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW
September 26 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
September 27 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT
September 27 – Sapphyria’s Books – REVIEW
September 27 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT
September 28 – Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic – SPOTLIGHT
September 28 – Novels Alive – REVIEW – SPOTLIGHT
September 29 – I Read What You Write – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW
September 29 – My Journey Back – CHARACTER GUEST POST
September 29 – Novels Alive – REVIEW – SPOTLIGHT
[…] READ OUR 4-STAR REVIEW HERE! […]
Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome Kathleen!
Authors, congratulations on the release of Deadly Traditions, I enjoyed following the tour and learning about the book, which sounds like a thrilling holiday read for me and I like the cover! Good luck with the anthology and I hope the tour was a success! Thanks for sharing it with me!
Thanks, JoAnne, for sharing your review!
Have a marvelous day!
Glad you enjoyed the review Eva.
JoAnne
Thank you for sharing, this sounds wonderful
Thanks Marisela. It was a fun read.