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    🎄Christmas Mysteries

    enNovember 16, 2023
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    About this Episode

    Tis the season for . . . holiday mysteries! 

     Get your holiday reading sorted with this list of mysteries that feature holly, mistletoe, and plenty of murder.

    Snowed-in country estates abound with tense family gatherings in these books. Cranky family members, too much food, and a patriarch threatening to change his will are the ingredients of a festive Christmas mystery. 

    Mystery book to read at Christmas: 

    • Murder on a Midnight Clear by Sara Rosett (Published: 2020; Setting: 1923) Season 1 Bonus episode: Murder on a Midnight Clear: https://www.sararosett.com/mbps1bonus/
    • Murder at Midnight by Katharine Schellman (Published 2023; Setting: 1816)
    • A Christmas Party by Georgette Heyer (1941)
    • Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie (1938)
    • The Santa Klaus Murder by Mavis Hay (1936)
    • An English Murder by Cyril Hare (1951) 



    Support the show

    📚 Buy Sara's books: SaraRosettBooks.com

    🔎 Get more mystery in your life when you sign up for Sara's updates.


    Recent Episodes from Mystery Books Podcast

    Murder at Archly Manor: Chapter 4 + Sherlock Holmes Reading Recommendations

    Murder at Archly Manor: Chapter 4 + Sherlock Holmes Reading Recommendations

    ⛲️ Love an English stately home? Then come with me on a tour of Chatsworth House and find out how the English country home inspired not one, but two book series in this “Story Behind the Story” of Chapter 4 of Murder at Archly Manor, a 1920s historical mystery. Plus reading recommendations for Sherlock Holmes fans! 🕵️‍♀️

    Recent read: The Missing Maid by Holly Hepburn (Affiliate link) and thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for a review copy. All opinions are my own.

    Read-alikes: The Baker Street Letters series (Affiliate link).

    Murder mystery game: Death by Croquet Mallet

    Next chapter in the next episode! 

    If you want the rest of the mystery right now, you can get Murder in Archly Manor in ebook, audio, and print at SaraRosettBooks.com

    Support the show

    📚 Buy Sara's books: SaraRosettBooks.com

    🔎 Get more mystery in your life when you sign up for Sara's updates.


    Mystery Books Podcast
    enMarch 05, 2024

    Murder at Archly Manor: Chapter 3

    Murder at Archly Manor: Chapter 3

    Family tensions and inspiration from Agatha Christie are the “Story Behind the Story” of Chapter 3 of Murder at Archly Manor, a 1920s historical mystery. 

    Recent read: A Report of Murder by F.L. Everett (Affiliate link)

    Mentioned: The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie (Affiliate link)

    Next chapter in the next episode! 

    If you want the rest of the mystery right now, you can get Murder in Archly Manor in ebook, audio, and print at SaraRosettBooks.com



    Support the show

    📚 Buy Sara's books: SaraRosettBooks.com

    🔎 Get more mystery in your life when you sign up for Sara's updates.


    Murder at Archly Manor Chapter by Chapter: 1 and 2

    Murder at Archly Manor Chapter by Chapter: 1 and 2

    We’re traveling back to the 1920s in this season of Mystery Books Podcast with a chapter by chapter deep dive into Murder at Archly Manor, the first book in the High Society Lady Detective series. 

    What inspired the location of Murder at Archly Manor? Was I intimidated to write historical fiction? (You bet I was!) How did I take the first step to write about the 1920s, despite my worries about accurately capturing the time between the wars? Find out in the “Story Behind the Story” section of this episode.

    Then Elizabeth Klett narrates the first two chapters of Murder at Archly Manor

    Book recommendation: Your Turn, Mr. Moto by John P. Marquand. (Affiliate link)


    Next chapter in the next episode! 


    If you want 1920s mystery right now, you can get Murder in Archly Manor in ebook, audio, and print at SaraRosettBooks.com.

    Support the show

    📚 Buy Sara's books: SaraRosettBooks.com

    🔎 Get more mystery in your life when you sign up for Sara's updates.


    Mystery Books Podcast
    enFebruary 06, 2024

    🏔️ Murder in the Alps by Sara Rosett

    🏔️ Murder in the Alps by Sara Rosett

    🤨 Are you fond of impossible crime mysteries? What about swanky settings for 1920s mysteries? If you answered yes to either question,  join me for a look at the inspiration and research behind Murder in the Alps, a 1920s mystery set in the glamorous winter playground of St. Moritz.

    🔎 Olive Belgrave, discreet sleuth for the posh set, and her dashing companion Jasper, travel to the snowy resort for a little holiday, but find themselves mixed up in a mystery.

    ⚜️In this episode I delve into luxury travel to a winter destination, women’s sports,  couple dynamics, and some other wintery mysteries.

    If you enjoy this you might also like:

    •  Murder on the Matterhorn by Glyn Carr 
    • Crossed Skis by  Carol Carnac (pen name of a pen name of E.C.R. Lorac)
    • Airs Above the Ground by Mary Stewart
    • One by One by Ruth Ware 
    • Bright and Deadly Things by Lexie Elliott

    Buy your copy of Murder in the Alps at SaraRosettBooks.com.

    Support the show

    📚 Buy Sara's books: SaraRosettBooks.com

    🔎 Get more mystery in your life when you sign up for Sara's updates.


    🎄Christmas Mysteries

    🎄Christmas Mysteries

    Tis the season for . . . holiday mysteries! 

     Get your holiday reading sorted with this list of mysteries that feature holly, mistletoe, and plenty of murder.

    Snowed-in country estates abound with tense family gatherings in these books. Cranky family members, too much food, and a patriarch threatening to change his will are the ingredients of a festive Christmas mystery. 

    Mystery book to read at Christmas: 

    • Murder on a Midnight Clear by Sara Rosett (Published: 2020; Setting: 1923) Season 1 Bonus episode: Murder on a Midnight Clear: https://www.sararosett.com/mbps1bonus/
    • Murder at Midnight by Katharine Schellman (Published 2023; Setting: 1816)
    • A Christmas Party by Georgette Heyer (1941)
    • Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie (1938)
    • The Santa Klaus Murder by Mavis Hay (1936)
    • An English Murder by Cyril Hare (1951) 



    Support the show

    📚 Buy Sara's books: SaraRosettBooks.com

    🔎 Get more mystery in your life when you sign up for Sara's updates.


    Crime TV Shows for Cozy Mystery Readers (plus Book Pairings 📕 + 📺)

    Crime TV Shows for Cozy Mystery Readers (plus Book Pairings 📕 + 📺)

    🕵️‍♀️ 🕵️ Get double the detection with this episode about odd couple crime-solving duos on TV. 

    🔎 The mismatched partners span the globe, from small town librarians to big city detectives, grumpy inspectors and sunny caterers. Even though they get off to a rocky start, these teams find their differences make them unstoppable. From ancient Roman Baths to the sun-soaked Australian outback, these crime shows traverse the world.

    ⭐️ For each show, I'll recommend "book pairings" - crime and mystery books that match up to the settings and themes of the shows. Read a mystery book alongside your show for a double dose of mystery and mayhem.

    Crime television shows covered:

    MacDonald and Dodds
    Bbook pairings: mystery books set in Bath

    Mrs Sidhu Investigates
    Book pairings: mystery books about caterers


    My Life is Murder
    Darby and Joan

    Book pairings:  Mystery books set in Australia and New Zealand

    Links to podcasts with more crime tv shows:
    S2 E4 – Mystery in Translation: Foreign Language Mystery TV
    https://www.sararosett.com/mbps2ep4/

    MBP S1 E7 The Mallorca Files
    https://www.sararosett.com/mbps1e7/

    Support the show

    📚 Buy Sara's books: SaraRosettBooks.com

    🔎 Get more mystery in your life when you sign up for Sara's updates.


    Mystery Books Podcast
    enNovember 02, 2023

    🚤 Death on the Isle by M. H. Eccleston

    🚤 Death on the Isle by M. H. Eccleston

    ⚓️ All aboard for a look at Death on the Isle, an amateur sleuth mystery from M. H. Eccleston with a nautical theme.

    🚤 This isle-set mystery takes you to the Isle of Wight during yachting season. When freelance art restorer Astrid takes on a freelance job of appraising the art in an estate on the island, she ends up investigating a suspicious death with help from an artsy crew. A dash of family drama and a peek into luxury lifestyles of the uber rich set this drama apart. 

    🏝️ Read-alike suggestions cover other island mysteries. 

    Thanks to the publisher for sending a review copy. All opinions are my own.



    Support the show

    📚 Buy Sara's books: SaraRosettBooks.com

    🔎 Get more mystery in your life when you sign up for Sara's updates.


    🌸The Three Dahlias by Katy Watson

    🌸The Three Dahlias by Katy Watson

    🍿 If you're in the mood for a mystery with Golden Age overtones combined with a behind-the-scenes look at the film industry, grab your popcorn and settle in for a discussion of The Three Dahlias by Katy Watson. 

    🏛️ The modern day mystery is set at Aldermere House, home to the legendary author Lettice Davenport and her fictional 1930s sleuth, Dahlia Lively. 

    ⭐️ Three rival actresses, connected to Dahlia's adaptations, must collaborate to solve a murder rooted in the stories themselves. 

    🔎 Themes discussed include fandom, author legacy, and female friendship, with a modern twist on the classic country house mystery. 

    🎥 Read-alike recommendations include mysteries set around filming and Hollywood.



    Support the show

    📚 Buy Sara's books: SaraRosettBooks.com

    🔎 Get more mystery in your life when you sign up for Sara's updates.


    The Socialite's Guide to Murder by S. K. Golden

    The Socialite's Guide to Murder by S. K. Golden

    📺 If you ever wished your favorite Doris Day/Rock Hudson movie was a whodunit, then the 1950s mystery, “The Socialite’s Guide to Murder,” by S. K. Golden is for you. 

    🏢 Wealthy Evelyn lives a life of privilege in the New York hotel her father owns. The swanky Park Avenue address has everything she could want–a luxurious suite, excellent cuisine, a dress boutique, and attentive staff. In fact, she hasn’t left the hotel premises in fourteen months, so when a theft disrupts life at the hotel, she sets out to find the culprit. 

    🔎 But a murder follows on the heels of the theft and Evelyn’s boyfriend becomes a suspect. She recruits hotel bellboy Mac to help her snoop for clues to find the murderer.

    🍸 “The Socialite’s Guide to Murder” is a mid-century murder mystery with a dose of the madcap flare of a 1950s romantic comedy movie, but Evelyn’s struggles with agoraphobia ground the book and make for an interesting read in a fun setting.

    📚 Read-alike recommendations include mysteries set at hotels and 1950s mysteries. 

    Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for a review copy. All opinions are my own.



    Support the show

    📚 Buy Sara's books: SaraRosettBooks.com

    🔎 Get more mystery in your life when you sign up for Sara's updates.


    Unnatural Ends by Christopher Huang

    Unnatural Ends by Christopher Huang

    🔎 Are you looking for a mystery for a book club pick with a Golden Age flavor similar to Agatha Christie with the bonus of deep themes and interesting characters? Then you’ll want to read “Unnatural Ends” by Christopher Huang.

    🧩 “Unnatural Ends” has a classic set-up. A patriarch dies and when the family gathers to read the will, it’s revealed the death was murder. Where “Unnatural Ends” departs from many classic mysteries is the depth of characterization of the three adult children as well as explorations of the themes of control, independence, expection, and competition. Add in a layer of Gothic overtones and you have a novel tailor-made for deep and interesting book club discussions.

    📚Read-alikes include mysteries with sibling sleuths, Yorkshire settings, and Huang’s first book, “A Gentleman’s Murder.” 

    ❓What other mysteries feature siblings as sleuths?

    Link to Youtube video about influence of Agatha Christie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkxV9gNOiPU

    Support the show

    📚 Buy Sara's books: SaraRosettBooks.com

    🔎 Get more mystery in your life when you sign up for Sara's updates.