Mystery books at Christmas should be fun and clever – a little salty with the sweet – and not too gory.  I’m reading David Morrell’s The Spy Who Came for Christmas – a quick read set in Santa Fe on Christmas Eve, with the Russian mafia in hot pursuit of Agent Paul Kagan.

Other paperback mysteries with the Christmas theme –

• All Through the Night by Mary Higgins Clark
• I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley
• Hercule Poirit’s Christmas by Agatha Christie
• Gingerbread Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke
•  The Christmas Night Murder by Lee Harris
• A Holly Jolly Murder by Joan Hess

Try them for a quick diversion from shopping and baking, or as a gift to your favorite crime-solving addict.