Picking up from last time, here are the rest of the Christmas-themed holiday novels we can look forward to in October. It sure sounds like it will be a busy month for Cozy lovers!

Joyce and Jim Lavene will be releasing their second book under the pen name Ellie Grant, Treacherous Tart. This will be the second book in their Pie in the Sky Mystery Series, starring pie shop employee and North Carolina resident, Maggie Grady. When her Aunt Clara’s new, suspicious boyfriend dies suddenly, Maggie will be forced to help clear her name. (The Lavenes write multiple well-known mystery series, including the Missing Pieces Mystery Series, starring the mayor of her town, the Renaissance Faire Mystery Series, set in a renaissance faire, the Peggy Lee Garden Mystery Series, starring the owner of a gardening shop, and the Sheriff Sharyn Howard Mystery Series. As J.J. Cook they write the Sweet Pepper Fire Brigade Mystery Series as well as the Biscuit Bowl Food Truck Mystery Series. )

Lee Hollis (actually the pseudonym of a brother-sister writing duo) will be releasing the fifth book in their Hayley Powell Food & Cocktail Mystery Series, entitled Death of a Christmas Caterer. This series stars divorced mom and local newspaper food columnist, Hayley Powell, who is often called upon to solve murders related in some way to food and drink. This time her office party will be an unfortunate casualty. The caterer who Hayley hand-picked for the party turns up dead before the first of the appetizers can even be delivered. Can Hayley once again serve up a hot batch of justice?

 Sofie Kelly (aka Sofie Ryan) will be releasing A Midwinter’s Tail , the sixth book in her Magical Cats Mystery Series. Minnesotan librarian Kathleen Paulson will once again need to rely on the talents of her uncannily clever cats, catnip-addicted Owen and Barry Manilow-lover Hercules… and to a lesser extent, her boyfriend Marcus. When a guest at a charity benefit dies suddenly, she’ll need to once again harness the problem-solving skills of her feline friends to help get to the bottom of things. (As Sofie Ryan, she recently began a second cat-themed Cozy Mystery series, the Second Chance Cat Mystery Series.)

 Debbie Macomber will be releasing Mr. Miracle. This will be the 3rd in the Mrs. Miracle Series, which hasn’t seen an entry since 2010 – a pretty long time between releases for a Cozy series! Of course, this isn’t necessarily a surprise for Macomber fans, as she’s well known for reviving some of her older series every few years. Also, it isn’t a Cozy Mystery – but she’s been recommended by enough fans of the site over the years that I’ve decided to include her here as an “honorary Cozy” author anyway! (Debbie Macomber writes a number of other series beyond Mrs. Miracle, including the Cedar Cove Series, the Blossom Street Series, and the Knit Along with Debbie Series of instructional knitting books inspired by characters from her books.)

Finally, Sharyn McCrumb will be releasing a novella, Nora Bonesteel’s Christmas Past, set after the tenth book in her Ballad Mystery Series. This series stars Spencer Atwood, Appalachian sheriff, and Nora Bonesteel, local clairvoyant. Unfortunately, the summaries I’ve seen for this particular entry are fairly brief (not too unusual for novellas, which have less plot to cover), so we’ll have to discover this one together! (Sharyn McCrumb also writes the Elizabeth MacPherson Mystery Series, starring an anthropologist, and the relatively short Jay Omega Mystery Series, starring a science fiction author and professor.)

Yow! The five Christmas theme mysteries from the last entry and the five from today’s entry sure make October 2014 a great month for Christmas theme mystery releases! It looks like it’ll be a good holiday season for Cozy Mystery lovers!

If you would like to see more Cozy Mystery Christmas-themed books, click on this link to take you to the Christmas Mystery page.

Here is the first part of this entry: Christmas Mystery Books being Released during October 2014!

(If you are interested in all sorts of holiday mysteries, click on this link to take you to the Holiday Mystery Book page.)

Yikes! I thought there were a lot of Halloween themed mysteries coming out in October, but I hadn’t looked at the Christmas list yet! There are a lot to get through, so once again I’m just going to jump right in:

 Donna Andrews will be releasing The Nightingale Before Christmas, the 18th book in the Meg Langslow Mystery Series. This series follows Meg Langslow, the blacksmith of her small Virginia hometown of Caerphilly, Virginia. This time Meg will be helping out her mother organize a Christmas-themed decorated home show, and will need to help clear her mother of suspicion when a designer turns up dead. (Donna Andrews also writes a sci-fi themed Cozy series, the Turing Hopper Mystery Series, starring an artificial intelligence personality solving murders.)

 Stephanie Barron (aka Francine Mathews) will be releasing the 12th book in her Jane Austen Mystery Series, Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas. A period series starring real-world author Jane Austen, this series focuses on mystery solving in the early 19th century, with real-world events and Jane Austen’s personal achievements happening in the background. (As Francine Mathews, she also writes the Catherine Carmichael Mystery Series, starring a CIA analyst, and the Nantucket Mystery Series, starring Massachusetts policewoman Meredith Folger.)

 Mollie Cox Bryan will be releasing A Crafty Christmas, the fourth book in her Cumberland Creek Mystery Series. Normally set in scenic Cumberland Creek, Virginia, this series stars Annie, former investigative reporter and current stay-at-home mom (and avid scrapbooker). It sounds like that is all likely to change in this entry >>> this time the story will revolve around fellow scrapbooker, Sheila, along with other series-regulars Vera and Paige, on a holiday-timed Caribbean cruise! (Mollie Cox Bryan hasn’t written any other Cozy Mystery series, but she does also write the Mrs. Rowe’s Cookbook Series.)

 Waverly Curtis will be releasing a novella in her Barking Detective Mystery Series, A Chihuahua in Every Stocking. In this entry  of the adventures of private investigator Geri Sullivan and her talking chihuahua, Pepe, the pair will help track down a little girl’s stolen dog, just in time for a warm holiday reunion. (This novella comes chronologically after the 3rd Cozy Mystery in this series, The Big Chihuahua.)

 Kaitlyn Dunnett‘s (aka Kathy Lynn Emerson) latest entry in her Liss MacCrimmon Mystery Series, Ho-Ho-Homicide will also be coming out in October. Liss, a Scottish dance troupe dancer, will be spending her holidays on a scenic Maine Christmas tree farm – but when murder strikes, she’ll be forced to once again crack the case to make sure that the right person ends up behind bars! (As Kathy Lynn Emerson, she also writes several prominent historically set mystery series, namely the Lady Suzanna Appleton Mystery Series, set in Elizabethan England, and the Diana Spaulding Mystery Series, set in late 1800s New York.)

This isn’t all the Christmas books coming out in October – it’s only about half of them! This post has been getting pretty long though, so I’ll stop here for now and discuss the others soon!

If you would like to see more Cozy Mystery Christmas-themed books, click on this link to take you to the Christmas Mystery page.

Here is the 2nd part of this entry: Christmas Mystery Books being Released during October 2014! Part 2!

(If you are interested in all sorts of holiday mysteries, click on this link to take you to the Holiday Mystery Book page.)

So, what holiday-themed Cozy Mysteries can we be hoping to see coming up in October? Well, this probably doesn’t seem likely to surprise anyone, but we’ll be seeing more Halloween-themed upcoming in October than in just about any other month of the year! There are quite a few, so I’ll get right into it!

New Halloween Mysteries:

  Juliet Blackwell (aka Hailey Lind) will be releasing A Haunting is Brewing. This will be a crossover novella between her two supernaturally-themed series, the Haunted Home Renovation Mystery Series and the Witchcraft Mystery Series. The Haunted Home series stars Mel Turner, historical home remodeller in San Francisco, also home to the heroine of the Witchcraft series, Lily Ivory, owner of a vintage clothing shop. Together the two will need to quiet the unruly spirits in one of Mel’s remodelling jobs so the building can serve as the perfect location for a Halloween party! (As Hailey Lind she writes the Art Lovers Mystery Series, starring former art forger Annie Kincaid.)

 Laura Childs will be releasing Gossamer Ghost, which will be the 12th book in the Scrapbooking Mystery Series. Starring Carmela Bertrand, the Scrapbooking series revolves around Carmela’s New Orleans scrapbooking shop >>>and the many mysteries that have been brought through its doors by her customers! This time, Carmela will need to solve the murder of a neighboring antique dealer, complicated by the presence of the costumed attendees of New Orleans’s many Halloween-themed events. (Laura Childs also writes the very popular Tea Shop Mystery Series set in Charleston and the Cackleberry Club Mystery Series, starring a trio of divorced women.)

 Sheila Connolly (aka Sarah Atwell) will be releasing Picked to Die, the eighth book in her Orchard Mystery Series starring Meg Corey, owner of an apple orchard in scenic Granford, Massachusetts. When a relative of one of Meg’s former apple pickers is found dead behind the feed store, she knows she has to investigate to get to the bottom of the mystery! Strictly speaking this is a “harvest” themed novel, but when I think of harvest time, I generally think of October. However, perhaps it might fit under Thanksgiving a bit better…  (Sheila Connolly also writes the Museum Mystery Series and County Cork Mystery Series under this name, as well as the Glassblowing Mystery Series under the name Sarah Atwell.)

 Kylie Logan (aka Miranda Bliss & Casey Daniels) will be releasing the third book in the League of Literary Ladies Mystery Series, entitled The Legend of Sleeping Harlow. The series stars Bea Cartwright, owner of a bed and breakfast, Chandra Morrisey, a remarkable cat lover, and winery owner Kate Wilder. When the leader of a ghost hunting group is found dead and Kate turns out to be the leading suspect, the trio will once again need to solve a literature-related mystery! (Logan writes numerous other series, including the Button Box Mystery Series and the Chili Cook-Off Mystery Series under this name, as well as the Cooking Class Mystery Series as Miranda Bliss and the Pepper Martin Mystery Series as Casey Daniels.)

Finally, Livia J. Washburn will be releasing the ninth book in her Fresh-Baked Mystery Series, Trick or Deadly Treat. Starring baker and ex-school teacher Phyllis Newsom and her friend and fellow baker, Carolyn. As avid Cozy Mystery readers likely know, this series is mostly composed of holiday-themed mysteries >>> this will actually be the second Halloween murder Phyllis will need to deal with – hardly a common problem for most people, but she’s already been forced to sleuth on no fewer than three Christmases! This time, Phyllis’s detective skills will help keep the veterinarian of her newly adopted Dalmation, Buck. (Livia Washburn also writes the Literary Tour Mystery Series and the Lucas Hallam Mystery Series.)

If you would like to see more Cozy Mystery Halloween-themed books, click on this link to take you to the Halloween Mystery page.

(If you are interested in all sorts of holiday mysteries, click on this link to take you to the Holiday Mystery Book page.)