- Sugarplum Dead by Carolyn Hart (Death on Demand series), 2000 - Mystery bookstore-owner Annie Darling and her ebullient husband Max are looking forward to a simple Low Country Christmas. But as they discover, the holidays can be complicated--and deadly. Christmas plans go on hold with the arrival of Annie's father, whom she hasn't seen in 25 years, a teenage girl who wants Annie to be her big sister, and an ex-stepmother whom she's never met. Then there's the slew of revelers flocking to Broward's Rock--many of them the disgruntled exes and unloving relatives of aging film star Marguerite Dumaney Ladson. This gaggle of old acquaintances is shocked when the Grande Dame announces she's leaving all her money to a shady spiritualist guru--a set-up perfect for murder. A rather predictable mystery, complicated by the appearance of Annie's father and stepsister. Just released in paperback.
- A Cat in the Wings by Lydia Adamson - When a former ballet star is found murdered backstage at a production of The Nutcracker in Lincoln Center, Alice Nestleton takes a keen interest in the case, especially when her best friend is charged with the murder.
- Cooked Goose by G.A. McKevett - It's hard to get into the Christmas spirit when the Santa Ana winds are blowing at a balmy ninety degrees. It's also hard to live in a Baywatch world when you're an overly-voluptuous size 14. But Savannah Reid has never been one to believe that good things only come in small packages. Right now, the only present Savannah wants wrapped up is the one of a serial rapist who dresses as Santa, then grabs women from the local shopping mall parking lot. Thanks to his twisted brand of holiday visits, Savannah has a full-time job teaching self-defense to San Carmelita's terrified women at the local library. Her efforts are rewarded when her star pupil, a multiple-pierced teenager named Margie is attacked by the Santa rapist, and manages to deliver a below-the-belt blow that lets her escape with her life and her virtue intact. While the feisty detective is happy to land a real lead, she's less than thrilled when the girl's father--Captain Bloss, her ex-boss from the San Carmelita PD--asks Savannah to be his daughter's personal bodyguard. It seems the rapist has turned vicious cop-killer, making the Captain and his daughter prime targets. Savannah already has her hands and her house full with her pregnant sister's hellion twins and her no-good yahoo of a brother-in-law. So what's one more troublesome guest? With enough chaos swirling around her house to make Tiny Tim grouchy, Savannah looks over her list of suspects to figure out just who's been naughty and who's been, well, really naughty.
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