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Winter 2025 TBR
152 Plays4 days ago
The year is drawing to a close, and Brook and Sarah are about to take a short break. Before they do, they share what they are planning to read during the 2025 festive season.
Discussed and mentioned
Brook's picks
Screamish (2025) Eryn Scott
The Perfect Murder (2025) Amanda McKinney
The Shakespeare Fraud (2016) Ted Story
Hickory Dickory Dock (1955) Agatha Christie
The Hallmarked Man (2025) Robert Galbraith
Sarah's picks
The Antique Hunters Death on the Red Sea (2025) CL Miller
The Christmas Appeal (2023) Janice Hallett
The Mistletoe Mystery (2024) Nita Prose
Midwinter Murder: Fireside Tales from the Queen of Mystery (2020) Agatha Christie
For more information
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Music: Signs To Nowhere by Shane Ivers – www.silvermansound.com
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Order Life or Delft by Brook and Sarah
For a full episode transcript, visit https://cluedinmystery.com/winter-2025-tbr/
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Transcript
Introduction & Holiday TBR Announcement
00:00:10
Speaker
Welcome to Clued in Mystery. I'm Sarah. And I'm Brooke, and we both love mystery. Hi, Brooke. Hi,
Season Wrap-up & Holiday Reading Plans
00:00:20
Speaker
Sarah. It's Holiday TBR episode.
00:00:24
Speaker
Yeah, so that means we've gone through another season of talking about mysteries, and we're going to just take a short break over the Christmas holidays. But before we do that, we want to talk about what we're planning to read while we're on break.
Featured Book: 'Screamish' by Erin Scott
00:00:44
Speaker
Yes, this is always so much fun to hear about some reading ideas and ah talk about what we're going to do when it's time to get cozy and holiday reading.
00:00:56
Speaker
The first one on my list is Screamish, and this is from a brand new series by one of my favorite cozy authors, Erin Scott. And this is from her new series, Black Cat Investigations.
00:01:10
Speaker
A body in a graveyard shouldn't be a problem, except when it's found above ground with a knife sticking out of it. To make things even more complicated, the only clue in the murder is a comment left on a local neighborhood app that was deleted six minutes later, and the only person who knows it exists is the creator of said app.
00:01:33
Speaker
This is a series for everyone who normally doesn't read scary books because they're just well too scary. You'll get a tingle down your spine, but after that, you'll be fine. It's the coziest creepy series you'll ever read. So this sounds like a lot of fun. And I will say Erin does an amazing job of having maps and character art and everything for her series. So I would encourage people to go out and check out her website for this brand new series she's developed.
Sarah's Pick: 'Antique Hunter's Death on the Red Sea'
00:02:04
Speaker
Brooke, this sounds like so much fun. I love the technology element, and it sounds like there's just this hint of horror, kind of like, you know, when you were little and you were reading R.L. Stine.
00:02:19
Speaker
Exactly. I know. I'm really excited about it. And there's a literal black cat, obviously, black cat investigations, but this is also what she's describing her sleuth as. Queenie is sort of a black cat person who likes to be introverted, maybe think a little bit like Wednesday from the series. So I'm really looking forward to this. And there's already three books out.
00:02:43
Speaker
Oh, excellent.
00:02:46
Speaker
Well, for my Christmas reading, I have a combination of books that are holiday themed and ah books that are not. So the first book on my list is the Antique Hunter's Death on the Red Sea by C.L. Miller. And this is the second in this series featuring an antiques expert.
00:03:08
Speaker
When a painting vanishes from a maritime museum and a dead body is found nearby, the newly established Lockwood Antique Hunters Agency, Freya Lockwood and her Aunt Carol, are called to investigate.
00:03:19
Speaker
Following a lead that takes them aboard a glamorous antiques cruise sailing towards the Red Sea in Jordan, they quickly discover the ship's art gallery is filled with stolen antiques. Each antique is also listed in Freya's late mentor's journals that detail unsolved cases.
00:03:35
Speaker
In Chasing a Murderer with a Stolen Painting, they may have found something more sinister than they could have imagined.
Brooke's Pick: 'The Perfect Murder'
00:03:42
Speaker
Oh, that sounds so good. I loved the first book in this series. We both read it over the past year. i would really like to keep reading more about these characters. I especially like her aunt. She's just a lot of fun. So I can't wait to hear more about that.
00:04:02
Speaker
The next one on my list is more of a thriller, and this is The Perfect Murder. It's a 2025 release by Amanda McKinney, and this is a new author for me.
00:04:13
Speaker
Every best-selling thriller needs The Perfect Murder. Savvy Portman just wrote one, and now it's coming true. Savvy Portman's debut cozy mystery has made her a number one bestseller and publishing's newest star.
00:04:27
Speaker
When life gets tough, writing is her escape until someone commits a murder straight from her work in progress thriller. Surveillance cameras placed Savvy near the scene that night. Witnesses say they saw her.
00:04:41
Speaker
The evidence is mounting, but she swears she was home, asleep. Savvy has written the perfect crime. Now she has to prove she didn't do it. and Another one that involves technology. Yeah, technology and author as sleuth.
00:05:00
Speaker
Sounds like a great combination.
Sarah's Inspiration: 'The Christmas Appeal'
00:05:05
Speaker
So next on my list, now I'm turning to the holiday themed mysteries, is The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett. And this book I was inspired to pick up after our holiday mysteries episode where you talked about this.
00:05:26
Speaker
This immersive holiday caper follows the hilarious Fairway Players Theatre group as they put on a Christmas play and solve a murder that threatens their production. The Christmas season has arrived in Lower Lockwood, and the Fairway Players are busy rehearsing their festive holiday production of Jack and the Beanstalk to raise money for a new church roof.
00:05:43
Speaker
But despite the season, Goodwill is distinctly lacking among the amateur theatre enthusiasts with petty rivalries, a possibly asbestos-filled beanstalk, and some perennially absent players behind the scenes.
00:05:55
Speaker
Of course, there's also the matter of a dead body on stage. Who could possibly have had the victim on their naughty list? Join lawyers Femi and Charlotte as they investigate Christmas letters, examine emails, and pour over police transcripts to identify both the victim and killer before the curtain closes on their holiday production for good.
00:06:15
Speaker
I'm so glad you're going to read this one, Sarah. I know you've read others by Janice Hallett, ah but you're going to love it. It has so much you know Christmas theme and Christmas tropes. and I think you're going to have a lot of fun with it.
Brooke Explores: 'The Shakespeare Fraud'
00:06:31
Speaker
Well, the next one I have on my list is, you know, I typically include some sort of true crime. And I don't really think that this is true crime, but it fits into that category in my mind. And i really got interested in this topic after we read The Daughter of Time, because it is another example of a historical mystery.
00:06:52
Speaker
And this is the Shakespeare fraud. And this book was actually published in 2016, but I just recently watched a book a newer documentary that kind of piqued my interest. So I picked this for my list.
00:07:07
Speaker
Did William Shakespeare from Stratford write the plays and the poetry credited to Shakespeare? This has been a contentious literary topic for over a century. Most experts heatedly deny there is a problem.
00:07:20
Speaker
The Shakespeare Fraud sees plenty of reasons and constructs a fascinating and absorbing story of a different author showing, from cradle to grave, how and why Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, became Shakespeare.
00:07:34
Speaker
It's a backstage story of dynastic political intrigue at the highest levels of Queen Elizabeth's government, which drastically revises the involvement of the glovemaker's son from Stratford.
00:07:48
Speaker
Oh, Brooke, this sounds so good. And I love that this is a real life literary mystery. I know. it's I'm so fascinated by this. And um i was an English lit major. And i feel very much like Grant and the other characters in the feeling of like, how did I not know about this possibility of Edward Devere? So I'm really excited to dive into this.
00:08:16
Speaker
I can't wait to hear what you think of it.
Sarah's Seasonal Read: 'The Mistletoe Mystery'
00:08:22
Speaker
ah So I have another holiday novella on my list. And this is The Mistletoe Mystery by Nita Prose. And it came out last year. And this is in her Maid series.
00:08:35
Speaker
Molly Gray has always loved the holidays. When Molly was a child, her gran went to great lengths to make the season merry and bright, full of cherished traditions. The first few Christmases without gran were hard on Molly, but this year, her beloved boyfriend and fellow festive spirit, Juan Manuel, is intent on making the season Molly's most joyful yet.
00:08:54
Speaker
But when a secret Santa gift exchange at the Regency Grand Hotel raises questions about who Molly can and cannot trust, she dives headfirst into solving her most consequential and personal mystery yet.
00:09:06
Speaker
Molly has a bad feeling
Brooke's Classic Choice: 'Hickory Dickory Doc'
00:09:07
Speaker
about things and she starts to wonder has she yet again mistaken a frog for a prince
00:09:14
Speaker
this sounds really fun Sarah yeah I've read the other books in the series and um and enjoyed them um ah so it'll be nice to to read another little episode in Molly's life
00:09:34
Speaker
Well, I have put, as i as we typically do, an Agatha Christie on my list for holiday reading, and I've decided to read Hickory Dickory Doc because this story features Miss Lemon, and we just recently covered her as one of the recurring characters of Agatha Christie, and so I just have a hankering to read about Miss Lemon.
00:09:57
Speaker
Perot doesn't need all his detective skills to realize something is troubling his secretary, Miss Lemon. She has made three mistakes in a simple letter. It seems an outbreak of kleptomania at the student hostel in which her sister works is distracting his usually efficient assistant.
00:10:16
Speaker
Deciding that desperate times call for desperate measures, the great detective agrees to investigate. and Unknown to him, however, desperation is a motive he shares with a killer.
00:10:27
Speaker
Have you read this one before, Sarah? I don't think I have, Brooke. And as all of Agatha Christie's works do, it sounds like it's a wonderful story. So um I look forward to hearing what um you think of it after you've read it.
Sarah's Wintry Collection: 'Midwinter Murder'
00:10:47
Speaker
I too have Agatha Christie on my list, but I've got some short stories. I've got the Midwinter Murder Collection on my list. And so this was a collection of short stories that was republished in 2020
00:11:03
Speaker
And it features a number of different characters. There's a chill in the air and the days are growing shorter. It's perfect time to curl up in front of a crackling fire with these wintry whodunits from the legendary Agatha Christie.
00:11:14
Speaker
But beware of deadly snow drifts and dangerous gifts, poison meals and mysterious guests. This chilling compendium of short stories, some featuring beloved detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, in an essential omnibus for Christie fans and the perfect holiday gift for mystery lovers.
00:11:31
Speaker
That sounds perfect for this time of year. And that 2020 edition has the most beautiful cover. So just a little side note there.
Brooke's Addition: 'The Hallmarked Man'
00:11:40
Speaker
Well, the last book that I will mention, i may not actually get to over break because I'm going to ask for this for Christmas. I have a hardback collection of the Robert Galbraith Cormoran Strike series. And book seven came out this fall. And I'm going to ask for the hardback copy of that for Christmas. And it's called The Hallmarked Man.
00:12:05
Speaker
A corpse is discovered in the vault of a silver shop. The police initially believe it to be that of a convicted armed robber, but not everyone agrees with that theory. One of them is Decima Mullins, who calls on the help of private detective Cormoran Strike, as she's certain the body in the silver vault was that of her boyfriend, who suddenly and mysteriously disappeared.
00:12:27
Speaker
The more Strike and his business partner Robin Ellicott delve into the case, the more labyrinthine it gets. The silver shop is no ordinary one. It's located beside Freemasons Hall and specializes in Masonic silverware.
00:12:42
Speaker
And in addition to the armed robber and Decima's boyfriend, it becomes clear that there are other missing men who could fit the profile of the body in the vault. Oh, wow, Brooke. I know you've spoken before about how much you like this series. And I have to admit, I still have not read anything from it. But I may have to remedy that at some point.
00:13:07
Speaker
Yeah, it's a really great series. And I'm very excited because the last, at least the last book and maybe the last two were very technology heavy. And this just feels like a very traditional mystery. We've got kind of like the locked room mystery going on. And I think that'll be really fun.
Excitement for Future Reads & Listener Invite
00:13:27
Speaker
Brooke, it sounds like we have set ourselves up for a wonderful break, lots of reading to do hopefully lots of hot chocolate to sip.
00:13:37
Speaker
ah And we will be back with new episodes in January. And the first one will be where we recap what we've read. That's right.
00:13:48
Speaker
I can't wait for this downtime and lots of reading. And listeners, we'd love to hear what you're going to be reading over the holiday season. So drop us a line or reach out on social media. But until 2026, I'm Brooke.
00:14:03
Speaker
And I'm Sarah. And we both love mystery. Clued in Mystery is written and produced by Brooke Peterson and Sarah M. Stephen. Music is by Shane Ivers.
00:14:15
Speaker
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Conclusion & Subscription Encouragement
00:14:22
Speaker
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00:14:29
Speaker
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