Spirit of Steamboat by Craig Johnson

It wouldn’t be Christmas for me without Spirit of Steamboat by Craig Johnson. I’ve been reminding readers about this book for several holidays. Except for several readings I do privately on Christmas Eve, this is the novella that touches my heart. Spirit...

The Snow Lies Deep by Paula Munier

I used to turn to Louise Penny’s Armand Gamache books when I wanted beautiful writing. Now, I do the same with Paula Munier’s mysteries. In The Snow Lies Deep, the seventh Mercy Carr mystery, Munier describes a Vermont Christmas with poetic, magical turns...

The Secret Christmas Library by Jenny Colgan

Jenny Colgan’s latest novel, The Secret Christmas Library, might encourage you to escape to the Scottish Highlands while hoping to be snowed in at a castle for the holidays. Well, not me. I hate snow and winter, but the story was still a delightful love story to...

A Christmas Witness by Charles Todd

At 212 pages, Charles Todd’s A Christmas Witness is the longest novella I’ve ever read. It’s also tedious, and repetitive. Nothing happens except for a man who swears he sees a ghost and changes his life a la Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol....

A Ferry Merry Christmas by Debbie Macomber

If you’re looking for just a nice, sweet story for the Christmas holidays, Debbie Macomber’s A Ferry Merry Christmas will fit the bill. There are no surprises, but it’s a satisfying story. Two days before Christmas the Washington State Ferry running...