Behind the enchanting façade of the North Pole–the fantastical winter wonderland where sugary delights and candy canes reign supreme–exists a world of surprises and hidden secrets. When Jangles van Hoosen Keebler Frosten McFlurry, executive director of Santa Co. Limited, is discovered “wrapped up” in a deadly predicament, suspicion falls upon his mischievous brother.

Enter Ruddiger...just Ruddiger, the North Pole’s one and only private detective, to solve the mystery. As he delves into the investigation, he finds himself surrounded by a cast of colorful characters, including a vivacious showgirl from the Red Ribbon District, the ever-watchful Elftenant Blinker of the North Pole Constabulary, and Big LeRoy, the formidable leader of the elf union.

Can Ruddiger prove his client is as innocent as a snowflake and unmask the true culprit? Venture into the whimsical world of North Pole Noir to uncover the truth hidden beneath the snowy veneer.

Book Links: Amazon | Apple Books | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads | BookBub

Music Credits:

Christmas Mischief

https://uppbeat.io/t/floor-model/christmas-mischief

License code: KPFGFFIZCTA0DQL5

Snowy Road

https://uppbeat.io/t/ra/snowy-road

License code: 06Z5S9D9Y06KLAZJ

Have yourself a merry little . . . murder?

Ricki James-Diaz gets the best present ever when her parents arrive in New Orleans for the holidays. Not only is it a chance to catch up, it’s also an opportunity to jog her mom Josepha’s memory about Ricki’s adoption. The details have always been shrouded in mystery. And Ricki understands why when she learns her mother was blackmailed for years, simply for not wanting to lose her precious daughter.

But digging into the past soon lands the James-Diaz clan in water hotter than a big pot of gumbo! When the woman who extorted Ricki’s mom is found dead at her home, Josepha becomes the primary suspect. Now Ricki has another murder to solve, and tracking down a killer in Crescent City is going to take a miracle.

Luckily, ‘tis the season! And Ricki has all the staff at the Bon Vee Culinary House Museum on hand to help. Can she prove her mother’s innocence and have the case wrapped up in time for Christmas?

Series: A Vintage Cookbook Mystery, #4 • Learn More at Amazon & Goodreads Book Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | BookBub | Kobo | Google Play | Apple Books | Severn House

Music Credits

Golden Moments of Christmas

https://uppbeat.io/t/vocalista/golden-moments-of-christmas

License code: MWYNNSUGASMNC3SG

Fireplace Ballad

https://uppbeat.io/t/avbe/fireplace-ballad

License code: OZKHKWOK4FDGQA2C

Visit Teresa’s blog, and the home of Books to the Ceiling at teresatrent.blog

It's 1978, and Jennifer Morgan, a sassy New Yorker, has escaped to the counterculture village of Flanders, Massachusetts. Her peaceful life is disrupted when one of her customers at the Café Galadriel is found dead. Everyone is a suspect—including the gentle artisan woodworker, the Yeats-wannabe poet, the town's anti-war hero, the peace-loving Episcopalian minister, and the local organic farmer who can hold a grudge.

Book Links: Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | BookBub | Torchflame Books

Music Credits:

Firmament by Kevin Macleod

https://uppbeat.io/t/kevin-macleod/firmament

License code: K9LTLRTFGBRMRIKB

Drowning in grief, Emily Grace has lost everything: her home, her friends, her career. Only one lifeline remains—a job working for an eccentric millionaire. Along with his wife, he’s been building a mansion on a secluded island surrounded by a harsh and unforgiving sea. But when she disappears under mysterious circumstances, Emily Grace is hired to finish the project.

Locals believe the house is cursed, but their warnings go unheeded as Emily Grace works to rebuild her life. After what she’s been through, nothing can scare her—except perhaps the attention of a handsome man offering more than friendship. And yet, there’s something strange about this solitary fortress. Accidents. Mishaps. Ghostly whispers through the surrounding forest, footsteps when she’s completely alone . . .

Is there truly a curse or is the ethereal specter in the window an omen of something more sinister?

Book Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | BookBub | Severn House

Music Credits:

Below the Surface

https://uppbeat.io/t/all-ambient/below-the-surface

License code: XUWEA2ZSWOWPI1WF

Private eye One the Gun and his right-hand dame Two the True Blue are on the trail of the killer of Five the No Longer Alive. But as the numbers and the clues stack up, One the Gun realizes that today is exactly like yesterday—in fact maybe actually is yesterday—and he’s pretty sure that at the end of yesterday he was shot to death. It’s a dilly of a pickle as time continues to loop back on itself, one murder case becomes two, and the gumshoe races against the clock to smoke out his own killer—before that killer can stop his clock for keeps. Gigi Little’s noir-soaked and delightfully surreal debut pays homage to the radio classics of the forties and fifties while investigating themes of greed, sexism, and the consequences of unchecked power.

Book Links: Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | Forest Avenue Press

Music Credits

Noir as the Night by Albert Behar

https://uppbeat.io/t/albert-behar/noir-as-the-night

License code: YN57S001GY12IAYL

Visit the home of Books to the Ceiling. Teresa Trent's blog at https://teresatrent.blog

When the body of a visitor is found in the woods by the local Shaker community, suspicion immediately falls on them. Rees is reluctant to believe anyone in this peaceful community committed murder. And Hans Bergin arrived with his wife, his brother-in-law and sister-in-law. They had their own reasons to want Bergin dead.

But as Rees investigates, he discovers everyone, including a recent Shaker convert, have secrets of their own, some stretching all the way back to the Revolutionary War.

Who, among the many suspects, decided to take matters in their own hands? Bergin's wife and other family? The new Shaker? Or someone else entirely?

Book Links: Amazon | Kindle Unlimited | Goodreads | BookBub

Music Credits:

DADA

https://uppbeat.io/t/dada/alter

License code: SLUZLGG2QHFFVOS3

Find Books to the Ceiling at teresatrent.blog

This week we're headed to Savannah Georgia to a quaint little Magic Candle Shop. In this paranormal cozy mystery Tabby Quigsley has her hands full as she is asked to investigate the murder of a man who fell down the doomed Stone Stairs of Death.

Purchase Links - Amazon Nook Kobo Apple iBook

Teresa's Blog TeresaTrent.blog

Music Credits:

Ineffable Mysteries

https://uppbeat.io/t/aaron-paul-low/ineffable-mysteries

License code: G4SUOSV6GHTAZ86N

L'Intrigue

https://uppbeat.io/t/gerald-olivieri/lintrigue

License code: W6YNAHCY5ULWD2SY

This week we’re headed to Georgia to spend some time with Martha, who after a stint in a mental ward is still hearing voices in her head. Not good, but it definitely creates a wonderful backdrop for the thriller, The Girl in the Maze.