Welcome back to Book Break!
For this video, I was thinking that as the nights draw longer
it is the perfect time of year to curl up with some cosy crime.
So all the books I'm about to mention
are good, old-fashioned mysteries.
All of the twists and turns,
but none of the gore,
which is perfect for people who are squeamish like me,
but still love murder mysteries.
And it seems like the whole world agrees this is the perfect time for cosy crime.
This time of year there is always a new Agatha Christie adaptation on TV
and talking of Agatha Christie,
she is a great place to start with cosy crime.
I'm starting quite the Agatha Christie collection.
This is the one I'm currently reading,
4.50 from Paddington,
and can you get cosier than Miss Marple?
This book has such a brilliant opening.
Mrs McGillicuddy is returning home from some Christmas shopping
when she witnesses a murder on a train.
So of course she tells her good friend Miss Marple about it,
and the whole time the investigation is going on,
we're hearing about cosy roast dinners at this lovely country house.
It's just delightful
but also really suspenseful.
And if you like Agatha Christie,
you will love Murder at the Old Vicarage
by Jill McGown.
This is obviously very Christie-inspired,
even the title is a nod to Agatha Christie's
Murder at the Vicarage.
I was given this one for Christmas a few years ago and absolutely loved it,
it was such a perfect time of year to read it.
So this book is set in a sleepy village covered in snow,
until Christmas Eve,
the vicar's son in law is found murdered in his bed.
And we've got such a fab cast of characters in this book.
There's the vicar, who's lost his faith,
there's the single mother who's caught his eye,
and there's the little old lady who everyone overlooks,
but always seems to know exactly what's going on.
Sound familiar?
And of course, there's all of the misdirections and twists and surprises you could hope for.
Next, I've got Robert Barnard's A Little Local Murder,
such a great name,
and this book is set in a little village called Twyching,
another great name,
where the very exciting news is going around that the county radio has decided to make
a documentary about the village.
But the first villager who is chosen to take part is suddenly found murdered.
And then these anonymous letters start coming in,
revealing secrets about all of the other villagers.
It's brilliant, and there's a lot of humour in this book,
particularly in all the petty competition between all the villagers.
And while we're on Robert Barnard,
I have another of his books here, The Case of the Missing Bronte,
which especially will be good for Bronte fans.
So this time, it's set in Yorkshire,
and we start in a pub, where a woman approaches our detective main character
with a manuscript that she believes might be Emily Bronte's unpublished second novel.
So he agrees to do a bit of literary detective work,
but when the woman is attacked and the manuscript is stolen,
it turns out there is a lot more at stake here.
Now I've got two Golden Age detective classics by Margery Allingham here,
that both make for great cosy fireside reading,
and they both follow the gentleman detective Albert Campion.
The Tiger in the Smoke is set in a very foggy London,
which makes it very atmospheric,
and lurking in the shadows, a serial killer is on the loose.
And then Sweet Danger finds Albert Campion in the French Riviera,
and leads him on this treasure hunt, trying to locate the proofs of ownership of a small
European kingdom.
And it's got James Bond style villains and disguises along the way.
This is one of Margery Allingham's earlier books,
and it's a bit more light hearted and whimsical than some of her later novels.
Now an author you definitely need to know about if you like cosy crime is Julia Chapman.
Her Dales Detective series is just beloved,
there are four out so far, with the fifth coming next year.
So let's start with the first, Date with Death.
So this is set in the Yorkshire Dales, about a man who runs a detective agency,
and his neighbour, a woman who runs a dating agency,
and together, they have to pair up and solve a series of murders.
So it's got this great blend of romance and murder,
with that dry Yorkshire humour.
Start with this one, you'll be hooked,
and then you can follow the pair throughout the rest of the series.
And then if you're looking for another great series to get stuck into,
the Lavender Ladies Detective Agency by Minna Lindgren,
this is about a pair of best friends in a retirement home,
who team up to form a detective agency.
So there are three books in this series,
starting with Death in Sunset Grove.
Sunset Grove is the name of their retirement community.
And as well as the murder mystery element in these books,
you also get this kind of social critique about the way the elderly are treated.
So that brings a really interesting extra dimension to this series.
And then finally, a cosy crime series you mustn't miss is the Agatha Raisin series by
M.C. Beaton.
There are 30 so far in this series, so you will never run out.
Agatha Raisin is a retired PR agent,
who retires to the countryside and ends up starting her own detective agency,
where with a mixture of skill and bumbling good luck,
she solves a number of crimes.
And to give you an idea of the vibe of this series, the first book is called the Quiche
of Death.
So I'd love to hear some of your favourite cosy crime novels for this time of year.
Do leave them in the comments,
and if you want to come be as cosy as I am right now,
I am in The White Haus in Farringdon,
which is an apres-ski themed restaurant bar,
it's so cosy, feels really Christmassy right now,
it's even got a cable car you can sit in,
definitely I will leave all the links in the description box below if you want to come
check it out.
And of course, do also hit that subscribe button below for new videos every week,
next week's video will be going up on Boxing Day,
so we're going to be talking about some of our favourite families in literature.
Anyone else wish they were spending Boxing Day with the Weasleys?
And while you're waiting, you can always go and follow us over on Instagram @bookbreakuk.
See you next time!