The Festive Mayhem mystery and crime fiction anthology is back for another year! In this fourth edition, thirteen crime writers of color have teamed up to offer you a baker's dozen of brand-new short stories centered around the winter holidays. From uplifting cozies, to action-packed thrillers, to darker suspense, this collection has it all!
What you'll find inside:
- "The Townhouse That Cried: A Valentine's Day Haunting" by Persia Walker. In a gorgeous but haunted townhouse, a couple's darkest secrets and buried pasts threaten to destroy their relationship and their lives.
- "Chocolate Kisses, Deadly Wishes: A Clover City Files Short Story" by Barbara Howard. When a candy-themed reality TV show comes to Briarwood College, the event turns chilling when a celebrity chef is found dead amidst the winter wonderland set, thrusting two friends into a hunt for the killer.
- "Dearly Departed: A Crescent City Short Story" by SG Wong. Betta Ha believes deeply in her vocation as a Healer, but can her convictions be enough to protect a gifted new protg from a predatory family, or her best friend from past mistakes that might now prove more dangerous than anyone imagined?
- "A Tokyo Christmas Dish" by Elizabeth Wilkerson. A burnt-out home health aide's impromptu trip to Japan takes a wild turn when she finds herself entangled in a scheme to spread Christmas cheer.
- "Valentine's Vengeance: A Cozy Cat Caper Mystery Short" by Paige Sleuth. Cherry Hills amateur sleuth Imogene Little finds herself investigating an attempted murder during a Valentine's Day double date.
- "Appalachia Kidnappings" by Lavelle Andrew Miller. A winter storm unearths a decade old mystery.
- "The Case Of The Missing Body: A Lara's Detective Agency Mystery" by Stella Oni. In the days leading up to Christmas, the body of a respected Yoruba chief vanishes from a funeral home under mysterious circumstances.
- "Yuletide Clean-Up" by Delia Pitts. Denise's post-holiday chores include dismantling the Christmas tree, baking cookies, and covering up a death.
- "Before The Ball Drops" by Lekecia Barclay. With the clock ticking down to a killer's midnight deadline on New Year's Eve, a jaded private detective makes a deal with her estranged best friend-find the would-be murderer in exchange for freeing her son.
- "Street Smarts" by P.M. Raymond. Against the backdrop of New Orleans Mardi Gras, a savvy stripper and her most ardent admirer share a dangerous secret that puts them in the crosshairs of a scheming law enforcer.
- "Sweeten: A Naomi Sinclair Short Story" by Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier. When blackmail threatens to ruin a perfect Virgin Islands Christmas, St. Thomian food journalist Naomi Sinclair trades her usual bush tea for a glass of maubi and dives in to uncover the truth.
- "The Paradise" by Jill Brock. Nia Jackson, the new tenant, discovers that living at the Paradise Apartments could be deadly.
- "Delilah And The Dangerous Diva" by Carolyn Marie Wilkins. When her boss's client, a renowned Negro opera singer, is accused of killing a crooked theatrical producer at the turn of the last century, legal secretary and aspiring novelist Delilah Rhodes must confront a vicious killer.