Thanksgiving Mysteries

The picturesque New England town of Cobb’s Landing is getting ready for their Colonial Thanksgiving festivities, and Mayor Peggy Jean Turner is getting prepared for an onslaught of tourists. Along with the hubbub about the festivities, the mayor also finds herself a suspect in the murder of one of her neighbors whose body is found in the village green. This is a light-hearted cozy that features interesting characters and a wonderful setting.

American Dorothy Martin has been living in the hamlet of Sherebury, England for years with her retired detective husband Alan. Since Dorothy is a retired teacher, she is asked to pinch-hit as a substitute teacher at the local elementary school. Soon one of the teachers is accused of murdering her repressive husband and Dorothy becomes involved when she meets the accused teacher’s very intense nine-year old daughter. The victim was a very cruel man who used is warped view of religion to torment everyone he knew. Did the teacher or her emotionally scarred daughter kill him? Even with all of this going on, Dorothy is still trying to plan and prepare a traditional Thanksgiving dinner in merry old England. The author is an Agatha Award winner and her Dorothy Martin series is a treat.

Pulitzer Prize winning forensic historian Simon Shaw is taking a Thanksgiving vacation on Pearlie Beach, a small island off of the North Carolina coast. While on the island, he is asked to take a look what appears to an old barnacle-encrusted diver’s outfit, overgrown with seaweed. Upon further investigation Simon realizes that there is a body inside. WWII German U-boats, confederate gold, a host of colorful characters and local lore make this a very appealing cozy. The author has created a likable and interesting protagonist in Simon Shaw.

Lucy Stone has a full plate, escorting a preschool field trip to a turkey farm, working part-time as a reporter for her small town’s newspaper, and preparing Thanksgiving dinner for 12. A story falls right into Lucy’s lap when a confrontational member of the Metinnicut Indian tribe is murdered with a war club right in the midst of Tinker’s Cove’s Thanksgiving festivities.

Mystery editor Clair Rawlings and her ward, 12-year-old Meredith Lawrence, are headed to the Wayside Inn in Massachusetts for the Thanksgiving holiday. They will be joined at the inn by Clair’s boyfriend, detective Wally Jackson. Both Clair and Meredith find the inn charming and love the tradition of the Secret Drawer Society (I’m not going to give it away — you’ll just have to read the book to find out the secret.). The inn guests are stranded by a heavy snowstorm and by the murder of a waitress Mona Lisa. Clair and her “Dr. Watson,” Meredith, can’t wait for Wally to arrive so they investigate the murder. This is a well-written, fast-paced locked room cozy. This entire series is great and the reader will want to read all of the books in the series to find out more about Clair and Meredith.