Welcome to our first news column of December 2025, and it’s great to bring you six new books by authors you may not have come across before. We’ll start with something seasonal from Verity Bright, veer off to Thailand with Peter Nordgren, and then head who knows where – which is exactly how crime fiction should be.
Enjoy discovering your next crime read…
Murder on a Frosty Night by Verity Bright
If cosy crime set in the 1920s twinkles your tinsel then Verity Bright’s Murder on a Frosty Night – out on 8 December – should be just the ticket. It’s book 24 in the Lady Eleanor Swift mystery series and finds our heroine preparing for her first Christmas with new husband Hugh. But their plans are put on hold when a mysterious telegram sends the pair scurrying to the remote village of Yorelow… only to find their client, Osmund Unwin, dead in the churchyard as midnight mass ends. They had never met Unwin, and know nothing of why he summoned them to Yorelow. Now the newlyweds must find his killer in a village where it seems that hardly anyone has a good word to say about him.
Order now on Amazon
Eastern Shadows by Peter Nordgren
Shane Morris is a struggling journalist whose knowledge of Thailand could come in very useful when a young woman vanishes while exploring her roots there. She’s alone, but while her posts on social media assure family and friends that she’s safe, they’re not convinced. Enter Shane, whose search for the missing woman leads him to Thailand’s shadowy underworld. As he gets closer to the truth, Shane comes to the attention of Kittisak Wanchai, a real estate tycoon with criminal ties and a secret: he’s the missing woman’s father. Can the reporter put the pieces together, find her and come out alive? Find out on 15 December, when Eastern Shadows by Peter Nordgren is published.
Order now on Amazon
Scorned by Tracy Woodhouse
Hard-up university student Jenna Baker thinks her troubles are behind her when she meets a handsome stranger while working her waitressing job. Devin Colt is rich too and soon the pair are an item – much to the disgust of his mother, Monica. Devin is destined to become CEO of his father’s tech company and his mother insists that he break up with Jenna, or she will take matters into her own hands. Meanwhile, Jenna finds out she’s pregnant, and the small matter of a dalliance with an old flame means she doesn’t know who the father is. But that’s set aside as the couple move in together – until Jenna receives a mysterious letter that could really change things… Scorned by Tracy Woodhouse is out now.
Order now on Amazon
***Subscribe to the amazing Rap Sheet newsletter here***
Exit Stage Right by GR Jordan
With a title like Exit Stage Right, it will come as no surprise to learn that GR Jordan’s latest Highlands and Islands detective thriller, out on 7 December, is set in the world of theatre. DCI Seoras Macleod is in the audience when star of the biggest production in Inverness theatre history is shot dead on stage. At first it appears to have been a tragic accident, but as Macleod and his team dig deeper, they learn that the victim was living beyond his means and had more than a few enemies. There’s more to this one than meets the eye – but when you’re dealing with actors for whom deceit is second nature, how can you work out who’s telling the truth?
Order now on Amazon
A Surfeit of Grief by David Penny
It’s the turn of the 16th century when Thomas Berrington is sent to southern Spain by King Henry on a delicate mission. Accompanied by his faithful companion Jorge, Thomas is tasked with oiling the wheels of marriage negotiations between Catherine of Aragon and Prince Harry. Then one of Queen Isabel’s closest advisors is murdered and it’s up to Thomas and Jorge to find the culprit – with the help of Rosa, a resourceful herbalist, and Baracoa, a freed Native American whose intimate knowledge of the New World proves invaluable. A Surfeit of Grief by David Penny is out on 13 December.
Order now on Amazon
Watch Over Me by DK Hood
Christmas is on the horizon in Black Rock Falls, when Sheriff Jenna Alton and Deputy David Kane are called to a local bar where school teacher Ellie McBride has stumbled in covered in bruises, claiming to have escaped a kidnapping. CCTV coverage of the incident provides more questions than answers, but when a second young woman goes missing Jenna steps up the investigation. Mysterious messages left at school prove Ellie isn’t out of the woods yet. When a body is discovered, there’s a race to catch a killer before they strike again. DK Hood’s Watch Over Me is published on 16 December.
Order now on Amazon
