The Christmas Eve Murders: Cosy Christmas, Casual Murder

A snow-dusted Yorkshire village, a snug pub full of quirky locals, and a Christmas Eve that takes a dark turn. The Christmas Eve Murders by Noelle Albright is a cosy, snowy whodunnit, written in a very self-aware, gently playful style. Set at the Merry Monarch on the coldest night of the year, a stranded journalist arrives just as the lights go out and someone is found dead. With its mix of charming characters, clever plotting, and a hint of winter suspense, it’s the perfect read for fans of classic cosy mysteries looking for a seasonal twist.

The story follows Maddie, a reporter heading home to Scotland for Christmas. A road accident forces her to take a detour through the Yorkshire Dales, where her car breaks down in the middle of a snowstorm. Stranded, she takes shelter in an isolated pub on the edge of a small village—where some of the locals are also snowed in.

When a murder occurs, Maddie teams up with a local policeman to figure out who did it—and why—while realizing she can’t fully trust anyone, not even her own partner in crime-solving.

I really enjoyed this story because it mostly stays in the pub. For someone like me, who has ADHD and struggles with visualizing multiple locations, this was a relief as there were no mental gymnastics required trying to picture a dozen different settings.

The snowy setting isn’t just a one-off mention like in some Christmas cozy murder mysteries. In this book, the author does a solid job of keeping that wintery vibe alive, reminding you of the howling winds and heavy snow outside the pub. These little touches pop up throughout the story, making it easy to sink deeper into your chair (or bed) and really get cozy with the mystery.

Even with a fairly large cast of characters (usually a challenge for me, often requiring me to jot down names and relationships), I was able to keep track of everyone and their connections without too much trouble.

In the story, Maddie likes to run little internal dialogues about each character and whether they could be the murderer. Because the book is very self-aware—and very much a modern mystery rather than a classic “golden age” whodunit—it sometimes overdoes it with lines like, “Well, it couldn’t be this person because they wouldn’t know X, and that person would know about Y.”

The problem is, that’s exactly the process a reader goes through when solving a mystery themselves. As a result, it took a bit of the fun out of figuring things out on my own.

Near the end, the book drops a clue and tries—pretty obviously—to steer the reader toward suspecting one character. But my intuition pointed me to someone else… and sure enough, I guessed the murderer before the big reveal.

Unfortunately, that spoiled a bit of the fun, because part of the joy in a mystery is that satisfying, “Oh wow, I never would’ve expected X!” moment. Fun fact: in all my years of reading murder mysteries, I’ve never successfully guessed the culprit—so I blame the book’s self-aware style for giving me an unfair advantage this time.

Verdict

Overall, I really enjoyed The Christmas Eve Murders. The pacing was solid, and the story kept me entertained and curious throughout. My one small gripe? The main character can be a little too self-aware at times, thinking out loud in a way that sometimes spoils the fun of piecing things together myself.

Other than that, it’s a quick, engaging read—perfect for curling up by the fire with a cup of cocoa during the holidays.