Mystery. Shetland Islanders aren't known for their welcoming attitude toward nosey outsiders. So after bodies start appearing and there are questions that need to be asked, it's a good thing that Detective Jimmy Perez is a native (a shipwrecked Spanish Armada sailor figures in his family tree). Was old Mima Wilson shot accidentally or was she murdered? And just how old--or young--are the human remains unearthed by a young archaeologist? "With fine writing, a broodingly atmospheric setting, a twist-filled plot, and a shocker of an ending" (Booklist), this 3rd book in the Shetland Island Quartet (after Raven Black and White Nights) has it all.

Mystery. While on a working vacation in Oaxaca, Mexico (his wife is temporarily running a resort as a favor for relatives), forensic anthropologist Gideon Oliver, aka the Skeleton Detective, is asked to examine the mummified remains of a drifter found in the desert...and finds something startling. And there are even more surprises when he's asked to look at the body of an unidentified young girl who's been dead over a year. If you long for a fast-paced, fair-play mystery filled with fascinating forensic details that aren't too graphic in nature, check out Aaron J. Elkins' Gideon Oliver novels--Skull Duggery is the 16th. Want to start with the 1st? Pick up Fellowship of Fear.

Noir Fiction. In 1945 Hollywood, plenty of people seem to live the glamorous life. But with the horrors of the Holocaust and World War II still fresh in everyone's minds and Senator Joe McCarthy's anti-communist blacklisting on the horizon, a dark current runs under the surface. Learning of the mysterious accident that's left his Hollywood-insider brother in a coma, Ben Collier, a G.I. who's just back from Europe, travels to California--and after his brother dies, he looks into the death and sees the black underbelly of the city. Don't miss this one--The Globe and Mail calls it "one of the best books of the year."

Police Procedural. While taking a break from pretending to be corpses (and drinking a couple of hidden beers), two English Civil War reenactors at a battle outside Bath discover a human bone. They leave it be, thinking it belongs to a long-dead soldier. But when one of the men, an academic, comes back later to retrieve the bone, he disappears. Inspector Peter Diamond ends up searching for the recently missing man and investigating a fresh murder in this 10th outing, an appealing story that's for anyone who likes well-told, twisty tales. For another novel set in Bath, England, try Morag Joss' Funeral Music.

Comic Caper. When the choicest bottles in a multi-million dollar wine collection are stolen from a Hollywood lawyer's cellar, wine connoisseur and ex-lawyer Sam Levitt is hired by the victim's insurance company to investigate and find the missing spirits. Traveling from California to France--where he visits Paris, Bordeaux, and Provence and receives assistance from a beautiful French colleague--Sam works all the angles to get the vamoosed vino back. The Vintage Caper will quench the thirst of gourmands, oenophiles, and Francophiles since Peter Mayle, the bestselling author of A Year in Provence, clearly knows and loves both food, wine, and France. À votre santé!

Police Procedural. In the border area between Ireland and Northern Ireland, Garda Inspector Benedict Devlin, following orders from his boss, tells newly released ex-con James Kerr to stay away from Lifford, in County Donegal. The born-again Kerr claims he wants no trouble and just wants to visit a former acquaintance. But Devlin is soon investigating days later when both men are dead--with Kerr found crucified on a tree. Adding to Devlin's problems are assaults on two young women, drug thefts, a rule-breaking cop, and family worries. If you like the crime novels of Ken Bruen and Ian Rankin, Irishman Brian McGilloway's well-done books should also please.

Cozy Mystery. In Meg Langslow's 10th humorous outing, her backyard is being used as the check-in point for the annual Caerphilly, Virginia, Christmas parade--Meg is the current "Mistress of Revels," after all. But with the theme being "The Twelve Days of Christmas," that means that Meg's dealing with the noisy drummers and bagpipers as well as milkmaids, their cows, and the cows', um, deposits. But all of that pales in comparison to her troubles when it's discovered that Santa--or, more accurately, the local curmudgeon playing him--has been murdered. If you're looking for a lighthearted mystery this holiday season, check out Six Geese A-Slaying.

Cozy Mystery. Just before Christmas, the little village of Crozet, Virginia, looks picture-perfect with its snow-covered quad and old buildings. And all is well as Mary Minor “Harry” Haristeen, her sleuthing cats Mrs. Murphy and Pewter, and her delightful corgi Tee Tucker enjoy the peaceful view as they walk to St. Luke's church to help make wreaths. But later, the quiet joys of the season are interrupted when Harry and her husband visit a tree farm run by The Brothers of Love, a semi-monastic organization, and discover a dead body. This witty tale is for those who like clever mysteries peopled with charming locals and animals that talk amongst themselves.

Mystery. Imagine you've been part of a lottery ticket-buying group for years, but due to the advice of a couple of dubious "financial planners," you stop...and then your group wins the multi-million dollar jackpot. That's what happens to Duncan Graham, who, as it turns out, is also suddenly missing. In Branscombe, New Hampshire, for the town's Festival of Joy, PI Regan Reilly, her suspense writer-mother, and her lottery winner-turned-sleuth friend, Alvirah Meehan, all investigate. The Higgins Clarks, a mother-daughter writing team, have once again written a pleasing holiday tale (it's their 5th).

Short Stories. If you don't have time to read an entire novel, try a few short stories, such as this trio of candy-cane-themed whodunits (there are recipes, too!). In Joanne Fluke's "Candy Cane Murder," bakery owner Hannah Swenson finds murder on the agenda at Lake Eden's annual Christmas gala. Then, in Laura Levine's "The Dangers of Candy Canes," freelance writer Jaine Austen tries to prove that a man who fell while installing a giant candy cane on his roof was sabotaged. Finally, in Leslie Meier's "Candy Canes of Christmas Past," new grandmother Lucy Stone remembers her first Christmas in Tinker's Cove--and the cold case she just had to check out.

Mystery. As if Christmas weren't stressful enough, North Carolina Judge Deborah Knott is also planning her upcoming nuptials, dealing with still-uncompleted renovations on her old farmhouse, investigating the fatal shooting of an assistant D.A. in her car (she was driving at the time and her adopted baby died in the ensuing crash), and looking into the case of a death row killer who's set to be executed in a month. Oh, and there's always her large, loving, and helpful (read interfering) family to contend with. In a starred review, Library Journal says that author Margaret Maron is "in top form" in Rituals of the Season, her 11th novel to feature Judge Knott.

Historical Fiction. How does a Victorian Christmas on the English coast sound? Probably quite nice--unless you're cantankerous Mariah Ellison, whose usual plans are ruined when, just before the holidays, her granddaughter's household departs for France, leaving Mariah travel with her maid to Romney Marsh in Kent. Mariah approves of neither the chilly air nor her hosts (her former daughter-in-law's new husband is a young actor). But she also doesn't care for murder, so when a guest is killed, Mariah investigates--and she is transformed by the experience. If you want a "quick and enjoyable read" (Publishers Weekly), bring A Christmas Guest home.