Francine Paino, a.k.a. F. Della Notte

Three days to Christmas! Everyone ready? Is everyone tired of the pressures of preparing for Christmas Day? Are we looking forward to getting past this frantic time of year?
In the past, I’ve complained about the second- and third-rate holiday movies clogging TV programming since before Halloween – that hasn’t changed. What’s changed is my new offerings for those who would like to read something not just Christmas-themed, but also good stories and terrific mysteries.
In 2024, the following three were, and still are, at the top of my list: A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, The Spy Who Came for Christmas, by David Morrell, and Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot’s Christmas. While they remain my favorites, I have six new stories that I think are worth reading even after Christmas Day, 2025, has passed. In order of preference, I recommend the following:
THE CHRISTMAS JIGSAW MURDERS, by Alexandra Benedict.
The story started slowly and made me wonder why I was reading about a rather nasty old woman, but by chapter 14, I was hooked. The personality of the lead character, Edie, a crossword setter who seems to hate Christmas, evolves as jigsaw pieces sent to her announce the deaths that will occur by Christmas Eve. Through the story of Edie’s efforts to discover who was sending these pieces and why the targeted victims were to die, she grows as a human being (who said old people can’t learn or change?). It’s fascinating to watch her involvement in solving a case her policeman nephew is in charge of, as they sort through family and professional difficulties. Will they endure, together and separately? Will they find the answers? This is a Christmas crime-and-family story that keeps the reader totally drawn in.
In David Baldacci’s THE CHRISTMAS TRAIN, a disillusioned journalist, Tom Landon, is forbidden by the FAA to travel by air anywhere in the U.S. for two years after he “blew a big one” (his words regarding his meltdown at security at LaGuardia Airport in New York. His use of words that shouldn’t be used “within four miles of any church,” and the fact that he grabbed the offending security wand a TSA worker used indiscriminately and snapped it in half, was a small example of his tirade. Despite cheers from fellow travelers, Langdon was forced to appear before a magistrate who let him off with a slap on the wrist – and an order join an anger management program. He was, however, forbidden to fly in the U.S. for two years.
Hence, he must get from New York to LA for Christmas, and he decides to travel cross-country by train to join his occasional paramour for Christmas. The reader sees Landon travel into the depths of his own heart and experience a reawakening to the attractiveness of train travel and adventure. It’s more than a means of reaching a destination; the journey is its own adventure. Personal relationships develop, Langdon faces his own demons, and they all must deal with a thief who keeps stealing personal items. While they sort out this problem, the train’s path takes them into a heavy snowstorm and an ensuing avalanche. They are trapped, and everyone is at risk.
THE CHRISTMAS THIEF, by Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Clark. Very entertaining. Everyone’s favorite lottery winner, and frequent character in Mary Higgins Clark mysteries, Alvira, turned amateur sleuth, and her companion, Regan Reilly, a private eye, are visiting Stowe, VT, to see the eighty-foot blue spruce Christmas Tree selected to be delivered to Rockefeller Center in New York City. Unbeknownst to everyone except a particular criminal named Packy Noonan, a priceless stone had been hidden in this tree years earlier by him. Noonan, who has just been released from jail after serving his time. Will he be able to recover his ill-gotten gem, or will Elvira Regan get in the way?
A CHRISTMAS MURDER, by Mary Grand. Nice. Predictable. Many twists and turns. I couldn’t relate to the protagonist, who does a reluctant favor for a local hotel owner who had an accident and needed an extra pair of hands for the holiday guests booked into her hotel on the Isle of Wight. Lots of lovely atmosphere, including snow and a holiday setting, with a cast of characters who ranged from mildly interesting to annoying – including Susan, the protagonist, who impressed me as a real busybody, without truly endearing characteristics.
A CHRISTMAS KILLING, by Blake Banner, has more twists and turns than a mountain river running downhill, but it’s grisly. The story takes place at Christmas, but you won’t be getting any Christmas spirit here.
And in a class of its own is a real classic from the Golden Age of Mysteries, by Georgette Heyer, entitled A CHRISTMAS PARTY. Written in 1941, Heyer’s locked-room mystery is reminiscent of the Queen of the Golden Age, Agatha Christie. In the writing style of days gone by, for this one, you will need to settle into an easy chair and read with leisure, as she delves into a family’s functions and dysfunctions while involved in the murder of the family patriarch. Everyone in this family has a motive, and in comes Scotland Yard. A fun read for the holiday season.
Perhaps like me, you’re looking forward to the quiet that follows the parties, activities, duties, and celebrations of Christmas. Wherever your cozy-up chair is, curl up with one of these mysteries and a nice hot cup of whatever is your pleasure. Since I’ve already read the Christmas-themed books I’ve recommended, for me it will be a DVD of the Mariinsky Nutcracker Ballet – my favorite of all the Nutcrackers. BTW – No matter what your age, Maurice Sendak’s book on E.T.A. Hoffman’s tale makes for good reading too, with gorgeous illustrations.
Wishing you all Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, and a fantastic 2026, with lots of great reading.