10 winter murder mystery books to read this holiday season

Agatha Christie’s 1934 novel remains one of the best-known examples of the classic locked-room murder mystery. The story follows Belgian detective Hercule Poirot aboard the Orient Express, travelling through Europe when heavy snowfall brings the train to a standstill.

During the night, wealthy American passenger Samuel Ratchett is murdered in his compartment, which is locked from the inside. With the train stranded and the killer presumed to be among the passengers, Poirot is asked to investigate. Each traveller has a possible connection to the victim, and the detective must piece together their accounts to establish what happened.

The confined setting gives Christie a contained cast of suspects and a carefully structured investigation. Rather than relying on a remote house or an isolated village, the novel turns a luxury train into a temporary crime scene, with snow preventing anyone from leaving. It is a natural choice for readers who enjoy traditional detective fiction and intricate puzzles.

Faith Martin’s cosy crime novel brings a murder investigation to a snowbound country house in the Cotswolds. Travelling cook Jenny Starling expects to spend Christmas preparing a traditional seasonal feast for a family, but the atmosphere in the household is far from festive. The family members are divided by resentment and disagreements, with the head of the household proving particularly difficult.

The situation takes a darker turn when Jenny discovers a body on the kitchen table, with a knife in the victim’s chest. The farmer immediately accuses her of the murder, leaving Jenny to clear her name and identify the real culprit. The police officer assigned to the case is inexperienced, adding another complication to the investigation.

Published under Martin’s Joyce Cato pseudonym in the Travelling Cook Mysteries series, the book combines a traditional country-house murder with a Christmas setting. Its appeal lies in the familiar cosy mystery ingredients: a limited group of suspects, a household full of tensions and an amateur investigator who has a personal reason to uncover the truth.

Set in the frozen landscape of Alaska, Iris Yamashita’s crime novel follows Anchorage Detective Cara Kennedy as she reopens the investigation into the deaths of her husband and son. Aaron and Dylan disappeared during a hike a year earlier, and their remains were eventually found and buried. New evidence, however, suggests that their deaths may not have been accidental.

As Cara investigates, she discovers possible connections between her family's case and a wider pattern of deaths and disappearances. The story also follows Mia Upash, who grew up in Unity, an isolated community of women and children hiding from abusive men. Her past and her reluctance to speak about certain events become important to the investigation.

The novel uses its harsh Alaskan winter setting alongside questions of violence, secrecy and survival. Rather than centring on a single murder in an enclosed location, Yamashita builds a wider investigation involving multiple deaths and people whose histories are connected in unexpected ways.

Jennifer McMahon's psychological thriller takes place in West Hall, a small town in Vermont with a history of unexplained disappearances and unsettling local legends. One of its most notorious residents was Sara Harrison Shea, who was found dead in a field behind her farmhouse in 1908, only months after the death of her young daughter.

More than a century later, nineteen-year-old Ruthie lives in the same farmhouse with her mother, Alice, and younger sister, Fawn. Their quiet existence changes when Ruthie wakes to discover that Alice has disappeared. While searching the house for clues, she finds Sara's diary hidden beneath the floorboards and begins investigating the circumstances surrounding the earlier tragedy.

The two timelines gradually reveal connections between the women and the secrets surrounding the farmhouse. Blending murder, family history and supernatural elements, McMahon's novel is particularly suited to readers who prefer their crime fiction with a darker, Gothic atmosphere. The Vermont winter adds to the sense of isolation as the story explores grief, disappearance and the possibility of history repeating itself.

A corporate retreat in the French Alps becomes a murder investigation in Ruth Ware's locked-room thriller. The employees of Snoop, a successful tech start-up, gather at a luxury chalet to discuss the company's future. The proposed sale of the business has divided its shareholders, with personal and professional disagreements creating tension among the group.

The retreat takes a dangerous turn when an avalanche cuts off the chalet from the outside world. One of the employees fails to return from the slopes and, as the group waits for help, another guest dies. With communications disrupted and rescue efforts delayed, the survivors begin to question whether the danger comes from the weather or someone staying with them.

Ware tells the story through two narrators, chalet employee Erin and company employee Liz, offering different perspectives on the unfolding events. The changing viewpoints also reveal the rivalries and secrets that have been building among the colleagues. For readers who enjoy murder mysteries involving a restricted cast of suspects, an isolated setting and a steadily escalating body count, this is a strong winter read.

Diane Les Becquets combines crime fiction with the wilderness in this psychological thriller about love, suspicion and the search for a serial killer. The story follows Marian Engström, a young woman whose work with rescue dogs takes her to northern Alberta, where she helps protect endangered wildlife. There, she falls in love with her mentor, Tate Mathias.

Their relationship takes a troubling turn when Marian learns of Tate's death. As she tries to make sense of what happened, she discovers inconsistencies in his past and begins to question whether the man she loved could have been connected to the unsolved murders of at least four women.

Determined to establish the truth, Marian contacts a retired forensic profiler who remains haunted by the cases. Her investigation takes her beyond her memories of Tate and into the circumstances surrounding the missing and murdered women. The novel moves through different wilderness landscapes, including the Rocky Mountains and the forests of the Pacific Northwest, while its opening chapters in the freezing conditions of northern Alberta establish an important connection between the natural environment and the story's darker themes.

Norwegian crime writer Jo Nesbø brings winter directly into the investigation in this instalment of his Harry Hole detective series. Set in Oslo, the novel begins with a boy named Jonas waking to discover that his mother has disappeared. Outside, a snowman stands in the garden, wearing her pink scarf.

Inspector Harry Hole suspects that the disappearance is connected to a letter he has received. As he investigates, he identifies a disturbing pattern involving women who have vanished over several years, all on the day of the first snowfall. The case suggests the presence of a serial killer who has been operating for years and may be preparing another attack.

As Hole follows the evidence, the investigation becomes increasingly personal and dangerous. Nesbø uses the recurring snowfall as a chilling marker in the killer's pattern, while the snowman becomes an unsettling clue that connects the missing women. The seventh book in the Harry Hole series, The Snowman offers a darker take on Scandinavian crime fiction, with a police investigation that gradually reveals the scale of the crimes.

A deadly snowstorm traps true crime writer Wylie Lark in an isolated farmhouse in rural Iowa in Heather Gudenkauf’s psychological thriller. She has rented the property to work on her latest book, which examines a decades-old case involving two murders and the disappearance of a young girl. The house itself was the scene of the crimes, giving Wylie an unsettling connection to the investigation she is writing about.

As the blizzard intensifies, Wylie discovers a small, injured child lying in the snow outside. She brings the child inside and tries to establish what happened, but the situation becomes increasingly dangerous when she realises someone may be looking for them. The narrative moves between Wylie's present-day predicament, the original murders and the experiences of a young girl connected to the case.

Gudenkauf weaves the three storylines together, gradually revealing how the events are connected. With its snowbound farmhouse, unresolved murder case and an unexpected visitor, The Overnight Guest is a fitting addition to winter murder mystery books, particularly for readers who enjoy psychological suspense and stories told across multiple timelines.

Christmas at Grey Gables, a house on Cape Cod, takes a sinister turn in Peter Swanson’s murder mystery. Struggling mystery writer Nicholas Child is commissioned to help another author complete the long-overdue follow-up to his bestselling debut. Travelling to the writer’s home in the week before Christmas, Nicholas arrives to find a house filled with secrets and a group of suspicious guests.

The situation becomes more complicated when two deaths occur. As Nicholas attempts to document the events, he begins to uncover a puzzle involving the people staying at Grey Gables. The story draws on the traditional country-house mystery, bringing together a confined setting, a group of potential suspects and a Christmas gathering disrupted by murder.

Published by Faber & Faber in September 2026, the 160-page novel is a fitting addition to a collection of winter murder mystery books, particularly for readers who enjoy classic whodunit structures and festive crime fiction.

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