The Red Queen***

 By Martha Grimes. Book 26 of the Richard Jury mysteries . A pleasant mystery but too much wandering off track to me. I did get lost for a while. (Were there two murders?) But I liked the banter between Jury and his friend Melrose. 2025

Home Fries and Alibis ***

 An All-Day Breakfast Cafe Mystery, book 8 by Lena Gregory.

A Christmas Carol ****

 By Charles Dickens. 1843.

Red Christmas **

 By Reginald Hill. 1972  (as by Patrick Ruell). A cross between James Bond and Bel Canto. The action took place over Christmas at an older hotel in the English countryside. A reenactment of a Dickensian Christmas with merry travelers and a diplomatic envoy incognito collide in a bloodbath. Part thriller, part espionage, and part mystery, a little dated with Russian spies delivering the drama.