When mystery author D. B. Ziegler is late delivering her book, Abi Schore steps in to help. Surely she can give her favorite author moral support over the holiday break and get the manuscript to her boss at Tea & Sympathy Publishing in time for the new year. When Abi shows up on Ms. Ziegler’s doorstep bearing holiday treats, she’s met by the author’s handsome grandson Dov, who reveals a startling plot twist. His grandmother isn’t able to finish the book and Dov promised he’d complete it so fans won’t be disappointed—a task that’s harder than he ever imagined.

Two little girls stand with their heads bowed in my living room. I’m told they’re my granddaughters. Daisy is nine, and Alice seven. Daisy is the spitting image of her mother. This is the first time I’ve met them since my daughter and I fell out after she married that waste of space, Vince. They’ve come to live with me because their mother — my daughter — was murdered. In her own home while they slept close by. I think Vince killed her. But the police can’t prove it. I’ve always known he was no good. He treated my daughter like dirt. I said he’d cheat on her — but she wouldn’t listen.

There's no place like home for the holidays ... especially for Lesley Carver. Life in the big city just wasn't her jam and now she's back in Hickory Falls, working at the family diner and helping her mom after she took a tumble. Lesley longs to build a life here, working at the cafe, selling her handmade ornaments and ... er, apparently reviving her high school crush on her best friend’s older brother. Only one problem, her mom wants her to leave Hickory Falls far behind.

Tilly Farriday isn’t feeling very jolly this season. Recently divorced and broke, she’s squatting in one of her rental agency’s properties until her new home is ready. The sprinkles on top of the burnt Christmas cookie that is her life? The new owner shows up early, forcing Tilly to hide in the attic to save her job…and what remains of her dignity.

First published in 1843, it tells the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a mean and unpleasant man who dislikes people generally and Christmas especially. One Christmas Eve he is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come and given a glimpse of the many homes and lives which Scrooge has touched in his wretched life to date. After their visits, Scrooge is transformed into a kinder, gentler man.

It’s 1984, and life has changed beyond recognition. Airstrip One, formerly known as Great Britain, is a place where Big Brother is always watching, and nobody can hide. Except, perhaps, for Winston Smith. Whilst working at the Ministry of Truth, rewriting history, he secretly dreams of freedom. And in a world where love and sex are forbidden, where it’s hard to distinguish between friend and foe, he meets Julia and O’Brien and vows to rebel.

Clark Griswold was onto something...at least with his annual holiday meltdown. And since the last three weeks of my life have been riddled with humbug—another breakup, a broken toe, an office promotion I deserved and didn’t get—I’m not at all in the mood to celebrate nor have the happ, happ, happiest Christmas EVER.

My fiancé brought me tea and scrambled eggs in bed that morning, and we snuggled together, talking about buying our rings, and about our perfect wedding next year. Then we headed into town. He held my hand and gazed at the ring I liked best, a smile spreading slowly over his face. Then a glass of bubbly to celebrate. I felt flushed, excited and ready for the rest of my life with the man I loved. We race to get on the train home. It screams to a halt and I run towards its open doors. Made it. I think he’s right behind me — but when I turn around, he’s gone.

Lucas knows the perfect night entails just three things: video games, wine, and pad thai. Peanuts are a must! Other people? Not so much. Why complicate things when he’s happy alone? Then one day the apartment board, a vexing trio of authority, rings his doorbell. And Lucas’s solitude takes a startling hike. They demand to see his frying pan. Someone left one next to the recycling room overnight, and instead of removing the errant object, as Lucas suggests, they insist on finding the guilty party. But their plan backfires. Colossally.

Johnnie Rico never really intended to join up—and definitely not the infantry. But now that he’s in the thick of it, trying to get through combat training harder than anything he could have imagined, he knows everyone in his unit is one bad move away from buying the farm in the interstellar war the Terran Federation is waging against the Arachnids. Because everyone in the Mobile Infantry fights. And if the training doesn’t kill you, the Bugs are more than ready to finish the job.

When Inspector Lestrade discovers a body holding an envelope addressed to Sherlock Holmes, the Scotland Yarder calls the famous detective in for help. Maurice Harriman died several days earlier under mysterious circumstances. Until his discovery by Lestrade, the body had been resting peacefully in the morgue. When Holmes opens the letter, he discovers an ace of diamonds Black Lantern playing card. Holmes reveals he received the exact card in the post, three days previously. It falls to Holmes and Watson to discover what connects these playing cards with Harriman’s death. The case takes a ...

A mysterious theft at the British Museum is followed by an unexpected death at an archaeology dig in Egypt. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson follow clues that lead from London, to the ancient deserts of Cairo. Exactly who are the Cult of the Free? And what connects them to each event? It falls upon Holmes and his faithful friend, Watson, to determine the motives; but it soon becomes apparent the clues are almost as difficult to uncover as the ancient tombs themselves…

At the end of his own birthday celebration, Major Peterson shocks his seven guests by leaving the breakfast table, going into his study, and apparently shooting himself...Inspector Delaware discovers conflicting evidence, however, and calls for help from Sherlock Holmes. Upon their arrival, Holmes tells Watson he believes there’s more to Peterson’s death than the evidence might suggest. Still, the facts continue to show that Peterson committed suicide—until they discover something that changes everything…

When several strange incidents occur in India that appear to be related the niece of Colonel James Good, commander of the Calcutta barracks, calls upon Dr Watson for help, since he served with Good. When the facts of the case are presented, Holmes agrees to travel to India to look into those unexplained events. But the case causes significant trauma for Watson, who must confront the choices of his past and help expose an adversary who will do anything to stop anyone discovering his truth… even if it means killing them! A case like no other. An untold account of Doctor John H Watson's life...

Not all the myths of monsters lurking in the dark are just stories. When Doctor Watson first took rooms with Sherlock Holmes at 221b Baker Street, he found himself embroiled in a world of crime and intrigue he could barely comprehend. One year on, Watson’s now confident about assisting the detective, no matter how macabre the case might be. So when a young coalman from the Yorkshire Moors appears at their door, begging for help to locate his beloved sister who disappeared two days before under mysterious circumstances, Holmes and Watson can barely contain their excitement. But that ...

A series of unexplained illnesses, in his parish of Salisbury, causes Reverend Gerald Dervish concern enough to travel to London to consult with Sherlock Holmes–but to Dervish’s disappointment, Holmes seems uninterested in his case. But, when Watson reads of Reverend Dervish's death, seemingly of natural causes, Holmes immediately takes up his case. The investigation leads to the foreboding and much feared Granholm Asylum where several people have been committed after falling inexplicably ill. How is the Asylum connected to Dervish's case? With little support from the local police, it ...

When Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson arrive in New York, a week before their invitation to watch the unveiling of the Statue of Liberty, Holmes finds his reputation has preceded him. Henry Franke has gone missing under mysterious circumstances, and with time to spare, Holmes agrees to investigate. The case leads to Maximillian’s Park of Amusements, where a train on a brand new roller coaster returns to the station with a missing man. It falls on the detective to discover how this lone rider could have disappeared…

This captivating anthology features four classic tales from the career of Sherlock Holmes, each set against the backdrop of Christmas. From a mysterious additional stocking that appeared during Christmas Eve night, to a seemingly impossible theft, follow Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson as they unravel the most inexplicable mysteries. The Fifth Stocking Inspector Lestrade interviews Mr Hillsborough who found an additional stocking on the mantle that he claims he didn’t hang. A Very Irregular Christmas Inspector Tobias Gregson calls on Holmes after witnessing a ghost steal Mr John ...

Mr. Stamford meets Sherlock Holmes while studying at St. Bartholomew's Medical College in London. With his intense stare and unorthodox methods of doing things, Holmes has already gained a reputation as an eccentric but brilliant man. When suspected intruders are sighted at the British Museum, Holmes is called upon to give his opinion of what happened. But before he can come to any conclusions, something horrifying happens—one of the great treasures of the world, the priceless Rosetta Stone, is stolen from the museum.

A weathered Cornish sailor has come to 221B Baker Street to see Sherlock Holmes. He shares a tale so haunting and otherworldly that it seems to offer only one possible explanation, a supernatural one. William Berryman of the coal ship Mariah went to sea as a boy and is now an old man, but in all his years he has never experienced anything like he did in The Great Storm of ’99 off the Cornish Coast. The storm drove his ship into the deadly “Manacles”, a line of savage rock outcroppings that had already claimed over a thousand souls. He tells Holmes and Watson that only nine of nineteen...