Winter is perhaps the perfect season for cozying up with a good mystery book. There’s something about a quiet, snowy atmosphere that makes a mystery even more eerie and vivid. If the freezing weather has got you craving the perfect winter read, then grab a mug of hot cocoa and give these chilling audiobooks with wintertime vibes a listen!
The Christmas Murder Game
Written by Alexandra Benedict, narrated by Ana Clements
Lily Armitage never intended to return to Endgame House—the grand family home where her mother died twenty-one Christmases ago—until she receives a letter from her aunt, asking her to return to take part in an annual tradition: the Christmas Game. The challenge? Solve twelve clues to find twelve keys. The prize? The deeds to the manor house.
Lily has no desire to win the house. But her aunt makes one more promise: The clues will also reveal who really killed Lily’s mother all those years ago.
So for the twelve days of Christmas Lily must stay at Endgame House with her estranged cousins and unravel the riddles that hold the key not just to the family home but to its darkest secrets. However, it soon becomes clear that her cousins all have their own reasons for wanting to win the house—and not all of them are playing fair.
As a snowstorm cuts them off from the village, the game turns deadly. Soon Lily realizes she’s no longer fighting for an inheritance, but for her life.
Dark Night
Written by Paige Shelton, narrated by Suzie Althens
Winter is falling in the remote town of Benedict, Alaska, and with the cold comes an uninvited guest. The dreaded “census man,” seemingly innocuous, is an unwelcome presence to those members of this secretive community who would prefer to keep their business to themselves. Meanwhile, thriller writer Beth Rivers has received her own unexpected visitor: her mother. The last Beth heard, Mill Rivers had gone underground in the lower forty-eight, in search of Beth’s kidnapper, and Beth can’t help but be a little alarmed at her appearance: If Mill was able to track down her daughter, who knows who else might be able to?
Beth doesn’t have time to ponder this for long: a battered woman stumbles into the town bar one night, and her husband is found dead the next morning. Suspicions immediately turn to the census man, but when he, too, goes missing, everyone in Benedict—including the police chief—is suspected, and Beth and Mill must work to figure out what really happened. Meanwhile, in the lower forty-eight, another author has disappeared, and the police think Beth’s kidnapper just may be at it again…
Or if you find yourself already dreaming of winter’s end, pick up the next in the series…
Don’t Let in the Cold
Written by Kelly Parrack, narrated by Penelope Rawlins
It was supposed to be just one night in the cabin: one night for Lottie and her brand new stepsister, Jade, to try to get along. When a solar flare causes a massive blackout―no power or cell signal―Lottie knows they’ve got a long night ahead of them.
Then, in the dark, someone else shows up at the cabin―a stranger named Alex, claiming to be lost and needing shelter from the coming snowstorm. But later that night, Lottie spies him in the driveway talking to two mysterious men in a pickup truck, and she’s sure he’s lying about why he’s here.
Before Lottie can find out more, a fire forces her, Jade, and Alex out into the blizzard, where they must rely on one another to get to safety―wherever that is. In the remote freezing Tahoe wilderness, they have to survive more than just the elements. Soon it becomes clear that Alex’s accomplices are hunting for all three of them in a scheme that’s gone too far and taken a chilling, deadly turn.
Five Total Strangers
Written by Natalie D. Richards, narrated by Devon Sorvari
Mira needs to get home for the holidays—badly. But when an incoming blizzard results in a canceled layover, it looks like she might get stuck at the Philadelphia airport indefinitely.
And then Harper, Mira’s glamorous seatmate from her initial flight, comes to the rescue. Harper and her three friends are renting a car, and they can drop Mira off on the way home. But as their trip begins, Mira discovers her fellow travelers aren’t friends like she thought―they’re total strangers. And every one of them seems to be hiding something dangerous.
Soon, Mira is in a panic. The roads have gone from slippery to terrifying. People’s belongings are mysteriously disappearing. Someone in the car is clearly lying…and Mira begins to suspect that one of them is sabotaging the trip. If she wants to make it home alive, she’ll need to uncover the truth about these strangers before this nightmare drive turns fatal.
Frozen Detective
Written by Amanda Flower, narrated by Laura Faye Smith
A wealthy doctor invites many friends to spend a week at a giant ski villa… only to wind up dead. The police call it a hunting accident. His much-younger wife doesn’t buy it. Darby Piper, a seasoned private eye, and Tate Porter, who inherited half of the detective agency, are glad to take the case.
They go undercover as a romantic couple at the villa, where guests are still enjoying their free luxury vacation and catered meals. As they dig up secret grudges, Darby’s jealous ex-boyfriend on the police force thinks they’re wasting their time. Will Darby and Tate discover the murderer… or will it become another cold case?
This cozy mystery contains a free Hallmark original recipe.
Winter’s End
Written by Paige Shelton, narrated by Suzie Althens
The fourth installment in the gripping, atmospheric Alaska Wild series. It’s springtime in Benedict, Alaska, and with the warmer weather comes an unseasonably somber local tradition… the community’s annual Death Walk.
It’s springtime in Benedict, Alaska, and with the warmer weather comes an unseasonably somber local tradition…the annual Death Walk. At the end of each brutal winter, citizens gather downtown and then break into groups to search the community for those who might have somehow gotten stuck at home. Beth Rivers sets off with her friend Orin and dog Gus toward the cabin of an elderly resident, intending to check on him.
When they reach the cabin, the old man is alive, but not in the best shape. Beth stays with him while Orin hurries to town for help, but it’s not Orin who returns. Gril comes back with shocking news, and it soon becomes clear that Orin has also vanished. When they discover that their friend has been doing some top-secret research, they start to worry he’s been exposed—or worse.
