IT’S THE SEASON FOR MAYHEM: CHRISTMAS 2026 THEMED STORIES BY PETER SWANSON and CARTER WILSON

The holiday season is nearly on us, and I have recently read two very different Christmas themed books that would make for ideal reading over the festive season, or as great gifts for the crime and thriller aficionado in your family.

Peter Swanson’s 2024 seasonal novella The Christmas Guest, was an absolute delight that nicely captured the mood of classic ghostly Christmas tales from the past.

Now with Do You See What I See?, (Faber, 10 November 2026), he has produced a tightly plotted mystery novella that will also make for ideal post-Christmas lunch reading.

The short story, 150 pages, opens with down-on-his-luck mystery writer Nicholas Child telling a police detective the story of what happened the night before. Child is struggling as an author and has just been dropped by his publisher. However, his agent has a lucrative proposition for him. He has to spend Christmas in Cape Cod with popular author Marcus Tavares, who is severely suffering from writer’s block and under pressure to finish his current book. Child is to basically act as his ghostwriter. Child needs the money and reluctantly agrees, however, when he gets there, he finds a complicated mess with an array of people gathered at the home, most of whom have a gripe with Tavares. Not surprisingly, a murder or two occurs.

Swanson has good fun with this subtle homage to Christie and Co. Child tells his story three times, each time adding more detail and revealing new motives. Child is not the most reliable of narrators, and there are plenty of twists and surprising developments. There are the familiar mystery tropes of a locked room murder, an isolated location, a fixed number of suspects and a clever, last line reveal. Mixed into the story are Swanson’s usual references to classic crime stories and some amusing swipes at the current state of the genre and its readership: “the ever-increasing audience that apparently only read thrillers that had the word girl in its title.”

It is all good fun and a delight to read. Highly recommended for those after a quick, enjoyable Yuletide tale with some interesting insights and intelligent plotting.

Do You See What I See? is released in Australia on 10 November 2026. It is already available in the United Kingdom and will be released in the United States on 6 October 2026.

Carter Wilson’s When They Find Me, (Poison Pen Press, 10 November 2026), is a much darker tale than Do You See What I See? , but it has a final twist that Swanson would be proud of!

The story opens just before Christmas in the small Colorado town of Expanse. The town boasts a total population of 313 and is so remote that it barely exists on a map. It is the perfect hiding place for Annie Wolfe and her daughter, Coral. Their cabin is nearly off the grid, and Annie has done everything to keep them safe. Everything. But she knows the people hunting her don’t forget. And they don’t forgive.

Riven also knows about survival. She and her family have lived off the land for years, moving like shadows through the wilderness. Now her father has led them to this forgotten town, tracking the man he swears destroyed their lives. The plan is simple: strike fast, take revenge, and disappear. The plan collapses, however, when Riven knocks at Annie’s door and violence erupts.

This is a tough, taut story that generates suspense from the opening pages. The shifting viewpoint between Annie and Riven works really well, and Wilson’s gradually unveiling of the past events that led to the showdown also adds to the suspense. The basic storyline appears simple, but Wilson fleshes it out with unexpected developments and interesting backstories. There is a constant threat of violence, and the snowed-in claustrophobic setting of Annie’s farmhouse also adds to the tension.

The book moves smoothly to a violent ending and a final twist that I did not see coming, despite the subtly placed clues. My only reservation is that the concluding wrap-up is a little unbalanced and not really credible. But this is a minor quibble and overall I really enjoyed the tension and stripped down plotting of When They Find Me.

When They Find Me is not released in Australia until February 2027, but it is available in the United States from 10 November 2026.