Jolabokaflod Advent Calendar 2025

There is something about winter that sharpens our appetite for mystery.

Perhaps it is the darkness arriving early. The windows glowing against the cold. The quiet suspense of footsteps on frosted pavements. Or perhaps it is simply the pleasure of solving a puzzle while the rest of the world sleeps.

Cosy mysteries offer all the intrigue of the unknown without the harshness that so often accompanies crime. They give us riddles without brutality. Tension without terror. They invite us to lean forward rather than brace ourselves.

I first fell for the cosy mystery on a December evening when the house was silent and the wind seemed determined to tell its own story against the glass. I expected to read a chapter. Instead, I followed clues through an entire village, all the way into the small hours. And when the final truth was revealed, I felt not shaken—but satisfied.

That is the particular magic of the cosy mystery:

It restores order in a world that often feels disordered.

The settings themselves become characters—quiet bookshops, seaside towns, bakeries, libraries, snow-covered streets. Even when something has gone wrong, we feel held by community, familiarity, and the promise that clarity will return.

Today, on Day 6 of our Jolabokaflod Advent Calendar, I invite you to dip into a mystery that warms as it intrigues. Let the puzzle unfold at the same gentle pace as the falling dark outside.

🔍 Today’s Reading Picks — “Cosy Mysteries for Winter Nights”

Inviting mysteries that glow warmly in the cold:

• Still Life — Louise Penny
• The Thursday Murder Club — Richard Osman
• The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie — Alan Bradley
• A Murder Is Announced — Agatha Christie

Each of these offers a world where curiosity is rewarded, community matters, and every question eventually finds its answer.

You can explore the full Advent Calendar titles here:
👉 Visit the “Advent Calendar” collection on Bookshop.org

And if you’d like more atmospheric winter reading:
👉 Visit the Cosy Winter Fiction Shelf

• The Undesired — Yrsa Sigurðardóttir: You might want to sleep with the light on after reading this book.
• Home Before Dark — Eva Bjorg Ægisdottir: Ppsychological thriller that is dark, chilling and atmospheric.
• Murder on the Orient Express — Agatha Christie: The world’s greatest detective, Hercule Poirot, must identify the prime suspects from among the small but disparate group of remaining passengers– before the murderer decides to strike again.
• Wolf Winter — Cecilia Ekback: Exquisitely suspenseful, beautifully written and highly recommended mystery.
• Snowblind — Ragnar Jónasson: Chilling, thrilling slice of Icelandic Noir.
• In the Midst of Winter — Isabel Allende: Beautifully crafted, multi-generational novel of struggle, endurance and friendship against the odds.
• Beartown — Fredrik Backman: Surefooted insight into the absurdity, beauty and ache of life.
• The Winter People – Jennifer McMahon: Simmering psychological thriller about ghostly secrets, dark choices and the unbreakable bond between mothers and daughters.
• The Great Alone — Kristin Hannah: Unforgettable portrait of human frailty, resilience and American pioneering spirit.
• One by One — Ruth Ware: Sense of dread deepens as the snow falls in tensely plotted and deliciously cast alpine thriller.
• The Land in Winter — Andrew Miller: Novel of dazzling humanity and captivating, crystalline prose.
• City of Thieves — David Benioff: Captivating novel about war, courage, survival and a remarkable friendship that ripples across a lifetime.
• Snow Falling on Cedars — David Guterson: Murder mystery, sweet love story, tale of predjudice and hardship, and a coming to terms with one’s failings.
• Snow Country — Yasunari Kawabata: Work of beauty and strangeness, one of the most distinguished and moving of Japanese novels.
• The Bear and The Nightingale — Katherine Arden: Atmospheric and enchanting, with an engrossing adventure at its core

Tonight, let the world grow quiet.
Let the clues gather softly.
And let a gentle mystery keep you warm.