The Holly and Mark Mystery #1

Home for the Homicides

A Holly and Mark Mystery

By: Elle Cosimano; Hannah Morrissey

ADULT & CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE CRIME & MYSTERY FICTION ROMANCE ROMANTIC COMEDY

Description

'Tis the season . . . for murder.

"The festive, quirky love child of a holiday whodunit and a steamy romance." --Sara Raasch


When Special Agents Holly Frost and Mark Shepherd report to the idyllic town of Christmas to investigate a very less than idyllic murder, they're in for more than the average whodunnit.

Welcome to Christmas, a town so cozy and charming it could be the backdrop of a Hallmark movie, where crime is never in season and it's the holidays all year round. So when a tourist is found stabbed to death by an icicle ornament in the middle of the town nativity scene, the local police are out of their depth--after all, how do you find a criminal in a town where crime doesn't exist?

The stakes are high: the whole town is relying on Holly and Mark to solve the crime before the annual Jingle Bell Jubilee festival (which naturally the town's entire economic survival relies on), plus, whichever of them cracks the case will receive a promotion to Major Crimes--and there's only one spot.

Holly and Mark are both on thin ice after screwing up on the job. This assignment is their one shot at redemption, if they can put aside their bitter rivalry. And of course, it's not only their careers on the line, it's their hearts, too--regrets of their holiday party hookup last year haunt them like ghosts of Christmas past, so they both want to wrap up this rom-com gone wrong as quickly as possible. But with just twelve days until the festival, the countdown to catch a killer--without killing each other--is on.

Co-authored by New York Times bestseller Elle Cosimano (Finlay Donovan series) and USA Today bestseller Hannah Morrissey (Black Harbor series), Home for the Homicides is a sexy, light-hearted romp, with a dash of merriment and murder.

'Tis the season . . . for murder.

"The festive, quirky love child of a holiday whodunit and a steamy romance." --Sara Raasch


When Special Agents Holly Frost and Mark Shepherd report to the idyllic town of Christmas to investigate a very less than idyllic murder, they're in for more than the average whodunnit.

Welcome to Christmas, a town so cozy and charming it could be the backdrop of a Hallmark movie, where crime is never in season and it's the holidays all year round. So when a tourist is found stabbed to death by an icicle ornament in the middle of the town nativity scene, the local police are out of their depth--after all, how do you find a criminal in a town where crime doesn't exist?

The stakes are high: the whole town is relying on Holly and Mark to solve the crime before the annual Jingle Bell Jubilee festival (which naturally the town's entire economic survival relies on), plus, whichever of them cracks the case will receive a promotion to Major Crimes--and there's only one spot.

Holly and Mark are both on thin ice after screwing up on the job. This assignment is their one shot at redemption, if they can put aside their bitter rivalry. And of course, it's not only their careers on the line, it's their hearts, too--regrets of their holiday party hookup last year haunt them like ghosts of Christmas past, so they both want to wrap up this rom-com gone wrong as quickly as possible. But with just twelve days until the festival, the countdown to catch a killer--without killing each other--is on.

Co-authored by New York Times bestseller Elle Cosimano (Finlay Donovan series) and USA Today bestseller Hannah Morrissey (Black Harbor series), Home for the Homicides is a sexy, light-hearted romp, with a dash of merriment and murder.

This Edition

Format
E-Book
Published
October 13, 2026
ISBN-13
9781250413369
Language
English
Publisher
St. Martin's Press
Imprint
Minotaur Books

Trade Reviews

One of BookReporter’s Fall Reading 2026

“This is a hilarious and raunchy holiday whodunit that pokes fun at holiday romance stereotypes but cherishes their happily ever afters.”—Library Journal

“Cosimano and Morrissey have created a snarky and visceral meta-mystery that skewers holiday movie tropes with razor-sharp wit . . . Blending TikTok fame and small-town secrets, this high-octane thriller is a compelling read for mature teens.”—School Library Journal

“Great seasonal fun.”—firstCLUE

“A pitch-perfect blend of enemies-to-lovers tension, holiday chaos, and murder most merry, this is rom-com mystery at its finest. Smart, sexy, and wildly fun—we devoured it!”—Christina Lauren, New York Times bestselling author of The Unhoneymooners

“Home for the Homicides is a delightful and charming mystery. Equal parts twisty, romantic, and hilarious, this book begs to be devoured in one sitting, preferably with some hot cocoa and Christmas cookies!”—Amy Tintera, New York Times bestselling author of Listen for the Lie

“Move aside Santa Claus and present piles, Home for the Homicides is now the most fun you can have with Christmas. Morrissey’s edgy sharpness combined with Cosimano’s talent for humor create a hilarious, propulsive, and surprisingly sexy murder mystery that comes out swinging (lovingly) for all of our most beloved tropes. This book is so pitch-perfect, so addictive, so dang fun that it deserves a place in the holiday canon.”—Ashley Winstead, USA Today bestselling author of The Future Saints

“If you like your Hallmark Christmas movies with a side of murder, Home for the Homicides is the festive, quirky love child of a holiday whodunit and a steamy romance. Yule have a holly jolly good time!”—Sara Raasch, New York Times bestselling author of The Nightmare Before Kissmass

“Home for the Homicides is a holiday present wrapped in a clever mystery! Fun, twisty, and sexy, I raced through this like a kid unwrapping their presents on Christmas morning.”—Catherine Mack, USA Today bestselling author of This Weekend Doesn't End Well for Anyone

“Holly and Mark are the bickering, bantering, sexual-tensioning, crime-solving duo of my dreams! The town of Christmas is almost too idyllic to be believed—you're not even supposed to drop an f-bomb, much less kill someone. But when rivals Holly and Mark pair up to solve the picture-perfect town's first murder, they end up learning a lot more about each other than just the case. Delightfully zany with clever meta nods to all the favorite tropes of mystery and romance, this genre mash-up is a true gift.”—Alicia Thompson, USA Today bestselling author of Love in the Time of Serial Killers

“Home for the Homicides is *not* your grandma's feel-good holiday Christmas movie—it's Knives Out, dressed up as a killer elf for the Hallmark holiday special. This F-bomb dropping, panty-dropping, body-dropping rollicking murder mystery will have you singing Ho-Ho-Homicide all season long.”—Olivia Blacke, Anthony Award-winning author of A New Lease on Death

“If you love Hallmark Christmas movies, but find yourself thinking, ‘This could really use more sex. And cussing. And, I don’t know, maybe a dead body?’ Have I got the book for you! Equal parts sizzling rom-com and twisty murder mystery, Home for the Homicides is the genre mashup of my dreams and a holiday must-read.”—Mia P. Manansala, author of the bestselling Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery series

“This breezy holiday whodunnit is much, much more than meets the eye. From its crackling romantic tension to its self-aware chaos, this story of a murder in America's tackiest tourist trap is fun enough to last me until next Christmas.”—John Fram, AKA Jack Friday, author of The Bright Lands and Killer Vibes

“Great seasonal fun.”—firstCLUE

Additional Editions

— No additional editions available —

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