Minnie's Fiction Addiction

Christmas is supposed to be safe. Warm lights, familiar traditions, locked doors and people you know well. Which is exactly why it makes such a perfect setting for a thriller. When something goes wrong at Christmas, it feels more shocking, more personal and far more sinister. This week’s What to Read Wednesday is all about festive thrillers that take the season of goodwill and twist it into something darker.

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley

Set during a New Year getaway just after Christmas, this snowy thriller follows a group of old friends who reunite at a remote Scottish lodge. Cut off by heavy snow, tensions simmer beneath forced cheer and old grudges resurface. Foley uses the isolation and post Christmas lull brilliantly, creating a claustrophobic atmosphere where everyone feels like a suspect. It is slow burning, icy and perfect for winter reading.

One by One by Ruth Ware

A tech company heads to the French Alps for a pre Christmas retreat, but as an avalanche traps them in their luxury chalet, people start dying. This is classic Ruth Ware paranoia with a festive edge, where corporate rivalries and personal secrets are magnified by isolation and snow. The Christmas setting adds an unsettling contrast between glossy celebrations and creeping dread.

Silent Night by Claire Douglas

A group of former school friends reunite for Christmas years after a tragedy that changed their lives forever. As they gather to reminisce and reconnect, it becomes clear that the past has not been left behind. This is a tense, character driven thriller that leans into Christmas nostalgia and uses it to expose guilt, resentment and unfinished business.

The Christmas Killer by Alex Pine

This one fully commits to festive darkness. A serial killer is staging murders inspired by the lyrics of The Twelve Days of Christmas, turning a familiar carol into something disturbing. Fast paced and unapologetically dark, it is ideal for readers who enjoy seasonal themes with high stakes and a relentless plot.

Hercule Poirot’s Christmas by Agatha Christie

If you prefer your Christmas thrillers with a classic touch, this locked room mystery delivers. A wealthy patriarch gathers his family for the holidays only to be murdered on Christmas Day. Christie uses the family Christmas gathering to expose greed, resentment and long standing grudges, proving that festive murder has always been part of the tradition.

Christmas thrillers work because they take everything that should feel comforting and strip it away. Snow becomes a barrier, family becomes a pressure cooker and celebration becomes a mask. If you like your festive reading with a sharp edge, these books are perfect companions for dark winter nights.