Murder, Mayhem, and a Very Naughty Christmas

Goodreads | Home for the Homicides

Release date: October 13, 2026

Publisher: Minotaur/Macmillan Audio

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Mystery

Narrators: Patti Murin, Collin Donnell and Angela Dawe

Synopsis:

Tis the season . . . for murder.

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 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 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 jobs 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 Todaybestseller Hannah Morrissey (Black Harbor series), Home for theHomicides is a sexy, light-hearted romp, with a dash of merriment and murder.

Review:

If a cheesy Hallmark Christmas movie and a raunchy, completely unhinged romantic comedy had a baby, then threw in a murder mystery for good measure, you’d get Home for the Homicides. I had the BEST time with this one! It’s ridiculous, spicy, hilarious, and packed with holiday cheer, with just enough murder and mayhem to keep things interesting.

Special Agents Holly Frost and Mark Shepherd are sent to the impossibly festive town of Christmas to investigate a murder, and naturally, everything about this assignment is a disaster waiting to happen. Between their professional rivalry, unresolved romantic tension, and a town that feels like it was plucked straight out of a Hallmark movie, there’s plenty of chaos to go around. I loved how this book fully embraced its own absurdity. One minute it’s delivering the cheesiest holiday romance clichés imaginable, and the next everyone is cussing, banging, or doing something completely outrageous. It’s over the top, but that’s exactly the point, and I was absolutely here for it.

Now, we NEED to talk about the audiobook because it was phenomenal! Real life couple Patti Murin and Colin Donnell narrate Holly and Mark, with Angela Dawe delivering one of the funniest narration performances I’ve heard in ages. Her fourth wall breaking commentary is snarky, cheeky, and absolutely brilliant. I don’t want to spoil how it all works because discovering it is half the fun, but if you’re an avid reader, especially a romance reader, some of the references are absolute GOLD. It’s like she says all the things we’re thinking while reading, and when I tell you she made me cackle! The satire is so clever, and the entire production leans into the humor perfectly.

I switched between print and audio, and while both formats were fantastic, the audiobook definitely elevated the experience for me. This is a book that knows exactly what it is and isn’t afraid to poke fun at itself. It’s racy, raunchy, delightfully ridiculous, and surprisingly full of Christmas spirit. The combination of mystery, romance, and completely outrageous humor felt fresh and different from anything else I’ve picked up for the holidays.

And can we PLEASE make this a series?! Because I am not ready to say goodbye to Holly and Mark, and I desperately need to see what kind of trouble they get into next. Home for the Homicides was such a fun, engaging holiday escape, and I loved every gloriously cheesy, inappropriate minute of it.

Perfect for Readers Who Love:

• 🎄 Hallmark Christmas vibes with a very naughty twist
• 🔪 Murder mysteries mixed with romantic comedy chaos
• 🌶️ Spicy, snarky, laugh out loud humor
• 🎧 Clever, immersive audiobooks with unforgettable narration

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

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