The Christmas Card Killer
(2025)(A book in the Christmas in July Cozy Mystery series)
A Story by Maisy Marple
In Snowberry Creek, holiday cheer becomes deadly when beautiful handcrafted cards carry more than season's greetings.
When watercolor artist Maribel Page discovers the body of retired postal worker Gideon Ashe clutching a mysterious Christmas card, she's drawn into a decades-old conspiracy hiding beneath her picturesque town's festive Christmas in July celebrations. As similar cards begin arriving at her shop with increasingly threatening imagery, Maribel realizes she's dealing with no ordinary season's greetings. With the help of teenage apprentice June, local librarian Hazel Thimble, and reluctant Sheriff Rowan Pike, she uncovers the forgotten legacy of the Snowberry Creek Cardmakers' Guild—artists who developed a visual language capable of triggering powerful psychological responses through seemingly innocent holiday imagery.
Racing against time, Maribel delves into the dark history of "Revenge Cards" designed twenty years ago to silence critics through psychological manipulation. Each new card brings her closer to understanding the connection between Gideon's murder and a series of breakdowns that destroyed lives decades earlier. When a hidden archive reveals that someone is reviving these dangerous techniques, Maribel must decipher the cards' coded visual language before the killer targets her and those she loves. The Christmas in July Festival's culminating card exchange provides the perfect cover for delivering psychological weapons disguised as harmless holiday greetings.
As secrets buried for twenty years finally surface, Maribel discovers the power of art can harm or heal. With her artistic expertise and newfound knowledge of the guild's techniques, she works to transform a legacy of fear into one of healing. But to save her town and herself, she must first identify the Christmas Card Killer before the final card is delivered—a card designed specifically to break her. In Snowberry Creek, the season of giving has become the season of deadly secrets, where the prettiest cards carry the darkest intentions.
Genre: Mystery
When watercolor artist Maribel Page discovers the body of retired postal worker Gideon Ashe clutching a mysterious Christmas card, she's drawn into a decades-old conspiracy hiding beneath her picturesque town's festive Christmas in July celebrations. As similar cards begin arriving at her shop with increasingly threatening imagery, Maribel realizes she's dealing with no ordinary season's greetings. With the help of teenage apprentice June, local librarian Hazel Thimble, and reluctant Sheriff Rowan Pike, she uncovers the forgotten legacy of the Snowberry Creek Cardmakers' Guild—artists who developed a visual language capable of triggering powerful psychological responses through seemingly innocent holiday imagery.
Racing against time, Maribel delves into the dark history of "Revenge Cards" designed twenty years ago to silence critics through psychological manipulation. Each new card brings her closer to understanding the connection between Gideon's murder and a series of breakdowns that destroyed lives decades earlier. When a hidden archive reveals that someone is reviving these dangerous techniques, Maribel must decipher the cards' coded visual language before the killer targets her and those she loves. The Christmas in July Festival's culminating card exchange provides the perfect cover for delivering psychological weapons disguised as harmless holiday greetings.
As secrets buried for twenty years finally surface, Maribel discovers the power of art can harm or heal. With her artistic expertise and newfound knowledge of the guild's techniques, she works to transform a legacy of fear into one of healing. But to save her town and herself, she must first identify the Christmas Card Killer before the final card is delivered—a card designed specifically to break her. In Snowberry Creek, the season of giving has become the season of deadly secrets, where the prettiest cards carry the darkest intentions.
Genre: Mystery
Used availability for Maisy Marple's The Christmas Card Killer