For some people, winter is a time to hunker down at home, avoiding the cold and ice. But for others, the colder months mean winter sports, like skiing, ice skating, ice hockey, dog sledding and many more.
And for some, winter is a great time to settle scores…with murder. The quiet, isolation, and long nights provide great fodder for murderous intentions.
Here are seven winter sports mystery and thriller books to encourage some deadly competition.
Murder on Skis
In Montana, Grizzly Mountain is the ski resort to be seen and heard. But when the ski resort owner is found murdered, journalist and TV reporter J.C. Snow decides to get to the bottom of the crime.
But with this death, questions arise about precious deaths at the resort. Could there be a serial killer taking advantage of the resort’s snowy slopes?
It’s the first book in the six book Murder on Skis series.
Murder on the Iditarod Trail
For me, nothing says winter like an ultramarathon dog sled race. The Iditarod challenges mushers and their dogs through frigid and difficult terrain over 1,000 miles.
There are the typical dangers: -40F below temperatures, sudden blizzards, moose and wolves, and steep hills and mountains. But in this year’s race, someone has decided to add murder to the mix, taking out Iditarod competitors one by one.
State Trooper Alex Jensen is trying to figure out who is behind the deaths, and worries that Jessie Arnold, the favorite female musher, might be in the crosshairs.
It’s the first in the 13-book Jessie Arnold and Alex Jensen mystery series.
The Hunting Party
Foley is the champion of shifting points of view. In The Hunting Party, a group of friends decide to spend their New Year holiday in an isolated estate in Scotland.
They can rest and enjoy their surroundings, even go hunting if they feel so inclined. But it’s clear that all is not great between the group of friends, with insults and hurt feelings abound.
Things get worse when a giant blizzard hits and isolates them even further. And then when one of the party is found murdered, they have to find out which of them is not so friendly after all.
Crossed Skis
This is another title in the British Library’s Crime Classic series.
Scotland Yard Inspector Julian Rivers has a badly burned body of a likely cat-burglar with only skiing gear as a clue.
In Austria, a group of 16 people are heading off for a skiing holiday; the group is a mix of friends and friends of friends. Then money goes missing and tensions rise among the group.
Shifting between London and the Austrian Alps, this author manages to bring both narratives together for a satisfying solution.
It’s the eighth book in the 15-book Julian Rivers series.
Shiver
While many winter sport mysteries focus on skiing, this one highlights the world of snowboarding.
It’s been 10 years since Milla saw her snowboarding friends. The last time ended in tragedy when one of their number went missing, never to be seen again.
She hopes to catch up with her friends and have some time to prepare for a competition. But it’s clear that someone has invited them there to settle scores.
Secrets come out, bodies fall.
Was the disappearance an unfortunate accident, or was one of the friends behind it? What else lies beneath the board?
Breathless
It seemed like a killer story: interview mountaineer Charles McVeigh on location as he completes a record-breaking series of climbs. Journalist and mountain climber Cecily Wong thinks she can do it—climb Manaslu, the eighth largest mountain, and interview the famous yet controversial mountain climber.
However, some fellow climbers are furious at her presence. Plus, it’s really a bigger climb than she’s probably ready for.
Still, she’s not going to give up the biggest story of her career. But when one person falls dead before the step foot, Wong keeps noticing other strange occurrences.
Soon the fight for the biggest story is now the fight for her life.
Murder on Ice
Who knew ice skating could be so dramatic? Rebecca “Bex” Levy is a researcher on ice skating for a 24/7 sports network, but hadn’t expected so many early mornings, so many controversies, and playing marriage counselor to the star commentators who are at each other’s necks.
But when a judge makes a controversial decision to award a gold medal to a Russian skater over her much loved American competitor, things get even more bananas. When the judge is found murdered, Bex’s producer tells her to solve the crime…it’ll make good tv!
Can Bex figure out why the judge was killed and who was behind the murder?
It’s the first in the five-book Figuring Skating mystery series.
Featured image: erin mckenna/Unsplash
