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Every year, as soon as the first snow falls, I have a little tradition. I put on some Christmas music and grab my first holiday book of the year from my TBR pile. I always look forward to it (and always make sure I have a few Christmas books on hand so I'm ready when it comes)!
If you're building your own stack for the season, I've rounded up 24 of the best new Christmas books of 2026.
There's plenty of range here. In Christmas Staycation, a man who wants to skip Christmas and a woman determined to win Kringletown's biggest holiday contest pretend to be in love, while Home for the Homicides opens with a tourist stabbed with an icicle at the town nativity. Murder on 34th Street takes us to Macy's in 1932, where someone has threatened Santa.
Some are pure holiday rom-com, some are proper whodunnits, and a few have a darker or spookier edge under all the tinsel.
New Christmas books to read this holiday season
What kind of Christmas read are you in the mood for?
Christmas books come in more flavours than you might think. Here's what you'll find on this list:
🎄 Holiday rom-coms: fake dating, festive contests, Santa stand-ins and grumpy neighbours, with plenty of snow and banter.
🔍 Cozy Christmas mysteries: small-town murders, Victorian country houses and amateur sleuths solving crimes between holiday parties.
📅 Advent books and story collections: sealed chapters, novellas and short stories, perfect for reading a little each day in December.
👻 Christmas with a twist: thrillers, ghosts and darker romance for when you want your holiday reading with an edge.
Looking for more holiday reads?
If you'd like even more to choose from, last year's lists are still full of good options: 20 holiday fiction books to cozy up with in 2025 and Mistletoe & mischief: 2025 holiday cozy mysteries.
If a cozy mystery is more your speed all year round, my list of the best cozy mystery books of 2026 has plenty more. And if A Married Little Christmas has you curious about Abby Jimenez, here are Abby Jimenez's books in order.
Already thinking about what to read in the new year? Take a peek at the upcoming fiction books coming soon.
Whatever kind of Christmas reader you are, I hope you find something here to curl up with this season.
Looking for more books?
Continue discovering your next read:
📅 Upcoming fiction books of 2026
📚 New fiction releases this week
Looking for more book suggestions?
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Lucy Score
Lucy Score brings a psychic twist to Christmas in this hilarious all-new Riley Thorn adventure, the fifth in the romantic mystery series.
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