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Image Credit: Evan Palmer Halloween Girls series

We can happily read a good mystery book in any weather. But there is something comforting about being able to read while curled up under a blanket, sipping a warm drink, as the world changes to fall outside.  And don’t forget a plate of cookies. 

So in honor of the curl-up-with-a-book-it’s-fall season we’ve rounded up 6 very different mysteries (for all the different tastes) that will keep you great company.

A good villain is more than an oxymoron – they can also easily overshadow a bland hero. Is there anyone who actually prefers Thor to Loki? What would Harry have done all year if not for Voldemort’s nefarious plans? Actually study? And if the sea witch hadn’t granted her wish, the Little Mermaid never would have learned a valuable lesson in not changing yourself for the first man who smiles at you. Villains, for all their scheming and plotting, can be a lot of fun. We've collected a smorgasbord of deliciously devilish evildoers who couldn’t tell the truth if their lives depended on it. 

Image via www.kleintours.net 

This week as we continue to celebrate the relase of Manhattan Mayhem, a new mystery anthology from the Mystery Writers of America, we've got even more authors and their favorite places in New York City. Is danger lurking? Perhaps, or it could just be a suspense author plotting their next thriller in a crowded Manhattan resturant. 

We know a doomed character when we read one. Of course, we would never be dense enough to go down that dark alley alone looking for clues, or decide to take a shower right after being chased through an old hotel. But is surviving a muder mystery really that easy? Inspired by the new anthology, Manhattan Mayhem, edited by Mary Higgins Clark, here's a flowchart to test your sluething metal and measure your chance of survival in a gritty murder mystery. 

Image via www.klientours.net 

"The city seen from the Queensboro Bridge is always the city seen for the first time, in its first wild promise of all the mystery and beauty in the world." — The Great Gatsby

The isle of Manhattan has played host and muse to countless authors past and present. Many even call it home. With its steel canyons, dark alleys, and sea of citizens, it is a borough bursting at the seam wtih stories. 

Manhattan Mayhem, an anthology from Mystery Writers of America (and edited by Mary Higgins Clark!) hit the shelves this week. To celebrate the gorgeous tome, we asked some of the contributing authors to share their favorite local haunts, and give us a glimpse into their mysterious Manhattan. 

Ah, Hannibal Lecter. No other fictional murderer has captured the collective unconsciousness quite like Thomas Harris’s culinarily-inclined mastermind. What is it about sleek, erudite monster that makes him so indelible? Four novels, five films and a television show might have destroyed another character, or at the least made him over-exposed. Only classic nightmare fodder such as Dracula and Frankenstein’s monster seem to exist in that same rarified air as Hannibal, where repeated use does nothing to fade their own personal brand of darkness.

Part of Hannibal’s continued appeal must lie with the way Harris has chosen Hannibal’s antagonists. The women and men who go up against Hannibal Lechter are all formidable minds in their own right, and so Hannibal’s victories (and defeats) against them are always well-earned.

So how might Hannibal fare against some of the greatest detectives in literary history?