Award-winning author C.C. Benison writes mysteries, thrillers, and romantic comedies with memorable characters, a sharp sense of humour, and a reassuringly classic touch.
“For those who like their mysteries meaty and populated by characters with active libidos, questionable work ethics, bizarre social relationships and police plods trailing behind the amateur skills of heroes—well, everything’s there in “Death in Cold Type”. Benison’s plot is well woven—a part-plausible and part-implausible basket common to the genre. But it is refreshingly more original than most. Best of all is the gripping windup.”
Benison’s novels are as witty as they are suspenseful.
Across mysteries, literary fiction, thrillers, and romantic comedies, C.C. Benison’s novels combine clever plotting with vivid storytelling and a sharp eye for the absurdities and ironies of everyday life.
C.C. Benison is the nom de plume of Douglas Whiteway, author of the Her Majesty Investigates series:
As well as the Father Christmas mystery series, featuring:
Benison’s other books include the literary mystery Death in Cold Type and the psychological thriller Paul is Dead: A Novel.
His ninth novel, Dionision Life: A Comedy, represents a new direction, exchanging detectives and murder investigations for romance, reinvention, and the comic complications of contemporary life.
Latest Publication
Dionision Life:
A Comedy
Evan Boone thought he was just taking a break leaving behind a failed restaurant and a broken relationship for a quieter life on a small island…
“A delightful and witty romantic comedy”
Mystery
Paul is Dead:
A Novel
In the summer of 1969, two friends, Lydia and Dorian, make a fatal choice they believe will stay buried forever…
“Well-developed characters and an immersive plot mark the Winnipeg writer’s eighth novel.”
Mystery
Death In Cold Type
Stevie Lord is trying to rebuild her life when she’s pulled into a chilling mystery: an old love has been brutally murdered, and the clues left behind feel disturbingly personal…
“A crazed killer, a fiery denouement and a downtown shopping mall. What could be more fun?”
“As far as I’m concerned, Father Christmas is welcome all year round, and the more often the better!”
Father Tom Christmas Mystery Book Series
Book One
Twelve Drummers Drumming
Father Tom Christmas hopes for a peaceful life in tranquil Thornford Regis, but the village fête delivers anything but when a young woman is found dead inside a Japanese drum…
“A crime novel that Agatha Christie might have been justly proud to claim as her own.”
Book Two
Eleven Pipers Piping
Father Tom Christmas expects little more than good food, good company, and a snowy weekend when he becomes stranded at a country hotel during a Burns Supper. Instead, the evening ends in murder…
“A great whodunit in the best British tradition.”
Book Three
Ten Lords
A-Leaping
Father Tom Christmas is overseeing a charity skydiving fundraiser for his church when the weekend takes a deadly turn…
“An affable lead with a sympathetic backstory anchors Benison’s carefully crafted third Father Christmas mystery…”
Book Four
The Unpleasantness at the Battle of Thornford
Father Tom Christmas is looking forward to a Civil War reenactment filled with muskets, marching, and pageantry—until the day ends in murder…
“Benison’s novella rips along at a satisfying pace. Father Tom Christmas finds himself, once again, deep in the stew of human comedy.”
“Benison has captured the very essence of royalty right down to Her Majesty’s boxy purse and sensible shoes.”
Her Majesty Investigates Book Series
Book One
Death at Buckingham Palace
What if Queen Elizabeth II had a secret talent for solving murders?
“…Jane Bee, as sharp, shrewd and spicy a femme as ever swung a mop.”
Book Two
Death at Sandringham House
Christmas at Sandringham should be peaceful. Instead, a woman wearing a crown and bearing an uncanny resemblance to Queen Elizabeth II turns up dead.
“Compelling contemporary mystery…great pacing…a delight to be carried into the dual world of royalty and staff as they co-exist in this contemporary life.”
Book Three
Death at Windsor Castle
Queen Elizabeth is about to join the Knights of the Garter in one of Britain's oldest ceremonies when a body is discovered in Windsor Castle's Throne Room.
“Benison has captured the very essence of royalty right down to Her Majesty’s boxy purse and sensible shoes.”