Tis the season. Yeah, I know, we just put Halloween to bed. But I got chocolate Little Debbie Christmas tree cakes at the grocery store last week and I’m not complaining about that ONE bit!

I’m about to pitch you an Audible streaming series that has ties to How I Met Your Mother and Marvel’s S.H.I.E.L.D., The Good Witch, and Veronica Mars. Just to whet your interest.

Headspinner Productions created a streaming series for Audible: Mistletoe Murders. Hallmark then adapted it to a TV series. Unless I specify, I’m talking about the Audible streaming show.

Emily Lane runs a year-round Christmas store – Under the Mistletoe – in a small Canadian town. A town that has a hunky, too- good-to-be-true, sheriff; Sam. Who has the perfect teen daughter, Violet (more on her in a bit). Naturally, she works in the store.

But Emily has a secret past. Not just as secret IN her past. A whole life’s worth. And she’s not a ‘Lori Loughlin or Candace Cameron Bure character solving local deaths.’ Think Kate Beckett/Nikki Heat meets Hallmark, here.

Each of the four seasons has had two, three-part episodes. Each pair is a complete story, and one season covers one yuletide. And there’s kind of the whole ‘Emily’s secrets’ over-arching theme to it all. Which adds a thriller vibe.

I REALLY enjoy Mistletoe Murders, which is included with Audible Prime, and season 5 drops this week. Season 3 of the Hallmark TV show also starts this week. For me, the key is Cobie Smulders, who plays Emily. She is one of my favorite audiobook persons (she isn’t quite a narrator, since this is a radio show, not a book. But you get it).

You’ve seen her on-screen as S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Maria Hill. And she’s Sofi on Shrinking. I need to go find Stumptown, where she was tough PI. But man, she makes every single episode of Mistletoe Murders, good. Or better than good. She can’t let anything alone, giving that Hallmark vibe of the female business person constantly ‘meddling’ with the rash of killings in the otherwise idyllic little town. But with her background (which we finally get a piece of in the last episode of season two), she’s as good as Sam at cracking cases.

She uses her unofficial status – you’d be surprised how many doors being a Christmas shop owner opens – to dig deep into cases. I’ve raved about Nicole Zanzarella as perfect for Lee Goldberg’s Eve Ronin. Likewise, Smulders is why Emily Lane carries this show.

There a few familiar names that pop up for multiple episodes, such as Kylee Evans (Stephanie on The Good Witch) and Enrico Colantoni (the dad on Veronica Mars). It’s a good cast.

If you have Premium, give season one a try. If this is your type of thing, you’ll like it. Guaranteed. I’m just starting season 3 of my re-listen, to prep for the new one. Episodes are about 40 minutes and flow quickly.

MIDDLEBRIDGE MYSTERIES

Violet is played by Anna Cathcart (Odd Squad, XO Kitty). Her character was a year older each season (she’s now 23 in rl), and in season 3’s U Better Watch Out, she tried to get into a nearby college, which has an elite criminology program. That was spun off into her own series, Middlebridge Mysteries. Of course, she takes after Emily and solves three mysteries per season (same two-part format).

This is basically ‘more of the same, but a little different.’ And it’s exactly what a Mistletoe Murders fan wants. Eric McCormack – he of Will and Grace fame – co-stars as her professor. It’s pretty cool having him in this. Happily, Cobie Smulders popped in for at least one story. If you like Mistletoe Murders, you’re gonna add these into the mix.

THE HALLMARK SERIES

I don’t sub Hallmark, but I eventually got to see the TV version of Mistletoe Murders. It’s fine. Sarah Drew plays Emily. She’s good, but clearly, I’m smitten with Cobie. Drew did do great playing a bounty hunter in the first episode of the new season of Blue Mountain, a cool streaming detective show. I like the Hallmark show well enough, but I haven’t re-watched it yet. I’d rather listen to the Audible version again.

SPEAKING OF COBIE

Smulders co-stars with Reid Scott (Law & Order’s Vincent Riley) in an Audible series, 10 Rules for the Perfect Murder. They’re tough, NYPD homicide cops. It’s 3 hours that works for Cobie fans.

Bottom line: this is a Hallmark like Christmas mystery series, with a harder-edged Castle vibe. Cobie Smulders is terrific, and I’ve enjoyed every season, plus the spin-off, Middlebridge Mysteries.

Check them out on Audible Premium.

Prior Audio Posts:

What I’ve Been Listenign To: February, 2026 (Mistletoe Murders, Middlebridge Mysteries)
What I’ve Been Listening To: November (II) 2025 (Dictator, Don’t Panic, Mistletoe Murders, Sword of Shannara)
What I’ve Been Listening To: November, 2025 (Conspirata, Stacy Keach, Gideon Lowry)
What I’ve Been Listening To: August, 2025 (Middlebridge Mysteries, Unlicensed, The Big Lie, 64th Man)
What I’ve Been Listening To: June, 2025 (Eve Ronin, Thieves World, SPQR, Egil & Nix, the annual sale)
What I’ve Been Listening To: February, 2025 (Isaac Steele, Sharpe & Walker, SPQR, Steven Saylor, The Trojan War)
What I’ve Been Listening To: November, 2024 (Mistletoe Murders, The Caine Mutiny, Mr. Rickey Calls a Meeting)
What I’ve Been Listening To: September, 2025 Desert of Souls)
What I’ve Been Listening To: August, 2024 (Part II) (Leaphorn and Chee, Tony Hillerman, Eve Ronin)
What I’ve Been Listening To: August, 2024 (Egil & Nix, Caleb York Westerns, Malazan)
What I’ve Been Listening To: July, 2024 (The Black Company, SPQR, Charles Willeford, Thieves World)
What I’ve Been Listening To: September 2022 (Robert R. McCammon, Ian C. Esslemont, Dirk Gently)
May I Read You This Book? – (My favorite audiobook narrators)

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Bob Byrne’s ‘A (Black) Gat in the Hand’ made its Black Gate debut in 2018 and has returned every Summer since.

His ‘The Public Life of Sherlock Holmes’ column ran every Monday morning at Black Gate from March, 2014 through March, 2017. And he irregularly posts on Rex Stout’s gargantuan detective in ‘Nero Wolfe’s Brownstone.’ He is a member of the Praed Street Irregulars, and founded www.SolarPons.com (the only website dedicated to the ‘Sherlock Holmes of Praed Street’).

He organized Black Gate’s award-nominated ‘Discovering Robert E. Howard’ series, as well as the award-winning ‘Hither Came Conan’ series. Which is now part of THE Definitive guide to Conan. He also organized 2023’s ‘Talking Tolkien.’

He has contributed stories to The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories — Parts III, IV, V, VI, XXI, and XXXIII.

He has written introductions for Steeger Books, and appeared in several magazines, including Black Mask, Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine, The Strand Magazine, and Sherlock Magazine.

You can definitely ‘experience the Bobness’ at Jason Waltz’s ’24? in 42′ podcast.

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