Just as Nora Roberts explored the romance of Christmas in her short stories, her counterpart, J.D. Robb, focuses on the mystery of the season in two books, both published in 1998. Holiday in Death, the seventh book in the In Death series, and the novella "Midnight in Death," the eighth volume, both depict Eve Dallas's first Christmas with her new husband, Roarke.

In Holiday in Death the New York Police and Security Department's Lieutenant Eve Dallas spends Christmas 2058 searching for a serial killer. The criminal dresses as Santa Claus and leaves mementos from "The Twelve Days of Christmas" with the bodies of those he has raped and murdered. Eve soon discovers a link that ties these victims to an exclusive dating service called Personally Yours and begins her investigation with the brother and sister who own the agency.

On a personal level, Eve is also searching to find a gift for her new husband, Roarke, the Irish billionaire she met when he was a suspect in Naked in Death, the first book in the In Death series. A subplot of Holiday in Death picks up the developing romance between Eve's assistant, Officer Delia Peabody, and Detective Ian McNab, a member of the NYPSD's Electronics Detection Division.

The events of "Midnight in Death" follow shortly after the conclusion of Holiday in Death. The Christmas morning discovery of the mutilated body of Judge Harold Wainger interrupts Eve Dallas's plans for spending the day with Roarke.

Wainger had presided over the trial of serial killer David Palmer, whose brutal killing spree Eve had ended with an arrest three years earlier. Palmer has escaped from prison, and Eve discovers that she, too, is on a list of his intended victims, Palmer's list includes everyone he considers responsible for his imprisonment. The name of Eve's friend and adviser, Dr. Charlotte Mira, is included as well.

Holiday in Death was first released as a Berkley paperback in June 1998. "Midnight in Death" followed in November 1998 in the Jove anthology Silent Night. Berkley also published Midnight in Death separately in October 2005.