There will be plenty of time for relaxing.

But if you tire of Christmas movies and board games after December 25th, now is the time to plan some holiday reading and listening for the coming week.

For true crime fans, there’s plenty of fascinating new books, documentaries and podcasts on offer – ideal for taking a little time to yourself during the break.

Here are three to add to your list:

1. Murder Most Local, Historic Murders of West Cork

If you’re fascinated by the grislier parts of Cork’s history, local author Peter O’Shea’s latest book is a must-read over the holidays. Murder Most Local, Historic Murders of West Cork delves into 39 stories of historic murders in West Cork.

“West Cork is dotted with historic serious crimes,” says Peter.

“Some of these crimes remain unsolved to this day while others were obvious from the start. The motives haven’t changed over time – love, money, madness and land.”

Murder Most Local, Historic Murders of West Cork is available in local stores including Skibbereen Bookshop, Bantry Bookshop, Bookstόr Kinsale and Scally’s SuperValu Clonakilty.

For more information visit facebook.com/ballycottonhistory

2. The Real Field

In 1959, Moss Moore, a 50-year-old bachelor farmer was found murdered in rural Kerry. After a ten-day search, his badly beaten body was recovered hidden in a ravine twenty yards from his cottage.

The community didn’t look far for a suspect.

In this fascinating documentary, John B Keane’s son, the broadcaster and writer Billy Keane goes in search of the truth behind the murder that inspired his father’s most famous work.

This intriguing telling includes interviews with Jim Sheridan, Noel Pearson, Garry Hynes, and Michael Harding. The 1990 original Jim Sheridan classic film The Field will air immediately afterwards. Watch it on RTE One on Tuesday, December 29th at 9.25pm.

If you prefer to listen to your mysteries, RTÉ’s documentary Death in Kerry: The Story Behind the Field also makes a good companion on a long Christmas walk. Compiled and presented by Ciaran Cassidy, you can listen or download that on RTÉ Radio 1 here.

3. Cork true crime podcasts

With two new documentaries on one of Cork’s most frightening and mysterious murder cases due to hit screens in 2021, the Christmas holidays is the perfect time to listen (or re-listen) to West Cork – Sam Bungey and Jennifer Forde’s investigation of the 1996 murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier in front of her West Cork holiday home.

A new three-part series entitled The Story of Sophie Toscan du Plantier, made by Lightbox in collaboration with her family is heading to Netflix in 2021, while Oscar-nominated director Jim Sheridan has announced he is working on a second five-part Sky Studios documentary entitled Murder at the Cottage: The Search for Justice for Sophie.

The case is also covered on Mens Rea, an Irish podcast covering crimes in the UK and Ireland, available here.

If you have time for more true crime, check out Mens Rea’s House of Horrors: Cork’s Missing Men, the story of  Patch O’Driscoll, who went missing from his bedsit in Cork City just before Christmas in 1994.

When the garda investigation began into his missing person case, it was discovered that Patch was not the first to disappear from the very same house on Wellington Terrace. Listen on Spotify.