| Title | : | The Christmas Card Crime and Other Stories |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0712352473 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780712352475 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 288 |
| Publication | : | First published May 2, 2018 |
This collection of mysteries explores the darker side of the festive season – from unexplained disturbances in the fresh snow, to the darkness that lurks beneath the sparkling decorations.
With neglected stories by John Bude and E.C.R. Lorac, as well as tales by little-known writers of crime fiction, Martin Edwards blends the cosy atmosphere of the fireside story with a chill to match the temperature outside. This is a gripping seasonal collection sure to delight mystery fans.
The Christmas Card Crime and Other Stories Reviews
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This is an interesting collection of eleven short stories, all British classics, some by authors I had heard of, others I had not come across before.
I chose this book on the strength of having already read a book by
John Bude. As it turned out I also found his short story,
Pattern of Revenge, to be one of the most enjoyable in the collection. I also very much enjoyed one of the shortest stories,
Paul Temple's White Christmas, for its conciseness and its smart ending. This was written by
Francis Durbridge who wrote the BBC Radio Series, Call for Paul Temple, in the 1960's.
If you enjoy reading
Agatha Christie, then you will be entertained by this collection of stories. Some are better than others but they are all worth a read. -
The perfect time for this collection is over Christmas 18. We start in 1909, all these 12 stories are old out of print classic crime just like the others in these books edited by Martin Stories that have been forgotten or slipped through the cracks. Few have not been able since they first were published so Bring the likes of Baroness Orczy,Ronald Knox, Francis Durbridge , Julian Symons is great. I love classic crime books & no lot of people love short stories, I have always been huge fan of the short fiction. After all most of Doctor Syn or Sherlock Holmes are all short stories.
The title December 1934 story is a cross between Oh Mr Porter & Ghost Train written by Arnold (Geoffrey fr Dad's Army) Ridley It is almost a ghost story it is dark, creepy perfect with egg nog & nuts.
One of extra special stories is Blind Man's Hood give you the creeps.
I got this to read over Christmas but It became a 24hour wonder because it's just too good to stop. This one of best in the British Library collection shame about the cover it doesn't look like a Christmas Card. But It still 10 out of 10. -
Another good winter/Christmas collection of mystery stories from the British Library Crime Classics, edited and with brief author biographies by Martin Edwards. This is an almost universally interesting collection, with only one story that I found only ok. The others ranged from good to clever to great.
The authors range from some who are well known to mystery readers, such as John Dickson Carr here writing as Carter Dickson, Cyril Hare or E.C.R. Lorac, others previously unknown to me, such as Selwyn Jepson and Donald Stuart. Of these eleven stories I was able to identify four as favorites: Sister Bessie or Your Old Leech by Cyril Hare, The Blind Man’s Hood by Carter Dickson (may be my favorite of all), A Bit of Wire Pulling by E.C.R.Lorac, and lastly, Crime at Lark Cottage by John Bingham. There are various types of crimes, planned and more accidental murders, crimes of passion, crime planned under cover of the decorations of the Christmas season.
Another good entry in this series which just keeps finding more to keep us mystery readers happy!
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review. -
Loved this and all the Detection Club information Martin Edwards gave along with each story.
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Yuletide villainy...
Another themed collection of mystery shorts from the British Library Crime Classics series, edited and with a foreword by our usual excellent guide to all things vintage, Martin Edwards. This one contains eleven stories, all with a Christmas theme, often of family get-togethers for the holiday. Some of the British Library regulars are here – ECR Lorac, John Bude, Julian Symons, but there are also many who are new to me or whom I’ve only come across as contributors to other anthologies. I often find the stories from these lesser known ones are the best in the collections, and this is the case here. I wonder if this might be because they specialised in the short story form, whereas the bigger names are more comfortable with the full-length novel? But that’s merely speculation.
Here’s a brief idea of some of the stories I enjoyed most, which will give you some idea of the variety in the collection:
By the Sword by Selwyn Jepson – this is told from the murderer’s perspective and a nasty piece of work he is too! He is in lust with his cousin’s wife, plus his cousin, usually willing to help him out financially, has decided to draw the line and refuse him any more “loans” which never seem to get repaid. It’s a tradition in this military family that all the men die “by the sword” and our murderer is happy to go along with this. However, there’s more than one sting in the tail of this rather dark and well written story. And the author is particularly good at creating layers, so that we see through the murderer’s self-obsessed viewpoint but also can guess at things he misses.
Sister Bessie or Your Old Leech by Cyril Hare – a man is being blackmailed and is sure the blackmailer is one of his step-siblings. He’s already caused the death of the one he first suspected, but now he’s received another demand. So he sets out to kill the one he now suspects – sister Bessie. Naturally things don’t go according to plan... another one that’s very well told.
Blind Men’s Hood by Carter Dickson – one of the things I enjoy about these collection is that they often include stories that crossover into mild horror. This is a great little ghost story, brilliantly atmospheric. Our protagonists, a young man and his girlfriend, turn up at a friend’s country house for a Christmas gathering. The house is empty – all the inhabitants have gone off to a church service but for one young woman, who tells them the story of a long-ago murder. It’s beautifully done, with some lovely spooky touches.
‘Twixt the Cup and the Lip by Julian Symons – Symons is rapidly becoming one of my favourites of the authors the BL is reviving, and this rather longer story shows his style well. Our protagonist is a bookseller as far as the world knows, but in secret he is also something of a criminal mastermind. He is putting together a little team to rob a local store of a jewellery collection that forms the centrepiece of its Christmas display. Despite his meticulous planning, things don’t quite work out as he intended. There’s a lovely mixture of light and dark in this story, and the Christmas theme is enhanced by men running about in Santa costumes.
Overall, eight of the eleven stories got either 4 or 5 stars from me and none got less than 3, which makes this one of the strongest of the collections so far. Unfortunately I didn’t get around to reviewing it in time for Christmas just past, but it’s one I highly recommend for the nights leading up to next Christmas, or for the rebellious non-traditionalists among you, it would even be possible to read and enjoy it now...
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, the British Library.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com -
A third collection from the British Library's Crime Classics series. Edwards has selected another fine collection of Christmas crimes, holiday horrors, and seasonal slayings to delight every vintage detective fiction lover's heart. I'm pretty sure I've read several of these before, but nearly all were enjoyable--whether it was the first time reading or not. Particular favorites are "By the Sword," "Blind Man's Hood," and "A Bit of Wire-Pulling." While the solution to how the jewel thief is caught in t he Symon's story was pulled off very nicely, it was still one of my least favorites. It didn't quite meet the festive spirit of the collection. And the Paul Temple story is pretty light-weight--hardly a story at all. But--for the collections overall: ★★★★
"A Christmas Tragedy" by Baroness Orczy: Major Ceely is murdered on Christmas Eve and all circumstantial evidence points to the unsuccessful suitor of Ceely's daughter. It's up to Lady Molly of the Yard to save an innocent man from the gallows.
"By the Sword" by Selwyn Jepson: Alfred Caithness is sure that the world is determined to do him out of what should be justly his--money, his cousin's wife, prestige, you name it. When his cousin refuses to loan him money during the holidays, he plots to get everything due him...he might wind up getting his just desserts. Not plum pudding....
"The Christmas Card Crime" by Donald Stuart: Dramatist Trevor Lowe and his friend Inspector Shadgold are on their way to a country house Christmas when their train is stranded in the deep snow. The passengers set out for a nearby pub to seek food and shelter for the night...but not everyone will live to see Christmas morning. [As a side note...Lowe is the detective here. Shadgold makes a pretty shabby showing for the Yard.]
"The Motive" by Ronald Knox: Sir Leonard Huntercombe tells an elaborate story of defending a man who may or may not have been guilty of murder to entertain holiday travelers on a sleeper train to Aberdeen. An unexpected (possibly unfair) twist at the end.
"Blind Man's Hood" by Carter Dickson: A tale of murder in a country house--told by an oddly pale woman in old-fashioned clothes. Inspired by an unsolved crime from 1902, Dickson gives us the impossible murder of Jane Waycross--killed in a house with the doors locked, surrounded by snow with no footprints that can't be accounted for.
"Paul Temple's White Christmas" by Francis Durbridge: Paul Temple foils a Christmas kidnap plan...aimed at himself!
"Sister Bessie or your Old Leech" by Cyril Hare: A tale of a man and his blackmailer. Just when he thinks he's free of the blackmail...he finds himself drawn more deeply into the web.
"A Bit of Wire-Pulling" by E. C. R. Lorac: Sir Charles Leighton's life has been threatened and Inspector Lang of the Yard is on hand at a holiday party to keep him safe. It doesn't look too good for the Yard man when Leighton is killed right under his nose.
"Pattern of Revenge" by John Bude: Not a whodunnit, a bit of a how-was-it done--a deathbed confession explains the truth about a love triangle murder and sets an innocent man free.
"Crime at Lark Cottage" by John Bigham: When John Bradley's car breaks down in a winter storm, he finds himself at Lark Cottage where a frightened Lucy Shaw expects her escaped convict husband to come and murder her. She begs her visitor to stay the night...and then signs appear that someone is outside the house.
"Twixt the Cup & the Lip" by Julian Symons: Mild-mannered bookshop owner, Mr. Rossiter Payne has an odd little hobby--jewel robberies. And when the Russian family jewels are put on display at Orbin's department store can't resist planning the perfect crime. But then things go wrong-- -
I have two things to get off my chest. In the interest of full disclosure, The Christmas Card Crime and Other Stories proves not as good as editor Martin Edwards’ previous holiday anthology, Silent Night (2015). Also, I received this book from NetGalley, British Library and Poisoned Pen Press in exchange for an honest review.
Still, Edwards has compiled some real gems in his latest anthology: “By the Sword” by Selwyn Jepson, “Sister Bessie or Your Old Leech” by Cyril Hare, and the final, lengthy short story, “Twixt the Cup and the Lip” by Julian Symons. The best of all was Carter Dickson’s “Blind Man’s Hood”; sadly, I read (and reviewed) Dickson’s
The Mad Hatter Mystery, and I was not impressed by his renowned sleuth, Dr. Gideon Fell.
On the other hand, “Crime at Lark Cottage” impressed me so much that I will seek out other works by John Bingham. So did “Paul Temple’s White Christmas” by Francis Durbridge; I definitely want to read more Paul Temple book, although the stories may only exist as radio shows. John Bude contributed “Pattern of Revenge”; I have adored Bude’s series featuring the dogged Inspector William Meredith, and I have read each one as they have been re-released. (Thank you, British Library and Poison Pen Press!) Bude did not disappoint with the short story in this wonderful anthology.
The eponymous “The Christmas Card Crimes” by Donald Stuart, “A Bit of Wire-Pulling” by E.C.R. Lorac, and “The Motive” by Ronald Knox were pleasing but nothing special. Even so, without a single dud in the bunch, Edwards has compiled an anthology that will make your holiday merry and bright. -
As in most collections, some stories are better than others.
"A Christmas Tragedy" by Baroness Orczy
Although occurring at Christmas, the story is not Christmas-y. It’s a rather boring story in which Lady Molly identifies the killer of Major Ceely. Suspicion fell to his daughter’s secret boyfriend who maintained his innocence.
"By the Sword" by Selwyn Jepson
I didn’t like this one. I was distracted while reading it, but I didn’t like it well enough to go back and read the rest of it.
"The Christmas Card Crime" by Donald Stuart
Interesting story involving passengers on a train impeded by snow with the focus being on a girl with a partial Christmas card.
"The Motive" by Ronald Knox
Westmacott waits for Robinson to board the train. Although Robinson had not shown up, Westmacott boards after receiving a message when seems to ease his mind. Robinson boards near departure time. The two men share adjoining compartments. Robinson asks for a “wake up” call. When it is time for him to leave the train, he is not there. What happened to him?
"Blind Man’s Hood" by Carter Dickson
Rodney and Muriel Hunter arrive late at “Clearlawns,” and their hosts are out. However, a woman tells them the story of an unsolved murder that occurred years ago at the castle while they await their hosts to return from a church function.
"Paul Temple’s White Christmas" by Francis Durbridge
Kind of resembles a very short spy story. Other than the references to snow and Christmas, it could have been set any time.
"Sister Bessie or Your Old Leech" by Cyril Hare
Rather boring and not much mystery to this tale. Bessie feigns death, and Timothy rifles through her things in search of the letter before being confronted by Bessie herself. He kills Bessie but then learns a lesson.
"A Bit of Wire-Pulling" by E. C. R. Lorac
An inspector recalls an account of a man who was shot while he was in the room. The solution was obvious from the moment the inspector told his observations of that night.
"Pattern of Revenge" by John Bude
The wrong man is sent to prison for a murder. The evidence pointed to him because of his peg leg, but three years later another man confesses to the crime on his death bed.
"Crime at Lark Cottage" by John Bingham
John Bradley stops at a home near Skandale where a woman and her daughter reside. It is nearing Christmas as they are decorating the Christmas tree. The woman seems frightened. Bradley sees a wedding photo of the woman and a report of her husband’s escape from jail. As noises are heard, the woman becomes more frightened, and Bradley suggests he should go on to town.
"‘Twixt the Cup and the Lip" by Julian Symons
Thieves plan a heist of Russian jewels, but it doesn’t go exactly according to their plans.
Best story: "The Christmas Card Crime" by Donald Stuart
Worst story: "By the Sword" by Selwyn Jepson -
In keeping with my craving for mysteries with Christmas or seasonal leanings, I decided to read this short story collection. It was great because I read a lot of new to me authors and I found a whole catalogue of British Library Crime Classics that I'm going to continue with (how had it escaped me that this was a thing?!).
Eleven stories in all, each is prefaced with contextual information on the story and the author, which I quite enjoyed. My favourites were:
By the Sword by Selwyn Jepson: All the Cathertons have the misfortune of dying by the sword and it bears out here in a novel way.
The Christmas Card Crime by Donald Stuart: A group from a snowbound train in the night, take lodging in a remote location and then things really take a turn.
Blind Man's Hood by Carter Dickson: A couple arrives late to a party & has a deliciously creepy encounter in which they are told of a grisly killing many years before. Clearly the encounter is their penance for being tardy. Probably my favourite of all.
Paul Temple's White Christmas by Francis Durbridge: Paul & wife Steve have a mini holiday adventure but what it lacks in real mystery it makes up for in wit.
Sister Bessie or Your Old Leech by Cyril Hare: Timothy, a banker recounts the events leading up to his ridding himself of his supposed blackmailer & in the end has actually doubled down on blackmailable deeds. Couldn't happen to a more deserving guy.
A Bit of Wire Pulling by E.C.R. Lorac: The Yard's Inspector Lang recounts a very neat mystery in which he was present during the murder.
Pattern of Revenge by John Bude: Two men loved Karen Gaborg & one of them killed her. Eventually, the truth hung on a peg & is finally revealed to all.
I'd definitely recommend this at any time, but especially if you're looking for some murder mysteries to read while you settle in with a cup of tea or a glass of wine on a snowy, winter night. -
The Christmas Card Crime & Other Stories is a short story collection compiled by the British Library in an effort to bring back to print many stories that have not seen the light of day in more than half a century.
Yes, I know this review is being written in July, but I received an advanced copy for review from the publisher and if I’m being honest, I’m a Christmas lunatic and will take my festive fiction when and where I can get it. That being said, many of these stories could barely be classified as Christmas themed. I’m talking a few throwaway lines at the beginning of the story to set the novel in December and then it’s never mentioned or touched on again.
However, that doesn’t hold true for all of them. There are many stories that make great use of the season. The title story – The Christmas Card Crime by Donald Stuart – builds a locked-room mystery around killing involving a torn Christmas card, Sister Bessie or Your Old Leech (my favorite of the bunch) by Cyril Hare involves a bit of blackmail originating from a family Christmas party and John Bingham’s Crime at Lark Cottage invokes a great twist ending during a tense Christmas Eve in the country.
A few of the stories just didn’t do it for me, but that’s to be expected in a short story collection from various writers. It’s sort of a mixed bag when it comes to a reader’s taste. One story in particular, The Motive by Ronald Knox, put me to sleep; it was about as dry as fireplace kindling.
There seems to be very little in the way of Christmas-themed fiction around the holidays that isn’t primarily romance, so I welcome a bit of mischief, misdirection and mayhem under the tree. While The Christmas Card Crime & Other Stories isn’t perfect, it’s worth checking out. You’re not going to like everyone at a Christmas party, are you?
The Christmas Card Crime & Other Stories will be released on October 01, 2019 -
When I was younger, I read a lot of mysteries from the Golden Age and before but it was mostly Christie, Sayers, Marsh, and Doyle. When I saw this anthology on Netgalley, it seemed like a good way to satisfy both my Christmas tradition of reading holiday mystery cosies while meeting some of the other early writers. Like in any collection, I like some stories better than others - my favourite was the title story - but, overall, I enjoyed the book and I will likely seek out some of these authors later. If you are looking for an anthology of Christmas tales that provide some pretty decent mysteries while giving a glimpse into a different era, this is definitely one to consider.
Thanks to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review -
I enjoyed reading this collection of Christmas themed (or at least set at Christmas) British crime stories that were written between 1920-1960. They were a fun seasonal read, but if I could do it again, I would read one every couple of days rather than reading them all in 24 hours.
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Anthologies can be uneven in quality, but here Martin Edwards has compiled some excellent holiday-related mysteries from Golden Age authors. If you enjoy that sort of thing, you will enjoy this book.
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A delightful vintage read about Christmas crimes. "The Christmas Card Crime and Other Stories" is a collection of 11 interesting stories and all are quite intriguing in their own ways. The pieces are less dated in this collection which enhances the level of enjoyment. I personally have never been a fan of short stories yet I have had a blast reading through all of them. Some of the authors in this collection should not be foreign to lovers of vintage mysteries like John Bude, E.C.R. Lorac, Julian Symons, Baroness Orczy, John Dickson Carr, or Cyril Hare whose works have been republished while the rest I have little knowledge about. Editor Martin Edwards consistently provides insightful historical backgrounds which are helpful to get acquainted with some of the forgotten authors and their once-popular works.
"The Christmas Card Crime and Other Stories" is another winner from the British Library Crime Classics. And this compilation is a great intro book to readers who want to try their hands at reading vintage crime fiction yet are afraid of the outdated writing style. I highly recommend this book to those who are interested in vintage mysteries. Definitely one of the best reads in the series! -
I have to say I think this is the weakest of the Christmas offerings from this series. In my opinion, the title story and the last story are the best. The Francis Durbridge is easily the worst - luckily only a few pages long but uninteresting and with an unsatisfactory ending even for a short story
A reread and an increase from 3 stars to 4 stars - what I said about the Durbridge story stands, though -
This is a delightful collection of Christmas stories - a mix of detective fiction and police procedurals, with the occasional story thrown in from the POV of the criminal (which is always a fun and unusual approach). Each has an introduction from editor Martin Edwards with a bit of background about the author and how he or she related to the Golden Age of British crime fiction and the more famous authors from that era, particularly those who were members of the Detection Club. I especially enjoyed Blind Man's Hood by Carter Dickson (John Dickson Carr), as much a disquieting, chilling ghost story in the J.S. Le Fanu/M.R. James tradition as it is a locked-room mystery. But, although stories from this era can sometimes be a bit dry, I was pleasantly surprised that *all* of these held my attention, and some even made me chuckle. Another excellent entry in the British Library Crime Classics series from Poisoned Pen Press, and the third collection of winter mysteries that editor Edwards has contributed (I highly recommend the first two,
Crimson Snow: Winter Mysteries and
Silent Nights: Christmas Mysteries, as well as the first book in his Rachel Savernake series,
Gallows Court). -
this is my first foray into the british library crime classics series and i can comfortably say i enjoyed it. it may be a bit strange to pick up a christmas collection in october but i wanted to get a taste of the series before getting some of the other christmas collections for my christmas holiday reading.
the collection grabbed me from the first page where, in the introduction, martin edwards argues the case for the short story as a literary form. i wish i could express the joy and comfort i received from seeing my own thoughts - matters that i have literally discussed with my friends, passionately - mirrored on the page by an author of his experience and caliber and at a british library publication.
i feel like his introduction to this collection could serve as a mission statement of a lot of the work the british library have been doing with series like crime classics, tales of the weird and many others of the collections they regularly put out. i think it is important to pay attention.
moving onto the meat of the book, the collection is pleasantly varied. there are stories that lean more towards the supernatural, others that lean more towards mystery, as well as some very grounded in plausibility. there truly is something for every crime fiction lover.
my personal favourites were "the christmas card crime" by donald stuart, "blind man's hood" by carter dickson, "sister bessie or your old leech" by cyril hare and "a bit of wire-pulling" by e.c.r. lorac -
3.5 stars.
The third British Library Crime Classics seasonal collection (after
Silent Nights: Christmas Mysteries and
Crimson Snow: Winter Mysteries), this collection contains 11 stories as opposed to the usual 14 or 15. This allows for longer stories that feel more complete, which was definitely a plus to me. Not all of the stories included are super long; there are a couple of < 10 pagers from authors who don't normally use the short form, like ECR Lorac and John Bude, so there's some variety.
My favorites from this collection are:
[+] "By the Sword" by Selwyn Jepson (1930)
[+] the titular story "The Christmas Card Crime" by Donald Stewart (1934)
[+] "A Bit of Wire-Pulling" by ECR Lorac (1950)
[+] "'Twixt the Cup and the Lip" by Julian Symons (1965)
Interestingly, only two of the included stories in this collection contain series characters. Of those two, only one was hard for me to get into (the Paul Temple short), because it's basically a vignette and we're dropped into the middle of the character's life. If you have no familiarity with said character (as I didn't) it's a little confusing.
All in all, these holiday collections have gotten better and better with each passing year. I'm looking forward to the next! -
This is a short story collection of 11 mysteries set in England and written from 1909 to 1965. The mysteries were set at Christmas time, or at least in winter. Some of the stories had the detective as the point of view character, but some were from the villain's point of view. Most were told as they happened, but a few were the detective telling about the case after it was finished. While whodunit in most of the mysteries was either obvious or not guessable (due to lack of necessary clues until the reveal), a few of these had clues and were guessable. The enjoyment mainly came from watching a detective work through a tough mystery to solve it. There was no sex. There was some bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable mystery collection.
The included mysteries:
A Christmas Tragedy by Baroness Orczy
By the Sword by Selwyn Jepson
The Christmas Card Crime by Donald Stuart
The Motive by Ronald Knox
Blind Man's Hood by Carter Dickson
Paul Temple's White Christmas by Francis Durbridge
Sister Bessie or Your Old Leech by Cyril Hare
A Bit of Wire Pulling by E.C.R. Lorac
Pattern of Revenge by John Bude
Crime at Lark Cottage by John Bingham
Twixt the Cup and the Lip by Julian Symons
I received an ebook review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. -
Another great selection of eleven British golden-age mystery stories are found in the Christmas Card Crime and Other Stories.
From Blind Man’s Hood from the great John Dickson Carr to ‘Twist the Cup and the Lip by Julian Symons, many of the authors will be familiar to those who love golden-age mysteries. Even better, some are complete unknowns to a modern audience though they were famous in their day. The introductions to each story explain each author’s place in the universe as well as their most famous characters.
I love these British Library Crime Classics Christmas anthologies. The stories are excellent. All have some sort of a twist on the Christmas setting, either a ghost story of murder on Christmas Eve or a mysterious woman on a train with a trio of policemen who are heading to Christmas dinner. Each story has aged well with no blatant racism or sexism in sight. But I am sure that you, as do I, read these tales for the puzzles. The game is afoot, indeed, with some clever misdirection so famous in British golden-age plots.
Whether you want to get into the Christmas mood without all the saccharine carols, or as a perfect gift for the mystery fan in your life, the Christmas Card Crime and Other Stories will meet, and exceed, your expectations. 5 stars!
Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review. -
A mix of the very best of classic mystery murders, this was a wonderful set of stories set during the heart of winter. Freezing conditions, some harsh, some not so but all with winter as its backdrop and snow and winter played a great role in some of the murders.
From the Christmas Card one with two halves of a card held to solve a murder, to the jewellery heist which was discovered only through the shoe shine man who recognised a pair of shoes, from a party where a murder is expected and takes place right in front of a detective's very own eyes the stories from a collection of both well known and lesser known writers this was such a good collection to get one into the holiday mood despite the mayhem and scheming that went into murders!
Classic Crime stories never fail to make me very happy and this collection was no exception. -
This was a great read! Most of the stories were really great and made for a quick read. I really hadn't read any short stories before but really enjoyed them. I loved how they can pack so much mystery and suspense in such a short read!
Thank you Poisoned Pen Press and Netgalley for a copy to review. All opinions expressed are my own. -
I was surprised to find this for a quarter at my local thrift store. This is the BLCC's third anthology of winter mysteries and I'm very interested in finding the rest. I've never thought of the mystery / detective / crime genre as one of my favorites, but they've really been growing on me - especially in the short story format.
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This collection of short mysteries all set at Christmas was organized by Martin Edwards. Each story is preceded by a short biography of the author. There are locked room mysteries, murders, and thefts. Most stories have surprise endings and enough clues to figure out what's coming. The narration was outstanding and really made listening a great holiday treat.
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A mixed bag of classic British crime shorts by authors largely and sadly forgotten by most. Two are very good, a couple are too simple and don't stand the test of time, one has a shameless twist at the end, most are fun. Merry Murder for Christmas!
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A wonderful collection of short crime stories (ranging from 1909 to 1965), all with a Christmas theme.
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This is a great collection of Christmas mystery short stories spanning the 1930's-1940's, mostly. A lot of variety and each one was very interesting and did not disappoint!!!
