Delitti di Natale

by Carol-Lynn Rössel Waugh (Editor), Martin H. Greenberg (Editor), Isaac Asimov (Editor)

This anthology contains: Christmas Party by Rex Stout; Do Your Christmas Shoplifting Early by Robert Somerlott; The Necklace of Pearls by Dorothy L. Sayers; Father Crumlish Celebrates Christmas by Alice Scanlan Reach; The Christmas Masque by S. S. Rafferty; The Dauphin's Doll by Ellery Queen; By the Chimney with Care by Nick O'Donohoe; The Problem of the Christmas Steeple by Edward D. Hoch; Death on Christmas Eve by Stanley Ellin; The Adventure of the Unique Dickensians by August Derleth; Blind Man's Hood by John Dickson Carr; and The Thirteenth Day of Christmas by Isaac Asimov.

Genres: Mystery, Short Stories, Christmas, Anthologies, Fiction, Holiday

331 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Also known as Carol-Lynn Waugh

Asked to describe her work, Waugh replied: "I write children's books. I edit mystery anthologies with Martin H. Greenberg and others, and I am a very prominent entity in the world of teddy bears. This last facet has encompassed much of my work since the early 1980s. I was one of America's first teddy bear artists."

Reviews

[Jennifer]

Not much to review here. As with many short mystery stories you really don't get enough information to unravel the mystery - you just go along for the ride. These are fairly entertaining holiday centered mysteries - exactly the light Christmas reading I was looking for to kick off the season.

[Jeff Tankersley]

The publication dates for these twelve stories go from 1940-1978, and most of them read pretty similar in tone and language, a very English-influenced style of whodunits and capers. It is a narrower and shorter batch than the superior "The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries" (my review # 542) and more appropriate for a one- or two-evening read over a Christmas vacation, perhaps.

My favorites here are "Do Your Christmas Shoplifting Early" by Robert Somerlott, "Death on Christmas Eve" by Stanley Ellin, and "Father Chumlish Celebrates Christmas" by Alice Reach.

I'll admit, this collection just couldn't reach me as a mysteries fan. I found myself deciding that more than half of these stories were boring exercises in bad prose and plot even halfway through a story. I left some of them unfinished, set the book aside, and picked back up at the next short story later only to be disappointed again.

Verdict: A collection of Christmas-time mysteries with theft and murder and smart detectives in the main plots, but about half of these twelve stories are solid duds.

Jeff's Rating: 2 / 5 (Okay)
movie rating if made into a movie: PG

[Leslie]

3.5*

4 of the 12 stories I had read before (in "The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries"): 'The Christmas Party', 'The Dauphin's Doll', 'Death on Christmas Eve' & 'The Thirteenth Day of Christmas'.

Here are my ratings for the stories:
Christmas Party by Rex Stout (4*)
Do Your Christmas Shoplifting Early by Robert Somerlott (4*)
The Necklace of Pearls by Dorothy L. Sayers (3.5*)
Father Crumlish Celebrates Christmas by Alice Scanlan Reach (3.5*)
The Christmas Masque by S. S. Rafferty (3*)
The Dauphin's Doll by Ellery Queen (4*)
By the Chimney with Care by Nick O'Donohoe (3.5*)
The Problem of the Christmas Steeple by Edward D. Hoch (4*)
Death on Christmas Eve by Stanley Ellin (2*)
The Adventure of the Unique Dickensians by August Derleth (3.5*)
Blind Man's Hood by John Dickson Carr (4*)
and The Thirteenth Day of Christmas by Isaac Asimov (3.5*)

[Victoria]

This collection contains short mysteries based around Christmas published in the 1940’s through the late 1970’s.
My favorite in the collection:
1.The adventure of the unique Dickensians -August Derleth
2. Do your Christmas shoplifting early- Robert Somerlott
3. Father Chrumlish celebrates Christmas - Alice Scanlon Reach
4. Death on Christmas Eve- Stanley Ellin
5. The thirteenth day of Christmas- Isaac Asimov
6. The problem of the Christmas Steeple- Edward D. Hoch
7. By the chimney with care- Nick O’Donohoe

[Emanuela]

Una raccolta di racconti gialli più o meno brevi, con fatti che avvengono durante il periodo natalizio. Come in tutte le raccolte, ci sono racconti meglio riusciti di altri, ma nell’insieme il risultato mi è piaciuto e consiglio a chi piace il genere.

[Tri]

The majority of these were rather charming Christmas mystery short stories. I enjoyed them! But goodness in a couple there was rather a huge amount of racism and misogyny which gave the whole anthology a pretty bad taste.

[Miriam Roush]

This book rested on my shelf for many Christmases until I decided this was the Christmas to read it. I found it to be an excellent anthology that included tales of crime, lighthearted puzzles, the supernatural and more by 12 of the great masters of mystery. Enjoyable and memorable!

[Cathy]

Twelve very outdated mystery stories by different authors.

[Recensioni in tre parole]

Delizioso. Simpatico. Inconsueto.

[Kayoc]

A very fun read

[Phoebes]

Avevo voglia di una lettura leggera e natalizia, così ho ripescato questo libro che comprai tempo fa. Una lettura soddisfacente anche la seconda volta! Si tratta, come si intuisce da titolo e sottotitolo, di una raccolta di racconti gialli ambientati nel periodo natalizio.

http://www.naufragio.it/iltempodilegg...

[Allan]

Some fine period piece crime fiction here. I particularly enjoyed John Dickson Carr's BLIND MAN'S HOOD; more horror than crime as he ratchets up the readers sense of unease culminating in sheer terror. August Derleth offers up a Solar Pons tale with an Ebenezer Scrooge twist.

[Martina Sartor]

12 gialli natalizi coi fiocchi. Alcuni autori li conoscevo, altri sono stati piacevoli scoperte. Per chi adora il Natale e le letture da brivido sotto l'albero.