The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries: 100 of the Very Best Yuletide Whodunnits

by Otto Penzler (Editor)

Festive felonies, unscrupulous santas, deadly puddings, and misdemeanors under the mistletoe... From Victorian detective stories to modern mysteries, police procedurals to pulp fiction, comic gems to cozy crime, there's something for every festive mood in this must-read collection starring sixty of the world's favourite detectives. Featuring an all-star cast of authors including Isaac Asimov, Mary Higgins Clark, Arthur Conan Doyle, G.K. Chesterton, Colin Dexter, Thomas Hardy, H.R.F. Keating, Ngaio Marsh, John Mortimer, Ellis Peters, Sara Paretsky, Robert Louis Stevenson and – of course – Agatha Christie, this is the biggest and best Christmas crime anthology in print today.

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

1291 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 22, 2013

About the author

Otto Penzler is an editor of mystery fiction in the United States, and proprietor of The Mysterious Bookshop in New York City, where he lives.

Otto Penzler founded The Mysteriour Press in 1975 and was the publisher of The Armchair Detective, the Edgar-winning quarterly journal devoted to the study of mystery and suspense fiction, for seventeen years.

Penzler has won two Edgar Awards, for The Encyclopedia of Mystery and Detection in 1977, and The Lineup in 2010. The Mystery Writers of America awarded him the prestigious Ellery Queen Award in 1994, and the Raven--the group's highest non-writing award--in 2003.

Reviews

[Donna Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never before reviewed a book that I hadn't yet finished yet and wasn't planning to abandon, but the season is here, and you have to have this book! I was fortunate enough to get it as a "first read" via the Goodreads.com giveaways. It doesn't matter, because if it is for sale before Christmas, I plan to buy a couple more copies to give as gifts. It's that good.

The stories are organized according to category in a format and layout that is congenial all by itself. There are ten sections, starting with "A Traditional Christmas", with the first entry being one by Agatha Christie; it is a story that has aged well, and I don't remember having read it even though I thought I'd read everything by that writer. There are a few more, and range from just a few pages, double columns on each page, to 25 or 30 pp. Then we move on to "A Funny Little Christmas". The first there is a story by the late great Donald Westlake, and I gobbled it up and then felt bad that I hadn't saved that story for last, because I adore his work and he's gone and can't write anything more. But I perked up when I noted that yet another section, "A Modern Little Christmas", has an unread (by me) story by Ed McBain. There are many others. The final section, "A Classic Little Christmas", bookends the anthology neatly by finishing with Dame Agatha. All told there must be about sixty stories, maybe more.

The anthology, edited by the brilliant and acclaimed Otto Penzler, is billed as having a number of rare or never-published short stories, and I think it's a true claim. There are many mystery writers I've read and enjoyed here, and others I had never even heard of, but found immensely entertaining. I haven't skipped any yet, but even if I find something I don't care to read, the book is worth owning. I know that already. It is also billed as an anthology to warm the heart of any grinch, and indeed, there has been at least one story with a satisfyingly creepy ending.

One of the charming things about anthologies is that one can read a single story in a sitting and not feel too bad when it's time to put the bookmark in and go get something done. Then it waits there to greet us as we return from executing less pleasurable tasks, a reward that invites us to sit down, curl up with good cup of coffee or the dog or both and have a cozy read. It also makes the book a lovely thing to keep where guests can access it, because they can enjoy it even if they haven't time to read more than a story or two in between other activities.

...but I'm keeping you. You could be reaching for your car keys, your bus pass, or even better, going to another window to find this book online and order it. Once you see it, you will most likely feel as I do...unwilling to part with your own copy, yet yearning to get at least one more for somebody else! Get the plastic out and do it right away.

Later note: I wrote this review two years ago and have continued to advance-read two or three books weekly and blog about them since then. I still haven't found a Christmas collection for adults that I like as much. The only other books in my large Christmas book collection that measure up, apart from Dickens of course, is an anthology that features Norman Rockwell art and was published in the 1980s, and for young adults and precocious children, A Newbury Christmas. As to Christmas books within the mystery genre, this one is simply the best there is.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a lot of fun reading these mystery short stories but the book is big!! It might have been better if I had started in early November instead of the beginning of December. I had read surprisingly few of the stories before (only Arthur Conan Doyle & Agatha Christie I believe). It was a nice touch that the book opened and closed with stories by the Grand Dame of Mysteries, Agatha Christie, the only author to have more than one story (one a Poirot story & the other a Miss Marple).

The 2 stories I liked best were satires: "The Secret in the Pudding Bag & Herlock Sholmes's Christmas Case" by Peter Todd, a spoof of Sherlock Holmes, and "A Wreath for Marley" by Max Allen Collins, a fun mashup of The Maltese Falcon and A Christmas Carol.

[Allison]

This is a super-fun book. I read a few stories this year, and will now put it away to be re-opened next Christmas season. This book will last me years and years! :)

[EpidermaS · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bardzo przyzwoity zbiór świątecznych opowiadań kryminalnych i sensacyjnych. Dużo tu wiktoriańskiego klimatu, choć zdarza się, że przeplata się on z nieco bardziej współczesnymi realiami.

Jak na objętościową "cegłówkę" przystało, nie wszystkie teksty są na równym poziomie. Trzeba jednak przyznać, że żaden z nich nie był w moim odczuciu żenujący czy tragicznie słaby. To krótkie formy, więc autorzy nie mieli za wiele pola do popisu, ale u żadnego nie siadła dynamika utworu czy sam pomysł na historię. Mnie najbardziej spodobało się opowiadanie "Duch z Royal Crescent" autorstwa Petera Lovesey'a z uwagi na sprawną narrację i przewrotny charakter.

Książka to świetny pomysł na prezent świąteczny - zarówno dla kogoś, jak i dla siebie samej/samego.

[Julie Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is no better time to reread a short story collection than one that is seasonal. I guess all those early Christmas ads I hate have worked enough magic on me to make me want to dive into the season a bit early.

This is a top notch collection of Christmas mysteries, ranging from G.K. Chesterton, Mary Roberts Rinehart and Agatha Christie to Donald Westlake, Mary Higgins Clark and Ed McBain. There are funny mysteries, hard boiled mysteries, ghostly mysteries, and heartless mysteries — all set at that special time of year when the contrast to Christmas emphasizes the point just a little more.

As in all his "Big Book" anthologies, Otto Penzler prefaces each tale with a succinct author summary which gives nice context. A number of the stories are rare or never published before which is refreshing to habitual readers of Christmas story collections. (Guilty as charged.)

This is a great collection to just dip into for one story or to keep around as a way to slow down a little amidst the hustle and bustle of holiday preparations.

[Sharon Barrow Wilfong · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixed bag of authors and stories. I'm a golden age detective fiction fan and I rarely like anything written past 1980. I feel that the stories become progressively worse after the nineties and by the time the century turns, the writing is mediocre, the language coarse, the characters unlikeable as they are amoral and the content nihilistic.

Therefore...I really enjoyed the masters of the genre who wrote before 1987 and there are some really marvelous examples in this collection of Ellery Queen, Ngaio Marsh, Rex Stout, of course the queen, Christie and someone who is becoming a personal favorite Edgar Wallace.

For those who like later authors Mary Huggins Clark, Ed McBain, Ellis Peters am John Mortimer are a few examples.

Classic authors include Doyle, Chesterton, and Robert Louis Stevenson.

[Karin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a very mixed bag for me. There were some great stories in the mix, but plenty of other levels, although of course some of that depends on what you like in short stories. Reading fiction isn't a strictly objective activity. They range from 19th to early 20th century, but the best part was that the first and last stories were written by the woman who has sold more mystery books than any other writer, Agatha Christie--something like 4 billion at the time this collection when to press.

I did read nearly half of this book in November when I saw how long it was, but finished sooner than expected when I had a week where it was harder to focus on longer stories.

I can't say that all of these were what I'd call mysteries, but they fit the general tenor for the most part.

[Roberta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Agatha Christie - Il caso del dolce di Natale
Catherine Aird - Oro, incenso e morte
Robert Barnard - Un infausto Santo Stefano
Peter Lovesey - La prova del pudding
Ellery Queen - L'avventura della bambola del Delfino
Colin Dexter - Il mistero più grande per Morse
Susan Moody - Più che carne e sangue
Mary Roberts Rinehart - La vigilia di Natale del maggiordomo
Ellis Peters - Il gatto Trinity
Donald E. Westlake - Lo scassinatore e il come-si-chiama
Damon Runyon - Il Natale di Dancing Dan
Ron Goulart - Una visitina da Santa Claus
Thomas Hardy - I ladri che non smettevano di starnutire
John Mortimer - Rumpole e lo spirito del Natale
Meredith Nicholson - Un Babbo Natale a rovescio
Gillian Linscott - Uno scandalo d'inverno
Edward D. Hoch - Il cliente di Natale
Peter Todd - Il segreto nel sacchetto del pudding e Il caso natalizio di Herlock Sholmes
S.C. Roberts - Vigilia di Natale
Arthur Conan Doyle - L'avventura del carbonchio azzurro
John D. MacDonald - Morte al mercatino di Natale
Norvell Page - Canto di Natale criminale
Joseph Commings - Serenata per un assassino
Peter Lovesey - La mezzaluna stregata
Edmund Cox - Un Natale al campo
Pat Frank - L'intruso di Natale
Andrew Klavan - Il killer devoto
Fergus Hume - Il tocco del fantasma
Max Allan Collins - Una corona per Marley
Josephine Bell - I cantori di Natale
Ethel Lina White - Il museo delle cere
Marjorie Brown - Tè cambrico
Jonathan Santlofer - Il 74° racconto
Bradford Morrow - I non innocenti
Peter Robinson - Natale blu
Barry Perowne - Noel, Noel
Stanley Ellin - Morte alla vigilia di Natale
Joseph Shearing - La mela cinese
Ed McBain - Natale all'ottantasettesimo distretto
Doug Allyn - Un Natale anticipato
John Lutz - L'albero vivo
Sara Paretsky - Tre Punto Po
Dick Lochte - Cane Pazzo
Cyril Hare - La sorella Bessie
Mary Higgins Clark - Ecco il biglietto
Ngaio Marsh - Morte in onda
Isaac Asimov - Il tredicesimo giorno di Natale
Ed Gorman - La gattina di Natale
Julian Symons - Il club di Babbo Natale
G.K. Chesterton - Le stelle filanti
Rex Stout - Festa di Natale
E.W. Hornung - Le reliquie di Raffles
Ellis Peters - Il prezzo della luce
H.R.F. Keating - Un dono per Babbo Natale "sahib"
Will Scott - Il treno di Natale
Robert Louis Stevenson - Markheim
O. Henry - Un regalo natalizio dal Chaparral
Edgar Wallace - Il caso Chopham
Agatha Christie - Una tragedia natalizia

[Martina Sartor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Volume mastodontico, di valore anche estetico.
Nel genere "racconti gialli ambientati a Natale" spazia in tutti gli ambiti: dal tradizionale al moderno, dal classico allo sherlockiano, dal buffo, al pulp. E così via: queste sono infatti le parti in cui sono riuniti i vari racconti. Come prevedevo, mi sono piaciuti di più i classici, meno i pulp o quelli troppo moderni.
Da collezione.

[Subashini · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 to 3.5 stars. As expected for an anthology of this size, there's some truly absorbing stories and a bunch of mediocre ones. But just what I needed for this time of year, when the brain is largely mush.

[Ilaria~booksandmatcha__ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mentre il Natale si avvicina, la Mondadori continua a sfornare libri a tema. Oggi tocca al volume curato dal grandissimo Otto Penzler, che ha raccolto ben sessanta tra i più bei racconti gialli a tema natalizio.

Tra gli autori troviamo la regina del giallo, Agatha Christie, ma anche altri nomi noti e meno noti, come Arthur Conan Doyle, Mary Higgins Clark, Isaac Asimov, Edgar Wallace, Ellery Queen, Thomas Hardy, Colin Dexter, Will Scott.

Questi sono solo alcuni dei nomi che hanno firmato i racconti all’interno del meraviglioso volume in questione.

“La narrativa poliziesca ambientata nel periodo natalizio ci accompagna da molto tempo, ed è sconcertante scoprire quanti autori abbiano dedicato la penna e i pensieri più torbidi a questi giorni dell’anno. Sarà perché la violenza sembra talmente fuori luogo, talmente inappropriata al periodo festoso, da caricarsi di un peso ancora maggiore.”
Dall’introduzione, Otto Penzler

Così, il curatore del volume, ci consegna tra le mani una raccolta i cui racconti sono stati raccolti e raggruppati non in base agli autori quanto in base allo stile che li accompagna. Ogni sezione di racconti, infatti, riporta un aggettivo dedicato al Natale, ognuno diverso dal precedente: tradizionale, buffo, sherlockiano, pulp, occulto, spaventoso, sorprendente, moderno, sconcerante, classico.

Se vi hanno sorpreso alcuni dei nomi citati tra gli autori, lasciate che vi dica un attimo quanto io sia rimasta sconvolta nel leggere “Il tredicesimo giorno di Natale” di Isaac Asimov, autore conosciuto principalmente nell’ambito del genere fantascientifico.

Il poliziesco, il giallo, il thriller sono i generi che più mi affascinano, e sarà sempre così. Ma trovare autori universalmente conosciuti per aver scritto testi di generi completamente diversi ha squarciato il velo della mia curiosità, avendo fatto sì che li apprezzassi nel poliziesco e chiedendomi quindi: ma allora perché non ho mai letto nulla di questo autore nel suo genere-padre? La meraviglia di questa raccolta, oltre al fatto di permetterci di immergerci in quell’atmosfera tipicamente festiva, è proprio quella di aver raccolto penne totalmente diverse tra loro, utilizzando il fil rouge della festività natalizia intrecciata al mistero.

Sarebbe impossibile parlare di ogni racconto presente nella raccolta, ma mi piacerebbe molto citarne due, a riprova del fatto che si tratti di una raccolta talmente varia e diversificata da catturare e affascinare chiunque e con qualunque gusto stilistico e letterario. Da una parte abbiamo proprio il racconto scritto da Asimov: solo tre pagine che mi hanno dato una carica adrenalinica assurda, tra suspense e ragionamenti logici. L’avvertimento di una bomba il giorno di Natale che, però, non scoppia. Ma allora perché l’avvertimento? Toni seri, drammatici, che alzano l’asticella dell’ansia fino all’epilogo, positivo, del racconto.

Dall’altra parte, invece, abbiamo “I ladri che non smettevano di starnutire”. Direste mai, leggendo solo il titolo, che l’autore è Thomas Hardy? Qui, chiaramente, niente atmosfera cupa. Strano per l’autore di un’opera così melodrammatica come “Via dalla pazza folla”, vero? Ironia pungente a tratti alternata a un tono abbastanza serio hanno reso il tutto ancora più buffo di quanto prometteva il titolo della sezione.

Di certo, sessanta racconti non sono pochi, ma il fatto che abbiano uno stile diverso l’uno dall’altro rende la lettura molto scorrevole (sebbene consigli la lettura dell’edizione cartacea). Credo sia un ottimo modo per scoprire nuove e penne e per riscoprire penne classiche che credevamo di conoscere alla perfezione.

Per non parlare dell’estetica, curatissima come al solito, per cui vedrei bene questo volume come decorazione natalizia ma anche sotto l’albero di Natale, o ancora come albero di Natale stesso vista la sua immensa mole.

Io probabilmente lo terrò sul comodino per ricordarmi che le cose brutte che ci accompagnano ogni giorno possono capitare anche a Natale, ma l’atmosfera festiva non muore mai, a prescindere da tutto.

Recensione a cura di Ilaria.

[Tiffani · Rating 5 out of 5]

What could be more perfect than mysteries at Christmas? Christmas is the happiest time of year and all that, but the cold winter days are also the perfect setting for all things dark and twisty. Maybe a murder, perhaps a robbery gone wrong, or maybe there could be a ghost. However you like your mystery there is something for you in The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries. There are ghosts, thieves and cold-hearted murderers. There are traditional mysteries and modern mysteries, funny mysteries and seriously scary mysteries. For added measure, Otto Penzler (the editor) threw in a few classics from the greats - Agatha Christie, Rex Stout and Arthur Conan Doyle.

I loved this. It was perfect Christmastime / end-of-the year reading material, combining one of my favorite genres with Christmas spirit. I don't often read short stories. It isn't a conscious decision, it just kind of works out that way. In any case, the short story form really worked for me in this instance, allowing me to squeeze in a complete story in between Christmas shopping, work and all the preparations that go in making this time of year so special.

The collection is divided into ten kinds of stories: traditional, funny, Sherlockian, pulpy, uncanny, scary, surprising, modern, puzzling, and classic Christmas mysteries. Though I liked the traditional and modern stories the best (which seems odd but it is what it is), I found something to enjoy in every set. Donald E. Westlake's The Burglar and the Whatsit was laugh out loud funny. Joseph Shearing's The Chinese Apple was dark and definitely twisty. There were a couple of interesting interpretations of Dickens's A Christmas Carol ghost story. Really, I can't recommend this book enough. There were so many great stories.

One last thought - in addition to the great stories, you get to know a little bit about each author as Penzler has kindly included a paragraph about each story's author and tidbits about the origin of the story.

[Kirsty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could not resist purchasing The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries this year, and began to read it as soon as it was December. It is a chunky and clunky tome, so I decided from the off to spread my reading of it out over a few days. I had initially decided to read one of the sections per day so that it would last me all of advent, but I ended up reading far more of it on some days than others, and finished it in just under a week.

The stories here, as mentioned above, are split into rather a lot of sections, including 'Puzzling', 'Sherlockian', 'Modern', 'Funny', and 'Scary'. The collection is a compendium which features the work of the likes of Agatha Christie, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Ngaio Marsh, Thomas Hardy, and Colin Dexter. I had read several of these stories before, but a lot of them were new to me. As I expect with such a varied collection, some of the tales were not at all my style (the hardboiled and modern ones particularly), but there were others which I adored. The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries is a wonderful tome to dip in and out of, and it can be dug out and read from one year to the next. It would also make a great volume for newcomers to crime fiction; the contents here are so different, and encompass so many periods, that everyone is sure to find something that they love.

My favourite stories are as follows:
- 'The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding' by Agatha Christie (RR)
- 'The Butler's Christmas Eve' by Mary Roberts
- 'The Trinity Cat' by Ellis Peters
- 'The Thieves Who Couldn't Help Sneezing' by Thomas Hardy
- 'A Scandal in Winter' by Gillian Linscott
- 'The Christmas Client' by Edward D. Hoch
- 'The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle' by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (RR)
- 'The Carol Singers' by Josephine Bell (RR)
- 'Waxworks' by Ethel Lina White
- 'Cambric Tea' by Marjorie Bowen
- 'Blue Christmas' by Peter Robinson
- 'Death on the Air' by Ngaio Marsh (RR)
- 'A Christmas Tragedy' by Agatha Christie (RR)

[Rachele · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alcune storie sono più belle delle altre

[Ria · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful and HUGE compendium of Christmas mysteries covering all aspects of the genre.
Traditional stories, humourous tales, creepy, scary supernatural mysteries, pulp fiction tales, modern whodunnits, puzzling and classic short stories.
Every possible angle is addressed with authors ranging from Christie, Thomas Hardy, Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson all the way up to more modern authors such as Colin Dexter, Susan Moody and Mary Higgins Clark.
In this heavy tome there is something for everyone and all tastes and all with a seasonal flavour.
Will appeal to any fans of the genre and perfect for dipping into a chapter at a time.

[Neil McCrea]

I assume the publishers who giveaway books in the first reads program want the recipients to review the book in time for the official release date of the book. This book is so large, with tiny type and two columns per page, and I am reading so many things at once that I will be lucky to finish this by Christmas much less in time for the holiday buying public. So instead of waiting until the end, I shall endeavor to write mini-reviews of some of the stories throughout the next 4-5 weeks or so.

I should also note that despite the Christmas mystery theme of the collection this book is very wide in scope. It covers a great many styles (fair play, locked door, police procedural, hard boiled, etc) from a great many eras (Conan Doyle through Mary Higgins Clark).

The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding The volume begins with an Agatha Christie tale. Hercule Poirot works on a mystery involving a stolen gem, a boxing day prank, and a couple of unfortunate romantic entanglements. The story is light, fun and Christie displays a better sense of character than I often give her credit for. Poirot is of course simultaneously charming and a pain in the ass.

Gold, Frankincense and Murder Catherine Aird scrupulously writes only fair play mysteries. The mystery must be solved using only observation and deduction, never coincidence or confession, and all the elements to solve the case must be available to the reader before the detective gives the solution. The best fair play mysteries are better than an afternoon of doing crossword puzzles. Sadly, many of them are so concerned with puzzle and plot that they lack the other elements of good literature. Aird successfully bypasses that pitfall. Fun.

Boxing Unclever I'm completely unfamiliar with Robert Barnard. The 90's was apparently his heyday, but his style is completely in the old fashioned Agatha Christie vein. There are no detectives in this one, here we are entirely on the wrong side of the law. The bloviating master thespian at the center of this story is a hoot. Solidly done, and rather fun.

The Proof of the Pudding I've never read any Peter Lovesy before, but my mother is a steadfast fan. Here is our first truly dark tale, a story of domestic violence set on a London Christmas 1946. Simple and moving.

The Adventure of the Dauphin's Doll An Ellery Queen tale. Their were decades worth of Ellery Queen's Mystery magazine stacked up in the basement of my childhood home. I would occasionally pick up an issue when I was lacking in reading material of my own. I don't remember Ellery Queen stories being as full of wordplay and general goofiness as this one is. Dauphin's Doll has Ellery Queen and his father matching wits against a Arsene Lupin type master thief. There is a rip-roaring, pulpy adventure feel to this story.

Morse's Greatest Mystery My mother is a great fan of Colin Dexter's Inspecter Morse novels. I am only passing familiar with the old BBC series. This story is practically flash fiction. A tiny morsel likely to appeal only to diehard fans of the character.

More Than Flesh and Blood I'm completely unfamiliar with the work of Susan Moody. This tale is more potboiler than mystery, but I enjoyed this story of dark family secrets revealed to no one's satisfaction.

The Butler's Christmas Eve I'd never read any Mary Roberts Rinehart before, even though she wrote the first mystery novel to appear on the best seller list in America back in 1909, and she had a very long and very prolific career. In this story, an elderly butler is dismissed for being too old to carry on his duties. A year later the also elderly master of the house asks the butler back to see if he can suss out some strange goings on in the household. This is a sentimental tale, sweet but not saccharine, with more than a touch of Dickens in it.

The Trinity Cat I enjoyed the old Cadfael mystery series based on Ellis Peter's novels, but this story is nothing more than a curmudgeonly rant pretending to be a contemporary mystery and wrapped in an old issue of Cat Fancy magazine. In the 1970's, an old lady is murdered for her jewelry, a country constable goes on and on about how such a thing never would have happened in his day and that today's youth have no respect for their elders, then a cat solves the mystery. Crap.

The Burglar and the Whatsit Donald Westlake, writer of the extremely hard boiled Parker novels, gives us a lightly comic Christmas yarn. A Burglar disguised as Santa Claus is badgered into helping out an alcoholic inventor. Mildly amusing, and completely surprising.

Dancing Dan's Christmas Damon Runyon always convinces me, however briefly, that being a petty criminal in 1920's New York must have been a gas and that no matter your vices if you have a good heart things will work out. I would not be the tiniest bit surprised to learn that this story was the inspiration for the movie Bad Santa. Hilarious and legitimately heart warming.

A Visit from St. Nicholas Ron Goulart has created an unusual niche for himself writing science fiction mysteries. This isn't one of those. Here we have a mildly comic tale about a down on his luck ad man dressing up as Santa in order to burglarize his ex-wife.

The Thieves Who Couldn't Help Sneezing Thomas Hardy, the Victorian novelist responsible for writing the most depressing novel in the English language (Jude the Obscure), also wrote this literary novelty. It's a humorous fairy tale sort of story set in what appears to be late medieval rural England.

Rumpole and the Spirit of Christmas I was surprised to discover that the Rumpole television series pre-dated his written adventures. The show was a great favorite of my mother's and I enjoyed it as well. I always got more from the humor in the show than I ever did from any of the "mysteries". This short story is no exception.

Otto Penzler edited this book, and he is surely a name to look for. I can think of no individual with a greater knowledge of the mystery genre than Mr. Penzler. He is the owner of the Mysterious Bookstore in NYC, a location that easily makes my top 5 bookstores of all time.

It is completely impossible to give a star rating to this collection, as it contains stories that span the gamut. Fortunately, there are far more 4 & 5 star stories than 1 & 2 star entries. Regardless, I am certain that anyone can find something in this book to adore, even if they aren't fond of mysteries or are perpetual grinches.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is truly a BIG book. It contains 59 stories by my count (not 60, as the Goodreads description states) arranged in 10 loosely themed categories. The wide range of authors whose stories appear in the collection includes, in no particular order, Agatha Christie, Ellery Queen, Ellis Peters, John D. MacDonald, Damon Runyon, Arthur Conan Doyle, Donald E. Westlake, Mary Higgins Clark, G. K. Chesterton, O. Henry, and many more.

Not surprisingly, the quality is uneven, or maybe more to the point, some appealed to me more than others. (My 3-star rating may be a little low. It should probably be more like 3.5.) A few of my favorites:

“A Wreath for Marley,” by Max Allan Collins—a clever and humorous updating of the classic Ebenezer Scrooge story to Christmas Eve 1942, with the ghost of Christmas Yet to Come bearing an uncanny resemblance to Elvis.

“The 74th Tale,” by Jonathan Santlofer—in which a disturbed young man buys a copy of The Complete Poems and Tales of Edgar Allan Poe at the collection editor Otto Penzler’s Mysterious Bookshop and is inspired to copy one of Poe’s stories. (Another story, “The Killer Christian,” by Andrew Klavan, also has a tie-in to the Mysterious Bookshop.)

“All Through the House,” by Ed McBain—the 87th Precinct is the setting of the birth of a Christmas baby to a destitute young woman named Maria and her husband José, in a modern retelling of the original Christmas story.

Every reader will no doubt have his or her favorites. You may not like them all, but I’d be willing to bet that you’ll find at least a few that you’ll enjoy.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

The majority of the writers are British or American. Also some of the authors have more than one story so in some ways the book could be a bit more varied in its selection. Cadefal, Marple, and Poirot are in here. There is one section of just Sherlock Holmes inspired holiday mysteries as well as few ghostly mysteries. It was a fun read.

[Arnis · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://poseidons99.wordpress.com/202...

[Heideblume · Rating 2 out of 5]

60 racconti suddivisi per gruppi tematici.
I racconti sono tutti VECCHI (i più recenti sono del '96, ad eccezione di uno del 2007 e uno del 2011) e comparsi in precedenti raccolte, perlopiù degli anni '40. Perché non ci sono racconti contemporanei? Perché non ci sono racconti inediti?
In uno dice addirittura: "Questo racconto non c'entra nulla col Natale ma lo metto lo stesso perché mi piace". Eddai su!

[Manuel Alfonseca · Rating 3 out of 5]

ENGLISH: 59 short mysteries more or less related to the Christmas season. Not all of them are equally good, as was to be expected. Each belongs to a different author, except for the first and the last, both written by Agatha Christie, the only author with two stories, one with Hercule Poirot as the detective (The adventure of the Christmas pudding) the other with Miss Marple (A Christmas tragedy).

Curiously enough, the story I most liked in this book was an old classic which I read first many years ago: The adventure of the blue carbuncle, one of the first short stories about Mr. Sherlock Holmes by sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The second best, in my opinion, was A reversible Santa Claus by Meredith Nicholson. And the best written of all of them: Markheim, by Robert Louis Stevenson. I seem to prefer the classics, as can be seen.

The first publication of the stories selected goes from 1877 (a story by Thomas Hardy) to 2011 (the story I liked less). Most of the styles are represented: traditional, funny, Sherlockian, pulpy, uncanny, scary, surprising, modern, puzzling and classic. Enough for a good reading.

SPANISH: 59 cuentos cortos de misterio más o menos relacionados con la época navideña. No todos son buenos por igual, como era de esperar. Cada uno pertenece a un autor diferente, excepto el primero y el último, ambos escritos por Agatha Christie, única autora con dos cuentos, uno con Hércules Poirot como detective (La aventura del pudín de Navidad) el otro con Miss Marple (Una tragedia navideña).

Curiosamente, el cuento de este libro que más me ha gustado es un viejo clásico que leí por primera vez hace muchos años: La aventura del carbunclo azul, uno de los primeros sobre Sherlock Holmes de sir Arthur Conan Doyle. El segundo mejor, en mi opinión, es Un Papá Noel reversible de Meredith Nicholson. Y el mejor escrito de todos es Markheim, de Robert Louis Stevenson. Parece que prefiero los clásicos, como se puede ver.

La primera publicación de los cuentos seleccionados va desde 1877 (un cuento de Thomas Hardy) hasta 2011 (el que menos me gustó). La mayoría de los estilos están representados: tradicional, divertido, sherlockiano, pulposo, siniestro, aterrador, sorprendente, moderno, desconcertante y clásico. Suficiente para una buena lectura.

[Éowyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have yet to finish this book, and I'm not quite sure that I will. If I do finish, it is certainly going to be with some skipping about as some of the stories are a whee bit much for me. However, there are at least several truly fun ones, and the cover is even more adorable in person, so as of this moment I would give it a 50/50 review. :)

12/28/16 Update:
Finished! And I actually quite liked it.

I ended up reading only 56/59 stories because of the reasons stated above.

Favorite stories:

"The Butler's Christmas Eve" by Mary Rinehart - She's simply a favorite author of mine.

"A Scandal in Winter" by Gillian Linscott - A Sherlock Holmes set in Victorian Switzerland the atmosphere is glorious!

"Crime's Christmas Carol" by Novella Page - The classic story of a penniless young couple at Christmastime. It is both touching and comical.

"The Killer Christian" by Andrew Klaven - "A story of faith and redemption". This is probably the strongest story in the collection. It also holds the distinction of being one of the few stories that makes me start crying when I try to tell someone the storyline.

"Death on Christmas Eve" by Stanley Ellen - Quite uncanny. It wraps to a rather startling finish, if finish it can be called. :)

"Death on the Air" by Ngario Marsh - This one has some sweet touches.

"A Christmas Tragedy" by Agatha Christie - Miss Marple's observations on life are right on.

[AndrewP · Rating 4 out of 5]

A BIG collection of 60 classic Christmas mysteries. Many well known authors are represented here with stories from the likes of: Agatha Christie, John D. MacDonald, Donald E. Westlake, Max Allan Collins, Ngaio Marsh, Mary Higgins Clark, Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson, Thomas Hardy, Peter Robinson, Ellery Queen, Colin Dexter, Ellis Peters and Ed McBain. Many of the stories are hard to find so it's great to have them all collected in one volume.
As far as I can remember, I had only come across one story before so this was an enjoyable read. Good quality of story, one or two were not to my taste but weighing against that were a few that were truly exceptional. A solid 4 star read overall. My only complaint is that it's a big book. 650 pages of small print. In hindsight I should have read half and saved the other half for next Christmas :)

[Julie Durnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great selection of Christmas mystery short stories, enjoyed most all of them, a couple I skipped that were not for me. Took me a year reading just a few pages at a time, but the selection of well know and not so well known authors was intriguing!

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book in a goodreads drawing.

Another well chosen anthology of mysteries by Penzler, with some truly obscure gems. However, the theme does begin to wear on one after a while.

[Mo]

I listened to the first story 'Gold, Frankincense and Murder', and it was "okay".
I listened to the second story 'Boxing Unclever' and did not absorb a word of it.

I think these stories are better read than listened to.

Audiobook
Cat Gould - Narrator
Matthew Lloyd Davies - Narrator
Duration: 32:33:38

[Pi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kolejny, fantastyczny, pełen świątecznej atmosfery zbiór opowiadań od Wydawnictwa Zysk i S-ka. "ŚWIĄTECZNE TAJEMNICE najlepsze świąteczne opowieści kryminalne" wybrał dla nas Otto Penzler i jest to wybór wyjątkowy, grubaśny, ale i różnorodny. Cudownie się go podczytuje w tym grudniowym czasie! Książka ma 710 stron i są to strony, od których robi się ciepło na sercu. Jak wiecie uwielbiam krótką formę, bo w jedną chwilę mogę poznać całą historię i mam o czym myśleć przez resztę dnia... lub nocy. mamy tu klasycznie i nieco bardziej współcześnie, ale zawsze bardzo dobrze. W tej książce nie ma słabego tekstu, choć może nie każdy zachwyca, to każdy wnosi coś nowego do świątecznej atmosfery. Warto!
Książka podzielona została na pięć części, czyli na opowieść świąteczne (1) TRADYCYJNE, (2) ZABAWNE, (3) O SHERLOCKU HOLMESIE, (4) SENSACYJNE, (5) NIESAMOWITE. Już sam ten podział sprawił, że moczy mi się zaświeciły, zwłaszcza do NIESAMOWITYCH i ZABAWNYCH. Przy poznawaniu jednak zmieniły mi się faworyci i bardziej doceniłam TRADYCYJNE.
Więc jak to z tymi TRADYCYJNYMI jest. Ach no jest smacznie! Pozwólcie, że nie będę tutaj opisywać swoich wrażeń ze wszystkich opowiadań, skupię się na tych, które najbardziej mi się podobały (lecz pamiętajcie, że tu nie ma złego opowiadania, choć jeśli już muszę wskazać najsłabsze - które jest i tak dobre - to może "Złoto, kadzidło i morderstwo" Catherine Aird). Do moich ulubieńców należą: "Dobry pudding nie jest zły" Petera Lovesey (mocne i pomimo świąt bardzo ponure - ciężki kaliber), "Krew z krwi?" Susan Moody (chyba zrobiło na mnie największe wrażenie i ze względu na fabułę i ze względu na styl), "Kot Świętej Trójcy" Ellis Peters (świetne, choć proste, ale bardzo dobrze poprowadzone). Nie mogę nie wspomnieć o opowiadaniu, które rozpoczyna cały zbiór, czyli "Przygody świątecznego puddingu" królowej kryminału Agathy Christie (w roli głównej oczywiście Poirot).
Jak sprawa wygląda z ZABAWNYMI opowieściami świątecznymi? Również bardzo ciekawie, choć przyznaję, że nieco mniej mi się podobały niż TRADYCYJNE. "Wizyta Świętego Mikołaja" Rona Goulart bardzo mi się podobała, pozostawiła we mnie sporo przemyśleń - chciwość jednak nie popłaca, bo ktoś może być jeszcze bardziej chciwy od nas. "Złodzieje, którzy nie mogli przestać kichać" Thomasa Hardy, to przyjemna, ujmująca opowieść o prostym chłopcu, który był sprytniejszy niż mogłoby się wydawać.
Opowiadania O SHERLOCKU HOLMESIE są o tyle ciekawe, że tylko jedno z nich napisał Arthur Conan Doyle ("Niebieski karbunkuł"). Cztery pozostałe nawiązują do przygód tego sławnego detektywa i są ciekawymi wariacjami na temat oryginału. Bardzo polecam wszystkim, którzy lubią tego bohatera.
SENSACYJNYCH bałam się najbardziej, lecz niesłusznie. Są to trzy opowieści i każda prezentuje ciekawy styl. Myślę, że wystarczy tytuł jednego z nich, by chcieć je przeczytać "Serenada dal zabójcy"Josepha Commings. Czytajcie.
I wreszcie przechodzę do NIESAMOWITYCH, które to zawsze najsilniej mnie do siebie przyciągają. Mamy tutaj np. "Pobożnego zabójcę" Andrew Klavan, który zaskoczył mnie trafną diagnozą zawodu dziennikarza (uważam, że cała fabuła była tylko dodatkiem do tej diagnozy). Lecz nie zapominajcie o takich tytułach jak "Duch z Royal Crescent" Petera Lovesey, który już do pierwszych zdań mrozi krew (hah). Cóż - po prostu polecam Wam tę książkę OGROMNIE!
Wielką zaletą są notki biograficzne o autorach umieszczone przed każdym z opowiadań. Wydanie również robi wrażenie. Twarda, ale mimo to lekka oprawa, może trochę czcionka mogłaby być ciut większa, ale rozumiem, dlaczego taka nie jest - bo książka już i tak jest ogromna. Jeśli macie ochotę na krótkie i bardzo dobrze napisane opowieści, to to jest książka idealna. Ja jestem z niej niezwykle zadowolona.

wiele świątecznej przyjemności
8/10
Wydawnictwo Zysk i S-ka

[Carrie Kilgore · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fabulous collection of short stories, connected by Christmas (at least a mention) and mystery. They run the gamut from profound to silly, from the deft cozy to the chilling. The stories are sectioned so the reader can choose specific types (traditional, funny, Sherlockian, pulpy, uncanny, sorry, surprising, modern, puzzling and classic). I read it straight through, enjoying the variety. Many of the greats are represented here (Agatha Christie, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Ellery Queen, Robert Louis Stevenson, O. Henry, Rex Stout, and so forth) as are many less well known writers. Many of these stories are extremely hard to find anywhere else. Each story is preceded by a short blurb on the author, interesting and often surprising. This is a volume I intend to dip into each year... even the busiest at yuletide should be able to find a few minutes for a short story here and there. Highly recommended.

[Les Wilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Over half way through and haven’t read a story worth reading so far. Otto Penzler try reading the stories yourself before including them in a complication that looks like the only reason for selecting them was that they had something to do with Christmas. There were times when I wondered at the relevance. Not a great lover of compilations and this has put a stop to my trying anymore.

[Sarah Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have loved, loved, loved reading several stories from this huge collection each year at Christmas time. Of course, some stories I liked better than others, but overall it has been a delicious experience. I guess I will just need to start it over again in a couple years!