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The Mistletoe Murder: And Other Stories
Four previously uncollected stories from one of the great mystery writers of our time--swift, cunning murder mysteries (two of which feature the young Adam Dalgliesh) that together, to borrow the author's own word, add up to a delightful "entertainment."
The newly appointed Sgt. Dalgliesh is drawn into a case that is "pure Agatha Christie." . . . A "pedantic, respectable, censorious" clerk's secret taste for pornography is only the first reason he finds for not coming forward as a witness to a murder . . . A best-selling crime novelist describes the crime she herself was involved in fifty years earlier . . . Dalgliesh's godfather implores him to reinvestigate a notorious murder that might ease the godfather's mind about an inheritance, but which will reveal a truth that even the supremely upstanding Adam Dalgliesh will keep to himself. Each of these stories is as playful as it is ingeniously plotted, the author's sly humor as evident as her hallmark narrative elegance and shrewd understanding of some of the most complex--not to say the most damning--aspects of human nature. A treat for P. D. James's legions of fans and anyone who enjoys the pleasures of a masterfully wrought whodunit.
The newly appointed Sgt. Dalgliesh is drawn into a case that is "pure Agatha Christie." . . . A "pedantic, respectable, censorious" clerk's secret taste for pornography is only the first reason he finds for not coming forward as a witness to a murder . . . A best-selling crime novelist describes the crime she herself was involved in fifty years earlier . . . Dalgliesh's godfather implores him to reinvestigate a notorious murder that might ease the godfather's mind about an inheritance, but which will reveal a truth that even the supremely upstanding Adam Dalgliesh will keep to himself. Each of these stories is as playful as it is ingeniously plotted, the author's sly humor as evident as her hallmark narrative elegance and shrewd understanding of some of the most complex--not to say the most damning--aspects of human nature. A treat for P. D. James's legions of fans and anyone who enjoys the pleasures of a masterfully wrought whodunit.
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Published October 25, 2016
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About the author
P.D. James
322 books3,265 followersP. D. James, byname of Phyllis Dorothy James White, Baroness James of Holland Park, (born August 3, 1920, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England—died November 27, 2014, Oxford), British mystery novelist best known for her fictional detective Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard.
The daughter of a middle-grade civil servant, James grew up in the university town of Cambridge. Her formal education, however, ended at age 16 because of lack of funds, and she was thereafter self-educated. In 1941 she married Ernest C.B. White, a medical student and future physician, who returned home from wartime service mentally deranged and spent much of the rest of his life in psychiatric hospitals. To support her family (which included two children), she took work in hospital administration and, after her husband’s death in 1964, became a civil servant in the criminal section of the Department of Home Affairs. Her first mystery novel, Cover Her Face (1962), introduced Dalgliesh and was followed by six more mysteries before she retired from government service in 1979 to devote full time to writing.
Dalgliesh, James’s master detective who rises from chief inspector in the first novel to chief superintendent and then to commander, is a serious, introspective person, moralistic yet realistic. The novels in which he appears are peopled by fully rounded characters, who are civilized, genteel, and motivated. The public resonance created by James’s singular characterization and deployment of classic mystery devices led to most of the novels featuring Dalgliesh being filmed for television. James, who earned the sobriquet “Queen of Crime,” penned 14 Dalgliesh novels, with the last, The Private Patient, appearing in 2008.
James also wrote An Unsuitable Job for a Woman (1972) and The Skull Beneath the Skin (1982), which centre on Cordelia Gray, a young private detective. The first of these novels was the basis for both a television movie and a short-lived series. James expanded beyond the mystery genre in The Children of Men (1992; film 2006), which explores a dystopian world in which the human race has become infertile. Her final work, Death Comes to Pemberley (2011)—a sequel to Pride and Prejudice (1813)—amplifies the class and relationship tensions between Jane Austen’s characters by situating them in the midst of a murder investigation. James’s nonfiction works include The Maul and the Pear Tree (1971), a telling of the Ratcliffe Highway murders of 1811 written with historian T.A. Critchley, and the insightful Talking About Detective Fiction (2009). Her memoir, Time to Be in Earnest, was published in 2000. She was made OBE in 1983 and was named a life peer in 1991.
The daughter of a middle-grade civil servant, James grew up in the university town of Cambridge. Her formal education, however, ended at age 16 because of lack of funds, and she was thereafter self-educated. In 1941 she married Ernest C.B. White, a medical student and future physician, who returned home from wartime service mentally deranged and spent much of the rest of his life in psychiatric hospitals. To support her family (which included two children), she took work in hospital administration and, after her husband’s death in 1964, became a civil servant in the criminal section of the Department of Home Affairs. Her first mystery novel, Cover Her Face (1962), introduced Dalgliesh and was followed by six more mysteries before she retired from government service in 1979 to devote full time to writing.
Dalgliesh, James’s master detective who rises from chief inspector in the first novel to chief superintendent and then to commander, is a serious, introspective person, moralistic yet realistic. The novels in which he appears are peopled by fully rounded characters, who are civilized, genteel, and motivated. The public resonance created by James’s singular characterization and deployment of classic mystery devices led to most of the novels featuring Dalgliesh being filmed for television. James, who earned the sobriquet “Queen of Crime,” penned 14 Dalgliesh novels, with the last, The Private Patient, appearing in 2008.
James also wrote An Unsuitable Job for a Woman (1972) and The Skull Beneath the Skin (1982), which centre on Cordelia Gray, a young private detective. The first of these novels was the basis for both a television movie and a short-lived series. James expanded beyond the mystery genre in The Children of Men (1992; film 2006), which explores a dystopian world in which the human race has become infertile. Her final work, Death Comes to Pemberley (2011)—a sequel to Pride and Prejudice (1813)—amplifies the class and relationship tensions between Jane Austen’s characters by situating them in the midst of a murder investigation. James’s nonfiction works include The Maul and the Pear Tree (1971), a telling of the Ratcliffe Highway murders of 1811 written with historian T.A. Critchley, and the insightful Talking About Detective Fiction (2009). Her memoir, Time to Be in Earnest, was published in 2000. She was made OBE in 1983 and was named a life peer in 1991.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 2, 2026
Four short mystery stories, all written for Christmas, although I noticed no Christmas connection in "A Very Commonplace Murder". Each story had a different feel to it. "The Mistletoe Murder" was a well-crafted whodunit set during WWII. "A Very Commonplace Murder", though it had a surprise reveal at the end, was more of a study of the narrator's character. "The Boxdale Inheritance" has Adam Dalgliesh looking back sixty years, and contrasts a very good person with some much less savory. Finally, "The Twelve Clues of Christmas" is best read as mainly entertainment; Dalgliesh's job is made too easy for it to qualify as a proper whodunit. Surprisingly for a story collection, I don't have a favorite. They are all good in their own ways.
December 22, 2025
I bought this at the last Christmas library book sale. I chose it because I previously read PD James' "A Mind to Murder," and it was Christmas themed. There were four short stories in this series- The Mistletoe Murder, A Commonplace Murder, The Boxdale Inheritance, and The Twelve Clues of Christmas. 🎄
However, my favorite part is the Preface itself; James credited Edgar Allan Poe as being the father of the detective story, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for bring it to maturity with Sherlock Holmes. I thought about how James' detective, Adam Dalgliesh, is similar to Poe's Auguste Dupin.
My favorite of the four stories was "The Mistletoe Murder." It was suspenseful and had a very unexpected ending- the literal last sentence of the story. 🎅
Equally, I liked "A Commonplace Murder" for the same reasons.
I didn't like "The Twelve Clues of Christmas" as much as the others, as some of the clues seemed to be stretch and imagination, or just didn't make sense to me. ❓️
I liked "The Boxdale Inheritance"- it did make me like the Adam Dalgliesh character more.
All in all, I really liked these stories, and it made me want to take a fresh look at PD James' novels. 📚
#detective #DetectiveStory #edgarallanpoe #arthurconandoyle #pdjames #MistletoeMurders #books #booksworthreading #reading #readingcommunity #booktok
However, my favorite part is the Preface itself; James credited Edgar Allan Poe as being the father of the detective story, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for bring it to maturity with Sherlock Holmes. I thought about how James' detective, Adam Dalgliesh, is similar to Poe's Auguste Dupin.
My favorite of the four stories was "The Mistletoe Murder." It was suspenseful and had a very unexpected ending- the literal last sentence of the story. 🎅
Equally, I liked "A Commonplace Murder" for the same reasons.
I didn't like "The Twelve Clues of Christmas" as much as the others, as some of the clues seemed to be stretch and imagination, or just didn't make sense to me. ❓️
I liked "The Boxdale Inheritance"- it did make me like the Adam Dalgliesh character more.
All in all, I really liked these stories, and it made me want to take a fresh look at PD James' novels. 📚
#detective #DetectiveStory #edgarallanpoe #arthurconandoyle #pdjames #MistletoeMurders #books #booksworthreading #reading #readingcommunity #booktok
December 23, 2025
Just not my thing. PD James may be very popular but I just couldn't get into it. It had an air of smugness and pomposity about it that spoilt it for me.
Trying to give this 3 stars but it keeps changing 5🤦🏼♀️
Trying to give this 3 stars but it keeps changing 5🤦🏼♀️
February 11, 2026
Four short mysteries from one of the greatest showing that she was equally gifted in the short form as in her novels.
I am most haunted by the story of a man who witnesses a murder but delays coming forward when an innocent man is accused because it would be inconvenient to his career.
I am most haunted by the story of a man who witnesses a murder but delays coming forward when an innocent man is accused because it would be inconvenient to his career.
November 22, 2023
Good classic murder mystery set at Christmas.
March 31, 2025
Read this once before a long time ago - glad I found it again. Quite the ingenious short stories.
June 3, 2025
I've always enjoyed P.D. James' books and was delighted to find she wrote some short stories. This one has a Christmas theme.
June 18, 2025
surprisingly the titular story is my least favorite
July 21, 2025
A most enjoyable set of short stories. Inspector Dalgliesh appears in two of them, much to my delight
November 25, 2025
Fun little listen. It was 3 very short murder mysteries sort of in a Agatha Christie format. Not my absolute favorite but entertaining between bigger novels/books.
December 25, 2025
I enjoyed each of the short stories.
January 27, 2026
She is a good writer, keeps your interest, interesting characters. Have not read her in a while.
January 6, 2026
Very good! Each story is a quick read and the book itself also goes quickly. They all have great endings! Only giving 4 stars because I did not enjoy the second story; it is a bit more gruesome and involves a sexual assault. It really creeped me out. But all the rest of the stories are mostly about the mystery and don’t focus as much on the gruesome murder details.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews