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The Mistletoe Murder and Other Stories
Four festive stories from P. D. James, the 'Queen of Crime'
From a Christmas murder at a country house to an illicit affair and a questionable inheritance, P. D. James's trademark sparkling prose illuminates the secrets that lurk beneath the surface at enforced family gatherings. These puzzle-box mysteries are perfect cosy reading for the darkest days of the year!
Including two early cases for Adam Dalgleish - star of the major TV series, Dalgleish
What readers are
'A sheer delight.' 5* reader review
'Four of the best of P D James short stories. All set around Christmas and all expertly planned, written and executed!' 5* reader review
'Perfect for a dark wintry evening.' 5* reader review
'Very entertaining, and I loved it.' 5* reader review
From a Christmas murder at a country house to an illicit affair and a questionable inheritance, P. D. James's trademark sparkling prose illuminates the secrets that lurk beneath the surface at enforced family gatherings. These puzzle-box mysteries are perfect cosy reading for the darkest days of the year!
Including two early cases for Adam Dalgleish - star of the major TV series, Dalgleish
What readers are
'A sheer delight.' 5* reader review
'Four of the best of P D James short stories. All set around Christmas and all expertly planned, written and executed!' 5* reader review
'Perfect for a dark wintry evening.' 5* reader review
'Very entertaining, and I loved it.' 5* reader review
- GenresShort Stories
115 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 4, 2016
1 person is currently reading
7 people want to read
About the author
P.D. James
319 books3,244 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 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 18, 2024
This is the first P.D. James book I have ever read. The four short stories were enjoyable "classic Christmas murder mysteries."
December 19, 2024
Really entertaining and short read
February 19, 2025
4 short cosy murder reads - I like!!
March 15, 2025
Plotted well enough to hold some interest, but I much prefer her novels.
April 26, 2025
Very well written short stories, held my attention, a good introduction to P.D.James
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews