A Classic Christmas Crime

by Tim Heald (Contributor), Margaret Yorke (Contributor), Simon Brett (Contributor)

An entertaining assortment of holiday mystery stories features original tales by P. D. James, Simon Brett, Margaret Yorke, Robert Barnard, Peter Lovesey, H. R. F. Keating, Time Heald, Liza Cody, Catherine Aird, and Nicole Swengley, among others. Reprint.

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

189 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 1, 1997

About the author

Tim Heald (b. 1944) is a journalist and author of mysteries. Born in Dorchester, England, he studied modern history at Oxford before becoming a reporter and columnist for the Sunday Times. He began writing novels in the early 1970s, starting with Unbecoming Habits (1973), which introduced Simon Bognor, a defiantly lazy investigator for the British Board of Trade. Heald followed Bognor through nine more novels, including Murder at Moose Jaw (1981) and Business Unusual (1989) before taking a two-decade break from the series, which returned in 2011 with Death in the Opening Chapter.

Reviews

[Karen M · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting selection of festive crime which , rather like a box of chocolates , has some you’d rather leave untouched and some you want more of.
‘ More than flesh and blood’ is a chilling evocation of the destructive forces of love and hate ; in contrast the light hearted and frothy ‘Bearing Gifts’ stands the test of time and delivers delightfully . For me the ‘ Proof of the Pudding’ is one of the strongest stories . It gives a different view of the returning heroes of WW2 and shows domestic violence and female solidarity ( or lack of it) against this backdrop. Written by a man it supports the view that good writers can empathise with either sex.
Keating’s ‘Charades Anybody’ gives a weird glimpse into colonialism while I wish that I’d read ‘Season of Goodwill’ and ‘Political Correction’ side by side as they both centre round the wounding nature of casually racist language. One is very successful the other just stereotypically nasty.
A good collection but one in which I found my sympathy was often with the criminals...

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Completed 1/2/2009:
PD James' "The Mistletoe Murder" [***:] and Catherine Aird's "Gold, Frankincense and Murder" [***:]; look forward to picking it up again next Christmas.

Completed 12/12/2009:
Simon Brett's "Political Corrections" [*****:] satirically, satisfyingly funny w/one heck of an ending.

Completed 3/16/2019:
Margaret Yorke's "Mugs" [****] cute cozy

TO BE READ:

And Broke His Crown by David Williams
Bearing Gifts by Nicole Swengley
Season of Goodwill by Mike Seabrook
More than Flesh & Blood by Susan Moody
The Proof of the Pudding by Peter Lovesey
Charades, Anybody? by H. R. F. Keating
Operation Christmas by Tim Heald
A Card or a Kitten by Liza Cody
Boxing Unclever by Robert Barnard

[Plum-crazy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice mix of crime stories from some of the big names in that genre. I always enjoy work by Catherine Aird & Robert Barnard but I particularly liked "Mugs" by Margaret Yorke & in Tim Heald's "Operation Christmas" I looked forward to seeing as to who & how the dastardly deed would be done to the obnoxious Alfredo White! Simon Brett's "Political Correctness" made me smile thinking about how many of the old fashioned whodunnits (Agatha Christie probably a prime candidate indeed as the story mentioned!) would be re-edited these days for fear of being thought discriminating or unacceptable.

[Monica Willyard Moen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent collection of classic Mistry tales, especially written to celebrate the Golden age of mystery. I love classic mysteries, and most of these tales were new to me. Reading it felt like opening a Christmas package of goodies sent by a favorite aunt and savoring every bite.

[Carmen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some real good stories mixed with others not so good.

[Vicki Gooding · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun Victorian Winter Classics. And I hadn't read any of these particular story. There are 13 authors, 13 stories. As with most books of stories, it was my opinion some were great, some fair. and one I actually ended up skipping after I began. (There was an attempted Mike Hammer type of flavor for someone who may enjoy this author)> The book overall was very good and a delightful read for those (like me) that really enjoy a good Christmas mystery.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't cared for Heald's last few books, but he really did a good job editing this collection. There are a lot of familiar names among the authors, and some that are not so well known, but there are really very few weak entries, although some of the stories are on the slight side, and some have only a glancing relationship with Christmas, if that's a problem for you.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Truth: I read only the stories written by women, due to time and interest, and enjoyed them all. Compare to: "Christmas Crimes at the Mysterious Bookshop," which while I loved that part of each of those was set in the real NYC bookshop, left me disappointed. Is it the almost-30 years between, British versus US writers, or just different styles?

[Linda Amos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, I know it's not Christmas but that's fine. A fun read, some good stories which can be read if you only have a few minutes. Well-known names have made contributions and are as good as a full-length novel.

[Joanne Kauffmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very British mystery stories of varying quality. I did enjoy Mistletoe Murder as I am a fan of PD James. Reading the others was a challenge for an American reader who is unfamiliar with British terminology.

[JoAnn Steinly · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable selection of mysteries with a Christmas connection.

[Olena · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable subset of stories

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a fan of mysteries, , you'll probably like this collection of thirteen Christmas tales with a classic feel to them. The selections are so varied that you probably won't enjoy them all, but the writing is excellent throughout. The collection contains stories from many top mystery writers including PD James, Robert Barnard, Simon Bret, and many others. Simon Brett's "Political Corrections," about an editor who finds fault with just about every word of a 1930's manuscript, was probably my favorite; it's a terrific send-up of political correctness that made me laugh out loud. Surprisingly, I also enjoyed PD James's contribution; I don't usually like her work very much.

All of the selections are fairly short; so it's a nice read during this incredibly busy season.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

"From 'a lovely P. D. James story ... with a body in the library and footsteps in the snow' (London Times) to 'David Williams's straight-faced clerical whodunit to Robert Barnard's Waspish theatrical anecdote to Susan Moody's chilling hunt among a doomed family's skeletons; and Simon Brett's archly inventive tale of publishing fraud, which like all the best parodies, builds on the tradition it skewers ... the range of atmospheres is impressive.' (Kirkus Reviews)"
~~back cover

I couldn't have said it better myself.

[Windy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of 13 tales of murder and intrigue. Some better than others but on the whole the perfect read for December as each story is only about 20 pages long and so does not take a lot of concentration and brilliant for dipping into whilst busy with preparations.

[Northern Light · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't usually read short stories but this seemed appropriate for the time of year. It's a mixed bag with some stories very good while others make you wonder why they were even included. All in all a good way to pass the time/

[Cyn McDonald · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really about 2 1/2. A few good stories, mostly meh.