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Murderous Christmas Stories #1
Murder Under the Christmas Tree: Ten Classic Crime Stories for the Festive Season
Christmas is a time of goodwill to all men ... or is it?
As the nights draw in, throw another log on the fire and settle back into your armchair to enjoy this collection of ten classic Christmas mysteries, in which crime's best known sleuths, from Rebus to Holmes and Cadfael to Father Brown, uncover murder and mayhem galore.
Whether it's a Christmas goose with a surprising secret cargo, a murdered pantomime dame, or a killer who departs the scene of the crime without leaving a single footprint, these stories will puzzle and delight in equal measure. And along the way, there'll be enough carols and Christmas pudding, mistletoe and mulled wine, to warm the heart of a stone-cold killer ... perhaps.
As the nights draw in, throw another log on the fire and settle back into your armchair to enjoy this collection of ten classic Christmas mysteries, in which crime's best known sleuths, from Rebus to Holmes and Cadfael to Father Brown, uncover murder and mayhem galore.
Whether it's a Christmas goose with a surprising secret cargo, a murdered pantomime dame, or a killer who departs the scene of the crime without leaving a single footprint, these stories will puzzle and delight in equal measure. And along the way, there'll be enough carols and Christmas pudding, mistletoe and mulled wine, to warm the heart of a stone-cold killer ... perhaps.
288 pages, Paperback
First published November 3, 2016
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997 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 177 reviews
December 30, 2020
This is the first book in this series of seasonal Classic Crime stories and the fourth I've read. As with the others, I thought this was a good collection. There were some authors that were new to me and some authors and stories I've come across before. Not all are Christmas but all are in the winter season and for me, that's what I've shown up for.
I am very glad to have chosen this as one of the books that close my reading year. I have the fifth book in this series and plan to read it sometime this winter. Gayford has also done a Classic Crime collection with the theme of summer holidays Murder in Midsummer: Classic Mysteries for the Holidays that I enjoyed. Recommended.
Full review to come with my thoughts on each story below:
The Necklace of Pearls by Dorothy l Sayers
The Name on the Window by Edmund Crispin
A Traditional Christmas by Val McDermid
The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - So famous I've read it before and seen several adaptations. Somehow, I love Sherlock Holmes but not a huge fan of reading the stories. Go figure. Even for me, this is a very good one.
The Invisible Man by G.K. Chesterton
Cinders by Ian Rankin
Death on the Air by Ngaio March
Persons or Things Unknown by Carter Dixon
The Case is Altered by Margery Allingham
The Price of Light by Ellis Peters
I am very glad to have chosen this as one of the books that close my reading year. I have the fifth book in this series and plan to read it sometime this winter. Gayford has also done a Classic Crime collection with the theme of summer holidays Murder in Midsummer: Classic Mysteries for the Holidays that I enjoyed. Recommended.
Full review to come with my thoughts on each story below:
The Necklace of Pearls by Dorothy l Sayers
The Name on the Window by Edmund Crispin
A Traditional Christmas by Val McDermid
The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - So famous I've read it before and seen several adaptations. Somehow, I love Sherlock Holmes but not a huge fan of reading the stories. Go figure. Even for me, this is a very good one.
The Invisible Man by G.K. Chesterton
Cinders by Ian Rankin
Death on the Air by Ngaio March
Persons or Things Unknown by Carter Dixon
The Case is Altered by Margery Allingham
The Price of Light by Ellis Peters
December 18, 2020
A really strong mix of stories that has something for everyone.
It's quite fitting that this collection should open with a golden age of crime novelist Dorothy L. Sayers, whilst current bestseller Val McDermid also has a standout entry.
I've already read the Sherlock Holmes tale though I enjoyed revisiting it again, the inclusion of Ian Rankin's Rebus has once again reminded me that I must start that series soon.
Overall a nice eclectic range to dip in and out of over Christmas.
It's quite fitting that this collection should open with a golden age of crime novelist Dorothy L. Sayers, whilst current bestseller Val McDermid also has a standout entry.
I've already read the Sherlock Holmes tale though I enjoyed revisiting it again, the inclusion of Ian Rankin's Rebus has once again reminded me that I must start that series soon.
Overall a nice eclectic range to dip in and out of over Christmas.
December 13, 2016
When Akylina and I met up in Edinburgh at the end of November, we decided to purchase two copies of Murder Under the Christmas Tree to read together. With essay deadlines and the like, our collaboration didn't quite go to plan, but I thought I'd post my review of the book regardless. I decided to open it on the first of December and read one of the ten stories per day, as a kind of constructive advent treat.
With regard to crime novels, cosy crime is definitely my favourite sub-genre; I adore authors such as Agatha Christie and Edmund Crispin, and will always seek them out over contemporary thrillers (much as I'll admit that I tend to enjoy these too, I'm generally not that surprised by the plot twists, as I feel that a lot of them follow the same - or at least very similar - guidelines). Whilst I had heard of a lot of the authors in this collection, there were a couple who were on my radar but whom I was not familiar with, and one (Carter Dickson) whom I hadn't even heard of before.
I feel that the best way in which to approach such a collection is to give a mini review of each tale. Murder Under the Christmas Tree begins with Dorothy L. Sayers' 'The Necklace of Pearls', a clever tale in which a very rich, and not very well liked, man named Septimus Shale's daughter has her precious pearl necklace stolen during a holiday gathering. Lord Peter Wimsey makes an appearance (of course), just happening as he does to be part of the festivities. The way in which Sayers writes is enjoyable, and she sets the scene perfectly throughout. The second story in the collection is Edmund Crispin's 'The Name on the Window', which I very much enjoyed. In this Boxing Day mystery, which centres upon his famous creation of Oxford Don-cum-detective Gervase Fen, a recent murder is investigated. The locked-room variety of plot which has been used here is clever; not the best Fen story, but its workings and conclusion certainly suited the length of the piece.
Val McDermid's 'A Traditional Christmas' catapults one from past decades to the present, and its opening sentence was reminiscent to me of Daphne du Maurier's wonderful Rebecca: 'Last night, I dreamed I went to Amberley'. This is where our female narrator's wife was brought up in luxury. Again, the story deals with a murder. McDermid's prose style is rather matter-of-fact at points, but it has flashes of great humour within it, and any oddness which the tale holds is made up by the fact that it has been so well done. Next comes a classic, Arthur Conan Doyle's 'The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle'. I have read this before on numerous occasions, and still find it wonderfully clever. For those of you unfamiliar with this particular Sherlock Holmes story, a rare and precious stone - the blue carbuncle of the title - has been placed within a goose, and subsequently lost.
'The Invisible Man' by G.K. Chesterton and 'Cinders' by Ian Rankin both have merit. The tales are very different from one another, but the contrast provided by their placing in the collection is memorable. In the former, which provided my first taste of Chesterton's work, a spectre appears, and a mysterious note consequently shows itself upon the window of a shop in Camden Town. Chesterton's prose is rich, and stylistically rather original. This Father Brown story takes on many issues about the perils of the modern world, and is entertaining from start to finish. In Rankin's effort, the crux of the problem is immediately shown to the reader: 'The Fairy Godmother was dead'. At an Edinburgh pantomime, the body is found, and Rebus is sent to investigate. The manner of the murder is simple, yet it demonstrates Rankin's intelligence and clever plot twists, struck as she is by Cinderella's slipper: 'Not that it was a glass slipper. It was Perspex or something. And it wasn't the one from the performance. The production kept two spares.'
'Death on the Air' provided my first glimpse into Ngaio Marsh's work, and I very much enjoyed it. She immediately sets the scene, and I was reminded a little of Harry Potter: 'On the 25th of December at 7:30am our Septimus Tonks was found dead beside his wireless set'. His body is discovered by the under-housemaid, and the investigation comes about when it is found that he was not accidentally electrocuted as first thought. After Marsh's crafty tale, we come to 'Persons or Things Unknown' by Carter Dickson, which I must admit I didn't much enjoy. The new owner of an old house in Sussex is convinced that it is haunted; he then tells a story from the 1660s which supposedly happened on the site. Whilst Dickson's story marks a differentiation in the collection in some ways, I did not personally find it immediately interesting or engaging, and could have happily skipped past it. There was a curious distancing and framing here, and the monologue structure makes it rather dull and plodding.
Margery Allingham's 'The Case is Altered' picked up the pace once more; as a penultimate tale, it fits perfectly. This particular Campion tale is wonderfully crafted, from its initial sentence - 'Mr Albert Campion, sitting in a first-class smoking compartment, was just reflecting sadly that an atmosphere of stultifying decency could make even Christmas something of a stuffed-owl occasion, when a new hogskin suitcase of distinctive design hit him on the knees' - to its plot, in which his contemporary, Lance, receives an anonymous letter instructing him to wait in the grounds one night. True to form, Campion is immediately suspicious. This is one of the only stories in the collection which does not deal with a murder, and it feels refreshing in consequence. The final tale, Ellis Peters' 'The Price of Light', was a bit of a letdown in consequence. It does not feel overly grounded historically, despite the necessity of such a thing, being set in 1135 as it is. Whilst Peters' story was well written, I did not find it captivating by any means, and am of the opinion that it jarred the whole collection; it did not fit with anything else within Murder Under the Christmas Tree, aside from the general theme of murder.
To conclude, Murder Under the Christmas Tree would have been utterly fantastic had it consisted solely of festive Golden Age crime fiction. As it is, the book is enjoyable enough, but a couple of the entries do tend to make the whole feel a touch disjointed. Regardless, it has finally given me the push I needed to incorporate Ngaio Marsh into my 2017 reading.
With regard to crime novels, cosy crime is definitely my favourite sub-genre; I adore authors such as Agatha Christie and Edmund Crispin, and will always seek them out over contemporary thrillers (much as I'll admit that I tend to enjoy these too, I'm generally not that surprised by the plot twists, as I feel that a lot of them follow the same - or at least very similar - guidelines). Whilst I had heard of a lot of the authors in this collection, there were a couple who were on my radar but whom I was not familiar with, and one (Carter Dickson) whom I hadn't even heard of before.
I feel that the best way in which to approach such a collection is to give a mini review of each tale. Murder Under the Christmas Tree begins with Dorothy L. Sayers' 'The Necklace of Pearls', a clever tale in which a very rich, and not very well liked, man named Septimus Shale's daughter has her precious pearl necklace stolen during a holiday gathering. Lord Peter Wimsey makes an appearance (of course), just happening as he does to be part of the festivities. The way in which Sayers writes is enjoyable, and she sets the scene perfectly throughout. The second story in the collection is Edmund Crispin's 'The Name on the Window', which I very much enjoyed. In this Boxing Day mystery, which centres upon his famous creation of Oxford Don-cum-detective Gervase Fen, a recent murder is investigated. The locked-room variety of plot which has been used here is clever; not the best Fen story, but its workings and conclusion certainly suited the length of the piece.
Val McDermid's 'A Traditional Christmas' catapults one from past decades to the present, and its opening sentence was reminiscent to me of Daphne du Maurier's wonderful Rebecca: 'Last night, I dreamed I went to Amberley'. This is where our female narrator's wife was brought up in luxury. Again, the story deals with a murder. McDermid's prose style is rather matter-of-fact at points, but it has flashes of great humour within it, and any oddness which the tale holds is made up by the fact that it has been so well done. Next comes a classic, Arthur Conan Doyle's 'The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle'. I have read this before on numerous occasions, and still find it wonderfully clever. For those of you unfamiliar with this particular Sherlock Holmes story, a rare and precious stone - the blue carbuncle of the title - has been placed within a goose, and subsequently lost.
'The Invisible Man' by G.K. Chesterton and 'Cinders' by Ian Rankin both have merit. The tales are very different from one another, but the contrast provided by their placing in the collection is memorable. In the former, which provided my first taste of Chesterton's work, a spectre appears, and a mysterious note consequently shows itself upon the window of a shop in Camden Town. Chesterton's prose is rich, and stylistically rather original. This Father Brown story takes on many issues about the perils of the modern world, and is entertaining from start to finish. In Rankin's effort, the crux of the problem is immediately shown to the reader: 'The Fairy Godmother was dead'. At an Edinburgh pantomime, the body is found, and Rebus is sent to investigate. The manner of the murder is simple, yet it demonstrates Rankin's intelligence and clever plot twists, struck as she is by Cinderella's slipper: 'Not that it was a glass slipper. It was Perspex or something. And it wasn't the one from the performance. The production kept two spares.'
'Death on the Air' provided my first glimpse into Ngaio Marsh's work, and I very much enjoyed it. She immediately sets the scene, and I was reminded a little of Harry Potter: 'On the 25th of December at 7:30am our Septimus Tonks was found dead beside his wireless set'. His body is discovered by the under-housemaid, and the investigation comes about when it is found that he was not accidentally electrocuted as first thought. After Marsh's crafty tale, we come to 'Persons or Things Unknown' by Carter Dickson, which I must admit I didn't much enjoy. The new owner of an old house in Sussex is convinced that it is haunted; he then tells a story from the 1660s which supposedly happened on the site. Whilst Dickson's story marks a differentiation in the collection in some ways, I did not personally find it immediately interesting or engaging, and could have happily skipped past it. There was a curious distancing and framing here, and the monologue structure makes it rather dull and plodding.
Margery Allingham's 'The Case is Altered' picked up the pace once more; as a penultimate tale, it fits perfectly. This particular Campion tale is wonderfully crafted, from its initial sentence - 'Mr Albert Campion, sitting in a first-class smoking compartment, was just reflecting sadly that an atmosphere of stultifying decency could make even Christmas something of a stuffed-owl occasion, when a new hogskin suitcase of distinctive design hit him on the knees' - to its plot, in which his contemporary, Lance, receives an anonymous letter instructing him to wait in the grounds one night. True to form, Campion is immediately suspicious. This is one of the only stories in the collection which does not deal with a murder, and it feels refreshing in consequence. The final tale, Ellis Peters' 'The Price of Light', was a bit of a letdown in consequence. It does not feel overly grounded historically, despite the necessity of such a thing, being set in 1135 as it is. Whilst Peters' story was well written, I did not find it captivating by any means, and am of the opinion that it jarred the whole collection; it did not fit with anything else within Murder Under the Christmas Tree, aside from the general theme of murder.
To conclude, Murder Under the Christmas Tree would have been utterly fantastic had it consisted solely of festive Golden Age crime fiction. As it is, the book is enjoyable enough, but a couple of the entries do tend to make the whole feel a touch disjointed. Regardless, it has finally given me the push I needed to incorporate Ngaio Marsh into my 2017 reading.
January 14, 2017
Even though the lovely Kirsty and I initially planned to read this collection of festive short stories upon the beginning of December, due to essay deadlines and a very hectic schedule, I began reading this on the 14th of December instead, making it just in time for Christmas Eve by reading one story per day.
It is no secret that I adore mysteries and crime stories and I do admit to having a very soft spot for the classic, cosy ones, like Agatha Christie's or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's. Upon acquiring this collection, I felt very excited for the stories included, as I was already familiar with some of the authors' names. As can be expected from a short story collection, though, not all stories were to my liking, and I did find myself enjoying more those classic ones rather than the more modern ones. My most favourite stories were the very first one, "The Necklace of Pearls" by Dorothy L. Sayers and "The Invisible Man" by C.K. Chesterton, while I thoroughly enjoyed "Cinders" by Ian Rankin and "The Name on the Window" by Edmund Crispin as well. "A Traditional Christmas" by Val McDermid, instead, was the most disappointing one for me. The very first line echoed Daphne DuMaurier's Rebecca, one of my most favourite books of all time, but sadly, there was no similarity to it whatsoever. While the revealing of the killer did surprise me, I did not find their motives all that convincing.
All in all, it was a wonderful collection to read during Christmas time and most of the stories managed to combine the chilly atmosphere of a good murder mystery with the festive mood of Christmas.
It is no secret that I adore mysteries and crime stories and I do admit to having a very soft spot for the classic, cosy ones, like Agatha Christie's or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's. Upon acquiring this collection, I felt very excited for the stories included, as I was already familiar with some of the authors' names. As can be expected from a short story collection, though, not all stories were to my liking, and I did find myself enjoying more those classic ones rather than the more modern ones. My most favourite stories were the very first one, "The Necklace of Pearls" by Dorothy L. Sayers and "The Invisible Man" by C.K. Chesterton, while I thoroughly enjoyed "Cinders" by Ian Rankin and "The Name on the Window" by Edmund Crispin as well. "A Traditional Christmas" by Val McDermid, instead, was the most disappointing one for me. The very first line echoed Daphne DuMaurier's Rebecca, one of my most favourite books of all time, but sadly, there was no similarity to it whatsoever. While the revealing of the killer did surprise me, I did not find their motives all that convincing.
All in all, it was a wonderful collection to read during Christmas time and most of the stories managed to combine the chilly atmosphere of a good murder mystery with the festive mood of Christmas.
December 15, 2016
If there's one thing better than Christmas it's probably a lot of things, because at Christmas I have to spend all my money and work too many days without one off and also it's too hot. But one of the better things I guess is Christmassy murders. Someone died, but festively. If you're going to die, you might as well ruin everyone else's Christmas on your way out I guess.
December 17, 2021
I was looking for at least one Christmas-themed book to read this year and since I enjoy mysteries, this sounded like it was right up my alley! Murder Under the Christmas Tree is a collection of ten classic crime stories, all centered around Christmas. The stories are:
- The Necklace of Pearls by Dorothy L. Sayers – A Lord Peter Wimsey story, this didn’t feature any murders but instead, a very clever theft. As a fan of Peter Wimsey, I found this to be fun.
- The Name of the Window by Edmund Crispin – Like with A Moving Toyshop, I was a little bit confused by this story. I think I understand it, but it feels more like a retelling of a story than a story, if that makes sense.
- A Traditional Christmas by Val McDermid – The opening lines “Last Night, I dreamed I went to Amberley” reminded me of Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, but this seemed to try and take a humorous tone. Sadly, it wasn’t funny to me and I didn’t understand the Du Maurier reference because this had none of the themes or atmosphere of Rebecca.
- The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle by Arthur Conan Doyle – I’m pretty sure I’ve read this before! It’s a fun Sherlock Holmes story, if a bit more implausible than the others.
- The Invisible Man by G.K. Chesterton – I enjoyed this, but I’ve realised that you’re either a fan of Chesterton, or you’re not. This Father Brown mystery has an invisible killer and as usual, ends on a slightly poignant note.
- Cinders by Ian Rankin – A murder taking place at a Christmas show, this was a forgettable to me. I know I liked it well enough when I read it a couple of days back, but I’m not too sure what it’s about anymore.
- Death on the Air by Ngaio Marsh – This is a bit longer than the other short stories, which means there’s more time for character development. The murder was clever – death by radio – but the reveal wasn’t extremely convincing to me.
- Person or Things Unknown by Carter Dickson – I really enjoyed this one! It’s a murder disguised as a ghost story, and somehow, the death and creepiness feels seasonally appropriate. The reveal was also fairly believable, and I think this is one of my favourite stories in the collection
- The Case is Altered by Margery Allingham – An Albert Campion short story, I enjoyed the characters and the setting of this! Campion being uncomfortable in a Christmas party was fun to watch. However, as with Flowers for the Judge, the ending of this let me down.
- The Price of Light by Ellis Peters – The Price of Light is a story set in the 12th century in a monastry, making it one of the more unique settings in this collection. I realised a few pages in that I’ve read a mystery involving Brother Cadfael before (One Corpse Too Many) and seeing this somewhat familiar character was a delight. I liked the mystery here, but the narrative style was a bit too detached for me.
As with any short story collection, there are some tales that I like more than others. Personally, I’m a bit surprised at how many authors I have read before, but since I’ve been trying to read more Golden Age mysteries, this is a good thing! From the stories here, I think I’d be interested in reading full length works from Carter Dickson and Margery Allingham, and of course, I need to read more from the authors I already know and like.
Feels like it’s going to be a busy reading year in 2022!
- The Necklace of Pearls by Dorothy L. Sayers – A Lord Peter Wimsey story, this didn’t feature any murders but instead, a very clever theft. As a fan of Peter Wimsey, I found this to be fun.
- The Name of the Window by Edmund Crispin – Like with A Moving Toyshop, I was a little bit confused by this story. I think I understand it, but it feels more like a retelling of a story than a story, if that makes sense.
- A Traditional Christmas by Val McDermid – The opening lines “Last Night, I dreamed I went to Amberley” reminded me of Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, but this seemed to try and take a humorous tone. Sadly, it wasn’t funny to me and I didn’t understand the Du Maurier reference because this had none of the themes or atmosphere of Rebecca.
- The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle by Arthur Conan Doyle – I’m pretty sure I’ve read this before! It’s a fun Sherlock Holmes story, if a bit more implausible than the others.
- The Invisible Man by G.K. Chesterton – I enjoyed this, but I’ve realised that you’re either a fan of Chesterton, or you’re not. This Father Brown mystery has an invisible killer and as usual, ends on a slightly poignant note.
- Cinders by Ian Rankin – A murder taking place at a Christmas show, this was a forgettable to me. I know I liked it well enough when I read it a couple of days back, but I’m not too sure what it’s about anymore.
- Death on the Air by Ngaio Marsh – This is a bit longer than the other short stories, which means there’s more time for character development. The murder was clever – death by radio – but the reveal wasn’t extremely convincing to me.
- Person or Things Unknown by Carter Dickson – I really enjoyed this one! It’s a murder disguised as a ghost story, and somehow, the death and creepiness feels seasonally appropriate. The reveal was also fairly believable, and I think this is one of my favourite stories in the collection
- The Case is Altered by Margery Allingham – An Albert Campion short story, I enjoyed the characters and the setting of this! Campion being uncomfortable in a Christmas party was fun to watch. However, as with Flowers for the Judge, the ending of this let me down.
- The Price of Light by Ellis Peters – The Price of Light is a story set in the 12th century in a monastry, making it one of the more unique settings in this collection. I realised a few pages in that I’ve read a mystery involving Brother Cadfael before (One Corpse Too Many) and seeing this somewhat familiar character was a delight. I liked the mystery here, but the narrative style was a bit too detached for me.
As with any short story collection, there are some tales that I like more than others. Personally, I’m a bit surprised at how many authors I have read before, but since I’ve been trying to read more Golden Age mysteries, this is a good thing! From the stories here, I think I’d be interested in reading full length works from Carter Dickson and Margery Allingham, and of course, I need to read more from the authors I already know and like.
Feels like it’s going to be a busy reading year in 2022!
December 5, 2019
I wanted to enjoy these short stories but I just couldn’t get into them, the only one that I particularly enjoyed was the one written by Ian Rankin. I found most of them a bit dull and uneventful. I thought perhaps maybe the short story format isn’t for me as I don’t read many short stories however I can’t imagine that I’d have enjoyed any of these if they were longer. Not for me.
January 26, 2021
I don't really do 'Christmas' reads so this was as close as I get and have been dipping in since the festive season, some enjoyable ones here especially the ones by Val McDermid and Ellis Peters
February 3, 2017
Galu galā šī grāmata izvērtās labāka, nekā sākumā šķita. Jo pirmie pāris stāsti bija tiešām vāji. Bet pamazām tā uzņēma arvien patīkamāku un interesantāku tempu. Laba dāvana zem eglītes (gan citā gadā) kādam, kas ciena krimiķus un stāstus.
Read
December 26, 20213.5 stars. I really enjoyed these stories!
December 6, 2023
Didn't complete the whole book as got bored with it.
December 14, 2023
A great collection of ten Christmas related murder mysteries. Some are very loosely linked to Christmas and others could only happen during the festivities. The tales move through the ages and through the great writers. Enjoy the tales of Lord Peter Wimsey, Brother Cadfael, Campion and Father Brown and come right up to date with a story from Val McDermid and even enjoy a trip to the panto with Inspector Rebus.
I wouldn't recommend this for only old time of the year but definitely worth a read to get you in the Christmas spirit and perhaps give you some ideas as to how to make sure the relatives don't get too annoying. :)
I wouldn't recommend this for only old time of the year but definitely worth a read to get you in the Christmas spirit and perhaps give you some ideas as to how to make sure the relatives don't get too annoying. :)
January 17, 2017
An enjoyable mix of short stories to suit all tastes. I found a couple very spooky, there were some old fashioned tales, along side more modern mysteries. An eclectic assortment of characters, some odd, some wicked, some difficult, while others are definitely more likeable. Easy read, you can dip in and out of at leisure.
January 7, 2017
I am not much on short stories, but what intrigued me about this book was the Christmas theme and the authors. The mysteries themselves were interesting and for the most part kept me guessing.
December 6, 2023
This is a nice collection of classic mysteries, though most of them don't really have much of a Christmas feel, they're just technically set then. Of the ten stories in here I had read the ones by Sayers, Doyle, Chesterton and Marsh before - they're pretty widely available. My favorites of the new-to-me ones are "Persons or Things Unknown" by Dickson, "The Case is Altered" by Allingham and "The Price of Light" by Peters.
I have to say more about "The Price of Light". I'm a huge Brother Cadfael fan, and have read all the novels multiple times over the years, but I don't think I knew there were any short stories. The novels excel at creating a specific time and place filled with realistic people and interesting plots - always including some love interest. I was so happy to see that Ellis is as good at writing short as she is long - this story was incredibly satisfying. I requested this book through Inter Library Loan, and I expect I'll be getting it more often, mostly to enjoy this story.
Anthologies are usually hit-or-miss, but this one had a lot of excellent mysteries, even if it was short of the Christmas spirit you might be looking for.
I have to say more about "The Price of Light". I'm a huge Brother Cadfael fan, and have read all the novels multiple times over the years, but I don't think I knew there were any short stories. The novels excel at creating a specific time and place filled with realistic people and interesting plots - always including some love interest. I was so happy to see that Ellis is as good at writing short as she is long - this story was incredibly satisfying. I requested this book through Inter Library Loan, and I expect I'll be getting it more often, mostly to enjoy this story.
Anthologies are usually hit-or-miss, but this one had a lot of excellent mysteries, even if it was short of the Christmas spirit you might be looking for.
Read
December 14, 2023"Christmas is a time of goodwi9ll to all men ... or is it?
"As the nights draw in, throw another log on the fire and settle back into your armchair to enjoy this collection of ten classic Christmas mysteries, in which crime's best known sleuths, from Rebus to Holmes and Cadfael to Father Brown, uncover murder and mayhem galore.
"Whether it's a Christmas goose with a surprising secret cargo, a murdered pantomime dame, or a killer who departs the scene of the crime without leaving a single footprint, these stories will puzzle and delight in equal measure. And along the way, there'll be enough carols and Christmas pudding, mistletoe and mulled wine, to warm the heart of a stone-cold killer ... perhaps."
~~back cover
A lovely mix of murders with a Christmas theme -- quite wnjoyable during the season.
"As the nights draw in, throw another log on the fire and settle back into your armchair to enjoy this collection of ten classic Christmas mysteries, in which crime's best known sleuths, from Rebus to Holmes and Cadfael to Father Brown, uncover murder and mayhem galore.
"Whether it's a Christmas goose with a surprising secret cargo, a murdered pantomime dame, or a killer who departs the scene of the crime without leaving a single footprint, these stories will puzzle and delight in equal measure. And along the way, there'll be enough carols and Christmas pudding, mistletoe and mulled wine, to warm the heart of a stone-cold killer ... perhaps."
~~back cover
A lovely mix of murders with a Christmas theme -- quite wnjoyable during the season.
Read
December 28, 2022The Necklace of Pearls - an always growing in number of pearls necklace
The Name on the Window - a classic murder in a closed room
A Traditional Christmas - the on with the best ending
The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle - Sherlock Holmes and a goose
The Invisible Man - a really clever who dunnit?
Cinders - who would kill Fairy Godmother?
Death on the Air - a crime of passion
Persons of Things Unknown - a ghost story revealed
The Case is Altered - playing with the ego of a playboy who falls easily in love
The Price of Light - a true Christmas miracle and a beautiful ending
The Name on the Window - a classic murder in a closed room
A Traditional Christmas - the on with the best ending
The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle - Sherlock Holmes and a goose
The Invisible Man - a really clever who dunnit?
Cinders - who would kill Fairy Godmother?
Death on the Air - a crime of passion
Persons of Things Unknown - a ghost story revealed
The Case is Altered - playing with the ego of a playboy who falls easily in love
The Price of Light - a true Christmas miracle and a beautiful ending
January 2, 2024
3 stars.
The low-ish score probably reflects more on my taste in reading than the book itself - I'm not really a short stories person as I feel like only very rarely are the lengths sufficient to actually get into a plot. That being said, I've been dipping in and out of this one - reading one story a day - and that seems to have worked well. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle worked his magic once again as the Sherlock Holmes one was by far my favourite (could also be helped that I just love him as a character).
The low-ish score probably reflects more on my taste in reading than the book itself - I'm not really a short stories person as I feel like only very rarely are the lengths sufficient to actually get into a plot. That being said, I've been dipping in and out of this one - reading one story a day - and that seems to have worked well. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle worked his magic once again as the Sherlock Holmes one was by far my favourite (could also be helped that I just love him as a character).
December 23, 2017
Charming collection of crime stories linked by a Christmas theme. The Golden Age favourites such as Marsh and Allingham are represented here, with famous characters such as Sherlock Holmes and Father Brown putting in an appearance. Modern authors Ian Rankin and Val McDermid also feature. Theft, murder, blackmail and espionage figure in the list of crimes so there really is something for everyone.
Easy and enjoyable read for the Christmas season.
Easy and enjoyable read for the Christmas season.
November 18, 2019
Entertaining collection of classic short stories set around Christmas time. My two favorites were by Margery Allingham (featuring Inspector Alleyn, of course) and the always wonderful Ellis Peters with another Brother Cadfael tale. I never tire of revisiting Brother Cadfael!
October 21, 2021
This was enjoyable to read on the dark rainy evenings we have had and some of the authors were new to me. I liked some stories better than others,it wasn’t amazing but I have nothing bad to say either.
May 30, 2019
Excellent book. I didn't even try Holmes and there was one other I didn't like, but the other eight were most excellent!
I highly recommend this book.
I highly recommend this book.
December 5, 2019
2-3 stars, I definitely enjoyed some of these short stories but there were more that I wasn't really taken with. However it was a decent change to my usual festive rom com books.
December 31, 2024
A really interesting and varied collection of short crime stories.
May 31, 2025
Interesting short stories based throughout time which really changed the dynamic for me and made it very enjoyable.
December 28, 2022
Some of these short stories I’ve read in other collections.
December 5, 2024
Really disappointed in this book. I thought I would really enjoy it but it was just so boring. I tried to finish multiple different stories but they just had no plot. Not for me. DNF
December 28, 2020
I love Christmas and I love murder mysteries. When I saw this book in the storefront during my favorite month of the year, I thought I had finally found what I needed to keep me in the holiday spirit while being kept on the edge of my seat. However this book was a huge disappointment as it was plain boring. Uninteresting and meek stories that neither brought holiday coziness or suspenseful murder mysteries. Here’s to the continued search for the right combo of suspense and Christmas.
May 9, 2017
An enjoyable collection of stories. My favourites were by Carter Dickson, Ellis Peters and Val McDermid.
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