This is a great range of very satisfying Christmas mysteries. Feeling like pulp crime? Try John D. MacDonald. Classic crime? Try Ellis Peters. Something modern? Try Sara Paretsky. There are also stories from lots of all time great crime writers, including John Mortimer, Agatha Christie and Colin Dexter.
I read many of these stories last Christmas when this collection came out in hardback. Now it’s out in a striking softback edition with a smart vintage style Gothic revival cover. For a book with over 700 pages, it’s very comfortable in the hands. Some stories are very short and some are longish, which means you can find something that fits your time as well as mood.
I found it put me on to several crime writers who were new to me, which made for some fun reading this year (I have been cheerfully reading Ellery Queen and Rex Stout as a result).
It’s so attractive that it would make a successful present, but ideally only for someone you can borrow it off later.
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