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emily_mh's review against another edition
3.5
By its very title this book promises Christmas and murder, and sadly it did not deliver. There are thirteen mysteries, yet only four of them are murders (Shoedunnit, Scrabble and Murder, No Piste for the Wicked, and The Cove(n) at Christmas) and only four felt Christmassy (Shoedunnit, It’s Snow Crime, It Takes a Thief to Catch a Thief, and The Cove(n) at Christmas). Because the book failed to achieve its very premise, I felt I couldn’t give it more than 3.5 stars, even though most of the mysteries themselves were pretty solid. My favourites were Shoedunnit and It Takes a Thief to Catch a Thief; my least favourite was It’s Snow Crime. The following are my individual reviews of each story:
Shoedunnit by Elle McNicoll: this had cosy Christmas inn vibes and an incredible murder mystery story to boot! There was a clever resolution, and I loved the involvement of ballet. The MC felt really dynamic, too.
It’s Snow Crime by Roopa Farooki: this was Christmassy, but that’s about where my praise ends. I read the sentence “d*mb cr*y-cr*y baes” and it all went downhill from there. I just couldn’t fathom why these children had free rein of a hospital. It felt like a fever dream.
The Beast of Bedleywood by Annabelle Sami: this was a mystery with a great ecological twist and I also liked how it discussed how police treat people differently depending on their race and class. The ending was sweet and the MC and her family felt very real. However, it had more of a New Year’s feel than Christmas.
The Christmas Heist by Abiola Bello: I love a heist. Though this wasn’t the best execution of one (there were way too many names for a short story), it wasn’t bad either. However, it wasn’t that Christmassy.
Cool for Cats by Patrice Lawrence: a nice story about grief and empathy, though it was not much of a mystery and barely Christmassy.
It Takes a Thief to Catch a Thief by Maisie Chan: what a delight! I loved the inter-generational dynamics and the scavenger-style mystery. The ending was so sweet and captured that weird cosy feeling of Christmas Day.
The Frostwilds by Dominique Valente: this story was a great allegory for OCD (although I’m not sure if that was intentional). The worldbuilding was expansive and understandable which is particularly impressive for a short story. It was a neat mystery too, and being a high fantasy tale it was like a palette cleanser in this book. However, it was in no way Christmassy as to me, being from the southern hemisphere, wintry doesn’t necessarily connote Christmas.
Scrabble and Murder by Nizrana Farook: this was a solid, classic whodunnit murder mystery. It was similar to Shoedunnit (or vice versa), although I think Shoedunnit did a better job overall as this wasn’t very Christmassy.
The Ticking Funhouse by Benjamin Dean: I love that a horror story was included in this anthology, and liked the three task structure. However, I don’t think it should have ended on a cliffhanger as it left the narrative feeling unfinished. It also wasn’t Christmassy.
Ice and Fire by Joanna Williams: another refreshing addition to this anthology as it took the form of a historical mystery. I loved that it explored classism and racism as part of this mystery, highlighting concepts that are still incredibly relevant today.
Silent Night by Serena Patel: a little samey to the some of the other stories in this anthology, but I liked the concept of trying to solve a neighbourhood crime from your bedroom window, and the inevitable misunderstandings that ensue. Again, this wasn’t Christmassy.
No Piste for the Wicked by Em Norry: I liked the ski setting, but it wasn’t Christmassy. The murder mystery itself felt a little rushed with a meh resolution. I liked the MC, though!
The Cove(n) at Christmas by Sharna Jackson: this story had a unique setting, concept, and solution, but ironically the side characters were hard to distinguish from one another and I found it hard to understand the motive for murder. It was relatively Christmassy.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Death, Violence, Classism, and Confinement
Minor: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Infidelity, Alcohol, Medical content, Grief, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Kidnapping, Slavery, Cancer, Cultural appropriation, Child death, Ableism, and Racism
Minor: theft, death of pet, capital punishment, imprisonment
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