Reviews

Christmas is Murder by Val McDermid

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radella_hardwick's review against another edition

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2023 ended

kizzia's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

A short story collection of death and intruige, all set over the festive season. Some of the stories feature Val’s well-known and well loved characters and all of them are polished like shiny christmas baubles to delight all who read them. A fabulous selection!

dogearedandfurry's review

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4.0

It’s not often I read short stories, I think because you have to get somehow attached to characters, and then by the time you have, the story is over. But that’s the thing - with a good short story, the skill is in writing something that can condense a lot into a little. And Val does that very well. Definitely worth a read.

talaalkamil's review against another edition

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4.0

quick and easy read, great for xmas, will probably re-read one year

(for personal reference)

favourite short stories:
Holmes for Christmas
White Nights, Black Magic

second tier:
A Traditional Christmas
The Long Black Veil

third tier:
Ghost Writer
A Wife in a Million

jessmay27's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

livstreff's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

A good selection of short stories, all of which were fairly chilling and exciting, centred around the theme of Christmas (some more so than others). There was actually quite a range of genres with some being more thriller, some supernatural and some comedy. My favourites were Ghost Writer, Heartburn, The Long Black Veil and White Nights, Black Magic.