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darllenydd's review
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Enjoyable selection of festive mysteries, perfect for snuggling down on a winters evening.
saroz162's review against another edition
3.0
This is a pleasant little set of vintage mystery short stories (often enough, detective stories) that a friend bought me as a Christmas gift last year. All the stories have a strong sense of Christmas, or sometimes just wintertime, in their setting. That I didn't find them overwhelmingly memorable shouldn't be a surprise: these are treats, sometimes trifles, and they often lack the more satisfying aspects of the full-blown detective novel. Still, they were delightful to read with a little morning coffee or a warm cup of cider at night.
Despite my generalization toward the short form, there are treasures to be found here: my friend almost certainly bought the book for me on the strength of Margery Allingham's "The Man with the Sack," starring her own Mr. Campion, whom we both enjoy. This and the Edgar Wallace entry "The Chopham Affair" are the classics of the volume, I think, though neither is very long. In contrast, Victor Gunn's "Death in December" is a proper novella, which gives it more weight than many of the other tales. The final entry in the book, Josephine Bell's "The Carol Singers," is also one of the darkest, and an odd note on which to end an anthology - but the story's strong social conscience makes it feel very modern, with the best character work in any of the stories in Bell's portrayal of an elderly victim.
Despite my generalization toward the short form, there are treasures to be found here: my friend almost certainly bought the book for me on the strength of Margery Allingham's "The Man with the Sack," starring her own Mr. Campion, whom we both enjoy. This and the Edgar Wallace entry "The Chopham Affair" are the classics of the volume, I think, though neither is very long. In contrast, Victor Gunn's "Death in December" is a proper novella, which gives it more weight than many of the other tales. The final entry in the book, Josephine Bell's "The Carol Singers," is also one of the darkest, and an odd note on which to end an anthology - but the story's strong social conscience makes it feel very modern, with the best character work in any of the stories in Bell's portrayal of an elderly victim.
bc1969's review
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
spacebornfew's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
j_squaredd's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Ableism
Minor: Child abuse
cathyrodgers's review
mysterious
medium-paced
3.0
Old mysteries published in the UK. Esp. enjoyed The Man with the Sack by Margery Allingham and Death in December by Victor Gunn.
tombomp's review
4.0
I have a soft spot for short story compilations I think. Pleasant reading experience, i can't think of anything that stands out but it was nice
"The Santa Claus Club" by Julian Symons was the only disappointment, it ends extremely abruptly and the murderer is someone who is given like 1 line of description and the motive is not really explained.
"The Carol Singers" is pretty unconventional and feels a bunch more modern than the rest. Also a lot more miserable than this genre of mystery typically is.
"Death in December" is almost novella length.
"The Santa Claus Club" by Julian Symons was the only disappointment, it ends extremely abruptly and the murderer is someone who is given like 1 line of description and the motive is not really explained.
"The Carol Singers" is pretty unconventional and feels a bunch more modern than the rest. Also a lot more miserable than this genre of mystery typically is.
"Death in December" is almost novella length.
angela_king's review
mysterious
relaxing
medium-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
3.0
fictionfan's review
4.0
Deep and crisp and even...
The latest addition to the British Library themed anthologies of classic crime, this one includes eleven stories all set around the festive season. A great time for people to get together in family gatherings or country house parties, and bump each other off. Who amongst us hasn't thought that the one thing that would improve Christmas would be the quick dispatching of one of our nearest and dearest, or that the only way to pay for all those gifts would be to hasten the inheritance from one of our much loved rich relatives? Or is that just me? On the basis of the evidence in this book, I'm not alone in thinking Christmas is a particularly jolly time for a murder...
As with the earlier anthologies, this one is introduced and edited by Martin Edwards who also gives a short introduction to each story telling a little about the author. There's the usual mix of well-known authors – Margery Allingham, Edgar Wallace – and forgotten ones, and as always the quality of the individual stories varies. However, overall I thought this was a more consistent collection than the last couple – none of the stories rate as less than three stars for me and there are plenty of fours and a sprinkling of fives. The lengths also vary from a few pages to a couple of the stories being what I'd think of as novelette length – taking an hour or so to read.
There's a nice variety of whodunits and howdunits, some dark and serious, others lighter and more quirky, and a few with ghostly aspects to add to the winter chills. And there's fog and feverish policemen, and wicked carol-singers, and isolated houses with all access cut off by snow... perfect accompaniment to a mug of hot chocolate and a seat near the fire!
Here are a few of the ones I enjoyed most...
The Ghost's Touch by Fergus Hume – when the narrator is invited to spend the festive season as a guest in a haunted country house, one feels he should have swiftly invented a prior engagement. However, clearly he doesn't read crime novels, because off he goes, all cheerful and expecting to have a good time. Hah! After the fire, the ghost, and a meeting with the murderer at the dead of night, I suspect he changed his mind... The plot in this one is totally obvious, but nevertheless the author manages to get a nice atmosphere of tension going, and it's very well written.
Death in December by Victor Gunn – a great cross between ghost and crime story, this one is probably going to appear on a future Tuesday Terror! Post so I won't go into detail. It's one of the longer stories in the collection, giving time for a bit more characterisation than usual and both the detectives, grumpy Bill “Ironside” Cromwell and his sidekick, lovely Johnny Lister, are well drawn and fun. There are aspects of both who and how in this one, not to mention some genuinely scary bits, all topped off with a lot of humour. And a nice little bit of detection too...
Mr Cork's Secret by Macdonald Hastings – When Montague Cork's firm insures a valuable necklace, Montague begins to worry about its safety. So off he goes with his wife to a top London hotel where the owner of the necklace is expected to be staying. He's lucky to get a room at such short notice, especially at Christmas time. Not so lucky for the person who vacated the room, though – since he was carried out feet first by the police, headed for the morgue. Could the murder have anything to do with the necklace? It's up to Montague to find out... This has a nice twist in that when it was originally published the author held one fact back as part of a competition. Edwards has left it like that, but at the end of the book, gives the solution as provided by the author, along with the prize-winners' suggestions.
Deep and Crisp and Even by Michael Gilbert – PC Petrella is covering for his boss over Christmas, and takes his duties seriously. So it's unfortunate that he develops a feverish cold leaving him weak and a bit confused. But when he suspects a house in the neighbourhood has been burgled, he's determined to track the perpetrator, even when he's near collapse himself. Complete with carol-singing, dreadful weather and seasonal illness, this is a fun little story with a neat twist.
So plenty of good stuff here, and a lot of the stories make excellent use of either weather or the holidays to add to the atmosphere and tension. I'm thoroughly enjoying these anthologies – even the less good stories are always fun for seeing the different attitudes and writing styles of the time, and the little author bios add a bit of context, putting each story into its appropriate place in the development of crime fiction. I also like the way they're themed, and this theme in particular works well – I suppose that these would mostly have originally been published in Christmas editions of magazines, and perhaps that inspired the authors to show off their best. Next to the London-themed one, [b:Capital Crimes|25238476|Capital Crimes London Mysteries|Martin Edwards|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1427583888s/25238476.jpg|44957318] this is probably my favourite of the collections so far. I do hope there will be more...
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Poisoned Pen Press.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
The latest addition to the British Library themed anthologies of classic crime, this one includes eleven stories all set around the festive season. A great time for people to get together in family gatherings or country house parties, and bump each other off. Who amongst us hasn't thought that the one thing that would improve Christmas would be the quick dispatching of one of our nearest and dearest, or that the only way to pay for all those gifts would be to hasten the inheritance from one of our much loved rich relatives? Or is that just me? On the basis of the evidence in this book, I'm not alone in thinking Christmas is a particularly jolly time for a murder...
As with the earlier anthologies, this one is introduced and edited by Martin Edwards who also gives a short introduction to each story telling a little about the author. There's the usual mix of well-known authors – Margery Allingham, Edgar Wallace – and forgotten ones, and as always the quality of the individual stories varies. However, overall I thought this was a more consistent collection than the last couple – none of the stories rate as less than three stars for me and there are plenty of fours and a sprinkling of fives. The lengths also vary from a few pages to a couple of the stories being what I'd think of as novelette length – taking an hour or so to read.
There's a nice variety of whodunits and howdunits, some dark and serious, others lighter and more quirky, and a few with ghostly aspects to add to the winter chills. And there's fog and feverish policemen, and wicked carol-singers, and isolated houses with all access cut off by snow... perfect accompaniment to a mug of hot chocolate and a seat near the fire!
Here are a few of the ones I enjoyed most...
The Ghost's Touch by Fergus Hume – when the narrator is invited to spend the festive season as a guest in a haunted country house, one feels he should have swiftly invented a prior engagement. However, clearly he doesn't read crime novels, because off he goes, all cheerful and expecting to have a good time. Hah! After the fire, the ghost, and a meeting with the murderer at the dead of night, I suspect he changed his mind... The plot in this one is totally obvious, but nevertheless the author manages to get a nice atmosphere of tension going, and it's very well written.
Death in December by Victor Gunn – a great cross between ghost and crime story, this one is probably going to appear on a future Tuesday Terror! Post so I won't go into detail. It's one of the longer stories in the collection, giving time for a bit more characterisation than usual and both the detectives, grumpy Bill “Ironside” Cromwell and his sidekick, lovely Johnny Lister, are well drawn and fun. There are aspects of both who and how in this one, not to mention some genuinely scary bits, all topped off with a lot of humour. And a nice little bit of detection too...
Mr Cork's Secret by Macdonald Hastings – When Montague Cork's firm insures a valuable necklace, Montague begins to worry about its safety. So off he goes with his wife to a top London hotel where the owner of the necklace is expected to be staying. He's lucky to get a room at such short notice, especially at Christmas time. Not so lucky for the person who vacated the room, though – since he was carried out feet first by the police, headed for the morgue. Could the murder have anything to do with the necklace? It's up to Montague to find out... This has a nice twist in that when it was originally published the author held one fact back as part of a competition. Edwards has left it like that, but at the end of the book, gives the solution as provided by the author, along with the prize-winners' suggestions.
Deep and Crisp and Even by Michael Gilbert – PC Petrella is covering for his boss over Christmas, and takes his duties seriously. So it's unfortunate that he develops a feverish cold leaving him weak and a bit confused. But when he suspects a house in the neighbourhood has been burgled, he's determined to track the perpetrator, even when he's near collapse himself. Complete with carol-singing, dreadful weather and seasonal illness, this is a fun little story with a neat twist.
So plenty of good stuff here, and a lot of the stories make excellent use of either weather or the holidays to add to the atmosphere and tension. I'm thoroughly enjoying these anthologies – even the less good stories are always fun for seeing the different attitudes and writing styles of the time, and the little author bios add a bit of context, putting each story into its appropriate place in the development of crime fiction. I also like the way they're themed, and this theme in particular works well – I suppose that these would mostly have originally been published in Christmas editions of magazines, and perhaps that inspired the authors to show off their best. Next to the London-themed one, [b:Capital Crimes|25238476|Capital Crimes London Mysteries|Martin Edwards|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1427583888s/25238476.jpg|44957318] this is probably my favourite of the collections so far. I do hope there will be more...
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Poisoned Pen Press.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
softrosemint's review
4.0
This anthology might just have been the best out of the Christmas / winter crime anthologies by the British Library - so much so that I really regret not managing to fit in before Christmas. I will make sure to get a personal copy of it for next holiday season.
The short stories are very well selected - they always are but this time it has been especially well done. All are very cosy and bring the feeling of being wrapped up in a blanket near the fire with a hot drink in hand, listening to a story or watching the curated-for-the-holidays tv programme late night.
Favourite entries: "The Ghost's Touch" by Fergus Hume, "The Man with the Sack" by Margery Allingham, "Death in December" by Victor Gunn and "Mr. Cork's Secret" by Macdonald Hastings
The short stories are very well selected - they always are but this time it has been especially well done. All are very cosy and bring the feeling of being wrapped up in a blanket near the fire with a hot drink in hand, listening to a story or watching the curated-for-the-holidays tv programme late night.
Favourite entries: "The Ghost's Touch" by Fergus Hume, "The Man with the Sack" by Margery Allingham, "Death in December" by Victor Gunn and "Mr. Cork's Secret" by Macdonald Hastings