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jemifraser's review
This was such a fun book!
All of these authors were new to me - and I'm looking forward to reading more by each of them.
I enjoyed the mix of mysteries, styles, and settings. It's difficult to choose but I think The New Year's Hex is my favourite. Loved the 1920's setting and I was rooting for Carrie in no time!
The entire book is filled with great characters. I enjoyed the cozy sleuths (Carrie, Imogene, Sarah, Elizabeth & Brianna) as they figured out their mysteries - each in their own unique style.
The "cold" and "chilling" mysteries are well labelled! Definitely chilling - with a few nightmare-inducing elements. So good!
A great collection of mysteries all connected by strong writing and fascinating characters. An excellent read!
All of these authors were new to me - and I'm looking forward to reading more by each of them.
I enjoyed the mix of mysteries, styles, and settings. It's difficult to choose but I think The New Year's Hex is my favourite. Loved the 1920's setting and I was rooting for Carrie in no time!
The entire book is filled with great characters. I enjoyed the cozy sleuths (Carrie, Imogene, Sarah, Elizabeth & Brianna) as they figured out their mysteries - each in their own unique style.
The "cold" and "chilling" mysteries are well labelled! Definitely chilling - with a few nightmare-inducing elements. So good!
A great collection of mysteries all connected by strong writing and fascinating characters. An excellent read!
mswocreader's review
3.0
Anthologies are such a mixed bag especially when you get one with different authors. You know you won't like every author's writing style but you hope to find a few gems. Festive Mayhem is a good one if you want to discover more mystery writers of color and would like to explore different types of mystery stories. While these stories are set during the holidays most do not hammer you with the fact that it's the holidays so if holiday stories aren't your thing I would still check this out. My favorite stories were The New Year's Hex by Carolyn Wikins(cozy), What Lies Inside by Kia Dennis(chilling), The Holiday Murder Mélange by Myra Jolivet (cozy), and Those Holiday Blues by Jennifer J. Chow.
https://womenofcolorreadtoo.blogspot.com/2020/11/festive-mayhem.html
https://womenofcolorreadtoo.blogspot.com/2020/11/festive-mayhem.html
camille_catterpillar's review
I'll be honest, I don't much like reviewing short story collections. However, this is my first (recent) time reading an anthology by different authors...which only makes it harder.
Different styles make this a bit of an uneven experience so I'll break it down:
Some had some very interesting world building, but I felt like something was missing, like the short story didn't work so well as a standalone (New Year's Hex, PIPE DREAMS, THE HOLIDAY MURDER MELANGE by Carolyn Marie Wilkins, S.G. Wong, and Myra Jolivet respectively).
To me, the next three (A CHRISTMAS TIP, THE STRANGER IN THE HOUSE, WHAT LIES INSIDE, and THOSE HOLIDAY BKIES by Elizabeth Wilkerson, Stella Oni, Kia Dennis, and Jennifer Chow respectively) perfectly exemplified what I'd look for in a short crime story - a concise, concluding story with some suspense. Five stars to these ones!
A PUB, BED & BREAKFAST & A DEAD BODY by Forest Isaac Jones was a bit more contemplative with some very interesting observations on racism and the future of police forces in the current climate. The crime itself I found a bit secondary.
I wished A DEADLY FIRST by Delia C. Pitts had been longer! Really enjoyed what I read but the wrap up felt a bit rushed.
Holiday Holdup by Paige Sleuth was a cute small-time cosy that didn't exactly stand out but was enjoyable none the less.
No star rating because it seems unfair with so many different types of stories with such different styles.
Different styles make this a bit of an uneven experience so I'll break it down:
Some had some very interesting world building, but I felt like something was missing, like the short story didn't work so well as a standalone (New Year's Hex, PIPE DREAMS, THE HOLIDAY MURDER MELANGE by Carolyn Marie Wilkins, S.G. Wong, and Myra Jolivet respectively).
To me, the next three (A CHRISTMAS TIP, THE STRANGER IN THE HOUSE, WHAT LIES INSIDE, and THOSE HOLIDAY BKIES by Elizabeth Wilkerson, Stella Oni, Kia Dennis, and Jennifer Chow respectively) perfectly exemplified what I'd look for in a short crime story - a concise, concluding story with some suspense. Five stars to these ones!
A PUB, BED & BREAKFAST & A DEAD BODY by Forest Isaac Jones was a bit more contemplative with some very interesting observations on racism and the future of police forces in the current climate. The crime itself I found a bit secondary.
I wished A DEADLY FIRST by Delia C. Pitts had been longer! Really enjoyed what I read but the wrap up felt a bit rushed.
Holiday Holdup by Paige Sleuth was a cute small-time cosy that didn't exactly stand out but was enjoyable none the less.
No star rating because it seems unfair with so many different types of stories with such different styles.
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