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mike_brough's review against another edition
4.0
700 pages of Christmas crime and not a drop of Christmas spirit on a single page. Bliss.
staticdisplay's review against another edition
4.0
this was fun to read during the Christmas season, and I'm glad I finished it today. many of the authors were familiar to me, but I hadn't read any of these stories before. some of the stories have only the slightest hint of Christmas, and others are decked out in seasonal details. there were a few stories that were really evocative & captivating reads, and many were generally enjoyable. some were quite dark, and of these a few were really great and a few were written with a meanness that I don't like. overall, reading this was relaxing and a nice festive way to take a mental break from a difficult month in an extremely terrible year.
debbiecuddy's review against another edition
3.0
This truly is a "big" book of mysteries! Some of these I enjoyed and some I just skimmed, but there are enough stories written in different styles that anyone (especially whodunit fans) will find something they like in this book. It's a great book to dip into when you don't have time to focus on a longer work.
brianlokker's review against another edition
3.0
This is truly a BIG book. It contains 59 stories by my count (not 60, as the Goodreads description states) arranged in 10 loosely themed categories. The wide range of authors whose stories appear in the collection includes, in no particular order, Agatha Christie, Ellery Queen, Ellis Peters, John D. MacDonald, Damon Runyon, Arthur Conan Doyle, Donald E. Westlake, Mary Higgins Clark, G. K. Chesterton, O. Henry, and many more.
Not surprisingly, the quality is uneven, or maybe more to the point, some appealed to me more than others. (My 3-star rating may be a little low. It should probably be more like 3.5.) A few of my favorites:
“A Wreath for Marley,” by Max Allan Collins—a clever and humorous updating of the classic Ebenezer Scrooge story to Christmas Eve 1942, with the ghost of Christmas Yet to Come bearing an uncanny resemblance to Elvis.
“The 74th Tale,” by Jonathan Santlofer—in which a disturbed young man buys a copy of The Complete Poems and Tales of Edgar Allan Poe at the collection editor Otto Penzler’s Mysterious Bookshop and is inspired to copy one of Poe’s stories. (Another story, “The Killer Christian,” by Andrew Klavan, also has a tie-in to the Mysterious Bookshop.)
“All Through the House,” by Ed McBain—the 87th Precinct is the setting of the birth of a Christmas baby to a destitute young woman named Maria and her husband José, in a modern retelling of the original Christmas story.
Every reader will no doubt have his or her favorites. You may not like them all, but I’d be willing to bet that you’ll find at least a few that you’ll enjoy.
Not surprisingly, the quality is uneven, or maybe more to the point, some appealed to me more than others. (My 3-star rating may be a little low. It should probably be more like 3.5.) A few of my favorites:
“A Wreath for Marley,” by Max Allan Collins—a clever and humorous updating of the classic Ebenezer Scrooge story to Christmas Eve 1942, with the ghost of Christmas Yet to Come bearing an uncanny resemblance to Elvis.
“The 74th Tale,” by Jonathan Santlofer—in which a disturbed young man buys a copy of The Complete Poems and Tales of Edgar Allan Poe at the collection editor Otto Penzler’s Mysterious Bookshop and is inspired to copy one of Poe’s stories. (Another story, “The Killer Christian,” by Andrew Klavan, also has a tie-in to the Mysterious Bookshop.)
“All Through the House,” by Ed McBain—the 87th Precinct is the setting of the birth of a Christmas baby to a destitute young woman named Maria and her husband José, in a modern retelling of the original Christmas story.
Every reader will no doubt have his or her favorites. You may not like them all, but I’d be willing to bet that you’ll find at least a few that you’ll enjoy.
milena_'s review against another edition
3.0
DNF bo strasznie nie chciało mi się już tego czytać i opowiadania nie były wcale takie fajne:/
bangel_ds's review against another edition
3.0
Avevo grandi aspettative per questo libro.
E forse idee sbagliate sul suo contenuto.
I racconti non sono veri e propri gialli (tranne alcuni): spaziano dal noir, al crime, al pulp, mystery, thriller... c'è un po' di tutto. In comune, l'ambientazione natalizia.
A tratti l'ho trovato un po' noiosetto e ripetitivo (alcuni soluzioni dei misteri/delitti sono lampanti), però ci sono alcune gemme da scovare e comunque una raccolta ha sempre il pregio di farti trovare nuovi autori e nuovi spunti di lettura (a questo proposito, carina l'introduzione all'autore prima di ogni racconto).
Di seguito, le storie che mi sono piaciute di più:
-Il caso del dolce di Natale
-Oro, incenso e morte
-L'avventura della bambola del delfino
-La vigilia di Natale del maggiordomo
-Il gatto Trinity
-Lo scassinatore e il come-si-chiama
-Un Babbo Natale a rovescio
-Uno scandalo d'inverno
-Serenata per un assassino
-La mezzaluna stregata
-Il museo delle cere
-La mela cinese
-Un Natale anticipato
-Cane pazzo
-La sorella Bessie
E forse idee sbagliate sul suo contenuto.
I racconti non sono veri e propri gialli (tranne alcuni): spaziano dal noir, al crime, al pulp, mystery, thriller... c'è un po' di tutto. In comune, l'ambientazione natalizia.
A tratti l'ho trovato un po' noiosetto e ripetitivo (alcuni soluzioni dei misteri/delitti sono lampanti), però ci sono alcune gemme da scovare e comunque una raccolta ha sempre il pregio di farti trovare nuovi autori e nuovi spunti di lettura (a questo proposito, carina l'introduzione all'autore prima di ogni racconto).
Di seguito, le storie che mi sono piaciute di più:
-Il caso del dolce di Natale
-Oro, incenso e morte
-L'avventura della bambola del delfino
-La vigilia di Natale del maggiordomo
-Il gatto Trinity
-Lo scassinatore e il come-si-chiama
-Un Babbo Natale a rovescio
-Uno scandalo d'inverno
-Serenata per un assassino
-La mezzaluna stregata
-Il museo delle cere
-La mela cinese
-Un Natale anticipato
-Cane pazzo
-La sorella Bessie
kreyna's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
fearandtrembling's review against another edition
3.0
3 to 3.5 stars. As expected for an anthology of this size, there's some truly absorbing stories and a bunch of mediocre ones. But just what I needed for this time of year, when the brain is largely mush.