Reviews

Christmas is Murder by Val McDermid

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brodie_rose's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.75

bgg616's review against another edition

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4.0

Val McDermid is one of the best writers of Scottish noir, although her most well known series featuring Tony Hill is set in the north of England. The first story in the collection features Hill, but for me, Hill doesn't have the chance to really "do his thing" in this format. The stories I enjoyed most were the stories of revenge. While catching perpetrators of crimes is satisfying, I particularly like stories of revenge. Several of her stories feature lesbian couples, and/or lesbian protagonists.

Like most short story collections, some are better than others. One of my favorite revenge stories was the final one - Four Calling Birds. In a mining community where the miners have lost their jobs, four women find a way to support their families. Traditionally, the Bingo Hall caller was a man. When he leaves, these women push for the four of them to share the job. As time goes by, changes are proposed. That is when resistance and revenge comes in.

I enjoy Christmas and winter mysteries. I am particularly fond of many of the classic British Christmas mysteries. McDermid is another option for readers who want to expand their repertoire of Christmas mysteries.

austra_pro's review against another edition

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3.0

Tāds pašķidrs krājums, pāris okayish stāsti, lielākā daļa bōring, vienīgi pēdējais ļoti labs. Un lielākai daļai vispār nekāda sakara ar ziemu vai Ziemassvētkiem, tā ka nezinu, vai ir smuki - tā maldināt potenciālo lasītāju ar nosaukumu. Trīs zvaigznes, jo esmu dāsna, bet pārsvarā vairāk tā uz divām. Priekš stāstiem pārāk pliekani.

thet0meraider's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

2.0

Idk guys. It may just be that short stories are not my cup of tea, but I found these really boring and couldn't wait to finish them all just to go over to the next reading of the year.

Beautiful cover tho! Really nice to have on a bookshelf and truly aesthetically pleasing.

mrufka's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

georginamay22's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.5

I've never read a collection of shorts before. It was so strange with a mystery how little detail you were given and the last line would say who done and then it's over and done. The first few stories I really enjoyed and could see these fleshed out into novels. Unfortunately, the a majority of them were boring and didn't interest me.