A review by clacksee
The Usual Santas: A Collection of Soho Crime Christmas Capers by Peter Lovesey, Peter Lovesey

mysterious

3.5

A very odd collection of stories. The only thing they have in common is that they all take place at or near Christmas and they all contain an element of mystery. Some are modern; some are historical. Some involve murder; some don't. A few are very good; some are … not. Most I read; several I skipped over as soon as I realised they were full of racist stereotypes.

I'd already read and thoroughly enjoyed the first story in this collection (part of the Elderly Lady series). The second story with nine Santas in a room (by Mick Herron) was very good, which surprised me as I've not previously enjoyed his writing. The final two stories were good. Everything in the middle was … not for me.