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mamakath 's review for:
The Mistletoe Murder And Other Stories
by P.D. James
The Mistletoe Murder and Other Stories by P.D. James is the very first work I have read by this author. I picked it up due to her reputation and, unfortunately, was very disappointed. (I confess to giving the book 3 stars instead of 2 only to avoid being openly hated by the James fans just skimming the review numbers.) My main complaints are as follows: 2 of the 4 stories, The Boxdale Inheritance and The Twelve Clues of Christmas, contain clues known by the detective that are never given to the reader until the big "reveal" at the end. So, the reader never has a chance to try to solve the mystery on their own. This is a HUGE pet peeve of mine for any mystery. I like to match wits with good guys and bad guys and very much enjoy trying to figure out the whodunit from my armchair. And, finding out I was working with only half a deck the whole time is infuriating. My problem with the title story is that, while most of it is clever and "fair" (see above) the narrator's search for a weapon is unbelievable. I will leave out details to avoid spoilers. As for A Very Commonplace Murder: I read it three times and spent 15 minutes googling for spoilers online and still do not understand the end. So, overall this book was not a very enjoyable read for me.