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It's a rare book that takes me 387 days to complete. I got it after Christmas last year, read the first story (an old favorite) and then put it aside in favor or other books until I broke out the yuletide books this year.And I don't have the book with me, nor can I find the contents online, so this is somewhat worthless as a meaningful consideration.So, with that carton of salt: some of the stories hold up very well, some do not hold up at all*, although the writers are an impeccable group. Ther...
I started this collection of short stories last Christmas but put it away when I didn't finish it by the end of the holidays. I had a few great stories, some fun reads, but most of the stories were by authors who are no longer popular and I can see why. I was also about to get a taste for some mystery series and decided that I'm not interested. Nero Wolfe is a narcissistic detective who really doesn't care that much for the truth. I thought Ellery Queen was a bore, and I used to love the TV show...
Wish I had the forgettable noir-ish cover that displays on goodreads instead of this garish one:I think it took me 2x as long to read because I kept hiding the book places where I wouldn't have to see it.
Really enjoyed this one!
"Here is a perfect Christmas gift for the person who has everything -- and plans to leave it to you. Murder for Christmas contains twenty-six tales of seasonal malice to keep you in the Christmas spirit all year round."It has been said that Christmas brings out the best in everyone, and this has been especially true of mystery writers who seem to have been inspired to their best work by the holiday season."So come to a unique yuletide celebration and rub elbows with such greats as Sir Arthur Con...
Pretty good selection of stories. Some I really liked (Christie, Doyle, Dickens Collier, Mines), some were OK (Queen, Hardy, Ellin, Milne, Chesterton) and some I either didn't care for, couldn't get through or was just not interested in (Orczy, Keating, Allingham) but out of all of the authors, I found a new author to pursue (Simenon), which is a good thing.
Mixed bag, and the typos and the page misprinting in one story was annoying.
I originally found this volume as a hardback book decades ago at a book sale table. It was first published in 1982. I just loved this book and raved about it to others and I guess I loaned it out to someone who returneth not again. Don't you just hate it when borrowers do that? So one Christmas I could stand it no longer and after a considerable amount of searching found it again in a hardback volume. Some books just have to be a hardback book. Lo and behold, my daughter, knowing how much I miss...
I found this book a couple of years ago at a Goodwill Industry store. The word "Christmas" caught my eye because I do a lot of research on the pagan aspects of Christmas. All of the short stories in the book were fun mysteries to read and I even picked up some good historical information on various Christmas customs. If you are headstrong that everything about Christmas should be good, then you will have to set that thought aside in order to enjoy the book. On the other hand, if you love mysteri...
A decent collection of Christmas themed murder mysteries. As is usually the case, some short stories are better than the others. I thoroughly enjoyed especially the pieces by Ngaio Marsh, Dorothy L. Sayers and John Collier.
This is an anthology of short stories. In between the short stories, there are cartoon pictures of a murderous, horrific, or macabre nature. There are also lists of books, movies, and tiny articles regarding Christmas, murder, or both.Home for Christmas(view spoiler)[A short story.Doctor is headed to America and his wife promises they will be back for Christmas. The doctor has other plans. .....He has been having an affair and will meet his mistress in America. He kills his wife, and after a sli...
This was a disgraceful Audible-sold version of this book of Xmas murder short stories, sold as unabridged, with the same cover, but containing only 8 of the 26 stories in the printed version. I was duped! Good stories - Stanley Ellin, Ngaio Marsh, Margaret Allingham, Conan Doyle, etc. BUT not enough! Still - listened, and had refund!
First off, this is an old collection. It was originally published in 1982 . This edition came out in 2007. The most recent story (I think) was published in 1960. Most of the stories came out in the first half of the 20th century (1900 -1950). There are even stories by Robert Louis Stevenson, Charles Dickens and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. So when you see that the book contains both old and new masters of murder and mayhem, keep in mind when the book came out.This is a collection of 26 short stories
Some stories were better than others, as is to be expected in an anthology. Skipped the last story as the opening paragraph made racist observations.
As with all short story collections, Murder for Christmas (1982; edited by Thomas Godfrey) is a mixed bag--with treasures that you'll thank Santa for as well as items that you'll wish you could take back to the store for cash value. It was lovely to reread familiar favorites starring Lord Peter Wimsey, Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Nero Wolfe, and Inspector Roderick Alleyn. And there were several new (to me) stories that were very intriguing--including the opening story, "Back for Christmas"
For lovers of mysteries and short stories alike, this wonderful collection of Christmas-themed mysteries is a marvelous read. The mysteries range from tales of theft and murder to ghostly encounters and bungled attempts at malevolence. The stories authored by Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, G.K. Chesterford, Charles Dickens, Georges Simenon and Carter Dickinson were my favorites. Also, the darkly humorous illustrations by Gahan Wilson definitely enhanced my reading experienc...
It’s taken me quite a while to get through this monster of a collection, partly because it’s a big volume and partly because it’s rather too rich to read all in one go. Some stories work better than others, but I admire how it goes from the classics - Blue Carbuncle, a Nero Wolfe novelette - to some comic moments via a couple of unexpected classic writers as well. I suspect it will now serve in the way it was designed to serve, as a book to dip into to read certain classics during the festive pe...
I have a version of this book which must combine volumes one and two, has cartoons, introductions, little asides etc...A solid collection of Christmas stories, though some also could be considered ghost stories of sorts merged with the mystery genre. And it has a definite feeling of bringing the holiday into each mystery. While not a comprehensive book, that would be too long, it is a great way to read (short stories) while also trying to get in all the other activities that the season brings.
An anthology of (mostly) Christmas-themed short stories by classic crime writers (Godfrey sneaks a Woody Allen story in because it mentions a horse named Santa Claus). Contains a few good stories I hadn't read before, but the Gahan Wilson cartoons are the highlight.
Some good mysteries by Ngaio Marsh, Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, and others.