The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries

Have yourself a crooked little Christmas with The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries . Edgar Award-winning editor Otto Penzler collects sixty of his all-time favorite holiday crime stories--many of which are difficult or nearly impossible to find anywhere else. From classic Victorian tales by Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Thomas Hardy, to contemporary stories by Sara Paretsky and Ed McBain, this collection touches on all aspects of the holiday season, and all types of mysteries. They are suspenseful, funny, frightening, and poignant. Included are puzzles by Mary Higgins Clark, Isaac Asimov, and Ngaio Marsh; uncanny tales in the tradition of A Christmas Carol by Peter Lovesey and Max Allan Collins; O. Henry-like stories by Stanley Ellin and Joseph Shearing, stories by pulp icons John D. MacDonald and Damon Runyon; comic gems from Donald E. Westlake and John Mortimer; and many, many more. Almost any kind of mystery you’re in the mood for--suspense, pure detection, humor, cozy, private eye, or police procedural--can be found in these pages. FEATURING: - Unscrupulous Santas - Crimes of Christmases Past and Present - Festive felonies - Deadly puddings - Misdemeanors under the mistletoe - Christmas cases for classic characters including Sherlock Holmes, Brother Cadfael, Miss Marple, Hercule Poirot, Ellery Queen, Rumpole of the Bailey, Inspector Morse, Inspector Ghote, A.J. Raffles, and Nero Wolfe.

List of contents

INTRODUCTION Otto Penzler
 
A Traditional Little Christmas 
THE ADVENTURE OF THE CHRISTMAS PUDDING Agatha Christie
GOLD, FRANKINCENSE AND MURDER Catherine Aird
BOXING UNCLEVER Robert Barnard
THE PROOF OF THE PUDDING Peter Lovesey
THE ADVENTURE OF THE DAUPHIN S DOLL Ellery Queen
MORSE S GREATEST MYSTERY Colin Dexter
MORE THAN FLESH AND BLOOD Susan Moody
THE BUTLER S CHRISTMAS EVE Mary Roberts Rinehart
THE TRINITY CAT Ellis Peters 91
 
A Funny Little Christmas
THE BURGLAR AND THE WHATSIT Donald E. Westlake
DANCING DAN S CHRISTMAS Damon Runyon
A VISIT FROM ST. NICHOLAS Ron Goulart
THE THIEVES WHO COULDN T HELP SNEEZING Thomas Hardy
RUMPOLE AND THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS John Mortimer
A REVERSIBLE SANTA CLAUS Meredith Nicholson
 
A Sherlockian Little Christmas
A SCANDAL IN WINTER Gillian Linscott
THE CHRISTMAS CLIENT Edward D. Hoch
THE SECRET IN THE PUDDING BAG & HERLOCK SHOLMES S
     CHRISTMAS CASE Peter Todd
CHRISTMAS EVE S. C. Roberts
THE ADVENTURE OF THE BLUE CARBUNCLE Arthur Conan Doyle
 
A Pulpy Little Christmas
DEAD ON CHRISTMAS STREET John D. MacDonald
CRIME S CHRISTMAS CAROL Norvell Page
SERENADE TO A KILLER Joseph Commings
 
An Uncanny Little Christmas
THE HAUNTED CRESCENT Peter Lovesey
A CHRISTMAS IN CAMP Edmund Cox
THE CHRISTMAS BOGEY Pat Frank
THE KILLER CHRISTIAN Andrew Klavan
THE GHOST S TOUCH Fergus Hume
A WREATH FOR MARLEY Max Allan Collins
 
A Scary Little Christmas
THE CAROL SINGERS Josephine Bell
WAXWORKS Ethel Lina White
CAMBRIC TEA Marjorie Bowen
THE 74TH TALE Jonathan Santlofer
THE UNINNOCENT Bradford Morrow
BLUE CHRISTMAS Peter Robinson
 
A Surprising Little Christmas
NOEL, NOEL Barry Perowne
DEATH ON CHRISTMAS EVE Stanley Ellin
THE CHINESE APPLE Joseph Shearing
 
A Modern Little Christmas
AND ALL THROUGH THE HOUSE Ed McBain
AN EARLY CHRISTMAS Doug Allyn
THE LIVE TREE John Lutz
THREE-DOT PO Sara Paretsky
MAD DOG Dick Lochte
 
A Puzzling Little Christmas
SISTER BESSIE Cyril Hare
THAT S THE TICKET Mary Higgins Clark
DEATH ON THE AIR Ngaio Marsh
THE THIRTEENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS Isaac Asimov
THE CHRISTMAS KITTEN Ed Gorman
THE SANTA CLAUS CLUB Julian Symons
 
A Classic Little Christmas
THE FLYING STARS G. K. Chesterton
CHRISTMAS PARTY Rex Stout
THE RAFFLES RELICS E. W. Hornung
THE PRICE OF LIGHT Ellis Peters
A PRESENT FOR SANTA SAHIB H. R. F. Keating
THE CHRISTMAS TRAIN Will Scott
MARKHEIM Robert Louis Stevenson
A CHAPARRAL CHRISTMAS GIFT O. Henry
THE CHOPHAM AFFAIR Edgar Wallace
A CHRISTMAS TRAGEDY Agatha Christie

Report

Anyone who cares about the best mystery writing of the past century and beyond would be lucky to receive this thick volume during the holidays. . . . One of the joys of the collection is how many are delightfully funny. . . . Note that many of these stories turn on simple theft, of diamonds or candlesticks or a lottery ticket; they hark back to simpler days before the modern thriller began to provide endless serial killers and ax murderers for our edification. To read today s talented crime writers can be a pleasure, but it s good to be reminded that they build on the work of others whose talents remain undimmed."
    The Washington Post
 
[A] magnificent collection of any kind of Christmas murder that mystery fans could ever desire.
     The Plain Dealer, Grade: A+

Pure malicious deliciousness.
     The Christian Science Monitor

My favorite mystery peddler has put together his best collection ever. . . . If you love mysteries, and enjoy the holidays (or even if you don't), you'll love The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries.
     Nina Sankovitch, Huffington Post
 
Less noisy but just as entertaining as The Twelve Days of Christmas . . . . Includes many of the best Yuletide whodunits of the past 100 years.
     Richmond Times-Dispatch
 
[Penzler] knows this turf.
     Fort Worth Star-Telegram

A feast of 59 (loosely) Christmas-themed stories for mystery and crime-fiction lovers.
     The Seattle Times

None of these arresting holiday tales turns out at all the way you might expect. . . . [The book] could last a diligent reader all the way to Easter.
     The Virginian-Pilot

A future classic. . . . Penzler, the prime minister of crime fiction, delivers the goods once again with . . . a collection of holiday whodunits that ll have you eyeing the department-store Santa with suspicion.
     Book Page
 
More femmes fatales, double crossing and deceit than you can shake a peppermint candy cane at. . . . Entertaining and interesting. It should rightfully become a perennial gift, no matter the occasion.
     PopMatters

Penzler mines the rich vein of American and British Christmas stories from the 19th to the 21st centuries for this impressive collection of 59 short stories featuring authors still in their prime as well as others mostly forgotten by today's readers. . . . A representative and entertaining selection of yuletide stories that mystery fans might like to see on Christmas morn.
    Publishers Weekly
 
There s something for everyone. . . . Mystery readers will not be able to resist.
     Library Journal

Product details

• Authors: Otto Penzler
• Assisted by: Otto Penzler (Editor)
• Publisher: Vintage USA
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 22.10.2013
• EAN: 9780345802989
• ISBN: 978-0-345-80298-9
• No. of pages: 654
• Dimensions: 178 mm x 231 mm x 33 mm
• Series: VINTAGE BOOKS; Vintage crime/Black Lizard; Vintage crime/Black Lizard
• Subject: Fiction > Narrative literature