Murder at Christmas

 Book 89 of my 2026 Reading Challenge

read from October 2 - 6

Murder at Christmas

3 stars

There are a surprising number of books with themes of Christmas crimes.  I think I've read one every year without even going out of my way, and October feels like the perfect time to do it.

First I was noting not many of the stories have murder but then I got to the story "Murder at Christmas" and realized it's a story title and not necessarily the theme.  Looking more closely, the title of the book is "Murder at Christmas and Other Stories" so that's on me.

Overall it was a decent way to pass the time.  There weren't any clunkers but also not ones I'm raving about either.  My favorite was "A Matter of Life and Death".

As always when reading short stories by multiple authors, I'll include a little about each story below.

The Theft of the Christmas Stocking

Fairly implausible in how quickly everyone talked to him but necessary to move the plot along and keep the story short.  The age of this book showed; there's no way now that somebody would be able to disappear as easily as he did.

'Twixt the Cup and the Lip

Really good pacing with unexpected ending.  It was one of those that made sense looking back but the author did a great job sneaking little things in so the resolution didn't stand out until it was revealed.

Death in the Christmas Hour

I struggled with this one.  Too many kernels of ideas and characters for one short story.  The bare bones of the premise was good but it was too convoluted.

Auggie Wren's Christmas Story

I was waiting for a bigger reveal.  It felt out of place in this book...there wasn't even a mystery and barely a crime.

Christmas Gift

Did a good job of making me feel sorry for a criminal.

Rumpole and the Chambers Party

I didn't really see the point but it wasn't the ending I expected.

Murder at Christmas

The story the book is named for.  Luckily it was a good one since at about 50 pages, this one story is a large chunk of the entire paperback.

I did see the victim twist coming and was waiting for them to catch up but there were so many other things happening in the meantime to fill character space that it was still entertaining.

Father Crumlish

This passed quickly and I caught the clue but suspected the wrong person.

A Matter of Life and Death

It started slowly and confusingly but ended up being my favorite.  Good combination of following clues, using knowledge, and a bit of luck.  Plus it ended well.

Miss Crindle and Father Christmas

It was fine.  It was more of a 'tell' mystery than a 'show' one.  I feel like maybe the characters are from another story because I seemed to be missing some backstory.

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Ways This Book Met my 2026 Reading Goals:

- 89th book read in 2026 (my goal is 100)

- A book I purchased in 2026 (my goal is to read any books I buy within 6 months of purchasing them)

- A book I own that is leaving my house for a new reader to find (my goal is to declutter and make progress on whittling down my shelves/boxes of books in my house)

The Civil War

 Book 88 of my 2026 Reading Challenge

read from August 30 - October 5

The Civil War: A Visual History

published 2026

3 stars

I rated this one neutrally because the reasons I didn't enjoy it as much were also the reasons the book worked as well as it did.  For example, it's a heavy oversized book which made it cumbersome to hold and also prevented me from taking it with me for those moments I can steal to read while I'm out.  But it being oversized kept it from feeling dense and overwhelming and made a big difference in the visuals so I agree with the decision.  It also took me so long to read because of these circumstances (and honestly, the only reason I finished as "quickly" as I did is because I set page goals the final week to be able to return it to the library).

One thing I noticed and absolutely loved when comparing it to other books with many sidebars, graphs, etc. is that this book required no flipping back and forth.  The extra things on the pages related to that page and were contained to that page; it sounds so simple but trust me, this is rare!  So I was able to turn a page, look at all the extras, and then continue with the text of the book.

For a book that says it's a visual history there was way more text than I expected.  While there were new viewpoints and first-hand accounts the more standard information seemed surface level and I don't think the book would've suffered with less of it.

Personal note: while I'm glad Lee made mistakes and lost the battle, if someone writing a book about me 150+ years later said, "[Lee's] judgement may have been impaired - he was tired and suffering from diarrhea...", I would come back and haunt them.  That's a joke; it's important to be factual but at the same time...saying he was shitting so much he couldn't think straight seems like an extra dig.

Fact I learned: there was a man who served as vice president under two different presidents.  His name was John C. Calhoun and he served with President John Quincy Adams and President Andrew Jackson.

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Ways This Book Met my 2026 Reading Goals:

- 88th book read in 2026 (my goal is 100)

The Vampire Hunters' Casebook

 Book 87 of my 2026 Reading Challenge

read from September 20 - 30

The Vampire Hunters' Casebook

3 stars

This book had a slow start.  After the first few stories I would've said I was skimming and not really invested but that night I had so many nightmares about vampires that I woke up the next day realizing I must be absorbing more than I knew.

I was more conscious about the time of day I read this book after that and the stories also gained interest for me as well.  I think it helped that the stories seemed to have a somewhat chronological written order so the older stories were the ones I liked the least.  But even with improvement in interest I'm still only rating this 3 stars because my overall feeling is very 'take it or leave it'.

My favorite was "The Broken Fang" by Uel Key.

I picked this up at a fundraising book sale that's held twice a year and am planning to donate it back to them so it can find a new reader at a future sale.

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Ways This Book Met my 2026 Reading Goals:

- 87th book read in 2026 (my goal is 100)

- A book I purchased in 2026 (my goal is to read any books I buy within 6 months of purchasing them)

- A book I own that is leaving my house for a new reader to find (my goal is to declutter and make progress on whittling down my shelves/boxes of books in my house)

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald

 Book 86 of my 2026 Reading Challenge

read from September 22 - 26

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald

by Therese Anne Fowler

published 2013

4 stars

This was a quick read and the story would've held my interest even without it being based somewhat on real people.  I can't speak to how much is 'historical' and how much is 'fiction' but the extravagance of the 1920's and the group of artists in Paris that seemed to work hard(ish), play harder, and die young is a fascinating time to me. 

It also had the added benefit of a 'Z' title which is one of the harder letters to get in my A-Z Challenge.

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Ways This Book Met my 2026 Reading Goals:

- 86th book read in 2026 (my goal is 100)

- Title starting with 'Z' (I'm doing an A-Z title challenge)

The Dysfunctional Family's Guide to Murder

 Book 85 of my 2026 Reading Challenge

read from September 15 - 17

The Dysfunctional Family's Guide to Murder

by Kate Emery

published 2024

1 star

Spoilers so scroll away if you have any interest in reading this...

W

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F

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K

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D

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S

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A

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Spent 293 pages watching someone try to solve a murder only to have it revealed that there was no murder, it was an accident.

Spent 293 pages watching someone try to solve a relative issue only to have someone spontaneously monologue a confession under little pressure.

Also, the love interest was her cousin.  I don't care that it actually turned out not to be (his mom was faking DNA results to be in the family), they thought they were cousins and were in this environment visiting family with only relatives around.  And they were flirting when they thought they were cousins, not just a "phew we're not related now we can kiss" situation.  A love interest in this story felt so unnecessary anyway.

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Ways This Book Met my 2026 Reading Goals:

- 85th book read in 2026 (my goal is 100)

The Midnight Train

 Book 84 of my 2026 Reading Challenge

read from September 12 - 15

The Midnight Train

by Matt Haig

published 2026

3 stars

Happiness squandered was painful to look at from the future.  

But the Ghost tried his best to feel gratitude that he had known happiness at all.

I liked the concept of this book more than the actual execution.  It felt like too much time in the present trying to figure out how to change the system rather than getting lost in the memories and feeling emotions.  I also wish there had been some sort of epilogue or something that gave information on any different paths.  

I laughed at this description: "In the sense that he couldn't read people very well. Where she could still read the book of someone from a single page, he could be presented with the entire novel and not follow its plot at all."

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Ways This Book Met my 2026 Reading Goals:

- 84th book read in 2026 (my goal is 100)

This Book Made Me Think of You

 Book 83 of my 2026 Reading Challenge

read on August 30

This Book Made Me Think of You

by Libby Page

published 2026

5 stars

This was a lovely book I read in one sitting.  It was warm and light (ish - there are themes of grief) with characters who love books, bookshops, reading, and writing.

Tilly's husband Joe died 6 months ago.  She'd always been a reader but during his illness and after his death, she's found herself unable to concentrate and enjoy reading.  Then a surprise phone call comes from a bookshop owner - Joe had planned and left one book a month for the following year to help her cope.  From kids' books that reintroduce her love for reading to cookbooks that help her learn a new skill to fiction books that reignite her passion, she spends the year re-entering the world and rediscovering herself.  And of course the bookshop owner and his employees factor into this as well.

It was a bit fantastical but grounded in reality as long as you believe in luck and happy endings.  And there were so many book recommendations, from lists at the beginning of each month to conversations between the characters and even the blurbs from other authors on the back of the book (they all included their 'favorite book to share' with their blurbs)!  

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Ways This Book Met my 2026 Reading Goals:

- 83rd book read in 2026 (my goal is 100)