Merry Murder

Book 66 of my 2020 Reading Challenge

read from September 27 - October 1

Merry Murder

by multiple authors

Summary (via the book jacket)

published 1994 (with some stories published in other formats earlier)

There's been a murder under the mistletoe...and it could have been committed by any one of the twenty-two masters of mystery in this spectacular anthology. From such best-selling writers as John D. MacDonald to such classics as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and others, this suspense-filled collections offers a sleigh-full of the most frightfully festive stories of Christmas and murder.

So don't let a little holiday homicide dampen your spirits for the crimes are always solved and the turkey is sure to be served - even if it conceals the murder weapon. Just make your list and check it twice for...Merry Murder!

My Opinion

4 stars

This was an impulse pickup from a library book display.  I know it's not Christmas but the mystery adds a little Halloween too, right?

Overall I liked the book and the short story format is the perfect bandwidth for my brain to handle.  I especially like books like this with multiple authors because it adds to the variety.

I have notes on each story:

Rumpole and the Spirit of Christmas: It went in a very unexpected direction with the focus on lawyers and their motivations.  It had an "old-school" feel with the prosecutor and defense battling fiercely in court and then going out for a drink after.

Supper With Miss Shivers: This was my favorite one.  A good reminder that not all mysteries or ghosts have to be evil, this was very sweet and unexpected.  

The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle: The conclusions that Sherlock Holmes can draw about a character from seemingly insignificant details is what makes his stories so good.  It was a little "right place at the right time" convenient to move the story along but not so much so that it was unbelievable.

A Matter of Life and Death: This one felt longer than it was.  It was a good premise and conclusion but took time to get through everything; there probably could've been a few less side characters.  This could partly be me as a reader because I'm so unfamiliar with the format (an old-time system of lamps shining in a room to signal answering a phone to dispatch a police officer) so the extra details and conversations made it hard to focus on what was actually necessary.

I Saw Mommy Killing Santa Claus: It was fine since it was short.  The crime was predictable but the extra details given to the characters added a little more flavor as I was reading.

Dead on Christmas Street:  This was a good story with an unexpected ending.  Again, the times have changed so the method of solving the crime (lying to a suspect about a witness to illicit a confession) would no longer apply but it worked for the story.

The Christmas Bear: This one was very sappy and not my style; the crime wasn't really a crime, more of a vehicle to give a lesson about the miracle of the Christmas spirit.  The phrase, "I wore a white gown [to my wedding], and I had a right to, not like it is today", made me laugh and was an indication of how old-fashioned the characters were.  

Mystery for Christmas:  The writing was decent but I didn't understand the ending at all.

On Christmas Day in the Morning:  Short and sweet.  Like I've mentioned about other stories, I like that this is an older book so the crime solving relies more on clues and human intuition than technology.

Santa Claus Beat: This was the kind of story that all takes place in one room - a crime was committed, nobody left the room, and now you need to figure out what happened. Because of that it was short but I liked it.

Who Killed Father Christmas?: I liked the dry humor.

'Twixt the Cup and the Lip: I didn't like this one because there were too many hijinks and double crosses.  An unexpected clue wrapped it up though so that helped a little.

Auggie Wren's Christmas Story: Meh.  Fine but forgettable.

Murder for Christmas: It felt like the story took a long time because I knew the identity of the corpse way before it was revealed.  Again, the old-fashioned going door-to-door for clues and talking to humans was a nice change of pace from relying on the Internet as people would now.

Father Crumlish Celebrates Christmas: I predicted the reason but not the culprit so it was a surprise.

The Plot Against Santa Claus: I did not like this one at all.  There were too many characters and I was bored.  I put the book down for breaks a lot considering how few pages the story actually was.

Christmas Cop:  I might still be a little off from how much I disliked the previous story but this story was fine, just okay.

But Once a Year...Thank God!: This story had no conclusion so what was the point? I agree with the amateur detective's assessment of the situation but she also threw out multiple theories and the story ended just as the police arrived so there wasn't anything conclusive.

Christmas Party: This started with a bad idea that thankfully didn't go too far off the rails when the author reined it in and kept the ending somewhat positive.

Kelso's Christmas:  The clues for the culprit were pretty heavy-handed and obvious so I was waiting for the characters to reach the same conclusion.  The journey itself wasn't bad though and I didn't expect the actual "gotcha" moment.

The Spy and the Christmas Cipher: The clues moved the story along at a good pace and again, I'm really enjoying the old-fashioned crime solving (in this case, humans gathered together trying to decipher a coded message).

The Carol Singers:  This was surprisingly sad.  I know they're just fictional characters but the old lady's loneliness and death made me sad.  There were some red herrings thrown in for culprits and the ending was a little hectic.