The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries

 Book 1 of my 2024 Reading Challenge

read from December 18 - January 6

The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries

My Opinion

4 stars

Wow, this took a lot longer to read than I expected!  It's over 600 pages but I think stopping to write a little review after each of the sixty stories probably slowed me down more than I expected.  I also didn't have have as much downtime over Christmas Break as I'd hope so that slowed me down too.

Unless I missed something I believe the earliest story was from 1877 and the latest from 2011.  Overall it was fine.  I don't understand why authors give their stories titles that give it all away, I prefer the super generic or super clever titles instead.

The book was divided into sections but there was so much variety that I didn't really notice the groupings other than the "Uncanny Christmas" section.  I didn't like the majority of the stories in that section; maybe I'm anti-ghost or something?

Waxworks was my favorite.  I don't normally have a least favorite but Christmas Party made me do a little rant

As I typically do with stories by multiple authors, I have a little blurb for each story below.

The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding

Good length for a full story.  The explanations at the end were plausible enough that they made sense but not obvious enough to know while reading (hindsight is 20/20 and all that...).

Gold, Frankincense, and Murder

Just as the intro said, a mystery that could be solved with clues and not coincidences or confessions.  There were a lot of characters which would make sense as red herrings in a longer story but ended up muddying the waters a bit when it was just one evening.

Boxing Unclever

The narrator was clearly written and I could easily picture the bombastic man "holding court" while others play along with his story.  I don't understand the ending though - was it real or was it a play?

The Proof of the Pudding

Completely unexpected ending.  I feel a little sorry for Polly but am happy for Wendy and Norman.  I almost missed the man's name was Nick Saint which was a nice touch.

The Adventure of the Dauphin's Doll

haha, there's "an Iowa snob!" in the story.  Most of the time our stereotype is farmer hick.

As far as the actual story, soooo many words per sentence.  Once it got into the actual mystery it picked up and the funny thing is there had been so many things that happened between the beginning and the end of the story that I forgot the culprit was the person I suspected in the very beginning; I'd completely spaced him out as the story developed.

Morse's Greatest Mystery

As a heartwarming "caught the Christmas spirit" story it was fine but as a mystery it was a letdown; there was no resolution on who did it.

More Than Flesh and Blood

I could feel the emotions but it was really ambitious to try and have so many things be under the surface in a short story.

The Butler's Christmas Eve

Another one where as a story it was fine but as a mystery I'm not sure I understand it.  I was waiting for another twist...did it happen?  I'm not sure if the last line was William being emotional because it worked out or being emotional because a mistake had been made.

The Trinity Cat

The story itself was fine but based on the title and the rhythm of these types of mysteries I knew what was happening and was just waiting for the reveal.

The Burglar and the Whatsit

Completely unexpected.

Dancing Dan's Christmas

The intro mentioned the author's use of slang in his stories and he was right.  This was written in the 1930's and there were so many phrases I wasn't familiar with but I could still get the gist of the story.  This was more of a "tell" than "show" story - the main character gets sick for a few weeks and is told everything that transpired to wrap everything up in a few paragraphs.

A Visit from St. Nicholas

That read very quickly.  I could feel the frustration of the conversation with the brother when he doesn't quite remember details so every story is interrupted a million times with "corrections".

The Thieves Who Couldn't Help Sneezing

Just as the title says, sneezes did them in.

Rumpole and the Spirit of Christmas

Another story where the mystery itself (whether or not the suspect was guilty) isn't resolved.  The back door dealings of the legal system made me sad.  Also, I picked the wrong person...I thought the defense attorney was trying to liquor up the prosecutor, not the other way around.

A Reversible Santa Claus

That felt really long and it took a lot of effort to read what was being said since 3 of the characters spoke in slang/poor English with half-words and lots of contractions.  I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop; I think I'm glad things worked out but am not quite sure.

A Scandal in Winter

My favorite so far.  That one also felt long but in a good way.  Having a child as the narrator helped avoid biased opinions changing the observations so the reader could just see the facts as Holmes and Watson did.

The Christmas Client

Although the reason he was being blackmailed was icky, it was a good story that I did not predict at all (but made sense in hindsight).

The Secret in the Pudding Bag & Herlock Sholme's Christmas Case

I thought it was the winner of the strangest title but it turns out to be 2 stories combined into one.  It's funny to have casual mention of "snuffing cocaine"; it's obviously an older story.

I liked the first story about the pudding bag better than the Christmas case but I'm glad there were two because either one would've felt too short on its own.  If it hadn't been mentioned I wouldn't have known they were written years apart, they flowed very nicely.

Christmas Eve

Having it presented in a play format helped.  Maybe I'm a Scrooge but I don't like that she ended up getting the money in the end.

The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle

The story went in an unexpected direction but I've read enough to Sherlock Holmes to have an idea of where his path was headed.  I don't understand why he let him go though.

Dead on Christmas Street

I was a little suspicious of the culprit but not for the reason it ended up being.

Crime's Christmas Carol

It was like "The Gift of the Magi" but with crime.

Serenade to a Killer

I love locked room mysteries.  This one worked because there was an inkling of possibilities but nothing definite until the very end.

The Haunted Crescent

I did NOT see that coming at all!

A Christmas in Camp

Not for me.  It felt like a million words per page and I gave up and started skimming fairly quickly into the story.  I still caught the gist though.

The Christmas Bogey

It didn't really hold my interest but I'm glad it wasn't an attack.

The Killer Christian

It was far-fetched but interesting.

The Ghost's Touch

I don't think the section "An Uncanny Little Christmas" is for me because this is the fourth story in a row that was "meh".  I found my mind wandering - so many words to explain a fairly straightforward situation.

A Wreath for Marley

Just when I'd given up on the whole "Uncanny" section, this story came along and reclaimed my interest.  It's a Christmas miracle.

The Carol Singers

A well thought-out story.  Having it start with the victim going through her regular day brought out my sympathy.  I thought the son-in-law was going to have something to do with it but I was wrong.

Waxworks

Favorite!!!  That was a pulse-pounding read.  My throat is still clenched as I write this from the dryness of holding my breath.

Cambric Tea

There was too many layers for the story to make sense.  I'm glad to have a resolute answer on who did it but the secretary's sudden change of heart was surprising and unsatisfactory.

The 74th Tale

It was fine but the ending was unexpected.  I can't believe the guy lived and I fully expected the bookstore to not be there any more, like it had been haunted or something.

The Uninnocent

I'm left with more questions than answers.

Blue Christmas

My palms are sweaty from reading about him trying to talk her off the ledge.  It was more sad than mysterious but I still felt it.

Noel, Noel

It was fine since it was short.

Death on Christmas Eve

Classic mystery with the final words giving a twist.

The Chinese Apple

Meh.  It relied on a lot of coincidences and wasn't really much of a mystery.

And All Through the House

Too too much.

An Early Christmas

This one is tough because there was so much going on it may have worked better as a novel but it also felt long and I wouldn't want it to be drawn out any further.  Maybe as a short story but with just 2-3 suspects instead of 5-6 would've worked better.  I didn't necessarily love this story but I would read this author again.

The Live Tree

It hit all the right points for a short story arc - a few hints, a whirlwind of activity, the twist, and a short reflection.  It was a happy change of pace that the mystery was how he accomplished something good instead of the usual twist of something appearing positive and turning out to be a con.

Three-Dot Po

This story held my interest and while I don't love that the culprit was someone we didn't meet until he was caught, at least the idea of him had been floated and it made sense.

Mad Dog

The circumstances of getting everyone into the room were tenuous but once they were in the room the progression from beginning to end worked at an excellent pace.  I'm glad to know the resolution even if it was revealed through the person who'd gotten away with it for 30+ years suddenly admitting everything.

Sister Bessie

I didn't know the exact circumstances but I knew the culprit right away because the author was really heavy-handed in painting her and only her in an outstanding light and the only decent family member.

That's the Ticket

I was so sad about how stupid Ernie was that I could barely read the story.  I'm so glad it turned out well!

Death on the Air

It kept me guessing until the end about the actual murderer.

The Thirteenth Day of Christmas

Abrupt and solved through telling, not showing.

The Christmas Kitten

The culprit made sense and it would've been fine if the main character had solved it but to have him still chasing wrong leads while a bit character solved it "off-screen" didn't make sense to me.

The Santa Claus Club

That used a method I'd never heard of.

The Flying Stars

Even setting aside the racism common for the era of the story (doing blackface for a play), I didn't like it.  It was solved with a monologue at the end and instead of the thief escaping like the story even stated he easily could do, apparently the monologue worked and he had a change of heart.

Christmas Party

No.  I can't fault the author for playing into stereotypes (not trusting Asians - and not referring to them as Asians - in this instance) because it was written in 1957.  I can, however, fault the editor for choosing to reprint it and include it for this current audience.  The racism was an entire plot point; they couldn't tell if she was lying because "Orientals slant their eyes to keep you guessing" and they didn't know if her smile was genuine because "after all, she was half Oriental".  Also, she told the police who it was from the start but they didn't believe her because of her race which is why she needed the men to corroborate her facts.

So without the racism at play there would literally be no story.  Let's leave that in the past and not include it in a current anthology.

The Raffles Relics

I'm unfamiliar with the characters but I'd go back and read more from their series.  Fun fact that the author is Arthur Conan Doyle's brother-in-law: they both wrote mysteries but from different sides of the coin (this author's duo are thieves).

The Price of Light

The mystery part was small but it was good as an overall story.

A Present for Santa Sahib

Standard twist at the end of a mystery but frustrating because the twist was someone never mentioned before turned out to be the thief.

The Christmas Train

It was fine.  The cat-and-mouse aspect might have meant more if I was familiar with the series and their history.

Markheim

I didn't understand it and then I got to the end and realized I'd already read it.  So I didn't understand it twice.

A Chaparral Christmas Gift

It felt quick and abrupt even though so many years have passed.  

The Chopham Affair

Pretty convoluted and coincidental.

A Christmas Tragedy

A mystery anthology wouldn't be complete with Agatha Christie.  Not my favorite story of hers but she really holds up well.