The Christmas Card Crime and Other Stories by Martin Edwards

The Christmas Card Crime and Other Stories by Martin Edwards ISBN-13: 9781464210914 Paperback: 240 pages Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press Released: Oct. 1, 2019

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
A Christmas party is punctuated by a gunshot under a policeman's watchful eye. A jewel heist is planned amidst the glitz and glamour of Oxford Street's Christmas shopping. Lost in a snowstorm, a man finds a motive for murder. This collection of mysteries explores the darker side of the festive season--from unexplained disturbances in the fresh snow, to the darkness that lurks beneath the sparkling decorations. With neglected stories by John Bude and E.C.R. Lorac, as well as tales by little-known writers of crime fiction, Martin Edwards blends the cosy atmosphere of the fireside story with a chill to match the temperature outside.


My Review:
The Christmas Card Crime and Other Stories is a short story collection of 11 mysteries set in England and written from 1909 to 1965. The mysteries were set at Christmas time, or at least in winter. Some of the stories had the detective as the point of view character, but some were from the villain's point of view. Most were told as they happened, but a few were the detective telling about the case after it was finished. While whodunit in most of the mysteries was either obvious or not guessable (due to lack of necessary clues until the reveal), a few of these had clues and were guessable. The enjoyment mainly came from watching a detective work through a tough mystery to solve it. There was no sex. There was some bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable mystery collection.

The included mysteries:
A Christmas Tragedy by Baroness Orczy
By the Sword by Selwyn Jepson
The Christmas Card Crime by Donald Stuart
The Motive by Ronald Knox
Blind Man's Hood by Carter Dickson
Paul Temple's White Christmas by Francis Durbridge
Sister Bessie or Your Old Leech by Cyril Hare
A Bit of Wire Pulling by E.C.R. Lorac
Pattern of Revenge by John Bude
Crime at Lark Cottage by John Bingham
Twixt the Cup and the Lip by Julian Symons


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.