Christmas Stalkings
by Charlotte MacLeod (Editor)
Ellie Haskell (short story: 'The January Sale Stowaway'), Harriet Jeffries, John Sanders (3a?, Short story: 'Angels'), Miss Melville (Collections and Selections — Miss Melville Rejoices, 4.5), Joe Sixsmith (Short Stories — Short story: 'The Running of the Deer'), Peter Shandy (8.5, 'Counterfeit Christmas'), Deborah Knott (Collections and Selections — 0.1 Short story: 'Fruitcake, Mercy, and Black-Eyed Peas')
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Description
When the weather outside is frightful, curl up with New York Times-bestselling masters of holiday mystery Elizabeth Peters, Margaret Maron, and more! A New England college hosts a counterfeiting scrooge, an angelic chorister falls to earth, a tight-fisted patriarch realizes his days are numbered, and a politician presents his wife with an explosive gift. In Christmas Stalkings, bestselling mystery author Charlotte MacLeod gathers fellow partners in crime for a collection of capers that will show more keep you reading-and guessing-all through the night. Spend the twelve days of Christmas enjoying tales of holiday mayhem. From secrets in a snowy graveyard to schemes in the Deep South to mischief in Manhattan, this stocking full of cozy stories is to die for. This festive anthology includes thirteen stories by Charlotte MacLeod, Reginald Hill, Elizabeth Peters, Medora Sale, John Malcolm, Dorothy Cannell, Bill Crider, Patricia Moyes, Evelyn E. Smith, Eric Wright, Mickey Friedman, Robert Barnard, and Margaret Maron. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
'Christmas Stalkings'' a collection of thirteen Christmas-themed short stories by well-known crime writers was a fun way to read myself into the spirit of Christmas. Even though some of the stories are about murders, they're pleasantly free of violence and gore. A number of them are 'Christmas Special' appearances by the detectives who made their writers famous. Some are amusing. Most are clever. All of them are well-written. If you're looking for a collection of short stories that you can did into as you sip your eggnog and open yourself up to Christmas, I recommend 'Christmas Stalkings'.
Charlotte MacLeod, who was a co-founder and then President of the American Crime Writers League, seems to have known everyone in the crime-writing show more business. She's garnered stories from an impressive and diverse set of authors. Published in 1991, 'Christmas Stalkings' features stories from writers who made their reputations in the 70s and 80s. I was reading Science Fiction and not Crime back then, so many of the writers were new to me. I came away from this collection keen to read novels by Reginald Hill, Medora Sale, Patricia Moyes and Evelyn E Smith.
I given each story a rating and a short review below.
COUNTERFEIT CHRISTMAS by Charlotte MacLeod ★★★
I almost skipped this story when I saw it featured Peter Shandy. A few years ago, I tried to read Charlotte MacLeod Christmas crib novel ‘Rest You Merry’, featuring Peter Shandy. I abandoned it on Christmas Eve unfinished. The only thing I enjoyed about it was writing a piece of doggrel as a review. If you’re curious, you can find it HERE.
Despite my earlier experience, I decided to give ‘Counterfeit Christmas’ a try. I’m glad I did. It was slight but charming story, full of Christmas spirit but free from maudlin sentimentality. I enjoyed watching Shandy come up with a clever and pleasant way of dealing with a counterfeiter.
Now I’m wondering if I judged ‘Rest You Merry’ too harshly.
THE RUNNING OF THE DEER by Reginald Hill ★★★★
I haven’t read any of Reginald Hill’s books, although I enjoyed the TV adaptation of his Dalziel and Pascoe stories. I had no idea that he had a series featuring Joe Sixsmith, a black Brit from Luton who used his redundancy money to set himself up as a Private Detective.
‘The Running of the Deer’ was a good introduction to Joe. He’s not your usual PI. He has no idea what he’s doing really. But he has knack for finding things out, even if it’s sometimes by accident. This story took him from Luton to the wilds of Cumbria where he floundered about on the hills, fell into a bog and drank with the locals until he finally figured out what was really going on. It was clever, down to earth and delivered with wry humour.
I’ll be reading more Reginald Hill, starting with ‘Blood Sympathy’
LIZ PETERS, PI by Elizabeth Peters ★★★
This was a smile. It was Elizabeth Peters having fun with a Christmas story in which she casts herself as a mystery writer who is a PI on the side. The style was a playful tilt at noir. The story was 'Gumshoe' meets 'A Christmas Carol', (right down to having a candidate for Tiny Tim) plus some satire at the dumb behaviour of men. This managed to be cozy, ironic and slightly snarky all at the same time.
Plus, I learned that the USA, where the right to bear arms is written into the constitution, banned women from having hatpins of ten inches in length in case women used them as a lethal weapon. Could there be a more phallic symbol of male fragility? If you're interested, checck out this article in the Smithsonian Magazine
ANGELS by Medora Sale ★★★★
'Angels' is about a cold blooded assasination at a children's Christmas Pageant. The solution at the end is so rapid, if you blink you'll miss it. So I ought to be going - not cosy and a bit of s meh mystery. Instead I'm going - this really caught the atmosphere of a Christmas pageant at a posh girls' school, I liked the people, enjoyed the humour, found the idea original and thought the ending worked. I think that's all down to how Medora Sale writes.
The detective in this was borrowed from her six-book John Sanders/Harriet Jeffries Mystsery series. I'm going to give the first one. 'Murder On The Run' (1986) a try.
THE ONLY TRUE UNRAVELLER by John Malcolm ★★★★
On an unusually snowy Christmas Eve, two old friends walk through a cemetery, searching for a specific grave that one man wants to show the other. As the day darkens and the weather worsens, the civilised conversation between the two men develops an edge that builds into a sense of menace and then of doom. What was erudite becomes primal and deadly.
It’s beautifully done. The pace is perfectly controlled. The structure reminds me of Poe: inexorable, unhurried and chilling.
The story was published in 1991 but the language is that of an educated Englishman of the 1950s. It is rich, precise, complex but clear, giving the story a civilised tone deliberately at odds with th violent and visceral content.
THE JANUARY SALE STOWAWAY by Dorothy Cannell
The humour in this didn't work for me. It felt too much like a children's story so, I set it aside.
THE SANTA CLAUS CAPER by Bill Crider ★★
This was competently done but not my sort of thing. Neither of the two men in the story, both of whom were trying to date the same woman, interested me. They felt real enough, I just wouldn't want to spend time with either of them. The woman fell more like a concept than a person. The story didn't capture my interest because it was more about the two men than about solving the slight but clever mystery of who was stealing from the department store at Christmas.
FAMILY CHRISTMAS by Patricia Moyes ★★★
A sad, slightly dark tale, told in a gentle almost whimsical tone that made everything sound harmless and cosy when it was actually lethal and tragic.
I admired the storytelling. It's reminded me that I have Patricia Moyes' debut novel 'Dead Men Don't Ski' in my TBR. I must dig it out soon.
MISS MELVILLE REJOICES by Evelyn E. Smith ★★★★★
This was fun. Dark, quirky fun but fun all the same and with a Festive feel. Yes it's a story about an assassin but she's a civilised, interesting assassin who intends to kill someone who does not deserve to be allowed to live. True, killing on Christmas Eve is a little tacky but you have to play the hand you're dealt.
This was my first encounter with Miss Melville, Evelyn Smith's wonderful creation, but it won't be my last. I'm adding 'Miss Melville Regrets' (1986) to my shelves.
TWO IN THE BUSH by Eric Wright ★★★
A story about East End criminals sorting out their grievances at Christmas time was unlikely to win my heart. Even so, my curiosity pulled me into the story. I needed to know how the criminals were going to use the Salvation Army to take down their opponent.
THE FABULOUS NICK by Mickey Friedman ★★★★
A fun tale of Santa, posing as Chimney repair man, solving a crime that has resulted in a young boy hating Santa. This was simple but engaging. I enjoyed meeting Santa. The puzzle was interesting. And I found out just how much of a cookie addict Santa is.
A POLICTICAL NECESSITY ★★★★
I'll happily confess to bias here. A big part of my enjoyment of the story was my growing hope that a slime-ball Tory politician was going to get what he deserved rather than what he was certain he was entitled to. The rest of my enjoyment came from trying to figure out how that would happen. I didn't see the twist coming but I enjoyed it when it arrived and I enjoyed the satirical tone throughout.
I also learned about the existence of the Norwegian Christmas Gnome. It was mentioned so I had to look it up. Now I know who really delivers the presents in much of Scandinavia. If you're interested, heres a link to NISSE
FRUITCAKE, MERCY AND BLACK-EYED PEAS by Margaret Maron ★★★
A heartwarming tale with a distinctive North Carolina flavour. Set between Christmas and New Year's day, this story made me smile because it managed to be kind and credible while looking squarely in the eye of some difficult things. Not cosy in an unrealistic way, but human and gentle and full of the best kind of Christmas spirit. show less
Charlotte MacLeod, who was a co-founder and then President of the American Crime Writers League, seems to have known everyone in the crime-writing show more business. She's garnered stories from an impressive and diverse set of authors. Published in 1991, 'Christmas Stalkings' features stories from writers who made their reputations in the 70s and 80s. I was reading Science Fiction and not Crime back then, so many of the writers were new to me. I came away from this collection keen to read novels by Reginald Hill, Medora Sale, Patricia Moyes and Evelyn E Smith.
I given each story a rating and a short review below.
COUNTERFEIT CHRISTMAS by Charlotte MacLeod ★★★
I almost skipped this story when I saw it featured Peter Shandy. A few years ago, I tried to read Charlotte MacLeod Christmas crib novel ‘Rest You Merry’, featuring Peter Shandy. I abandoned it on Christmas Eve unfinished. The only thing I enjoyed about it was writing a piece of doggrel as a review. If you’re curious, you can find it HERE.
Despite my earlier experience, I decided to give ‘Counterfeit Christmas’ a try. I’m glad I did. It was slight but charming story, full of Christmas spirit but free from maudlin sentimentality. I enjoyed watching Shandy come up with a clever and pleasant way of dealing with a counterfeiter.
Now I’m wondering if I judged ‘Rest You Merry’ too harshly.
THE RUNNING OF THE DEER by Reginald Hill ★★★★
I haven’t read any of Reginald Hill’s books, although I enjoyed the TV adaptation of his Dalziel and Pascoe stories. I had no idea that he had a series featuring Joe Sixsmith, a black Brit from Luton who used his redundancy money to set himself up as a Private Detective.
‘The Running of the Deer’ was a good introduction to Joe. He’s not your usual PI. He has no idea what he’s doing really. But he has knack for finding things out, even if it’s sometimes by accident. This story took him from Luton to the wilds of Cumbria where he floundered about on the hills, fell into a bog and drank with the locals until he finally figured out what was really going on. It was clever, down to earth and delivered with wry humour.
I’ll be reading more Reginald Hill, starting with ‘Blood Sympathy’
LIZ PETERS, PI by Elizabeth Peters ★★★
This was a smile. It was Elizabeth Peters having fun with a Christmas story in which she casts herself as a mystery writer who is a PI on the side. The style was a playful tilt at noir. The story was 'Gumshoe' meets 'A Christmas Carol', (right down to having a candidate for Tiny Tim) plus some satire at the dumb behaviour of men. This managed to be cozy, ironic and slightly snarky all at the same time.
Plus, I learned that the USA, where the right to bear arms is written into the constitution, banned women from having hatpins of ten inches in length in case women used them as a lethal weapon. Could there be a more phallic symbol of male fragility? If you're interested, checck out this article in the Smithsonian Magazine
ANGELS by Medora Sale ★★★★
'Angels' is about a cold blooded assasination at a children's Christmas Pageant. The solution at the end is so rapid, if you blink you'll miss it. So I ought to be going - not cosy and a bit of s meh mystery. Instead I'm going - this really caught the atmosphere of a Christmas pageant at a posh girls' school, I liked the people, enjoyed the humour, found the idea original and thought the ending worked. I think that's all down to how Medora Sale writes.
The detective in this was borrowed from her six-book John Sanders/Harriet Jeffries Mystsery series. I'm going to give the first one. 'Murder On The Run' (1986) a try.
THE ONLY TRUE UNRAVELLER by John Malcolm ★★★★
On an unusually snowy Christmas Eve, two old friends walk through a cemetery, searching for a specific grave that one man wants to show the other. As the day darkens and the weather worsens, the civilised conversation between the two men develops an edge that builds into a sense of menace and then of doom. What was erudite becomes primal and deadly.
It’s beautifully done. The pace is perfectly controlled. The structure reminds me of Poe: inexorable, unhurried and chilling.
The story was published in 1991 but the language is that of an educated Englishman of the 1950s. It is rich, precise, complex but clear, giving the story a civilised tone deliberately at odds with th violent and visceral content.
THE JANUARY SALE STOWAWAY by Dorothy Cannell
The humour in this didn't work for me. It felt too much like a children's story so, I set it aside.
THE SANTA CLAUS CAPER by Bill Crider ★★
This was competently done but not my sort of thing. Neither of the two men in the story, both of whom were trying to date the same woman, interested me. They felt real enough, I just wouldn't want to spend time with either of them. The woman fell more like a concept than a person. The story didn't capture my interest because it was more about the two men than about solving the slight but clever mystery of who was stealing from the department store at Christmas.
FAMILY CHRISTMAS by Patricia Moyes ★★★
A sad, slightly dark tale, told in a gentle almost whimsical tone that made everything sound harmless and cosy when it was actually lethal and tragic.
I admired the storytelling. It's reminded me that I have Patricia Moyes' debut novel 'Dead Men Don't Ski' in my TBR. I must dig it out soon.
MISS MELVILLE REJOICES by Evelyn E. Smith ★★★★★
This was fun. Dark, quirky fun but fun all the same and with a Festive feel. Yes it's a story about an assassin but she's a civilised, interesting assassin who intends to kill someone who does not deserve to be allowed to live. True, killing on Christmas Eve is a little tacky but you have to play the hand you're dealt.
This was my first encounter with Miss Melville, Evelyn Smith's wonderful creation, but it won't be my last. I'm adding 'Miss Melville Regrets' (1986) to my shelves.
TWO IN THE BUSH by Eric Wright ★★★
A story about East End criminals sorting out their grievances at Christmas time was unlikely to win my heart. Even so, my curiosity pulled me into the story. I needed to know how the criminals were going to use the Salvation Army to take down their opponent.
THE FABULOUS NICK by Mickey Friedman ★★★★
A fun tale of Santa, posing as Chimney repair man, solving a crime that has resulted in a young boy hating Santa. This was simple but engaging. I enjoyed meeting Santa. The puzzle was interesting. And I found out just how much of a cookie addict Santa is.
A POLICTICAL NECESSITY ★★★★
I'll happily confess to bias here. A big part of my enjoyment of the story was my growing hope that a slime-ball Tory politician was going to get what he deserved rather than what he was certain he was entitled to. The rest of my enjoyment came from trying to figure out how that would happen. I didn't see the twist coming but I enjoyed it when it arrived and I enjoyed the satirical tone throughout.
I also learned about the existence of the Norwegian Christmas Gnome. It was mentioned so I had to look it up. Now I know who really delivers the presents in much of Scandinavia. If you're interested, heres a link to NISSE
FRUITCAKE, MERCY AND BLACK-EYED PEAS by Margaret Maron ★★★
A heartwarming tale with a distinctive North Carolina flavour. Set between Christmas and New Year's day, this story made me smile because it managed to be kind and credible while looking squarely in the eye of some difficult things. Not cosy in an unrealistic way, but human and gentle and full of the best kind of Christmas spirit. show less
All 13 stories are original to this anthology. Seven of them are about mystery series characters, so if you love that series, you'll want this book. My favorite story is "Counterfeit Christmas," in which Peter Shandy is confronted by another mystery at Balaclava Agricultural College's Grand Illumination. It's a sweet tale and I'm glad that Peter & Helen's cat, Jane Austen, has a good role in it. I rate that one five stars.
It's three stars for the Joe Sixsmith story, "The Running of the Deer" by Reginald Hill. I like Joe and his cat, Whitey. I liked the author's descriptions, such as Joe thinking that Skellbreak Hall looked like a Hammer Films sort of place. It just doesn't make me want to check our local library's online catalog to see show more if they have more of Joe's adventures.
That's pretty much the way I feel about the other series stories, except for Ellie Haskell, which I've been collecting for years, and the Deborah Knott, which sounds interesting.
The other five-star story for me is "Liz Peters, PI" by Elizabeth Peters. I laughed aloud at this parody of "mean streets" mysteries, especially at the way Liz' six cats protected her from her nemesis. (Invoking "Saint Kinsey" as the patron saint of private eyes was another good one.)
The John Sanders & Harriet Jeffries story, "Angels" by Medora Sale was more fun when two teachers in charge of their school's annual Christmas festival of carols were having to cope with potential disaster than when the police were having to investigate a murder, although there were still some touches that made me smile in the latter part.
"The Only True Unraveller" by John Malcolm interested me with the biographical tidbits about Arthur Sullivan of Gilbert & Sullivan and his beloved Fanny Ronalds. I wish I could have seen a photo of her in her illuminated harp-shaped crown. At least her Wikipedia entry has a photo of the very gravestone mentioned in the story. Fans of unnerving cemetery chases should enjoy this one.
Ellie Haskell was probably still Ellie Simons in "The January Sale Stowaway" by Dorothy Cannell since there's no mention of Ben. Ellie's Cousin Hilda is telling her about the one dark secret of her life. Although this story was written years before impatient bargain hunters trampled a Long Island Walmart employee to death on Black Friday in 2008 and a woman used pepper spray on 20 other Black Friday shoppers in 2011; Hilda's description of the January sale behavior at Bossom's Departmental Store is bad enough. I can hardly blame her for the means she took to try to avoid the crowd. As one might expect in a Dorothy Cannell mystery, things do not turn out as Hilda planned, but an amusing time is had.
The Professor Carl Burns story, "The Santa Claus Caper," by Bill Crider, is also amusing -- in a wince while you chuckle way. (Mr. Crider was kind enough to confirm that his Pecan City is fictional and in no way related to the real-life Pecan City, Texas that was apparently defunct by 1936.)
"Family Christmas" by Patricia Moyes is a cautionary tale. It was written well enough, but it left me a little sad.
Evelyn E. Smith's "Miss Melville Rejoices" did not satisfy because I wouldn't have minded two deaths for the price of one story. I can't fault Miss Melville's planning, though.
"Two in the Bush" by Eric Wright boasts no actual murder, but the planning and carrying out of the caper was fun.
"The Fabulous Nick" by Mickey Friedman is a nice story and the only one in the book to feature Santa Claus himself. Nick makes a pretty good amateur sleuth.
"A Political Necessity" by Robert Barnard is not a nice story at all, but the end helps.
Margaret Maron's "Fruitcake, Mercy, and Black-Eyed Peas'" is the Deborah Knott story, written before the first Knott novel came out. It's both sad and heart-warming. Ms. Maron has kindly explained that although Deborah Knott's first appearance in print was "Deborah's Judgment" in A Woman's Eye, edited by Sarah Paretsky; the action in "Fruitcake, Mercy, and Black-Eyed Peas'" probably came first because Deborah was not yet running for judge, which she was doing in "Deborah's Judgment". Speaking of fruitcake, I wouldn't mind tasting Deborah's Aunt Zell's even though I own a 'NO FRUITCAKE' button.
For fellow Peter Shandy fans who don't want to rack their brains trying to figure out in which mystery a Shandy & company fact appears: Peter played a cornet in his high school band, Dr. Porble writes down the Dewey Decimal Code for what he's thinking that he won't tell you & then scratches it out, Porble has a sneaky smile, Thorkjeld Svensen has already celebrated the 25th anniversary of becoming Balaclava's president, Shirley Wrenne took his photo for the celebration program, and Miss Viola Harp has been doing the calligraphy for the college diplomas for 27 years as well as being the artist who drew the picture of the administration building for the college stationery.
I recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of any of the series represented. If you aren't, you still might find these stories a pleasant way to spend some time.
Mark Hess is the artist for the cover with the four stockings hanging from a fireplace mantel. A noose is hanging in the middle. show less
It's three stars for the Joe Sixsmith story, "The Running of the Deer" by Reginald Hill. I like Joe and his cat, Whitey. I liked the author's descriptions, such as Joe thinking that Skellbreak Hall looked like a Hammer Films sort of place. It just doesn't make me want to check our local library's online catalog to see show more if they have more of Joe's adventures.
That's pretty much the way I feel about the other series stories, except for Ellie Haskell, which I've been collecting for years, and the Deborah Knott, which sounds interesting.
The other five-star story for me is "Liz Peters, PI" by Elizabeth Peters. I laughed aloud at this parody of "mean streets" mysteries, especially at the way Liz' six cats protected her from her nemesis. (Invoking "Saint Kinsey" as the patron saint of private eyes was another good one.)
The John Sanders & Harriet Jeffries story, "Angels" by Medora Sale was more fun when two teachers in charge of their school's annual Christmas festival of carols were having to cope with potential disaster than when the police were having to investigate a murder, although there were still some touches that made me smile in the latter part.
"The Only True Unraveller" by John Malcolm interested me with the biographical tidbits about Arthur Sullivan of Gilbert & Sullivan and his beloved Fanny Ronalds. I wish I could have seen a photo of her in her illuminated harp-shaped crown. At least her Wikipedia entry has a photo of the very gravestone mentioned in the story. Fans of unnerving cemetery chases should enjoy this one.
Ellie Haskell was probably still Ellie Simons in "The January Sale Stowaway" by Dorothy Cannell since there's no mention of Ben. Ellie's Cousin Hilda is telling her about the one dark secret of her life. Although this story was written years before impatient bargain hunters trampled a Long Island Walmart employee to death on Black Friday in 2008 and a woman used pepper spray on 20 other Black Friday shoppers in 2011; Hilda's description of the January sale behavior at Bossom's Departmental Store is bad enough. I can hardly blame her for the means she took to try to avoid the crowd. As one might expect in a Dorothy Cannell mystery, things do not turn out as Hilda planned, but an amusing time is had.
The Professor Carl Burns story, "The Santa Claus Caper," by Bill Crider, is also amusing -- in a wince while you chuckle way. (Mr. Crider was kind enough to confirm that his Pecan City is fictional and in no way related to the real-life Pecan City, Texas that was apparently defunct by 1936.)
"Family Christmas" by Patricia Moyes is a cautionary tale. It was written well enough, but it left me a little sad.
Evelyn E. Smith's "Miss Melville Rejoices" did not satisfy because I wouldn't have minded two deaths for the price of one story. I can't fault Miss Melville's planning, though.
"Two in the Bush" by Eric Wright boasts no actual murder, but the planning and carrying out of the caper was fun.
"The Fabulous Nick" by Mickey Friedman is a nice story and the only one in the book to feature Santa Claus himself. Nick makes a pretty good amateur sleuth.
"A Political Necessity" by Robert Barnard is not a nice story at all, but the end helps.
Margaret Maron's "Fruitcake, Mercy, and Black-Eyed Peas'" is the Deborah Knott story, written before the first Knott novel came out. It's both sad and heart-warming. Ms. Maron has kindly explained that although Deborah Knott's first appearance in print was "Deborah's Judgment" in A Woman's Eye, edited by Sarah Paretsky; the action in "Fruitcake, Mercy, and Black-Eyed Peas'" probably came first because Deborah was not yet running for judge, which she was doing in "Deborah's Judgment". Speaking of fruitcake, I wouldn't mind tasting Deborah's Aunt Zell's even though I own a 'NO FRUITCAKE' button.
For fellow Peter Shandy fans who don't want to rack their brains trying to figure out in which mystery a Shandy & company fact appears: Peter played a cornet in his high school band, Dr. Porble writes down the Dewey Decimal Code for what he's thinking that he won't tell you & then scratches it out, Porble has a sneaky smile, Thorkjeld Svensen has already celebrated the 25th anniversary of becoming Balaclava's president, Shirley Wrenne took his photo for the celebration program, and Miss Viola Harp has been doing the calligraphy for the college diplomas for 27 years as well as being the artist who drew the picture of the administration building for the college stationery.
I recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of any of the series represented. If you aren't, you still might find these stories a pleasant way to spend some time.
Mark Hess is the artist for the cover with the four stockings hanging from a fireplace mantel. A noose is hanging in the middle. show less
Some of your favorite mystery writers are likely to be found in this collection of short stories. The villains may be the next door neighbor, or even someone living much closer, like a spouse. Horrors! And sometimes, turnabout is fair play. Whatever the season, these tales are perfect for a fast read in the evening, and may even elicit a chuckle when the evil person gets his or maybe even hers.
A mystery short-story anthology. Some of the stories were better than others, but thank goodness, they were all readable mystery stories--not those weird navel-gazing symbolic ones you can only really get into if you're a drunk, high, sleep-deprived college student (er... not that I'd know anything about that). I bought the book for the Evelyn E. Smith story about Mrs. Melville. Her middle-aged female assassin was such fun. I'd so woed that she only wrote 4 books and the short story in this anthology about her.
This is a collection of short stories by a variety of authors. Some of them are fairly good, but others are not so great. I have not read the author’s other collection of stories, so I cannot compare them. I also have not read other works by the authors, so I was very unfamiliar with their styles and any characters they may have included in other books or short stories. For me, the stories were okay, just not great. They lacked the suspense and excitement I have found in other similar short stories and novels. In addition, in a couple, the jargon used was very unfamiliar to me, so I had to continually stop and try to figure out what the author meant or look the term up. These cases, in particular, were very British, and I figured I show more just was not familiar enough to know British slang terms. However, this did not lend to my enjoyment of the story. I looked forward to this collection, as I love mysteries and enjoy themed stories, but, after reading the book, came away disappointed and unsatisfied. There were few times I was eager to read on to see what was going to happen, but, in some cases, I was more than ready to have the story end before it did (a first for me when reading this genre). I was not quite sure about the short author (I assume it was the author) introductions before each story, as I did not find that they added much to the tales. They were in italics, so at least I knew they were not part of the story and when they began and ended. Finally, I figure this is a good book to read if you are looking for something short that relates to the holiday, or if you are familiar with any of the authors or their other works. In addition, since each story is separate, you can pick up and put down the book easily, which helps during this busy season. I received this from NetGalley to read and review. show less
Warning: Biased opinion here. I don't like crime novels and I really don't like reading British-type novels that are supposed to be scary or suspenseful because they turn out to be neither for me. Way to much propriety and beating around the bush for me. This book was in my TBR pile as a gift & I thought I'd give it a whirl. I did not like it at all but I feel that others who enjoy detective/crime novels might.
A compilation of short mystery stories with a theme of Christmas, compiled by Charlotte MacLeod.
I had never read most of the authors in this book, and I'll be honest, with the exception of one, I doubt I'll ever read any of them again. The stories were O.K. They didn't thrill, mystify or enchant. My favorite in the book, which I intend to look for more of, was Margaret Maron.
I had never read most of the authors in this book, and I'll be honest, with the exception of one, I doubt I'll ever read any of them again. The stories were O.K. They didn't thrill, mystify or enchant. My favorite in the book, which I intend to look for more of, was Margaret Maron.
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ThingScore 50
Continuing in the tradition of her 1989 collection, Mistletoe Mysteries, MacLeod and 12 others offer 13 Christmas-themed stories of, mostly, the ``Bah, humbug!'' variety.
added by JalenV
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Christmas Reading
142 works; 5 members
Author Information
Charlotte MacLeod was born in Bath, New Brunswick, Canada on November 12, 1922. She immigrated to the United States in 1923 and became a naturalized citizen in 1951. She attended the School of Practical Art, now the Art Institute of Boston. She was a staff artist and copywriter at Stop and Shop supermarkets from 1945 to 1952. She also worked at show more N.H. Miller & Co. advertising firm from 1952 to 1982 starting as a copy chief and ending up as a Vice President. She wrote two series under her own name, a Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn Mystery series and the Peter Shandy Mystery series. She also wrote two series under the pseudonym Alisa Craig, the Madoc and Janet Rhys Mystery series and the Grub-and-Stakers series. She also wrote Had She But Known: A Biography of Mary Roberts Rinehart and a dozen juvenile books. She won five American Mystery awards and a Nero Wolfe award. She edited the anthologies Mistletoe Mysteries and Christmas Stalkings. She is the co-founder and past president of the American Crime Writers League. She died on January 14, 2005 at the age of 82. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
All Editions
Some Editions
Awards and Honors
Awards
Series
Ellie Haskell
14 works (short story: 'The January Sale Stowaway')
Harriet Jeffries, John Sanders
7 works (3a?, Short story: 'Angels')
Miss Melville
5 works (Collections and Selections — Miss Melville Rejoices, 4.5)
Joe Sixsmith
5 works (Short Stories — Short story: 'The Running of the Deer')
Peter Shandy
11 works (8.5, 'Counterfeit Christmas')
Deborah Knott
21 works (Collections and Selections — 0.1 Short story: 'Fruitcake, Mercy, and Black-Eyed Peas')
Belongs to Publisher Series
DuMont's Kriminal-Bibliothek (1127)
Work Relationships
Contains
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Christmas Stalkings
- Original publication date
- 1991
- People/Characters
- Peter Shandy (Counterfeit Christmas); Helen Marsh Shandy; Moira Haskins; Silvester Lomax; Purvis Mink; Gerry Pascoe (student) (show all 117); Kathy Bunce (student); Clarice Sissler (student); Mary Enderble (retired professor's wife); Miss Viola Harp (Clarice's great-aunt); Ambrose Nettleton (The Running of the Deer); Joe Sixsmith; Miss Negus; Anthony Nettleton; Mary Hunnisage Nettleton (Mrs. Ambrose, Sir Andrew's 2nd cousin); Eddie Stamp (local man); Dave (Hunnisage Arms landlord); Charley (local man); Sir Andrew Hunnisage of Hunnisage Manor; Liz Peters (PI); Jaz (local man); Sheriff Bludger; Grannie (local woman); Danny (Grannie's grandson); Mary Jo (works for Jaz); Rick (works at the DEA); Annabel Cousins (drama teacher, Kingsmede School, Angels); Heather (student playing an angel); Jennifer (student playing an angel); Erica Henry (student, track star, playing a shepherd); Laura (student playing a shepherd); Helen Armstrong (English teacher); Mary (student playing Mary); Deborah Levinson (student playing Joseph); Toronto Police Inspector John Sanders; Sergeant Ed Dubinsky; Ashley Wallace (missing student, would have played an angel); Wilfred Wallace (Minister of Justice, Ashley's father); Cynthia Toomey (teacher, last-minute angel substitute); Harriet Jeffries (architechtural photographer); Jeff Toomey (Cynthia's husband, photographer); Quentin Cranbrook (biographer, The Only True Unraveller); Jill Cranbrook (Quentin Cranbrook's wife); Jones (widowed narrator); Mary Frances Carter Ronalds (her grave & life are important to this story); Arthur Sullivan (of Gilbert & Sullivan, Mary's lover); Hilda Jane Finnely (Ellie's cousin, The January Sale Stowaway); Ellie Simons (Giselle, probably not yet Haskell); Mrs. McClusky (can she be called Hilda's friend?); Mr. Leslie Bossam (owns Bossam's Departmental Store); Albert Hoskins (Bossam's Father Christmas); R.M. "Boss" Napier (Chief, Pecan City, Texas, police The Santa Claus Caper); Carl Burns (Hartley Gorman College English teacher); Elaine Tanner (Hartley Gorman College librarian); Don Elliott (director, readers' theater's 'A Christmas Carol'); Mayor Riley (of Pecan City, Texas); Jay Cameron (owns Cameron's Department Store); Mrs. Roy Branton (Christmas shopper); Larry Branton (her young son); Franklin Miller (President, Hartley Gorman College); Marion Everson (editor, Pecan City's newspaper); Gene Vale (Pecan City Chamber of Commerce President); Mal Tomlin (Hartley Gorman College faculty member); Earl Fox (Hartley Gorman College faculty member); Mary Runfold (wife and mother, Family Christmas); Robert Runford (her husband, fathered her kids); Parker (the Runfords' butler); Mrs. Benson (the Runfords' cook); Anne Runford Walters (elder daughter); Derek (Anne's husband, pharmacist); Alison Runford Watts (younger daughter); Philip Watts (Alison's husband, veterinary surgeon); Dr. Carlton (the Runfords' doctor); Susan Melville (founder, the Melville Foundation, Miss Melville Rejoices); Matthew Zimwi (deposed dictator of Mazigaziland); Dr. Peter Franklin (Melville Foundation Director, Miss Melville's lover); Tony Tuttle (fashion designer); Mimi Fitzhorn von Schwabe (Fitzhorn Foundation's Winter Gala hostess); Dr. Katherine Froehlich (Dr. Franklin's assistant); Dr. Nestor (Christmas party guest); Dr. Rappaport (Christmas party guest); Dr. Kimmelman (Christmas party guest); Dr. Pastore (Christmas party guest); The Boozer (narrator's former cellmate & current roomie, Two in the Bush); Clyde Parker (owns the Old Bush beer parlor); Toothy Maclean (The Boozer's reliable lookout); Old Perry (a fence, but no narc); Danny Boy (a sincere, but terrible singer); Narrator's wife (doesn't want him back); Digger Ray (trombone player, fake sucker in crooked card games); Hooligan Halligan (their ace in the hole); Sister Anna; Santa Claus (alias Nick Santos, The Fabulous Nick); Jason Thomas McGuire (child who hates Santa); Carol McGuire (Jason's mother); Matt McGuire (Jason's father, building superintendent); Mr. Barnaby Gough (tenant); Felicia Fairlie (tenant); Gaston Duvivier (top-floor tenant); George (Member of Parliment for Dundee Kirkside, A Political Necessity); Annabelle (George's wife); Gavin (their little son); Janet (their little daughter); the Prime Minister; Margrethe (George & Annabelle's Norwegian au pair); Deborah Knott (a lawyer, Fruitcake, Mercy, and Black-Eyed Peas); Aunt Zell Stephenson Smith (short for 'Ozella,' Deborah's maternal aunt); Miz Utley (a magistrate); Marnolla Faison (Deborah's client); Billy Tyson (owns of the Bigg Shoppe); Miss Sallie Anderson (elderly resident); Avis (Marnolla's daughter); Sid (Avis' father); Lynette DiLaurenzio (a girl in trouble); Tracey Johnson (one of the D.A. sharpest assistants); Randolph Englert (Fruitcake, Mercy, and Black-Eyed Peas); Davis Reed (Fruitcake, Mercy, and Black-Eyed Peas)
- Important places
- Balaclava Agricultural College, Massachusetts, USA; Cumbria, England, UK; Maryland, USA; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Brompton Cemetery, London, England, UK; Oxham, England, UK (show all 11); Pecan City, Texas, USA; New York, New York, USA; Greenwich Village, New York, New York, USA; London, England, UK; Dobbs, Colleton County, North Carolina, USA
- First words
- Deck the halls with boughs of holly,
Fa, la la la la, la la, la la. (Counterfeit Christmas)
Nettleton was a tall, tweedy man in late middle age with a face like one of those snooty dogs that rich folk crap up poor folk's parks with. (The Running of the Deer)
I did not have a hangover. (Liz Peters, PI)
Annabel Cousins looked at her watch. (Angels)
Submit to fate without unseemly wrangle
Such complications frequently occur
Life is one complicated tangle
Death is the only true unraveller
The Grand Inquisitor
The Gondoliers
by Gilbert and Sul... (show all)livan
(The Only True Unraveller)
Who would have guessed that Cousin Hilda had a dark secret? (The January Sale Stowaway)
Pum-pum-pum-pum-puuum-pum--pum-pum-pum-pum-pum. [imitating the theme to the old TV show, Hawaii Five-O ] (The Santa Claus Caper)
Good King Wenceslas looked out
On the feast of Stephen... (Family Christmas)
Darkness had fallen and a light snow was beginning to come down as a dim figure swathed in a voluminous raincoat crept furtively down the short flight of steps that led into the sunken yard of a white limestone-fronted buildi... (show all)ng on a quiet, expensive street on New York City's quiet, expensive East Side. (Miss Melville Rejoices)
From the day The Boozer became my cell mate and first told me about Clyde Parker, it took us nearly a year to set him up. (Two in the Bush)
Nick gets a lot of mail, most of it predictable variations of 'Gimme'. (The Fabulous Nick)
It must be rare for the first thought of a newly appointed government minister to be: Now is the time to kill my wife. (A Political Necessity)
Marnolla's first question when I bailed her out of jail was, What's a revisichist? (Fruitcake, Mercy, and Black-Eyed Peas) - Quotations
- Jane was not on the stoop, nor yet on the walk. She, the dedicated house cat, was over on the green. She, the snob who shunned all lesser felines, the timid soul who wouldn't even go back across the Crescent to visit her own ... (show all)mother at the Enderbles', was leading a squad of racous felines in a concerted attack on the third gingerbread house. (Counterfeit Christmas)
My desk squatted there like an archaeological mound, layers-deep in the accumulated garbage of living. I had to step over a couple of bodies to get to it. There was another limp carcass on my chair. When I moved it, it bit me... (show all). (Liz Peters, PI)
Fighting my way out, I saw once respectable women coshing each other with handbags, or throttling people as they tried to hitchhike piggyback rides. (The January Sale Stowaway)
She swung her purse and hit him on the side of the head. The purse was so heavy Burns thought it might have a compact car inside it. (The Santa Claus Caper)
That effectively stopped her, as he had known it would. He was an anthropologist; he knew the customs of her tribe. If she had been married to him, she could have put her foot down, but he was her lover -- had been her lover ... (show all)for more years than most marriages endured in her circle -- and so she had an obligation to him that would not have devolved upon a wife. (Miss Melville Rejoices)
Nick is a connoisseur of cookies, and Gaston Duvivier's chocolate cookie is the best cookie he has ever had. (The Fabulous Nick)
[about Aunt Zell's fruitcake] For starters, she uses Colleton County nuts. Not those puny dried-up English walnuts you can get in the grocery store, but thick, meaty pecans and rich black walnuts. She goes easy on the citr... (show all)on and heavy on her home-dried apples and figs. When the dark, dense loaves come out of the oven in late October, the first thing Aunt Zell does, before they're even cool, is wrap them up in cheesecloth and slosh on a generous splash of what she euphemistically calls 'Kezzie's special apple juice." They get basted like that every week till Christmas. (Fruitcake, Mercy, and Black-Eyed Peas) - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)If you mend your rowdy ways, maybe we'll ask Mrs. Santa Claus to bake you a nice fresh catnip cowpat. (Counterfeit Christmas)
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)But just about right for a rat. (The Running of the Deer)
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)What the heck, you only live once. (Liz Peters, PI)
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)For real, this time. (Angels)
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)The final entangler of Jill and me. (The Only True Unraveller)
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)The teapot had pink and yellow roses. (The January Sale Stowaway)
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Book him, Tim-O, he said. (The Santa Claus Caper)
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)With all my love,
Mother. (Family Christmas)
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)And then again, maybe she wouldn't. (Miss Melville Rejoices)
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Even on a good day, you can't win every race. (Two in the Bush)
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Nick hopes, he really hopes, that Gaston Duvivier believes in Santa Claus. (The Fabulous Nick)
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)All right, buster: open it. (A Political Necessity)
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)He already has. (Fruitcake, Mercy, and Black-Eyed Peas)
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, Mystery
- DDC/MDS
- 813.08720833 — Literature & rhetoric American literature in English American fiction in English By type Genre fiction Adventure fiction Mystery fiction Collections
- LCC
- PS648 .D4 .C48 — Language and Literature American literature American literature Collections of American literature Prose (General)
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 226
- Popularity
- 144,047
- Reviews
- 9
- Rating
- (3.32)
- Languages
- English, German
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 12
- ASINs
- 2
