From the Bookshelf of Reading the Detectives…

Silent Nights: Christmas Mysteries

Martin Edwards

Start date: December 15, 2023

Finish date: January 9, 2023

Discussion: Buddy reads

Why we're reading this: Suggested by members for the festive season.
[close] Suggested by members for the festive season.

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What Members Thought

Nov 18, 2023 Susan in NC rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: tbr-with-gr-groups, kindle, library-book

3.5 stars for this Christmas-themed collection of short stories. I’ve read a few of these British Library Crime Classics collections, and they are generally a mixed bag, some more entertaining and engaging than others; usually depends on the reader’s preferred mystery style.

Here we have some classics, like the first story, The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle - a Sherlock Holmes Short Story by Arthur Conan Doyle, which was fun and interesting and involved a hat, a goose (or was it a turkey? Sorr 3.5 stars for this Christmas-themed collection of short stories. I’ve read a few of these British Library Crime Classics collections, and they are generally a mixed bag, some more entertaining and engaging than others; usually depends on the reader’s preferred mystery style.

Here we have some classics, like the first story, The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle - a Sherlock Holmes Short Story by Arthur Conan Doyle, which was fun and interesting and involved a hat, a goose (or was it a turkey? Sorry, I forget), and a precious gem. Holmes of course solves the case, and shows some Christmas mercy on the repentant thief. I also enjoyed the Dorothy Sayers story and the Margery Allingham, because who wouldn’t want to spend Christmas at a country house party with Lord Peter Wimsey or Albert Campion. Wimsey finds a stolen necklace and Campion saves a young man from making a foolish mistake involving espionage, and both were good.

If you prefer gothic horror or suspense, there are a few stories that may not inspire a jolly spirit, but will definitely raise the hair on the back of your neck! One involving a night in a supposedly haunted waxworks museum, another involving a demented, vengeful husband willing to go to extraordinary lengths to punish the wife who never loved him and her former sweetheart, and then a lady drawn back to her childhood home full of sad memories at the same time an elderly neighbor has been brutally murdered. All were very well done and ratcheted up the tension.

There was some humor thanks to Gervase Fen and Sergeant Beef. I was not impressed with a few and skipped them after trying and failing to get into them. A short story needs to draw a reader in fairly quickly, in my opinion, or it doesn’t work; the great thing with these collections is you can move to the next story! I’ve given brief summaries in my reading progress directly after reading each story, while it was fresh in my mind. I only read 1-2 a day, so they would not all run together! ...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Dec 01, 2021 Bev rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, vintage-mystery, anthology, shortstories, british-mystery, mcpl-book, virtual-mount-tbr-2021, christmas

One of several seasonal Golden Age short story collections put together by the British Library Crime Classics. Christmas in England in the Golden Age of mystery is a time to gather in country houses with family and friends, to have goose and plum pudding, to play games of charades, perform homespun theatricals, and perhaps perform a magic trick or two. The authors of the stories in this collection perform some tricks of their own--revealing the solutions to mysteries of missing jewels, purloined ...more

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Dec 01, 2023 Susan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Although I am not normally a fan of short stories, this is a good collection of Golden Age detective stories with a Christmas theme. Some are rare, others better known, with some very popular authors and others now less known. As such, it has appeal to those who may just pick it up looking for a Christmas read and to those who are fans of the genre.

The stories are:
The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle: Arthus Conan Doyle
Parlour Tricks: Ralph Plummer
A Happy Solution: Raymund Allen
The Flying Stars: ...more

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Jan 25, 2023 Sarah G rated it liked it

Solid enjoyable short stories, with a decent possibility of puzzling out the answers. I liked the Nicholas Blake one in particular in that respect, with the answers at the end of the book.

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