Reviews

A Very Murderous Christmas: Ten Classic Crime Stories for the Festive Season by Cecily Gayford

beytwice's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

linseys_books's review against another edition

4.0

Short and sweet collection of themed short stories. Some fab, some meh.

helen's review against another edition

3.0

For some reason, in Britain, we've decided that Christmas + crime = comforting. G.K. Chesterton’s master criminal Flambeau summed it up when he said “my last crime was a Christmas crime, a cheery, cosy, English middle-class crime; a crime of Charles Dickens. I did it in a good old middle-class house near Putney, a house with a crescent of carriage drive, a house with a stable by the side of it, a house with the name on the two outer gates, a house with a monkey tree.”

My favourites in this collection were the Rumpole of the Bailey one, which has an excellent punchline, and the Anthony Horowitz one set in a Christmas cracker factory.

I could've done with a brief introduction to each short story, giving some context (e.g. original publication date, setting etc.).

purpleberryblue's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

jenniferw88's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

assassinsreader's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

This one was boring, skipped a few, nothing caught my attention a few were okay but this one isn't it.

mike_brough's review against another edition

4.0

One of the better Christmas Crime collections.

emdreading's review against another edition

3.0

3.5, enjoyable, cozy Christmas read

gertrudethemoonstone's review

funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

charlottesometimes's review against another edition

lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.75