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A review by carolsnotebook
Mistletoe Mysteries by Dorothy Salisbury Davis, Susan Dunlap, Marcia Muller, Mary Higgins Clark, Bill Pronzini, Edward D. Hoch, John Lutz, Isaac Asimov, Sharyn McCrumb, Charlotte MacLeod, Peter Lovesey, Howard Engel, Aaron Elkins, Eric Wright, Henry Slesar
4.0
I don't know why, but I am more likely to pick up short story collections in December than any other time of year. It's even better when they're mysteries. This collection, like most, has high points and low points. I have read several of the authors before and discovered a couple I'd like to read more of.
A couple of my favorites: (okay, more than a couple. There were a lot of good stories here.)
"The Haunted Crescent" by Peter Lovesey has a great twist at the end that I didn't see coming.
"Dutch Treat" by Aaron Elkins was fun. I tend to like when art and murder go hand in hand.
"The Touch of Koyada" by Edward Hoch was another good one. I love how some writers can just pack so much into so few pages. I think I'll read more of his Simon Ark stories.
Of course, Pronzini's "Here Comes Santa Claus" was enjoyable. I like his Nameless Detective.
A few misses:
Dorothy Salisbury Davis' "Christopher and Maggie" just didn't keep my attention. I kept having to re-read bits to remember what was going on.
"The Live Tree" by John Lutz took a bit of a paranormal turn that didn't work for me.
This is definitely a collection worth reading around this time of year. Overall, the quality was good; none of the tales were absolutely terrible. It's pretty clean and pretty non-violent. They are not all murder mysteries, although most are.
A couple of my favorites: (okay, more than a couple. There were a lot of good stories here.)
"The Haunted Crescent" by Peter Lovesey has a great twist at the end that I didn't see coming.
"Dutch Treat" by Aaron Elkins was fun. I tend to like when art and murder go hand in hand.
"The Touch of Koyada" by Edward Hoch was another good one. I love how some writers can just pack so much into so few pages. I think I'll read more of his Simon Ark stories.
Of course, Pronzini's "Here Comes Santa Claus" was enjoyable. I like his Nameless Detective.
A few misses:
Dorothy Salisbury Davis' "Christopher and Maggie" just didn't keep my attention. I kept having to re-read bits to remember what was going on.
"The Live Tree" by John Lutz took a bit of a paranormal turn that didn't work for me.
This is definitely a collection worth reading around this time of year. Overall, the quality was good; none of the tales were absolutely terrible. It's pretty clean and pretty non-violent. They are not all murder mysteries, although most are.