My favorite story in Merry Murder (1994) is Julian Symons’s clever “Twixt the Cup and the Lip.” A greedy bookseller plans the perfect heist of the jewels at a department store. Unfortunately, his plan includes some sketchy accomplices. One key accomplice, Stacey, is depicted this way: “Stacey had two faults that prevent him form rising high in his profession. One was that he drank too much, the other that he was stupid.” (p. 201). Needless to say, the perfect crime unravels…entertainingly!
I also thoroughly enjoyed Joyce Porter’s “But Once a Year…Thank God!” about a charity party for young children that ends in the murder of one of the sponsors. Porter provides some delicious humor to her cunning mystery.
And there are classic stories: “The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Simenon’s “Matter of Life and Death,” “Rumpole and The Spirit of Christmas” by John Mortimer, and Rex Stout’s “Santa Claus Beat” (non-Nero Wolfe). The stories in Merry Murder were selected from three previous anthologies: Mystery for Christmas (1990), Murders for Christmas (1991), and Murder Under the Mistletoe (1992). Perfect mix of stories for the season! GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
| Rumpole and the spirit of Christmas / John Mortimer — 1 | ||
| Supper with Miss Shivers / Peter Lovesey — 14 | ||
| The adventure of the blue carbuncle / Sir Arthur Conan Doyle — 25 | ||
| A matter of life and death / Georges Simenon — 47 | ||
| I saw Mommy killing Santa Claus / George Baxt — 109 | ||
| Dead on Christmas Street / John D. MacDonald — 118 | ||
| The Christmas bear / Herbert Resnicow — 135 | ||
| Mystery for Christmas / Anthony Boucher — 151 | ||
| On Christmas Day in the morning / Margery Allingham — 168 | ||
| Santa Claus beat / Rex Stout — 179 | ||
| Who killed Father Christmas / Patricia Moyes — 184 | ||
| ‘Twixt the cup and the lip / Julian Symons — 195 | ||
| Auggie Wren’s Christmas story / Paul Auster — 225 | ||
| Murder at Christmas / C.M. Chan — 233 | ||
| Father Crumlish celebrates Christmas / Alice Scanlan Reach — 280 | ||
| The plot against Santa Claus / James Powell — 300 | ||
| Christmas cop / Thomas Larry Adcock — 324 | ||
| But once a year … thank God! / Joyce Porter — 337 | ||
| Christmas party / Martin Werber — 358 | ||
| Kelso’s Christmas / Malcolm McClintick — 367 | ||
| The spy and the Christmas cipher / Edward D. Hoch — 383 | ||
| The carol singers / Josephine Bell — 400 |
This is a good collection of writers, but I’ve never really understood what it is that appeals to people about holiday themed collections. So, not for me.
Michael, I like to see what writers do with the theme of crime at Christmas. Themed collections appeal to publishers and some readers. I read themed collections when I’m in the mood. I have one on WIZARDS that near the top of my Read Real Soon stack.
Hmm, I knew I’d read her anthologies but this didn’t sound familiar. Now I see I read a couple of the ones this was drawn from (Mistletoe being one of them). I do remember that Symons story, as well as the Doyle, Simenon and Mortimer.
Jeff, I own a couple of the other Christmas collections that MERRY MURDERS was assemble from. Like you, I was familiar with some of these stories, but many were new to me like the Porter (which was a hoot!).
This is really an A list of contributors. Be worth hunting down.
Patti, I think you’re right. Cynthia Manson “skimmed the cream” of the stories from those three anthologies to assemble MERRY MURDER.
Bah! Humbug!