I have now read 17 of the 26 stories in Murder for Christmas, edited by Thomas Godfrey. I did not read all of those this month; some of them I had read previously in other anthologies.
These are the last four stories I read in this book.
"Back for Christmas" by John Collier
This is a short but effective story with a very clever ending. Dr. Carpenter and his wife are going to America for a lecture tour. Mrs. Carpenter has told all her friends that they will be back in England for Christmas, but he has other plans. This story was broadcast on television in 1956 as part of the first season of Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
"A Christmas Tragedy" by Baroness Orczy
This is the first piece of writing by Orczy that I have read. This short story tells how Lady Molly solves the mystery of murder of Major Ceely on Christmas Eve. She and her maid Mary were staying at Major Ceely's home, Clevere Hall, when the murder occurs. The introduction to the story by Thomas Godfrey indicates that there are a series of Lady Molly of Scotland Yard stories; the stories are told by Mary, her faithful maid. Twelve stories in the series were published in Lady Molly of Scotland Yard in 1910.
"Dancing Dan's Christmas" by Damon Runyon
This story was a lot of fun and had a great ending, but as usual when I am reading Damon Runyon's prose, I was confused by the street talk and many quirky characters. The story was originally published in Collier's Magazine in 1932.
"Christmas Party" by Rex Stout
I have read all of the mystery fiction by Rex Stout, multiple times, and this story was no exception. But it has been nine years since I read it last, and I have always enjoyed it. "Christmas Party" features Nero Wolfe and his assistant, Archie and is one of four stories in And Four to Go by Rex Stout. The story is 70 pages long, so it is really a novella.
The story starts with Archie refusing to accompany Wolfe to a meeting with a well-known horticulturalist because he already has plans to attend a Christmas party at a ex-client's business. I reviewed "Christmas Party" in 2014 in this blog post.
If you are interested in a list of all the stories in Murder for Christmas, check out George Kelley's review at his blog.
I do have a bonus Christmas story, from the Guardian. My husband sent me a link to the story and I read it immediately. It was just the right length.
"Yankee Swap" by Jonathan Escoffery
This story is set during the Christmas season, on a snowy day in Boston. The main character, Nathan, occasionally drives his car for a rideshare company, and on this day he does it because he needs extra money to fund his airplane flight to South Florida to visit his family for Christmas. The person who called the car for a ride is his ex-fiancee’s husband. Nathan is curious about this man, the man he blames for blowing up his world nearly three years earlier. I loved the way the story is told, how more about each of the characters is revealed during the ride. A very nice story, and a good story to read any time of the year.
The link to this story is here.
8 comments:
Runyon's colorful slang and relentless use of the present tense become more easily-digested the more one reads his work...it can be great fun.
And thanks for the Bonus story at the link...I hope to check it out today.
Happy New Year!
Todd, I had wondered if it would be easier to read Runyon's stories in batches, to get used to his style. I will try that. We have a big book of his short stories.
I hope you enjoy the bonus story.
Happy New Year to you too.
You've chosen some really interesting Christmas stories, but I'm particularly taken by the Nero Wolfe one and the one by Jonathan Escoffery. I love the way that so many of my favorite writers use their series characters in standalone Christmas stories. Craig Johnson has done a wonderful job of that with his Walt Longmire character, for instance.
That's a lot of Christmas reading. Are you still energized or ready for a break from Christmas stories? Some of them do sound pretty good though. Happy New Year.
I'm curious about Yankee Swap, having just participated in my first one at work. Plus, I like Boston settings.
Came across this list - have you seen it? https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/tip-sheet/article/91970-ten-spy-novels-to-read-before-you-die.html
Kim is the only one I have read. I think I would appreciate it more now than I did in 10th grade English. I have a friend who loves Modesty Blaise so I tried it but could not get into it at all. The same author wrote several romantic suspense books as Madeleine Brent which I did like.
Happy New Year!
Sam, I love the Rex Stout story. I don't reread the books with three or four stories in them as much as the full length novels, but I hope to do more of that in 2024.
I liked the story by Escoffery very much and was very glad my husband found it for me. I need to seek out short story by Craig Johnson. I have read a couple of the novels but none of the short stories.
Susan, I am ready for a break from Christmas stories, although if I had some New Year's short stories, or a novel, I would welcome that. I wanted to finish all the stories in Murder for Christmas this year, but I guess they will be waiting for me next year.
I read a couple of Agatha Christie stories starring Miss Marple today (not Christmas related) and they were both fun.
Constance, I did think of you when I saw that the story was set in Boston. I will have to look for some novels set in Boston. I had never heard of a Yankee Swap.
Thanks for sending that link of Top Ten Spy novels, I had not seen it. I have only read four of them. I have a copy of Modesty Blaise but it is tiny print and I haven't tried to read it yet. I will have to look into all the other books on the list; some I have and some I had not heard of.
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