It’s Year 2 of the Advent of Mystery! Over the next 12 days, I’ll share (short and sweet) thoughts on 12 crime and mystery books that are set at Christmas or have a Christmas theme to them. Like last year, I’ll work through both the quality of mystery and the actual Christmas coverage. This year, I’m adding a new criterion – whether the story actually drives any sense of holiday cheer. (After two years of deep holiday murder immersion, I find that’s far from certain to be the case.) And we’re moving to more modern stories compared to last year’s Golden Age theme – got to have some variety! (We’ll also see a bit more variety in format this year – last day was all novels, while I’ve included novellas and short story collections here.)

So without further delay, let’s get to it, starting with The Mistletoe Murder by P.D. James.

The Mistletoe Murders: a sinister start

It is now that I sheepishly admit, dear reader, that despite my love of crime writing, I have never read P.D. James. I know that many consider her a master of the genre, but I never encountered her growing up. So I decided to “dip my toe in” to her writing, starting with this holiday-themed collection of short stories.

The Mistletoe Murder is a collection of 4 short stories, 2 of which are set at Christmas. It’s a nice assortment of a country house murder, an urban crime, a cold case, and a locked-room with a detective. Two of the stories feature Adam Dalgliesh, James’ famous police protagonist. It’s a short, fast read, and James’ writing is compelling and engaging.

The crimes are dark…

It’s here that I reiterate that I have never read P.D. James before, and I think I get the appeal. Her stories have the structure and format and even similar methods of execution to Christie and Sayers, who I love. But there’s a sense of pragmatic, realistic darkness to James’s writing that gives it a different tone. This is someone who Writes About Murder, and I could absolutely enjoy reading novels with this style. (Maybe I should try an Adam Dalgiesh read-through next?)

I’m not sure, however, that the style works well in a short story – or perhaps it’s just not James’s best format. I found that the limited space worked against my enjoyment of the stories – either I was able to guess the solution, or I didn’t care enough about the characters to try. The puzzles themselves were quite twisty, but I found myself wishing for more time to settle into the vibe…

…and the themes darker

James’ short stories here center around the puzzle, and not around the conclusion. In contrast to her Golden Age predecessors, James takes less care for the impact on the victim. Instead, she explores the mental state required for murder, the darkness in the act of taking a life.

That makes for a much darker sort of story, even if it’s set at Christmas. While two of James’ stories are set on the holiday, they explore extremely dark themes and motivations, without any of the denouement or closing actions we see from Christie or Sayers. These are not stories to leave you with a warm glow – they’re full of angry people, in pain, with little chance for redemption. While technically two stories are on Christmas, they felt much more like mystery stories than ones that derived meaning from the holiday setting.

Reader’s notes and rating: 🎁 🎁 🎁🎀

I find that short stories are a wonderful way to get to know a writer, and I was definitely intrigued by what I read here. James’ mastery of the genre is clear and the puzzles are interesting enough. Half the stories also take place on literal Christmas, which certainly adds to the seasonal points. But the darker writing and the focus only on motives without the closure for victims keeps this a bit darker than I might expect from a “Christmas mystery”. The Mistletoe Murder is perhaps best read earlier in the month – or in Dead Week, after the holiday has passed, when you’re perhaps a bit tired / murderous already.

3.5 Christmas Presents.

Until tomorrow – stay cozy and stay curious!