Christmas Mysteries: New and Old

I have a fondness for publishers’ efforts to package a motley collection of mostly non-holiday themed stories under a a Christmas-y title, with perhaps 1-2 actual Yuletide tales. It’s a good way to put together what is effectively a miscellany of shorter works by authors who usually write novels. Since short stories can be ephemeral, it also brings hard-to-find stories to readers who will enjoy them.

The alternate form of this, which provides less holiday cheer, is the craven effort to urge the reading public into purchasing a single short story packaged as a novella, ideally in an expensive, hard-cover format. Think very short chapters, large-ish print, and tiny pages. This, my friends, is a cheat. And this year’s instance of this was one of my most unhappy holiday reading experiences, and I can only blame myself, because I tucked it into my own stocking.

Nita Prose has been making a mint with her Maid series. (This is my assumption, rather than based in empirical facts, I admit: New York Times Bestseller, instance success, adaptations to films in the works, blah blah blah.) All well and good, and she’s a Canadian writer (working under a pen name) and, until recently, a Canadian publishing exec.

And I liked(ish) the first and second novels in the series, although I find the plotting weak (hence my 3 stars on GoodReads, which, for me, indicates significant skepticism).

What gets all of the attention is her protagonist/first-person narrator, Molly (the titular maid) who, as in Mark Haddon’s Curious Incident, appears to be neurodivergent. I would be happier if Molly was labelled as such, because instead we have a naive optimist whose quirky differences result in her being bullied–or celebrated–and she’s never quite sure what to expect from other people. This is disquieting, and it’s a problem in a narrator, because the reader can piece together clues more effectively than Molly can when they involve vagaries of human behaviour.

So not quite my cup of tea, and also not my favourite way of representing disabilty/spectrum behaviours.

(Also, there’s a touch of OCD in Molly, and I have an antipathy for the portrayal of OCD as fun and quirky–it’s miserable for those who live with it, and challenging for those around them.)

The new effort is an appealing-looking book and this slim volume could be easily consumed between xmas and New Year’s.

But the author neglected to include a mystery in The Mistletoe Mystery.

It’s just about Molly’s romantic life, and her increasing worry that her beloved may be stepping out on her.

(No spoilers, but I might have been happier with the ending if he was–instead, the book’s climax is signalled from about page 8.)

But like me, I suspect many readers were lured in by the prominent book placement of this volume, right next to the cash, and the extensive coverage. And that’s kind of a shame, because it’s not a lot of words for more than twenty dollars. I dropped my copy in a community Little Library this morning and hope that another reader enjoys it more. If it gets passed on to some additional readers, I’ll feel better about the financial investment.

Here are some better options, if, like me, you like your holiday mysteries to include–and not merely be packaged as–mysteries:

Val McDermid’s just about my favourite non-Canadian-mystery novelist, or at least vying with P.D. James. And her work continues to develop in fascinating ways–I’m enjoying her take on Lady Macbeth.

Her Christmas volume adheres to the model I noted above–some varied and assorted stories, only some of which are actually holiday themed.

But that’s just fine, because Christmas is Murder: A Chilling Short Story Collection is much fun, and I’m now seeking out all of McDermid’s short fiction. Here’s one you can read for free.

Also near the top of my list:

Reginald Hill’s two collections (which sent me to the dictionary more than once): A Candle for Christmas and Dalziel and Pascoe Hunt the Christmas Killer & Other Stories.

P.D. James’s The Mistletoe Murder and Other Stories.

And from Agatha Christie: Hercule Poirot’s Christmas and the TV adaptation with David Suchet (I have Thoughts about Branagh as Poirot). And I’ve saved the short story about plum pudding to read tonight.

There may be some Marple xmas-themed stories? And there’s definitely at least one new Poirot holiday story from Sophie Hannah. These aren’t bad, but I wouldn’t say that they’re must-reads, or that they fulfill the desire of Christie fans for yet more Poirot stories. I’d rather take my chances with the invented TV adventures that aren’t adaptations.

Does anyone have other suggestions for holiday-themed mysteries worth reading? I’ve already started thinking about next year’s stockings.