The Library Vault

Ah, there is nothing like a little mystery, murder, and mayhem to get you in the Christmas spirit.

If you don’t know what I mean, you must never have read The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries: The Most Complete Collection of Yuletide Whodunits Ever Assembled. This short story collection, alternately heartwarming (a few Scrooge-type characters change their ways) and horrifying (you discover how long a man can be buried alive and still live), was edited by Otto Penzler. Not only is Penzler an award-winning author, he founded the Mysterious Press, a publishing house that devoted itself to mystery fiction. Not stopping there, he established the famous Mysterious Bookshop in New York City. It is now the oldest and largest mystery specialist bookstore in the world.

This lovely (yes!) book is divided into sections that make browsing for just the right tale of mystery easy. For instance, if you want a little Sherlock Holmes on a snowy December evening, skip to the section titled A Sherlockian Little Christmas. This has one story by Holmes’ creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and four other tales from other authors that feature one of literature’s greatest detectives. My fave of these is The Secret in the Pudding Bag a parody by Peter Todd that showcases the talents of Herlock Sholmes of Shaker Street.

You can also read stories about A Traditional Little Christmas or A Pulpy Little Christmas. If you like your Christmas tales on the darker side, you’ll enjoy the A Scary Little Christmas section. There are stories I love from each section but I’ll admit my favorite section is An Uncanny Little Christmas. I do love a good ghost story at the holidays (doesn’t everyone?) and two of my favorite stories are there: The Haunted Crescent by Peter Lovesey, the tale of a man who spends the night in a house where a ghost walks only on Christmas Eve and A Wreath for Marley by Max Allan Collins, a retelling of Charles Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol.

The Big Book is a Christmas collection like no other. It has something for everyone. Do you love stories of redemption? Read The Killer Christian by Andrew Klavan in which a not too bright mob hit man who is truly religious suddenly realizes his job and his religion are not compatible. Laugh-out-loud funny? The Burglar and the Whatsit by Donald Westlake, where a burglar dressed as Santa encounters an inventor who can’t quite recall what his new invention does. A funny yet touching tale? Read And All Through the House by Ed McBain which follows the trials and tribulations of a New York police department on Christmas Eve: a boy with a stolen sheep, three thieves locked up in the holding cell, and a pregnant woman named Mary who is ready to give birth.

Several well-known fictional detectives appear in this collection. In addition to the aforementioned Sherlock Holmes, you can read about Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, Raffles, V.I. Warshawsi, Rumpole of the Bailey, Inspector Morse, Nero Wolfe, and more. It’s a Christmas smorgasbord of the mystery genre’s greatest sleuths.

I love these stories, and, yes, they do embody the holidays in all their warmth, humor, love, and tragedy. Cold, dark nights just seem to go with tales of mystery and I have enjoyed these stores sitting in my living room with a cup of tea, a purring cat, and a snuggly blanket. For those of you who say they don’t have time to read at the holidays, this collection is perfect. Read a story or two and then go off and spike the eggnog. Come back another time for a little Christmas mayhem and then dash off to do your last-minute holiday shopping.  At least you’ll have this book to look forward to when you get back from battling the crowds.