My Goodreads Review: The Mistletoe Murder & Other Stories

[ankh_hpl]

The Mistletoe Murder And Other Stories by P.D. James

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is good -- if light -- holiday entertainment for P.D. James fans and anyone else who appreciates an elegantly written short murder tale. It offers four stories, only three of them distinctively Christmas tales. Two feature James' continuing character Adam Dalgliesh. So far as I know, all are reprints from various magazines that commissioned the author to produce a special holiday mystery.

All the stories are well-crafted, though I actually enjoyed the Dalgliesh cases a bit less than the other two. (Yes, this is heresy.) Although the prose style makes up for any deficiencies elsewhere, I must admit that I prefer P.D. James at novel length. She just didn't seem to have enough space to let her intricate plotting expand, and the Dalgliesh stories in particular ended a bit abruptly for my taste.

That said, there are quotable observations and brilliantly snarky comments on human nature in all these stories -- and who doesn't need a little homicide this time of year? Recommended for P.D. James fans and lovers of old-school British mystery.







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