I like to try and read a Christmas themed book during the Christmas season, and this collection of classic mysteries by various authors – some well-know, some less so – fitted the bill perfectly for this year.
Like all short story collections, and especially those with various authors, it’s slightly uneven and some stories resonated more with me than others but overall the standard was very high, and I don’t think there were any stories that I really disliked.
The collection contains (my personal favourites are in bold)
The Blue Carbuncle by Arthur Conan Doyle (a Sherlock Holmes story)
Parlour Tricks by Ralph Plummer
The Happy Solution by Raymund Allen
The Flying Stars by G K Chesterton (a Father Brown story)
Stuffing by Edgar Wallace
The Unknown Murderer by H C Bailey
The Absconding Treasurer by J Jefferson Farjeon
The Necklace of Pearls by Dorothy L Sayers (a Lord Peter Wimsey story)
The Case is Altered by Margery Allingham
Waxworks by Ethel Lina White (this was my favourite and I could totally see it being adapted into a television film or mini-series)
Cambric Tea by Marjorie Bowen
The Chinese Apple by Joseph Shearing
A Problem in White by Nicholas Blake
Beef for Christmas by Leo Bruce
If you like short stories or like me, you like to read Yuletide themed stories at Christmas (and often being a busy time of year I find that short stories are the perfect type of reading for the Christmas season) I would recommend this book. In fact, if you are a fan of mysteries in general, you can’t go far wrong with this collection.
Between the Pages 
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