Murder Under the Christmas Tree is a compilation of short stories by well known authors, all set around about Christmas – as you would expect.
The first story is The Necklace of Pearls by Dorothy L. Sayers. I’m quite a fan of Sayers but I have to admit that I was a wee bit disappointed with this one as I guessed the solution fairly quickly.
The other contributers are Ian Rankin, Margery Allingham, Arthur Conan Doyle, Val McDermid, Ellis Peters, Edmund Crispin, G.K. Chesterton, Carter Dickson and Ngaio Marsh. The sleuths include Holmes, Lord Peter Wimsey, Cadfael, Father Brown, Rebus and others you will recognise.
It’s quite a collection of authors and I’m sure there’s something for everyone here, well everyone who enjoys a good murder around the festive season – as I do!
I read this book for the Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge.
What a beautiful dust jacket for this collection–. I have several compilations of Christmas murder mysteries, but not one has a story by Ian Rankin. Would love to hear about that one, and any and all of the others you read this season. The ACD story must be “The Blue Carbuncle.” I like that one. I’ll post about the murderous short stories I’ve read as well.
Judith,
The ACD story is indeed The Blue Carbuncle. The Ian Rankin story is called Cinders. Rebus has to investigate the murder of the fairy godmother in a pantomime at the Theatre Royal in Edinburgh.
Oh, that sounds like fun! Just so perfect for Rebus!
Judith,
Maybe your library will have a copy of it.