Festive mayhem

I am not a great fan of short stories but I am a huge fan of the crime writer Val McDermid who writes literate and engaging novels. Christmas is Murder is a collection of twelve short stories from this author which, at least peripherally, touch on Christmas or are set at that time of the year.

The stories are varied in length and set in different places around the world. They are self-contained, although some of her series characters do appear in one or two of them and she also writes a Holmes/Watson story. Mostly they are quick puzzles with little room to develop characters so they are very much defined by their plots – the resolution of some of the stories is more obvious than that of others.

Because the writer is Val McDermid these stories are well constructed and written although the reader will obviously prefer some over others. I found it best to dip in and out of this book and read the stories over a week or so rather than consuming one after the other and failing to savour each for its own merits.

This is a good collection. The stories are entertaining and well written. If you like short stories I think that you will really enjoy it. I found them diverting and interesting and was glad that I had read the book.