Cyril Hare wrote one of these stories ( )

Seasonal Mystery Shorts
Review of the Poisoned Pen Press (US) paperback (October 2021) of the original British Library Crime Classics (UK) paperback (October 2020)

This was my 2022 seasonal selection from the British Library Crime Classics (BLCC) series. The BLCC have made it an annual event to publish a Christmas-themed mystery or anthology. As with any themed selection of short stories, there will be some variety in the quality, but overall this was quite good and most of the stories held my interest. #2 was the only real dud.

The “Christmas Surprise” here was that story #11 had previously appeared in an earlier British Library Crime Classics anthology. Just lazy work by the editor or the intern slipped up?

The cover image for this book is cropped from a 1930 UK Dunlop Tire advertisement which you can see here. [Posting the actual photo would have required buying a licence.]

1. The Black Bag Left on a Doorstep ** by Catherine Louisa Pirkis (1839-1910). Originally published in The Ludgate Monthly magazine in February 1893. Later collected in The Experiences of Loveday Brooke, Lady Detective (1894). This is apparently the first ever fictional professional female detective, working as part of an agency. Loveday Brooke is sent by her agency to investigate a theft during Christmas time. This “unfair mystery” is apparently typical of Pirkis’ style where the crime is unsolvable by the reader until Brooke explains it in the end. [Trivia: The complete book is in the public domain and can be read online at Wikisource.]

2. The Hole in the Wall * by G.K. Chesterton (1870-1936). Originally published in Harper’s Monthly Magazine October 1921 and later collected in The Man Who Knew Too Much (1922). I found this one rather dull and very hard to follow. There is a skating party at Christmas time and someone dies by falling through the ice or was it murder? [Trivia: Chesterton is best known as the writer of the Father Brown stories.]

3. Death on the Air *** by Ngaio Marsh (1895-1982). Originally published in The Grand Magazine in 1937. Marsh’s regular sleuth Roderick Alleyn investigates a death at Christmas which involves a wireless radio set. This had a clever murder device, but the ending was a bit of a letdown.

4. Persons or Things Unknown **** by Carter Dickson, one of the pennames of John Dickson Carr (1906-1977). Originally published in The Sketch, Christmas 1938. Later included in The Department of Queer Complaints (1940). A historical mystery where a Christmas party at the host’s new home listen to an old story of an unsolvable murder from back in the days of Charles II in 1660.

5. Dead Man’s Hand ** by E.R. Punshon (1872-1956). Originally published in MacKill’s Mystery Magazine, March 1953. A murder and a theft of diamonds takes place in the depths of winter.

6. The Christmas Eve Ghost by Ernest Dudley penname of Vivian Ernest Coltman-Allen (1908-2006). Originally published in The Private Eye 1948. A private detective is hired to investigate an apparent haunting at a hotel on Christmas Eve.

7. Dick Whittington’s Cat *** by Victor Canning (1911-86). Originally published in the Evening Standard, December 22, 1950. A jewellery theft takes place during the middle of a Christmas pantomime performance of Dick Whittington and his Cat.

8. A Surprise for Christmas *** by Cyril Hare penname of Alfred Alexander Gordon Clark (1900-1958). Originally published in 1956 and later collected in Best Detective Stories of Cyril Hare (1959). A murderous secret is unexpectedly uncovered when some children plan a Christmas surprise.

9. On Christmas Day in the Morning **** by Margery Allingham (1904-1966). Originally published in the Evening Standard, December 23, 1950. Allingham’s regular sleuth Albert Campion assists the police in investigating an apparent hit-and-run fatality on Christmas morning. A complication involving the delivery of Christmas cards is solved through a twist ending.

10. Give Me a Ring *** by Anthony Gilbert, penname of Lucy Malleson (1899-1973). Originally published in London Illustrated News, November 11, 1955. Novella length at 70+ pages. On Christmas eve, a young nurse unwittingly picks up a package on behalf of a criminal gang when she buys the exact ring which was to be a secret signal to identify the gang’s courier. Her doctor fiancé and lawyer-detective Arthur Crook set out to rescue her from the gang.

11. Father Christmas Comes to Orbins **** by Julian Symons (1912-94). Originally published in London Illustrated News, December 1963. A planned jewelry heist from a department store at Christmas time meets with all sorts of complications. Unsatisfactory Anthology Alert™ This is the exact same story as ’Twixt the Cup and the Lip already collected in The Christmas Card Crime and Other Stories (British Library Crime Classics 2018) where it was credited as found in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, January 1965.

12. The Turn-Again Bell *** by Barry Perowne, penname of Philip Atkey (1908-85). Originally published in The Sphere, November 12, 1959. This was a mystery about a haunting. The rector of a parish is on edge every Christmas due to a local legend that if the current rector hears a single bell toll at that time of year, it will be his last year of life. [Trivia: Perowne is best known as being a continuation writer for E.W. Hornung’s series of Raffles – The Gentleman Thief stories.] ( )

Note: I accessed digital review copies of this book through NetGalley and Edelweiss. ( )

‘’It was Christmas Eve and nearly five of the clock, but an afternoon less like the traditional ideas of the seasons would be hard to imagine. True, a little snow had fallen in the early hours, but this was rapidly churned into slush by the relentless London traffic and about mid-day a haze of fog began to spread over the city. As the afternoon deepened the fog thickened, throwing a yellowish curtain over buildings and the traffic that even now streamed remorselessly through the darkening streets.’’

The Black Bag Left on a Doorstep (Catherine Louisa Pirkis): Brilliant! Loveday Brooke investigates a massive jewellery theft. A black bag, an unlocked safe and a silly message are no obstacles for our sleuth.

The Hole in the Wall (G.K.Chesterton): A strange, complex and atmospheric story with links to Britain’s turbulent history. Excellent!

Death on the Air (Ngaio Marsh): A patriarch dies in front of the wireless. About 9 suspects and practically no clues. A quintessentially British crime story but the dialogue ‘’sounded’’ a tad stilted.

Persons or Things Unknown (Carter Dickson): A historical crime lies at the heart of this story that goes back to the era of Charles II. Necromancers and a little room at the head of the stairs will keep you guessing.

Dead Man’s Hand (E.R.Punshon): A brilliant story. A mystery in reverse with one of the most striking first pages you’ll ever read in a crime tale.

The Christmas Eve Ghost (Ernest Dudley): The ghost of a dancer helps in solving a murder in a delightful story.

Dick Whittington’s Cat (Victor Canning): A theatrical cat steals a valuable bracelet.

Or does it?

A Surprise for Christmas (Cyril Hare): It is a law of nature. The sins of the past cannot remain buried forever. A fabulous story in under 10 pages.

On Christmas Day in the Morning (Margery Allingham): Don’t you just love Christmas cards and beautifully stamped envelopes?

Give Me A Ring (Anthony Gilbert): A young woman falls in love with a beautiful love as she tries to find her way through London on the evening of Christmas Eve. Little did she know…This story contains some of the most atmospheric descriptions of nightly London I’ve ever read and a wonderful pair of protagonists.

Father Christmas Comes to Orbins (Julian Symons): There’s not much money in bookselling. Let’s turn to decent robberies instead…

The Turn-Again Bell (Barry Perowne): This story is possibly my favourite in an outstanding collection. A rector has to face the coldness of a father, the prospect of a new life for his beloved children, and the local legend of a haunted bell that tolls for death. Mesmerizing, moving, eerie.

All right, all right, I know. Broken record alert BUT I will sit here, waiting for the next collection of seasonal mysteries, marvellously selected and introduced by Martin Edwards.

‘’After all,’’ said our host, ‘’it’s Christmas. Why not let the skeleton out of the bag?’’

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/ ( )

This addition to the British Library Crime Classics series includes a variety of crime stories set at the holidays. These stories range from very short to quite lengthy. Each was carefully selected from the Golden Age of mysteries, and the book features both known and obscure authors of the time. Readers of mystery and crime fiction should find this a welcome addition to their holiday reading selections.

I received this book from the publisher and from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own. ( )