Patricia Abbott (pattinase): What is the best novel or anthology of stories dealing with Christmas?

Sunday, December 16, 2012

What is the best novel or anthology of stories dealing with Christmas?

Probably we are not thinking of A CHRISTMAS CAROL or the Dylan Thomas piece here, but one from the crime fiction, fantasy, western or science fiction community. Or just not the usual choice.

14 comments:

Kieran Shea said...: Didn't THUGLIT do an online holiday-antho each year? I remember reading Sean Doolittle "GRIFT OF THE MAGI" there.; 1:37 PM
Anonymous said...: If you want a humorous one try Charlotte MacLeod's REST YOU MERRY, the first Peter Shandy book. (She also edited a couple of Christmas-related short story collections.)

Jeff M.; 2:00 PM
Anonymous said...: Some other Christmas mysteries:

Christie, Hercule Poirot's Christmas (aka A Holiday for Murder)
Simenon, Maigret's Christmas
M. C. Beaton, A Highland Christmas
John Mortimer, A Rumpole Christmas
and the Christmas collection:

Otto Penzler, ed., Christmas at the Mysterious Bookshop

Also, there is Dave Barry's funny The Shepherd, The Angel, and Walter the Christmas Miracle Dog.

Jeff M.; 2:06 PM
Naomi Johnson said...: Last year I read Ken Harmon's THE FAT MAN: A TALE OF NORTH POLE NOIR. I don't think he missed riffing on any aspect of our contemporary, commercial Christmas, from movies to music to traditions. And all in a mystery context. Fun stuff.; 2:12 PM
Anonymous said...: Check out Steve Hockensmith's NAUGHTY: NINE TALES OF CHRISTMAS CRIME ...

... and for the pulp fans there is a new anthology called DOC CLAUS ...; 2:13 PM
George said...: My recommendation will show up on my blog for Christmas Eve: Truman Capote's A Christmas Memory: One Christmas, and The Thanksgiving Visitor.; 2:41 PM
pattinase (abbott) said...: I have heard good things about SKIPPING CHRISTMAS by Grisham but haven't read it.
I don't remember that about THUGLIT but I really like Doolittle so I am going to try and find it.
I think I have that Maigret somewhere.
Really hard to pull off anything not humorous or cozy I would think.; 2:44 PM
Dan_Luft said...: Read it a while ago and I'm pretty sure it took place at Christmas: The Ice Harvest by Scott Phillips. Nasty little book.; 2:56 PM
pattinase (abbott) said...: Sounds promising given the title.; 2:58 PM
Rick Robinson said...: re Jeff remark, I read that Penzler collection a couple years ago and liked it. Some searching reveals a Marian Babson collection, The Twelve Deaths of Christmas, which I have not read, and Patricia Moyes may have a Christmas one. I have a lot of Maigret, but not that Christmas one. Darn.; 3:32 PM
Anonymous said...: Who Killed Father Christmas? was the title of the Moyes/Crippen & Landru collection that Rick alluded to. Crippen & Landru has done individual Christmas stories that they've sent to subscribers - by Joe Gores, Peter Robinson, Edward D. Hoch, Margaret Maron, Edward Marston and Kathy Lynn Emerson. At least those are the ones in my database.

I thought of another, non-mystery collection: Miracle and Other Christmas Stories by Connie Willis.

Maigret's Christmas is a collection of nin stories. The title story is 50 pages.

Jeff M.; 4:16 PM
Anonymous said...: nine; 4:17 PM
Todd Mason said...: Haven't read THE ICE HARVEST, but caught a piece of the film version the other day.

The nearly ubiquitous anthology MURDER FOR CHRISTMAS is pretty good.

Harlan Ellison's "Santa Claus vs. S.P.I.D.E.R." (Claus...Santa Claus. Takes his nog shaken, not stirred.) and the Manly Wade Wellman John the Balladeer upbeat Xmas horror story are among the more unusual seasonal tales that come to mind, albeit neither are of novel length.; 4:44 PM
Todd Mason said...: And there's Beerbohm's A CHRISTMAS GARLAND...; 5:06 PM