This is the second collection of vintage Christmas short stories assembled by Martin Edwards that I have read. Silent Nights is a fun collection with each story having a connection to the festive season. I was happy to read about so many familiar characters such as Sherlock Holmes in “The Blue Carbuncle” by Arthur Conan Doyle, Lord Peter Wimsey in “The Necklace of Pearls” by Dorothy Sayers and Albert Campion in “The Case is Altered” by Margery Allingham. One of my favorite stories was “Waxworks” by Ethel Lina White, which perhaps wasn’t very festive but certainly was scary.

I know that there is at least one more book of Christmas short stories put together by Martin Edwards and I am planning on reading it next Christmas. These are great stories to curl up with in front of the fireplace on a winter’s evening. ( )

Wonderful collection of mysteries mostly written in the 1930s. Lovely stuff! ( )

Note: I received a digital review copy of this book through NetGalley. ( )

I'm reading this with BrokenTune and Themis Athena as a buddy read and since it's a book of short stories, I'm marking my status updates as reviews for the individual stories I've read to date.

My 4 stars is a sorta/kinda average of the three stories, which I've rated individually below.

I skipped The Blue Carbuncle - well, I skimmed it, because it's one of my favourite ACD/Holmes stories - as I've read it several times before and I like to save it for re-read right at Christmas. But if you've never read it and would like to experience Sherlock Holmes, and want something seasonally appropriate, start with this one; it's fun and an excellent mystery!

Parlour Tricks by Ralph Plummer - ★★★ Edwards (the editor of this anthology) believes this is the first time this short story has ever been reprinted after it's first appearance in a Christmas Annual of 1930. Nothing is known of the author. It's a short story and it has a suggestion of cleverness to it, but mostly I found it just o.k. It's very short and one of those stories that start in the middle of things, leaving the reader to struggle to figure out who is who and what is happening. Just about the time that's all sorted, the story is over.

A Happy Solution by Raymond Allen - ★★★★ I admit, when I saw in the introduction that the story used chess as a plot point I expected to be bored. Because like all things space related, chess is one of those things I should like, but don't. I get bored. I suspect if I'd been taught to play speed chess I'd like it better, but never mind. The point is, I was wrong - this story was pretty good! Chess figured in, but other factors play into the plot too; factors that are much more interesting to me. Allen also does a very good job drawing the characters, making this a much more satisfying short story.

The Flying Stars by G.K. Chesterton - ★★★★½ Confession: a few months ago I announced I could not read any more Chesterton because I'd read two of his works and both left me feeling like he was just entirely too flowery and verbose for my tastes. But something felt a bit... off, after I wrote that and I soon figured out why: I'd mentally conflated him and Christopher Morley. Which is absolutely as embarrassing as you'd imagine it would be. It would be nice to take the easy out and blame it on age, but honestly I've always done this - someone in the mists of my adolescence tried to teach me memory tricks and it backfired, and now I get odd connections 'stuck' in my head.

Knowing this, I was sheepish, but determined to read this story, and I'm glad I did. It's my first Father Brown story, and even though I did not like the other short story of his I'd read, The White Pillars Murder (and yes, I'm certain that one was his - I checked), I did like this one. It was all the things White Pillars wasn't: focused, concise, well-plotted, and interesting. Father Brown's presence is subtle, but never sidelined, and the plot was really well done. Even though I felt like the characterisations spotlighted the guilty party, the story never felt predictable. I'll gladly read more of Chesterton's Father Brown. Although I'm still not going near Morley's other stuff. ( )

‘’When television becomes tiresome, and party games pall, the prospect of curling up in the warm with a good mystery is enticing - and much better for the digestion than yet another helping of plum pudding.’’
Martin Edwards

Martin Edwards has given us one more beautiful literary gift. An atmospheric collection of good old British mysteries set during Christmas. The days when lights and goodwill can’t actually scare the monsters away, when festivities and revelry can’t always conceal evil intentions. And let’s be honest. What can be better than a British crime story?

The Blue Carbuncle by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: Our favourite Holmes and Watson duo has yet another mystery to solve and this one involves stolen jewels and a goose.

Parlour Tricks by Ralph Plummer: A mystery where a magician and a retired officer meet to play their one mind-games. Superbly done!

A Happy Solution by Raymond Allen: An elaborate game of chess can lead to the perpetrator. Beware of lost pawns…

The Flying Stars by G.K.Chesterton: A sleuth-priest investigates a mystery where politics, Commedia Dell’Arte and theatrics hold the key.

Stuffing by Edgar Wallace: A mighty entertaining mystery of lost addresses, food stuffing and a very fortunate couple.

The Unknown Murderer by H.C.Bailey: A team of sleuth-guests investigate the attempted murder of a boy and uncover the dark secrets that have been well hidden in an old manor.

The Absconding Treasurer by J.Jefferson Farjeon: Who said that only the wealthy can be murdered over money? This is a rather predictable but well-written story.

The Necklace of Pearls by Dorothy L.Sayers: One of the jewels in the collection. An ingenious theft of valuable pearls acquires a new dimension once the solution is revealed.

The Case is Altered by Margery Allingham: Oh, the ways to win a young lady’s heart…

Waxworks by Ethel Lina White: This is the second time I’ve encountered this story in a Christmas collection and I can honestly say that I loved it even more! A haunting, heart-pounding, nightly adventure of a brilliant young journalist and a series of mysterious deaths.

Cambric Tea by Marjorie Bowen: One of the most exciting stories in the collection. A young doctor is reunited with the woman he still loves. Unfortunately, she chose to become the wife of a terrible man. A story full of twists until the very end.

The Chinese Apple by Marjorie Bowen: Possibly my favourite story in the volume. A wealthy woman returns to the manor of her troubled childhood to meet her niece who has lost both of her parents. But the enigmatic young lady hides so much more than meets the eye and the timing proves to be less than perfect when a vicious murder takes place next door. Dark, foggy London provides the best setting for this gem.

A Problem in White by Cecil Day-Lewis: An interesting twist in the classic British trope of the murder in the train.

The Name on the Window by Edmund Crispin: No collection would be complete without a traditional locked-room mystery and the whispering of the name of the culprit. But what if everything is just a smoke screen?

Beef for Christmas by Leo Bruce: Never underestimate a boisterous Sergeant.

‘’Christmas may be when we dream of peace on Earth and entertain feelings of goodwill, but there are limits. It is a mysterious, as well as magical, time of year. Strange things can happen.’’
Martin Edwards

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