YA Buddy Readers' Corner ♥ discussion

The acknowledged 'Queen of Crime', P. D. James, was a past master of the short story, weaving together motifs of the Golden Age of crime-writing with deep psychological insight to create gripping, suspenseful tales. The Mistletoe Murder and Other Stories contained four of these perfectly formed stories, and this companion volume contains a further six, published here together for the first time.

As the six murderous tales unfold, the dark motive of revenge is revealed at the heart of each. Bullying schoolmasters receive their comeuppance, unhappy marriages and childhoods are avenged, a murder in the small hours of Christmas Day puts an end to the vicious new lord of the manor, and, from the safety of his nursing home, an octogenarian exerts exquisite retribution.

The punishments inflicted on the guilty are fittingly severe, but here they are meted out by the unseen forces of natural justice rather than the institutions of the law. Once again, P. D. James shows her expert control of the short-story form, conjuring motives and scenarios with complete conviction, and each with a satisfying twist in the tail.

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Date changed. Restarting October 20th 2018. Happy Reading ☺

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The Yo-Yo - 4/5 stars - (view spoiler)[This produced less of the chills and thrills I was anticipating from this collection but was marvelous, all the same. James really evoked a sense of setting, in only 20 pages, and left the reader with many questions over the morality of the actions reminisced. Despite not thrilling in the slightest, it was a sublimely-crafted character study. (hide spoiler)]

The Victim - 4/5 stars - (view spoiler)[This was such an intriguing story. It started with a jilted lover but didn’t end in quite the manner I expected it to, at all. James kept the reader on a leash, pulling them along as the protagonist reveals their decision for murder and the steps they took to meticulously carry it out with no backlash upon their person. What follows was interesting but not unexpected. The twist at the end, however, certainly WAS unexpected and gave this story an extra edge. (hide spoiler)]

The Murder of Santa Claus - 4/5 stars - (view spoiler)[This is exactly the type of crime story I like - one full of dubious characters who all have equal motive for murder. It reminded me of a renowned Christie, something like And Then There Were None or Murder on the Orient Express, as the large cast of characters all cycled through my mind as perpetrator before being discarded for another. I was fooled, however, and the end left me with a dark-humoured grin on my face at having been deceived so entirely. (hide spoiler)]

The Girl Who Loved Graveyards - 5/5 stars -(view spoiler)[What a title! From the moment I read it I was both intrigued and haunted by it. And from the outset of the actual story it did both! This, unlike the previous three titles, seemed possibly supernatural in nature and initially gave the least away, over where it would take the reader. The graveyard setting and the child protagonist lent an extra eerie glean to this one that, alongside this mystery, held me captivated throughout. (hide spoiler)]

A Very Desirable Residence - 4/5 stars - (view spoiler)[Yet another story of quiet cleverness. The same wry smile that played on my lips at the ending of ‘The Murder of Santa Claus’ returned here. James really is the master of red herrings! (hide spoiler)]

Mr Millcroft’s Birthday - 5/5 stars - (view spoiler)[ What an excellent ending to a subtle yet brilliant anthology. I find it quite rare to enjoy every single story inside a collection and yet James managed to create six unique and yet equally as thrilling tales. The grand finale left me grinning with glee at having been deceived, yet again, and having been given no real conclusion to the tale did not deter it. It’s not every story that can make you align with a maybe murderer! James really is so wickedly clever! (hide spoiler)]