hopelikeyou's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
mehsi's review
5.0
A fun anthology featuring a whole bunch of fun mystery + murder stories.
This was SO difficult not to read but I really wanted to save this boy for Christmas. And I managed to do that, but I had to hold myself in many a time.
In this delightful book we get 13 short stories by various authors. There is mystery, simple and harder, there is murder, stabs and poison. Most of the stories take place in the now with a few exceptions (and one didn’t work). I loved how diverse the stories were featuring characters from all colours, with various reps, with LGBT feelings or parents, and more. It is such a delight and it made me smile. I loved the various mysteries as well, two featuring my favourite setting… snowed inn, um, in. XD It was great how some of the mysteries were solved within a heartbeat while others took a tad longer. I do have to specify that normally I am not the kind of girl who likes the easily solved ones or where the character just magically knows, but it worked in this one. It was just right.
I loved how each story was presented as if it was a file in an archive of The Very Merry Murder Club.
My favourite stories would be: Scrabble and Murder, Ice and Viper, and Shoe-Dunnit (with the fab quote: Herriot laughed, bemused. “You’re an old soul, aren’t you?” “No, just autistic.”).
With the story about the dancing, I wasn’t sure how I felt about them taking the trophy/swapping it. It just seemed too far for me. I would have rather had them solve the mystery and get things fixed.
There were three stories I wasn’t sure about. The first was It’s Snow Crime. Technically a good story, however it felt like it was either part of a series or just a part of a whole book. There were things happening that had me confused, like with the villain, or how grandma was a spy apparently? It just didn’t work for me. Then there was Frostwilds which I skipped after reading a few pages. Why did I skip? Because while it had that wintery setting… it just didn’t fit at all with the tone or the mood of the book. Suddenly we are transported to a magical winter world with a monster lurking around. Then there was the one about the funhouse. Again, fun to read at times, but I don’t know because it was more fantasy/more magical and had a very inconclusive ending I just wasn’t a fan of the story.
There are also various reps included in the book and I have to applaud for the autism and the ADHD rep. Those were just perfection.
I loved the illustrations, there style was just so much fun, though I just wish there were more of them and not just one per story. Haha.
So as you can see, I had tons and tons of fun reading this book. It was a perfect read for Christmas!
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
This was SO difficult not to read but I really wanted to save this boy for Christmas. And I managed to do that, but I had to hold myself in many a time.
In this delightful book we get 13 short stories by various authors. There is mystery, simple and harder, there is murder, stabs and poison. Most of the stories take place in the now with a few exceptions (and one didn’t work). I loved how diverse the stories were featuring characters from all colours, with various reps, with LGBT feelings or parents, and more. It is such a delight and it made me smile. I loved the various mysteries as well, two featuring my favourite setting… snowed inn, um, in. XD It was great how some of the mysteries were solved within a heartbeat while others took a tad longer. I do have to specify that normally I am not the kind of girl who likes the easily solved ones or where the character just magically knows, but it worked in this one. It was just right.
I loved how each story was presented as if it was a file in an archive of The Very Merry Murder Club.
My favourite stories would be: Scrabble and Murder, Ice and Viper, and Shoe-Dunnit (with the fab quote: Herriot laughed, bemused. “You’re an old soul, aren’t you?” “No, just autistic.”).
With the story about the dancing, I wasn’t sure how I felt about them taking the trophy/swapping it. It just seemed too far for me. I would have rather had them solve the mystery and get things fixed.
There were three stories I wasn’t sure about. The first was It’s Snow Crime. Technically a good story, however it felt like it was either part of a series or just a part of a whole book. There were things happening that had me confused, like with the villain, or how grandma was a spy apparently? It just didn’t work for me. Then there was Frostwilds which I skipped after reading a few pages. Why did I skip? Because while it had that wintery setting… it just didn’t fit at all with the tone or the mood of the book. Suddenly we are transported to a magical winter world with a monster lurking around. Then there was the one about the funhouse. Again, fun to read at times, but I don’t know because it was more fantasy/more magical and had a very inconclusive ending I just wasn’t a fan of the story.
There are also various reps included in the book and I have to applaud for the autism and the ADHD rep. Those were just perfection.
I loved the illustrations, there style was just so much fun, though I just wish there were more of them and not just one per story. Haha.
So as you can see, I had tons and tons of fun reading this book. It was a perfect read for Christmas!
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
minnimanni2's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
It was a very fun read, and there were so many great stories!
koala_595's review
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
sweetycuteruby's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.75
emily_mh's review against another edition
3.5
By its very title this book promises Christmas and murder, and sadly it did not deliver. There are thirteen mysteries, yet only four of them are murders (Shoedunnit, Scrabble and Murder, No Piste for the Wicked, and The Cove(n) at Christmas) and only four felt Christmassy (Shoedunnit, It’s Snow Crime, It Takes a Thief to Catch a Thief, and The Cove(n) at Christmas). Because the book failed to achieve its very premise, I felt I couldn’t give it more than 3.5 stars, even though most of the mysteries themselves were pretty solid. My favourites were Shoedunnit and It Takes a Thief to Catch a Thief; my least favourite was It’s Snow Crime. The following are my individual reviews of each story:
Shoedunnit by Elle McNicoll: this had cosy Christmas inn vibes and an incredible murder mystery story to boot! There was a clever resolution, and I loved the involvement of ballet. The MC felt really dynamic, too.
It’s Snow Crime by Roopa Farooki: this was Christmassy, but that’s about where my praise ends. I read the sentence “d*mb cr*y-cr*y baes” and it all went downhill from there. I just couldn’t fathom why these children had free rein of a hospital. It felt like a fever dream.
The Beast of Bedleywood by Annabelle Sami: this was a mystery with a great ecological twist and I also liked how it discussed how police treat people differently depending on their race and class. The ending was sweet and the MC and her family felt very real. However, it had more of a New Year’s feel than Christmas.
The Christmas Heist by Abiola Bello: I love a heist. Though this wasn’t the best execution of one (there were way too many names for a short story), it wasn’t bad either. However, it wasn’t that Christmassy.
Cool for Cats by Patrice Lawrence: a nice story about grief and empathy, though it was not much of a mystery and barely Christmassy.
It Takes a Thief to Catch a Thief by Maisie Chan: what a delight! I loved the inter-generational dynamics and the scavenger-style mystery. The ending was so sweet and captured that weird cosy feeling of Christmas Day.
The Frostwilds by Dominique Valente: this story was a great allegory for OCD (although I’m not sure if that was intentional). The worldbuilding was expansive and understandable which is particularly impressive for a short story. It was a neat mystery too, and being a high fantasy tale it was like a palette cleanser in this book. However, it was in no way Christmassy as to me, being from the southern hemisphere, wintry doesn’t necessarily connote Christmas.
Scrabble and Murder by Nizrana Farook: this was a solid, classic whodunnit murder mystery. It was similar to Shoedunnit (or vice versa), although I think Shoedunnit did a better job overall as this wasn’t very Christmassy.
The Ticking Funhouse by Benjamin Dean: I love that a horror story was included in this anthology, and liked the three task structure. However, I don’t think it should have ended on a cliffhanger as it left the narrative feeling unfinished. It also wasn’t Christmassy.
Ice and Fire by Joanna Williams: another refreshing addition to this anthology as it took the form of a historical mystery. I loved that it explored classism and racism as part of this mystery, highlighting concepts that are still incredibly relevant today.
Silent Night by Serena Patel: a little samey to the some of the other stories in this anthology, but I liked the concept of trying to solve a neighbourhood crime from your bedroom window, and the inevitable misunderstandings that ensue. Again, this wasn’t Christmassy.
No Piste for the Wicked by Em Norry: I liked the ski setting, but it wasn’t Christmassy. The murder mystery itself felt a little rushed with a meh resolution. I liked the MC, though!
The Cove(n) at Christmas by Sharna Jackson: this story had a unique setting, concept, and solution, but ironically the side characters were hard to distinguish from one another and I found it hard to understand the motive for murder. It was relatively Christmassy.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Death, Violence, Classism, and Confinement
Minor: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Infidelity, Alcohol, Medical content, Grief, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Kidnapping, Slavery, Cancer, Cultural appropriation, Child death, Ableism, and Racism
Minor: theft, death of pet, capital punishment, imprisonmentbookhamster88's review
adventurous
funny
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
abbybarker's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0