The Mistletoe Murder, P. D. James
The Mistletoe Murder, P. D. James
10 Rating(s)
List: $12.50 | Sale: $8.75
Club: $6.25

The Mistletoe Murder
And Other Stories

Author: P. D. James

Narrator: Jenny Agutter, Daniel Weyman

Unabridged: 2 hr 55 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/25/2016


Synopsis

Four previously uncollected stories from one of the great mystery writers of our time--swift, cunning murder mysteries (two of which feature the young Adam Dalgliesh) that together, to borrow the author's own word, add up to a delightful "entertainment."

The newly appointed Sgt. Dalgliesh is drawn into a case that is "pure Agatha Christie." . . . A "pedantic, respectable, censorious" clerk's secret taste for pornography is only the first reason he finds for not coming forward as a witness to a murder . . . A best-selling crime novelist describes the crime she herself was involved in fifty years earlier . . . Dalgliesh's godfather implores him to reinvestigate a notorious murder that might ease the godfather's mind about an inheritance, but which will reveal a truth that even the supremely upstanding Adam Dalgliesh will keep to himself. Each of these stories is as playful as it is ingeniously plotted, the author's sly humor as evident as her hallmark narrative elegance and shrewd understanding of some of the most complex--not to say the most damning--aspects of human nature. A treat for P. D. James's legions of fans and anyone who enjoys the pleasures of a masterfully wrought whodunit.

About The Author

P. D. JAMES was the author of twenty-one books, many of which feature her detective hero Adam Dalgliesh and have been televised or filmed. She was the recipient of many honors, including the Mystery Writers of America Grandmaster Award and the National Arts Club Medal of Honor for Literature, and in 1991 was created Baroness James of Holland Park. She died in 2014 at the age of ninety-four.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Anissa on December 16, 2022

Very good collection of short stories set during the Christmas season. I enjoyed them all but the one that really gripped me and will stay with me longest was A Very Commonplace Murder. It was claustrophobic, and creepy and came at me with a twist that made me read twice to be sure I'd read it right......more

Goodreads review by Karen on October 10, 2024

What a delightful little book of stories to read in-between the novels. Four previously uncollected stories from one of the great mystery writers --swift, cunning murder mysteries (two of which feature the young Adam Dalgliesh). If you have read any of P.D. James novels, you will know her character.......more

Goodreads review by Lotte on February 09, 2017

4.25/5! Mostly cozy (and one not so cozy!) Christmas mysteries filled with lots of little twists and surprises. This was the perfect read for this time of the year.......more

Goodreads review by Dannii on February 20, 2021

Actual rating 4.5/5 stars. This is a collection of four tales that each feature the windswept and isolated English countryside, a forbidding manor house setting, and an odd assortment of untrustworthy characters. Oh, and an unhealthy dose of murder. The anthology is inspired by authors such as Agatha......more

Goodreads review by Trish on October 14, 2016

The 2016 Preface to this collection of stories invokes Edgar Allen Poe, Arthur Conan Doyle, Dorothy Sayers, and Agatha Christie. James mentions that short story mysteries are challenging to write because the author must give their psychological studies an immediate point, without all the space that......more


Quotes

Praise for the work of P. D. James:

“P. D. James is the undisputed grande dame of the modern mystery.”
The Boston Globe
 
“P.D. James is simply a wonderful writer.”
The New York Times Book Review
 
“The Queen of Crime.”
Los Angeles Times
 
“There are very few thriller writers who can compete with P.D. James at her best”
—The Spectator
 
“[The] genre’s most talented practitioner ever.”
The New York Times
 
“The greatest contemporary writer of classic crime.”
Sunday Times