Okay I absolutely loved this book! It includes multiple mystery stories that take place during the holiday season. There’s nothing I love more than mysteries and the holiday season, so I ate this book up. This also got points because it includes books and bookstores. This bookstore is special because it only sells mystery books or ones that involve crimes. This book was so special and unique. My favorite stories were wolf trap and the gift of the wise guy.

Christmas Crimes at the Mysterious Bookshop is a nice holiday themed collection of short fiction, edited and curated by Otto Penzler. Released 22nd Oct 2024 by Penzler Publications on their Mysterious Press imprint, it's 288 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links.

Every year, the Mysterious Bookshop (a real brick & mortar store in TriBeCa) commissions and prints a short story in a nice limited print edition for their regular holiday patrons. Many of them have become collectors' items. So much so, that in 2010, a special anthology of these stories was collected to commemorate them and bring some of them to a wider audience. This is a companion volume and adds 12 of the holiday stories originally published in 2011 to 2022 to the total.

In addition to the top shelf stories (from famous authors writing at the top of their games), the book includes an introduction and some background by Mr. Penzler himself, always erudite, thoughtful, and knowledgeable. The stories are a mixed bag, but all generally high quality (4-5 stars).

Four stars. Well written and darkly delightful. It would be an excellent choice for public library acquisition, home use, and holiday gift giving.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

For those who enjoy a bit of mayhem with their mistletoe

Many a mystery writer has been inspired to set one of their tales at Christmas. In a continuation of that tradition Otto Penzler, owner of the iconic NYC store The Mysterious Bookshop, began commissioning an original story each year by a different mystery author that he then printed and distributed to his customers as a thank you for their support. The tale had to be set during the Christmas season, had to have some of the plot take place at The Mysterious Bookshop, and of course had to have at its core a mystery. This is the second compilation of these tales to be published (the first was Christmas at the Mysterious Bookshop), and contains twelve stories by a variety of authors (some like Jeffrey Deaver, Loren D. Estleman and Laura Lippman will be familiar to many, others like Jason Starr, Lyndsay Faye and David Gordon are perhaps as yet unknown to some readers). Whether you enjoy a fun read with a clever amateur sleuth or a darker tale with someone plotting revenge or redemption, you will find something to your taste here and possibly open yourself up to a new author to add to your must-read list. When it comes to spotting a talented crafter of mysteries, few if any can surpass Otto Penzler, and here are twelve such writers’ work to prove that point. If you have ever been to The Mysterious Bookshop or have it on your bucket list, here is a book that can allow you a virtual visit to the beautiful shop at 58 Warren Street. I enjoyed all twelve selections, with the stories by Laura Lippman, Tom Mead and Ragnar Jónasson being my favorites. Read them one at a time to make the book last or curl up with a whisky or hot cocoa and devour it at one sitting….but be sure to have this in your TBR stack this winter (just be careful if someone else hands you the beverage!). Many thanks to NetGalley and Penzler Publishers/Mysterious Press for the present of early access to this great collection.

These twelve tales are just like the twelve days of Christmas song. A short story for each day. The Mysterious Bookshop is a real place which wrote stories every year. It was hard to pick just one story I received a copy through Netgalley. A review was not required.

Edited by Otto Penzler, Christmas Crimes at the Mysterious Bookshop: Twelve Tales of Seasonal Suspense Set in the World’s Oldest Mystery Specialty Store offers readers a grand collection of holiday murder and mystery short stories by noteworthy, award-winning and international bestselling authors, including Jason Starr, Lyndsay Faye, Loren Estleman, Ace Atkins, Rob Hart, Laura Lippman, Jeffery Deaver, David Gordon and Martin Edwards.

Some of these Christmas tales are treasures that take you back to the golden era of crime fiction. My favorite is A Christmas Puzzle by acclaimed Icelandic author Ragnar Jónasson. I felt as if I had discovered a lost manuscript of Christie or Marsh. The pacing, the subtle clues, the climax…perfection!

Aficionado of misdirection and the locked room mystery, UK author Tom Mead offers readers a fun holiday twist on an old theme in Hester’s Gift. Though other reviewers may give more details in an overview about the story, I don’t want to lay out any clues before your eyes reach the actual page.

Each of the stories has a different feel to it. In fact, Laura Lippman’s ironic tale, Snowflake Time, seems like it could be ripped from the headlines.

I own several of Penzler’s previous collections and enjoy pulling them out each year. This one is no exception. I highly recommend Christmas Crimes at the Mysterious Bookshop. While I received an advance reader’s copy from The Mysterious Press, courtesy of NetGalley, I’ve already purchased a digital version so that I can re-read these wonderful stories.

The stories are great.....really great. But the sentiment......stories written exclusively for the customers of the bookshop and previously only read by them.....it makes them even better.

What can be more fun than stories written for Christmas that involve crime and mystery. Short stories written to give customers as stocking stuffers, the caveat is that the story must be related to the bookshop.

Included are stories by Laura Lippman, Jeffrey Deaver and Ragnar Jonasson.

A real treat for those seeking a little crime in their holiday season

This was a fun approach to an anthology of short stories and centering the mysteries around Christmas peaked my interests. Add the incredible cover and I was excited to dig in. While I enjoyed many of the stories, they weren’t all winners. This is a great cozy read for holiday themed mystery lovers.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

The Mysterious Bookshop, which is an actual place in New York, and Otto Penzler the owner has commissioned an original short story as a holiday gift for customers, written exclusively for the store and never published elsewhere, but now we call have a chance to read some of the stories. This collection includes 12 unique short stories written by well know mystery writers between 2011-2023, all take place in New York City and include a cameo of the book shop. A standout story for me was the one with Catnip revenge—it peaked the strangeness level for me, and the story about the father who came back out of witness protection for his son’s book reading, was moving as well. This book contains something for everyone who likes a good mystery ranging in styles from cozy to police procedurals and portrays a different state on the festive season. The writing of all the stories are very good -- some will hold your attention more than others but it depends on the type of mystery you like .

Thank you to NetGalley, Otto Penzler, Penzler Publishers for this ARC . This is my honest review.

A collection of Christmas short stories all involving a mystery. What could be better?! Unfortunately for me this book just didn’t work. Most of the stories were a bit depressing and seemed to revolve around drinking. I think others might enjoy it

"The oldest mystery specialty bookstore in the world, The Mysterious Bookshop, has for most of its forty-five-year history commissioned an original short story as a holiday gift for its customers. Written exclusively for the store and never published elsewhere, the stories were given as a holiday gift to its customers as a thank you for their business, handed out or mailed between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day.

The prompt for the story requires three elements: that it be set at Christmastime, that it involve a crime of some kind, or the suspicion of one, and that it be set at least partially in the bookstore. And from these loose structural guidelines, diverse tales took flight. The dozen tales included in this volume are among the finest to be produced in this annual tradition, sure to charm any reader looking for a holiday-themed escape.

Included herein are the ingenious "Snowflake Time" by Laura Lippman; Lyndsay Faye's tale of vengeance "A Midnight Clear"; the challenging brainteaser, "A Christmas Puzzle," by Ragnar Jónasson; "Hester's Gift," an impossible crime story by Tom Mead; the suspenseful "The Christmas Party" by Jeffery Deaver; Thomas Perry's hilarious comedy of errors, "Here We Come A-Wassailing;" and other tales appropriate for the season, collected and introduced by Otto Penzler. The result is, objectively speaking, the finest "stocking stuffer" that a mystery fan could hope to find."

A wonderful tradition finally being shared far and wide!

The Mysterious Bookshop in New York is a must see for fans of mystery fiction. Shop owner Otto Penzler is one of the foremost experts on crime fiction. What a delight it is to have a new collection of short stories complied by Penzler just in time for Christmas.

Over the past three decades, Pens let has commissioned holiday-themed short stories to be compiled into a booklet to be given as a gift to customers. The only rules are that the story has to be set at Christmas and must feature The Mysterious Bookshop in some way.

Christmas Crimes At The Mysterious Bookshop features twelve of the best stories to have been featured in previous years. This is a terrific collection that gives the reader a chance to sample authors they may not have previously read. For me, the stories by Martin Edwards, Tom Mead, Laura Lippman, and Ragnar Jonasson were particular highlights.

If you like crime stories and particularly those set at Christmas, you should do yourself a favour and pick up this book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy of this book.

Such a fun read! Highly recommend.

Many thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

I have a real weakness for Christmas crime, and this is a fantastic collection. I love how the authors weaved the one common element into their very different stories, and how different their perspectives were. Not every story had a happy holiday vibe, and that was fun too. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

Thank you for the ARC!

While the novel wasn't really my style with all the mini crime stories in one book, they were unique and very interesting in itself.

I would recommend this to friends and family who love this genre, but it wasn't for me.

This book is a fun collection of 12 short Christmas crime stories. They were written for the Mysterious Bookshop by 12 different well known mystery writers between 2011 and 2023. They take place in New York City which is the home of the Mysterious Bookshop. All the stories are in the Bookshop for part of the story. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, although there were a few that I liked the best. One is Ragnar Jonasson's A Christmas Puzzle in which an elderly woman goes to the bookstore and asks a young male clerk to help her solve a word puzzle, and he agrees to help her. The ending was a great surprise. The other is Sergeant Santa by David Gordan where Joe is buying books at the Mysterious Book Store, and his mother, a seasoned pick pocket goes out and steals the wallet of an obnoxious police man. Joe figures a great way to keep his mother from getting arrested.

I recommend this book as a Christmas present for a mystery lover. I thank Netgalley and Mysterious Press for giving me an ARC so I could read the book ahead of publication.

I received a free copy of, Christmas Crimes at The Mysterious Bookshop, by Otto Penzler, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book has twelve mysteries set in or around The Mysterious Bookshop. This book had so many great short stories I could not pick a favorite.

This is a wonderful collection of cozy mysteries with a holiday theme. I love how The Mysterious Bookshop is the oldest specialty bookstore in the world. The Owner Otto Penzler wanted to give something back to his customers, so he made this collection of an original short story as a holiday gift! Who doesn’t love bookshops and mysteries! 12 short stories which makes it easy to read a story before bed when you don’t have a lot of time! Snowflake time was my favorite. This book would be a great gift this holiday season!

Thank you, Net Galley, the author, and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was excited for this short story collection because I've enjoyed others edited by Otto Penzler before, but I was quickly turned off when the first short story started with a married character flirting with another married character. I had high hopes for this collection but that made it a big no for me.

As with any short story collection, I really liked some of these and then there were some that didn't do it for me, It's hard because every time I started a new story, I wasn't sure what to expect. Is this a dark violent story, or one that's more goofy?

Some of my favorites:

Sergaent Santa
Hester's Gift
Here We Come A-Wassailing (though its position after "The Christmas Party" definitely had me feeling like it was going to be a much darker story than it was)
A Christmas Puzzle (my personal favorite, because I have read most of the books mentioned in the crossword, with Simon Brett's Christmas mystery a particular joy)

Other thoughts:
I didn't really understand the title of Lippman's "Snowflake Time" although I appreciate the unlikeable narrator
"Secret Santa" wasn't really a mystery (to me at least).
"Wolfe Trap" felt like a story about characters that assumes people have met before but I didn't have previous knowledge of (one of them has a weird desire to be like Nero Wolfe)
"GIft of the Wiseguy" wasn't what I thought it would be and it made me sad

I appreciate how this compilation came to be and the next time I'm in NYC I definitely want to visit the Mysterious Bookstore!