12 different authors were given a prompt to write a crime book with the mysterious bookshop as a part. It’s interesting to see how 12 different authors choose to portray the stories. All were enjoyable. Such a cool idea for a book.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and editor for an arc in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun collection of stories. I enjoyed how short and quick each story was. I also loved that they all centered around a book store and each had their own mysteries.

So the idea behind this book is super fun - a real bookstore where people can submit their short stories and they make this book and distribute during the holidays - pretty genius!
I loved some of the stories and disliked some of the stories - some held my interest and many did not. Not overly surprising since its many authors.

3 stars!

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced reader copy!

Publish date: 10/22/2024

Thanks to Highbridge Audio and NetGalley for the audiobook!

Narrators: Graham Rowat & Jennifer Pickens

Christmas Crimes at the Mysterious Bookshop was a delightful Christmas Crime Anthology. A perfect read/listen to cozy up with or, my personal favorite, to work on puzzles to. I especially like that the bookshop is REAL. I love that each tale is written as a little piece of the Bookshop's lore.
Rowat's narration lent a very curmudgeonly air to the voices of various unreliable, and often unlikeable, characters, which I very much enjoyed.
Jennifer Pickens gave a very calming yet shrewd performance, befitting of her characters.
If I ever hit NYC, the Mysterious Bookshop is officially on my list of must visit bookstores!

Multiple short stories all involve the Mysterious Bookshop in some way. They are all short mysteries that are neatly wrapped up. All different and entertaining.

This book wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible either. It was a solid "eh". I loved the premise and that both The Mysterious Bookshop and Otto Penzler are real, and that these stories have been commissioned and collected by Penzler through the years. I found this one on NetGalley because I was searching for a good Christmas story that wasn't a meet cute or a sappy romance. I also listened to the audiobook, and I'm not sure if that affected my opinion of the book as a whole, but by the end, I was just ready for it to be done. I appreciated the variety of stories included, and the myriad ways the authors wove the setting of the bookstore into the narrative, but there may have just been too many stories altogether. I stopped being fully invested about 3/4 of the way through.

I honestly feel so confused by this book. The beginning was easy to understand and had me interested but about 1/4 the way in I was completely lost as to what was happening to who. I couldn’t figure out if there were time jumps or if it was alternate realities, but I really struggled

This is a lovely collection of short stories with a great narrator, but I felt that a lot of the stories ended a little bit too soon. I think this would’ve been better in a slightly longer format.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC and exchange for an honest review

Christmas Crimes at The Mysterious Bookshop is a series of short stories commissioned by the real Mysterious Bookshop, a specialty bookstore in New York City that has been selling mysteries and crime stories for 45 years. Owner Otto Penzler sends a story to book buyers each Christmas, and now they’ve been collected into this book. Each story has 3 requirements: it must be set at Christmastime, involve a crime of some kind, or the suspicion of one, and be set at least partially in the bookstore.

The stories are all penned by mystery authors whose books are sold at the bookstore. The stories range from serious and literary to funny and clever. They are more literary mysteries than who-dun-its; the body usually drops at the end, not the beginning. I enjoyed many of the stories for their cleverness and endearing, though flawed, characters. It was easy to listen to for 20-40 minutes and catch a good story.

However, some of the stories felt the same, especially in the middle third. I think a better structuring would’ve helped. I found myself listening to a lot of old alcoholic guys bemoaning life and killing someone or being killed, and that got old. I was glad I pushed through, because the last third of the book held great stories.

I listened to the audiobook version narrated by Jennifer Pickens and Graham Rowat. Graham read most of the stories and he has a great narrative voice, but his words had so much intensity that after a while I wished he’d just take a breath and relax. By comparison (a necessity when stories are back-to-back) Jennifer spoke much more slowly. I actually sped up the book because it was such a stark contrast.

That said, the stories were enjoyable, made my morning commutes better, and scratched my itch of wanting a few Christmas mysteries. I liked hearing shorter stories after reading so many novels this year. I hope to go to The Mysterious Bookshop myself someway and meet Otto Penzler. The book is well worth a read (or a listen).

Thank you to HighBridge Audio and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

For forty-five years, The Mysterious Bookshop has gifted its customers a holiday short story, and *The Mysterious Bookshop Holiday Collection* brings together twelve of the best from this annual tradition. Each story is set at Christmastime, involves a crime or mystery, and takes place partially within the bookstore. The result is a delightful anthology perfect for any mystery lover.

The collection features a stellar lineup of authors, including Laura Lippman’s *Snowflake Time*, a gripping and atmospheric story, and Lyndsay Faye’s *A Midnight Clear*, a tale of vengeance. Ragnar Jónasson’s *A Christmas Puzzle* offers a classic whodunit, while Tom Mead’s *Hester’s Gift* delivers a brilliantly executed impossible crime. Jeffery Deaver’s *The Christmas Party* brings suspense, and Thomas Perry’s *Here We Come A-Wassailing* adds a lighthearted, comedic touch.

With its mix of well-known authors and emerging voices, the collection showcases the diversity of modern crime fiction. As *Publishers Weekly* notes, the brevity of the stories makes it easy to dip in and out, while *Kirkus* praises the collection’s good-natured spirit. Whether you're a fan of traditional mysteries or psychological thrillers, this anthology is the perfect holiday treat for any mystery fan.

Not really my thing but I’m not really into short story collections or cozy mysteries so I should’ve known. I thought this would be cute but I found it really hard to get into some of the stories. The male narrator was kind of annoying at times. More diverse stories with compelling characters would’ve been better but it was just not super interesting to me.

I love the idea surrounding how these short stories came about—that they were commissioned as a holiday gift for customers. I really enjoyed the various stories and how Otto Penzler was often a character.

Both narrators were great, but my personal preference was the female narrator.

Thank you to NetGalley and HighBridge Audio for allowing me to listen to an ALC of this novel. #NetGalley #ChristmasCrimesatTheMysteriousBookshop

Christmas at the Mysterious Bookshop, edited by Otto Penzler, is a delightful holiday collection that gathers festive, crime-themed short stories from well-known mystery writers like Mary Higgins Clark and Lawrence Block. Set against the cozy yet intriguing backdrop of Penzler's real-life Mysterious Bookshop in New York City, each tale balances the spirit of Christmas with a twist of suspense. This collection offers something for everyone—from clever heists to quirky detectives—while still maintaining a lighthearted holiday charm. It’s the perfect seasonal read for mystery fans, blending holiday warmth with a dash of criminal mischief in each story.

This was just ok.
I loved the narrator and enjoyed that the stories were short, but sometimes they ended abruptly.
This had more swearing than I like and it also had some sorta gruesome stories- didn’t scream Christmas to me.
Some stories were better than others.

I was actually disappointed in this collection. Many of these stories did not seem as if they were written by professional writers of fiction. I typically expect a higher collection of authors stories from Otto Penzler. I was left feeling sadly deflated. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

I love the idea of this book and I liked the narrator's voice. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to listen to very much of it before it was removed from my reading app. Thank you to NetGalley for brief chance to preview this book in return for my honest opinion.

Christmas Crimes At The Mysterious Bookshop edited by Otto Penzler, Jason Starr and Lindsay Faye. The stories were written by multiple authors and as I listen to the audiobook they were also narrated by a couple of different narrators. Let me start by saying I am a big fan of mysteries and cannot believe this is not the first book in the series and let me also say despite it being the fourth and not having read the previous three I will definitely be rectified that by next year. I loved the stories that were funny stories smartly done all varying in subject matter and couldn’t believe the book was over when it ended. I wish I knew the titles of these books but as it was an audiobook and I didn’t take notes just know I love the one where they regifted the bottle of cognac I also love the one if you kill mine I’ll kill yours the gangster who wanted to make up with his children despite being in witness protection and I think my favorite was Sergeant Santa Claus I believe that’s the title that was such a funny book that made me lol more than once. This book is packed with great mysteries in it’s a book I highly recommend The majority of the stories were narrated by a male narrator who I thought did a brilliant brilliant job but the couple that were done by the female sounding narrator also had an awesome voice so either way you can’t lose if you love great mysteries funny stories intelligent dialogue then you’ll definitely love this book. #NetGalley,#HighbridgeAudio, #AutoKinsler, #JasonStarr, #LindseyFaye, #ChristmasCrimesAtTheMysteriousBookshop,

I'm delighted by the origins of this collection. Each year, the owners of The Mysterious Bookshop commissions a short mystery story as a thank you to his patrons; this is a collection of some of those stories. My only quibble is that the cover is peak COZY, but the stories are the grittier/seedier side of the genre. Something to know going in so your expectations are calibrated correctly.

To start, the audiobook was really well done and added to the suspense of the different stories.
This is a collection of 12 short mystery stories that have been commissioned for the real life Mysterious Bookshop in New York. All of the stories were great and fit the theme very well.

Thank you NetGalley for this advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

There are twelve short mysteries in this book that involve the mysterious bookshop. I just finished an intense Freida McFadden so I was expecting that type of mystery book. I think if this book was 3 shorter books instead that would be more enjoyable. Overall, good just was missing something from the stories to draw me in more.