From Library Journal
With the holiday season as their link, these mostly British stories of murder, mystery, and the supernatural-some never before published-should prove popular. Authors range from classic Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy to modern Roger Dunkley and John Glasby.Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
Truth-in-labeling alert: A better title for this collection, first published in England in 1990, would've been Ghosts or Chillers or even Horror for Christmas, if only editor Dalby hadn't used those titles for previous anthologies. And the mix of old stories and new--11 tales from stalwarts like Dickens, Hardy, and Muriel Spark; 12 previously unpublished stories--sounds more varied than it actually is, since most of the recent entries hew closely to the model of the Victorian Yuletide ghost story; even the true- blue whodunit by John S. Glasby and the Sherlockian pastiche by Ron Weighell have an unmistakable aroma of brimstone about them. The rest of the ghostly tales are a middling, stolidly atmospheric bunch, and it's no surprise that three of the most welcome Christmas treats--Ronald Duncan's diary of a disconcerted poltergeist; Roger F. Dunkley's anecdote of a prophecy briskly fulfilled; and H.R.F. Keating's agreeably foolish burlesque on ``A Christmas Carol''--are also the least reverential toward the business of death and resurrection. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Book Description
Ghosts, murders, bizarre disappearances and journeys back through time-every conceivable type of mystery can be found within the pages of Mysteries for Christmas. Writers have long been inspired by this season of peace and goodwill to tell tales of murder, mystery and the supernatural, and the stories in this collection range from work by writers as diverse as Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy and Muriel Spark.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Ghosts, murder, strange disappearances, and journeys through time. Every conceivable type of mystery can be found within the pages of Mystery for Christmas, with one thing in common: they all take place during the short days and dark nights, the festivities and tensions, of the Christmas season. Writers have long been inspired by this season of peace and goodwill to tell tales of murder, mystery, and the supernatural. The stories in this collection range from works by classic nineteenth-century writers such as Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy to popular contemporary writers like Muriel Spark and H. R. F. Keating. Several of the stories have been written especially for this volume. Mystery can take many different forms - as the stories in this intriguing collection prove. There are seasonal crime stories: an apparently impossible murder at a family gathering, a homicidal Santa Claus, and a chilling case of mistaken identity in Victorian London. There are atmospheric encounters with the supernatural: some eerie, as in the murdered husband who returns to confront his murderer; others more amusing than frightening. And since Christmas is a time of traditions that make the past seem particularly close, Mystery for Christmas also includes stories in which the past blends with the present, and in one case threatens to take over completely. So lock the doors and windows, curl up beside the Christmas tree, and prepare to savor these deliciously criminal tales of Yuletide mystery.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal