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3.0 

The Usual Santas: A Collection of Soho Crime Christmas Capers

By Peter Lovesey & Mick Herron &
The Usual Santas: A Collection of Soho Crime Christmas Capers by Peter Lovesey & Mick Herron &  digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

Finally: the perfect stocking stuffer for the crime fiction lover in your life! With a foreword by CWA Diamond Award-winner Peter Lovesey, these eighteen delightful holiday stories by your favorite Soho Crime authors contain laughs, murders, and plenty more.

This captivating collection, which features bestselling and award-winning authors, contains laughs aplenty, the most hardboiled of holiday noir, and heartwarming  reminders of the spirit of the season.

Nine mall Santas must find the imposter among them. An elderly lady seeks peace from her murderously loud neighbors at Christmastime. A young woman receives a mysterious invitation to Christmas dinner with a stranger. Niccolò Machiavelli sets out to save an Italian city. Sherlock Holmes’s one-time nemesis Irene Adler finds herself in an unexpected tangle in Paris while on a routine espionage assignment. Jane Austen searches for the Dowager Duchess of Wilborough’s stolen diamonds. These and other adventures in this delectable volume will whisk readers away to Christmases around the globe, from a Korean War POW camp to a Copenhagen refugee squat, from a palatial hotel in 1920s Bombay to a crumbling mansion in Havana.

Includes Stories By (In Order of Appearance):
Helene Tursten, Mick Herron, Martin Limón, Timothy Hallinan, Teresa Dovalpage, Mette Ivie Harrison, Colin Cotterill, Ed Lin, Stuart Neville, Tod Goldberg, Henry Chang, James R. Benn, Lene Kaaberbøl & Agnete Friis, Sujata Massey, Gary Corby, Cara Black, Stephanie Barron and a Foreword and story by Peter Lovesey.

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62 Reviews

3.0
Smiling Face with Heart-Eyes“I'm not normally a short story person, but this was fun and festive from beginning to end. From acts of kindness to assassinations, even some Noir Mysteries, and a few ghosts. It also spans multiple cultures which was really fun to experience”
Expressionless Face“The Usual Santas is an interesting collection of Christmas crime stories that spans across different locations - from London's Soho district to various corners of Europe and beyond. Each tale brings its own local flavor to these holiday capers, which is nicely hinted at by the cover art featuring some mischievous Santas breaking in through a window. I'd give it 2.5 stars because while some of the stories have clever moments and entertaining twists, others didn't quite capture the magic I was hoping for. The concept of mixing Christmas cheer with crime in different international settings is really creative, and a few tales do shine through with that perfect blend of holiday spirit and mystery. However, most of the stories just didn't quite hit the mark for me. Even though it has a nice foreword by Peter Lovesey and some bright moments, I wouldn't recommend this book. The potential is definitely there, and I appreciate what they were trying to do with the global settings and diverse perspectives, but there are other crime collections out there that might be more consistently engaging. Still, if you're really into Christmas-themed mysteries, you might find a few stories in here that bring you some holiday joy and laughter!”
Thinking Face“Read this hoping to get warm fuzzy christmas vibes - not the case! These were all dark crime stories that just happen to be set during Christmas. If I had to choose a favorite it would be "The Usual Santas" by Mick Herron but do not reccomend reading this collection if you are looking for a feel good holiday read!”

About Peter Lovesey

For more than twenty-five years, Soho Crime has been publishing atmospheric crime fiction set all over the world in places like France, China, England, Laos, Northern Ireland, Thailand, Australia, Japan, Germany, South Africa, Italy, Denmark, India, Cuba, and Palestine, to name a few. Lovers of crime fiction, whether it’s detective fiction, police procedurals, thrillers, espionage novels, revenge novels, stories of thieves, assassins, or underworld mob bosses—can count on an immersive adventure steeped in cultural detail. Visit www.sohocrime.com for a complete list of titles in the Soho Crime library.

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