Welcome to Litsy!

I've had this on a shelf for a few years, and as we approach the big day, I thought I'd give a try.
A very atmospheric setting of English country house in the 1930s. A host of family convenes for the annual Christmas festivities held by Sir Osmund Melbury but the shadow of a changed will + with distraction of santa appearing results in a grisly find. A bit convoluted but overall a jolly Christmas murder mystery of classic proportions like our 🎅

This took me longer than I'd expected, I guess I didn't fully get into it. It doesn't feel much like it relies on Christmas for the mood/setting, except by getting Liane into the whole thing (which could be produced by any visit). So, not a super-seasonal read. I saw the culprit quite early, because it's pretty fair-play as a mystery.

Overall, not a favourite, but pleasant enough.

And hey, one of my #10BeforeTheEnd.

Quite a fun collection, although there's one repeat in there (not sure from which of the collections, but I definitely know it's a repeat). That last one is quite macabre!

And oof, thank you, brain, for getting back to reading again.

In accordance with my difficulty in settling down at the moment, I'm also partway through this one. It's surprisingly chonky for one of these anthologies, but either way, the short stories are suiting my rather bitty attention.

Also, I'm enjoying it to a surprising degree, so far, not usually being an “impossible mystery“ fan. I liked that the one I just read was just a mystery and not actually crime at all.

As a bookseller my specialism was Crime, with emphasis on Cosy & Golden Era, so the Brit Lib reprints have featured heavily in my TBR pile.

This collection of shorts stands up well. There are, as always, a couple that probably could have been left out but for the most part it's a great collection. Mystery short-form is not the easiest genre to write, and the quality of these stories is a reflection of the great names included.
#GoldenEra #Crime

This has been lurking on my bookshelves since I was working at Waterstones. Seems like a good time to read it!

This vintage mystery was a great deal of fun, but a bit too repetitive for it to be a 5* read. Still, a pick for being engaging, humorous, and all around good fun.

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Such a fascinating glimpse into parliament, politics and what it was like to be an early woman MP c. 1930s

(The murder mystery is a bit ho hum).

"But, sir, I've often wondered why more people don't get murdered in this place when you think of the opportunities."

Photo: detail of a painting I took a long time ago visiting the H of P. Is that Gordon Brown?

The policeman on duty at the door....explained with a grin that the Home Secretary's League of Women Voters had arrived en masse to be shown round and given tea. The Minister had escaped after assuring them how glad he was to see them, how delighted Mr West would be to show them everything, and how terribly disappointed he was that a Cabinet meeting prevented him from having that great joy himself.