"The Mistletoe Murder, and Other Stories," by P. D. James

Readers of my recent posts of 11/12/16 and 11/25/16 will know that I have started reading mysteries again, after a long break. Here is one more I just read, and recommend: “The Mistletoe Murder, and Other Stories” (Knopf, 2016), by the wonderful late P. D. James. James is one of the giants of the mystery world, who died, coincidentally (it actually gave me a start when I just Googled her death date and found it to be today's date), exactly two years ago -- November 27, 2014 -- at the age of 94. The stories in this small book were originally commissioned by, and published in, various magazines and newspapers. Thus we are fortunate to have “new” stories even after James’ death. And they are timely, given the arrival of the Christmas season. Two of them feature James’ greatest creation, the detective (and poet!) Adam Dalgliesh. Each of the four is intriguing, surprising, psychologically complex, and very satisfying. This volume would make a good Christmas gift for a mystery reader family member or friend.