Golden Age Christmas Mysteries

PENZLER, OTTO [EDITED BY]

Publication: Penzler Publishers, 2025, New York

First edition. Signed by the editor on the title page. Black paper over boards, titles stamped in gilt on the spine, [10], 336 pp. plus 13 pp. of advertising, introduction, a listing of American Mystery Classics.

Many of the fourteen stories that make up this anthology have been written by some of the greatest Golden Age authors, undoubtedly inspired by the juxtaposition of the disparate elements of love and hate. There is a cliché about anthologies (and clichés become clichés because they are true) that compares them to a good party, where you see old friends and meet new ones—and this collection is a wonderful example. It offers such giants of the genre as Ellery Queen, Mary Roberts Rinehart, John D. MacDonald, and John Dickson Carr while introducing you to such lesser-known writers as Norvell Page, Meredith Nicholson, and Pat Frank.

The range of subjects and styles may be surprising, ranging from truly chilling to heart-warming to hilarious to puzzling. This is no accident, of course, since genuinely talented authors have their own voices and, like snowflakes, no two are alike. Golden Age Christmas Mysteries is the perfect gift for the season, to be read on a cold, snowy night, in a comfortable chair near a blazing fire.

As new, unread copy in dust jacket.