This anthology includes stories by giants of the golden age: E.C.R. Lorac, Cyril Hare, Francis Durbridge, John Dickson Carr, and others. There are 11 stories and they're all solidly written and entertaining. There were several with which I was not previously familiar and they all have a winter setting in common, though their use of winter or the holidays is as varied as the authors were.
For me, one of the biggest draws of these anthologies is the erudite and always interesting introductions by editor Martin Edwards, both to the anthology itself and to each of the individual stories. Mr. Edwards has a prodigious knowledge of the genre and writes engagingly and well.
It's unclear from the publishing info available online, but the eARC I received has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references. I hope the ebook release version does also. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. Presumably that feature will carry through to the final release version.
Well written, this entry and the series as a whole are well worth seeking out. This would make a superlative selection for readers of the genre as well as an introduction to classic crime fiction from the golden age.
Five stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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