On April 13, 1979, my all-time favorite bookstore opened its doors. Back then, The Mysterious Bookshop was near Carnegie Hall. For the past 19 years, they have enjoyed a more spacious location on Warren Street in downtown Manhattan. Owner Otto Penzler remains very active with the store.

Each Christmas season, Penzler tasks a different mystery writer to pen a short story that is then packaged as a softcover-style booklet to be given out to customers and book club members. The story must be set at Christmastime, involve a crime (or the suspicion of one), and at least partially take place at The Mysterious Bookshop. You can just imagine how creative some of these writers get with those parameters.

Edited by Penzler himself, CHRISTMAS CRIMES AT THE MYSTERIOUS BOOKSHOP features 12 festive stories, and there is not a Grinch in the entire bunch. It was extremely difficult to pick favorites, so I will highlight seven that I enjoyed the most.

"I cannot thank Otto Penzler enough for putting CHRISTMAS CRIMES AT THE MYSTERIOUS BOOKSHOP together.... This collection is stellar, and each story does a fine job of highlighting both the store and the Yuletide season."

“Black Christmas” by Jason Starr (2011): Steven is having a really bad holiday. It’s the anniversary of the collapse of his marriage, his wife and kids relocating to California, and the loss of his bank job. He is also reminded of the “other” woman, Gretchen, whom he met by chance at The Mysterious Bookshop. He bought a couple of contemporary mystery novels for her by way of a Christmas gift.

“A Midnight Clear” by Lyndsay Faye (2012): Tom fondly recalls the times that he and his wife spent at their favorite place, The Mysterious Bookshop, and how she randomly would pull books off the shelf just to read the first paragraph. Tom is also spending this Christmas season lamenting over the loss of his wife, which he blames on the person he believes was obsessed with her and may have killed her: their neighbor.

“Wolfe Trap” by Loren D. Estleman (2014): This Claudius Lyon mystery involves the New York City police detective taking on an inquiry for his colleague, Captain Stoddard. It takes place at The Mysterious Bookshop, where owner Otto Penzler released Stoddard’s niece, Stella, from her employment for supposedly taking $200 during their annual Christmas party.

“The Gift of the Wiseguy” by Rob Hart (2016)  :   First-time author Eric Calabrese is giving a reading and participating in an audience Q&A during the Christmas season at The Mysterious Bookshop. His book is an exposé of his life with a father who was involved deeply with the mob. Eric hasn’t seen him since childhood when he entered witness protection. When his father shows up unexpectedly, the situation gets a little crazy, especially as a police detective with a grudge has tracked him there. This one has a very diabolical twist!

“Snowflake Time” by Laura Lippman (2017): Disgraced cable news host John Doyle has never recovered from the sexual harassment allegations that cost him his career. So he tries to turn things around as an author of cozy mysteries set in the fictional town of Christmas, Ohio. Unfortunately, his most recent novel features the killing of a cat by microwave, which overshadows all of his success by angering legions of “snowflake” fans and animal lovers. An interesting woman who is a masseuse attends his signing at The Mysterious Bookshop, and they spend a unique night together.

“The Christmas Party” by Jeffery Deaver (2018): Martin and Emily have been saddled with Martin’s Uncle John after his wife passes away, as there are no other blood relatives to step up. But they have no desire to take care of him, so they place him in a cheap assisted living facility. On one of their semi-regular visits, they see that John, a former English teacher and book lover, has dozens of novels purchased from The Mysterious Bookshop in his room. They know he is looking forward to the Christmas party at the home, but they have concerns about his rapid mental decline. This makes them seek out his caretaker to work out a deal to humanely get him out of their hair permanently.

“A Christmas Puzzle” by Ragnar Jónasson (2024): A seasonal employee at The Mysterious Bookshop is approached one hectic day by an Icelandic woman who needs assistance figuring out a puzzle involving Christmas mystery novels. He asks her to come back on Christmas Eve; he can spend some time helping her as the store will close early that day. Once they have the puzzle figured out, the message coming from her late husband who created it will be quite a surprise.

I cannot thank Otto Penzler enough for putting CHRISTMAS CRIMES AT THE MYSTERIOUS BOOKSHOP together. Since I moved to Florida nearly 10 years ago, I dearly miss those annual Christmas booklets I would get from The Mysterious Bookshop. This collection is stellar, and each story does a fine job of highlighting both the store and the Yuletide season.