This is a collection of short stories written by contemporary authors featuring Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famed detective Sherlock Holmes and his sidekick Dr. Watson. This is a much more enjoyable short story collection than many are, particularly than those in the mystery genre.

"The Watch Night Ball" by Anne Perry - A woman begs Holmes to prevent her sister from killing their father at Christmas. I guessed the ending of this one, but it was still a fun read.

"The Sleuth of Christmas Past" by Barbara Paul - A local chemist fears someone is robbing the charitable Christmas Fund. A young woman is suspicious of her fiance's recent actions. She calls upon Holmes for assistance. I enjoyed this story by what was a new-to-me author. I'll be looking for her other books.

"A Scandal in Winter" by Gillian Linscott - This story is told from the voice of a young girl who witnessed an accident the previous year at the Edelweiss. Those present the previous year have returned. Holmes & Watson are there too to investigate what occurred and to perhaps clear the deceased's wife of the popular belief that she was responsible for his death. This was the only story in the collection that was not narrated by Watson, and it really would have worked better from his voice.

"The Adventure in Border Country" by Gwen Moffat - A many from Cumberland hires Holmes to locate his neighbor's missing husband. An interesting puzzle with some psychological problems.

"The Adventure of the Three Ghosts" by Loren D. Estleman - Sherlock Holmes & Watson in a remade version of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol."

'The Adventure of the Canine Ventriloquist" by Jon L. Breen - A writer is tormented by a picture and a dog.

"The Adventure of the Man Who Never Laughed" by John H. Watson, M.D. - A woman wants her brother found. This one deals with mental health issues.

"The Yuletide Affair" by John Stoessel - Watson solves a case of his own involving a stabbing.

"The Adventure of the Christmas Tree" by William L. DeAndrea - A Scottish Duke's forester tells Holmes and Watson about a marked tree's disappearance and reappearance. He seeks their helping in explaining it.

"The Adventure of the Christmas Ghost" by Bill Crider - Ebenezer Scrooge's nephew sees ghosts. Holmes resolves the reason behind the sightings for Ebenezer and for his nephew.

"The Thief of the Twelfth Night" by Carole Nelson Douglas - An emerald went missing some years ago. Holmes makes Watson guess what happened.

"The Italian Sherlock Holmes" by Reginald Hill - Holmes listens to an Italian man deduce the guilt of a man.

"The Christmas Client" by Edward D. Hoch - Charles Dodgson (better known as Lewis Carroll) is being blackmailed and seeks Holmes' assistance. I enjoyed this one.

"The Adventure of the Angel's Trumpet" by Carolyn Wheat - Holmes helps an opponent defend a woman accused of murdering her grandfather.

I think that my favorite is probably "The Sleuth of Christmas Past." ( )

I like Christmas stories and I like Sherlock Holmes so this seemed like a collection I would enjoy. My instinct was right. As with all collections, some stories were better than others, but all were good. My favorite story in the collection is probably “The Adventure of the Canine Ventriloquist” by Jon L. Breen. It's a story about a young man who had everything going for him the previous Christmas but whose fortune had steadily declined during the year as he experienced some unexplained phenomena that raised questions about his mental state. I also liked “A Scandal in Winter”, narrated by a young girl who was the only witness to a murder that had taken place a year earlier at the same hotel. The only mystery with a predictable solution was the first one in the collection, written by Anne Perry. I like to read mystery short story collections occasionally to discover new authors whose books I might enjoy. This collection has added a few more names to my list of authors to try. ( )

So a Christmas themed Sherlock Holmes anthology, with Anne Perry listed as the headliner.

The Anne Perry story has the 'Wrong Voice' and the wrong feel. The rest of the anthology is a mixed bag, including a couple of Charles Dickens crossover stories (one of which I could have done without)

As ever with anthologies about a third of the stories are good, a third average, and the remaining third are not worth it.

3.5 Stars (3.75 Stars if you are a Holmes fan and reading it at Christmas) ( )

nice to read in July, when you get a great desire for snow and caroling ( )

Substance: The individual stories varied in quality, although all were acceptable for Sherlock fanfic. Several authors made use of Dickens' "Christmas Carol," and others of Sigmund Freud. ( )