Publisher's Synopsis
As the acknowledged 'Queen of Crime' P.D. James was frequently commissioned by newspapers and magazines to write a special short story for Christmas. Four of the very best of these have been rescued from the archives and are published together. From the title story about a strained country house gathering on Christmas Eve, another about an illicit affair that ends in murder, and two cases for James's poet-detective Adam Dalgliesh -- each treats the reader to James's masterfully atmospheric story-telling, always with the lure of a mystery to be solved. 1995, 1969, 1979, 1996 Holder: Author's Preface, the Estate of P. D. James; The Mistletoe Murder, P. D. James; A Very Commonplace Murder, P. D. James; The Boxdale Inheritance, P. D. James; The Twelve Clues of Christmas, P. D. James
