Product Description
"It's the most wonderful time of the year," the old song tells us. But that doesn't mean the people celebrating it are always so nice. Criminals get the Christmas spirit, too!
In this collection of hilarious short stories, you'll see what the thieves, killers, psychos and scumbags are up to come the holidays...and it's not caroling door to door. Well, not unless they're casing the neighborhood for a break-in, as a rag-tag gang does in the title story. You'll also meet a mall elf menaced by a very, very bad Santa (in "I Killed Santa Claus"), a London police inspector hunting for the man who murdered Ebenezer Scrooge (in "Humbug"), a trucker out to save his shipment of Cabbage Patch Dolls from bumbling hijackers (in "Special Delivery") and many more characters you'll never forget.
Originally published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, these nine tales from award-winning short story master Steve Hockensmith (Dawn of the Dreadfuls, Holmes on the Range) are sure to have you ho-ho-hoing from the first page to the last.
About the Author
Steve Hockensmith's debut novel, Holmes on the Range, was a finalist for the Edgar, Anthony, Shamus and Dilys Awards. He has written four sequels: On the Wrong Track, The Black Dove, The Crack in the Lens (a finalist for the Nero Award) and World's Greatest Sleuth!. He is also the author of the New York Times bestseller Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls. He lives in Alameda, Calif.