Murder, as you know, comes in all shapes and sizes. It also comes at inconvenient times. Christmas, for example. Season of goodwill, peace to all men (and women too, of course), homely jollity round the turkey and mince-pies. A time of family reunion and celebration, of good cheer, recollection and renewal. And of unexpected death.Lock the doors. Draw the curtains. Settle down in your armchair. Pour yourself a drink. And enjoy ten stories by masters of the genre. Georgian England. 1960s and 1980s England. Twenty-first-century Africa, Canada, the USA. Murder by meat-hook, piano-wire, scarf, knife, hammer, golf-club, bullet, syringe… Dear, oh, dear. And naturally all the classic motives: blackmail, revenge, disappointment in love, greed, anger, a perverted sense of duty… Murders of men by women, and of women by men. Murders committed on impulse and murders carefully planned. A catalogue of weakness, hatred and villainy. It's all here, at your elbow. And there's more! Humour, intrigue, history, suspense … and of course Christmas sparkle!So, cheers! And Happy Christmas!Contributors:Annie Coyle Martin, Julius Falconer, Peter Good, Peter Hodgson, Neal James, Andrew Malloy, James McCarthy, Steve Morris, Harry Riley, Derek RosserP. S. The writers are all published crime authors who have contributed a new story especially for this Pneuma Springs anthology.