Crooks, Crimes, and Christmas

A WAY TO THE MANGER - By: Susan SlaterWhen a local teenage girl turns up missing, Ben Pecos, a Native American Psychologist, begins to piece together disturbing facts about the high school basketball star, who harbors a dark and painful secret, one that has her headed straight into a group of human predators. 4 stars.THE SANTA CLAUS MURDERS - By: Ed GormanSam McCain, an Iowa lawyer turned private eye, stumbles across a dead Santa at a Black River Falls Christmas party. While Sam is searching for clues, he finds blackmail, deception, and a second body. 5 stars.WHAT CHILD IS THIS - By: Irene MarcuseOn Christmas morning, Anita Servi, a New York social worker, goes out to buy bagels, and comes back home with a baby. The infant belongs to a struggling drug addict trying to go clean, only this person isn't around, since the woman who handed her the baby is the woman's sister. Now Anita is tossed into the mystery of the murder of the baby's mother. 4 stars.THE GOLD BAND - By: Michael JahnNYPD Captain, Bill Donovan, finds a gold ring inside a Christmas goose. This alone gets his brain going at warp speed. Soon Bill's investigation brings him to Manhattan's meat district, where he finds himself investigating a slew of break-ins, and a house full of ex-cons. 5 stars.While all of the stories are fantastic in this short collection, I must admit that THE SANTA CLAUS MURDERS by Ed Gorman was my absolute favorite. Gorman's sense-of-humor shines through in Sam's quirky sarcasm, and dialogue. The rest of the stories chosen for this collection are all equally interesting, and will have readers the world over celebrating the holiday with a whole new outlook on the season. A great gift for yourself, or a friend, this holiday season.Erika Sorocco