It's a hard thing to do, to give a star rating on a compilation of stories. It always seems you really like some and really don't like others, but this time I got pretty lucky; I was about equal on these 3 short stories, and they pretty much average out to the 3 stars I give them. All of these take place on Christmas Eve.

Ghost of Christmas Present I was a little disappointed in. This was a sequel to the Dead Detective (the first in the series) by both authors. Please, don't read it if you haven't read the original. It kind of mentions what happens in the first book to catch you up to speed, but the plot is so intricate, you really need the whole background. It was a sweet little story, but not a thriller, no real big plot going on. Just so-so in my opinion. I'm thinking you probably won't need to read this to continue on with the series. I'd give this one 2-1/2 stars.

Christmas in the Morgue, by Kierkegaard, was a really fun one. I loved the way everything was slowly revealed, which has to be hard in a short story. I found it original and creepy too! Some blood and guts, not for the faint-hearted. It starts out with two children wanding into a morgue, late on Christmas Eve, insisting on seeing their father, who is supposedly in the morgue. Things just continue to get stranger and stranger and it keeps you wondering who or what these children are. This was my favorite of the 3 and I would definitely give this a 4 star rating. The ending was a complete surprise to me.

Zombie App, by Rain, was pretty good. I want to give a tiny synopsis but I feel anything I say will make you guess what will happen. I will say that when two knucklehead high school guys get together and play with apps, no good can come of it! I could definitely feel Rain's voice in this one- I would guess this was his even if I hadn't known he was the author. It had its exciting moments but again, so-so. I am giving this short story a solid 3 stars.

The rest of the book included the first chapters of The Dead Detective and The Department of Magic. ( )