This year, Santa’s little helpers have been more than generous and we’ve got a bumper crop of wonderful Christmas short stories for you – from the dark to the whimsical and all stops in between. So put your favourite Christmas jumper on, pour yourself a mulled wine, grab a mince pie and sit down for another great criminally festive read.

A Crime Cymru Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a Matlock story by Eamonn Griffin. In our now traditional opener to the festive season, Matlock rediscovers forgotten talents in this surprisingly uplifting tale.

Matlock and the Stille Nacht by Eamonn Griffin

There was a piano in the prison chapel. Not that there was a stained glass window. Not that there was any kind of view other than another Victorian brick wall on the far side of the safety glass on this side of things and the mesh cage on…