On a winter's night in 1974, a crime took place that would obsess the nation.

It was an extraordinary news story.

The story of an aristocrat, Lord Lucan, who's said to have killed the family Nanny,

mistaking her for his wife, then somehow just disappeared.

One of the great mysteries in English criminal history. We're still looking for

Lucan. It's honestly one of the most powerful stories of my lifetime. I'm Alex Fontunzelman. This is

the Lucan Obsession. Listen on BBC Sounds. BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. Hello. Today on Open Book, Christmas meets crime from the sweeping international spy

thrillers of James Bond to the cozy crime of Little England. It's candlesticks to the drawing

room for some murder with your mistletoe. Plus, we take a step back from the big festive favourites

of the year in search of an alternative literary Christmas,

as we consider this year's hidden gems that you may not have thought of for under the tree.

But first, we turn to the art of the oh-so-smugly-written festive round-robin email.

Dear all, Kepunk, another year of living, loving and laughing.

You'll excuse the round-robin email.

We no longer send Christmas cards as they're so bad for the environment.

More than that, we have such a vast number of friends

that writing to you all individually would take far too long.

So we only send personal emails to

family and those we are especially close to. Now, if you're anything like us, then you faced every

challenge that came your way in 2022, picked it up, gave it a wink, and firmly knocked it out of the

park. Here is a full and fabulous account of our wonderful year.

Firstly, our skiing holiday in Valdezair was almost cut short when Joel had some life-changing

...