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2.75 Hearts This book just dragged and dragged for me. There was so much alliteration that the paragraphs seemed to last forever. And it took a quarter of the book for the murder to even happen.

I just couldn’t get into this book. I ended up skipping a lot of the time, skipping over paragraphs going to dialogue to understand what was going on but could miss so many extra words.

I think a fan of suspense would be disappointed in a story like this but that is just my opinion.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Awsome!! Turns out I love Christmas thrillers now! I love a good Christmas book but usually go for a bit of sentimental mush... so this was a great change. Well paced and well written characters

This was a fairly good crime story. That it was set during Christmas gave it a difference as usually Christmas books are all romance. The characters were good and it was interesting finding out the killer at the end.

I love a good crime story, and this one is definitely one of the better ones I’ve read this year. When I started reading, I was instantly immersed in the story, followed the investigations, and kept thinking about who could be the Christmas killer. Very well written book, with a compelling story, where something happens every other chapter and you really really want to keep reading until you finish the book. I can only recommend it.

The Christmas Killer by Alex Pine is set in a small village which DI Walker, our main character, has recently moved into.  It's Christmas, there's snow predicated, which will isolate the village, and someone is posting Christmas cards threatening to kill 12 people. 

 I found the writing to be very basic, and written with little feeling.  It felt more like a first draft of a novel than of one that is being published.  The beginning was confusing.  It read as though it were book 3 in a series with a recap of what had happened in previous books, except it was trying to set the scene in a rushed manner. I read all of the book, hoping it would get better, but it didn't.

I had hope for the plot, but I found the identity of the murderer predictable, which is unusual for me! 

In short, not a book I would recommend, even though I've seen other reviewers giving it 4 and 5 stars.  I really didn't enjoy it.

 The Christmas Killer  was published on 29th October 2020, and is available from  Amazon ,  Waterstones , and your  local independent bookshop .

I'm afraid I couldn't find any links for you to follow Alex Pine!

I was given this book in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to  Avon Books UK .

Thanks to Avon publishing for giving me a copy of “The Christmas Killer” in exchange for an honest review. .

With Halloween coming up, I was looking forward to a creepy read. It’s an intriguing idea for a book - after threats and intimidation on the crime ridden streets of London, Police officer James and his wife Annie move to a sleepy countyside village for a fresh start. Nevertheless, all is not as it seems and a serial killer is on the lose. Deemed the Christmas killer, they send out Christmas cards promising an advent calendar of murder- 12 deaths in 12 days.

I enjoyed learning the secrets of the villagers and speculating who the killer could be. The narratives of the victims as the killer approached was entertaining. I liked how the worsening weather was used to show the panic and claustrophobia in the village as the murders occurred.

However, I felt there was something missing in the novel. The sense of foreboding and tension promised in the blurb wasn’t present for me as I read through. I didn’t feel the characters had much depth and I wasn’t invested in them to get the crime solved. Some of the dialogue was cliched and cheesy. I guessed the killer and I felt the ending was particularly rushed.

It was a disappointing read for me but I can see it would be entertaining for readers to pick up during the betwixmas period .

Twelve days of Christmas, twelve murders all in one little town. Each victim deserves to die says the killer but why and who might the victims be. Can DI James Walker figure out who the killer is and why he received the first clue could it be someone from his past?

What a ride this was. I had no clue who the killer was until right at the end. It was well written and kept me guessing. The story itself is well paced, building to a dramatic climax with a clever unmasking of the killer. The ending was brilliant and finished the story off just right. I want more from James. The plot was clever and left you guessing who the victim might be or what they did to deserve dying. I liked how it all came together. James is really likeable as is his wife Annie. They work well as a couple and added more depth to his character. A great festive read for those who don't like light and fluffy but want a mystery.

I’ve always loved crime and mysteries on television, but it was only during lockdown that I managed to get into reading them – and now I’m hooked!

This is an amazing debut novel from Alex Pine and I’m really looking forward to reading future books by the same author.

The story starts off in Tottenham, where DI Walker and his wife, Annie, live, but then we’re taken to Cumbria. Annie has inherited the family home in the village of Kirkby Abbey and when she gets a fright connected to her husband’s job, she starts to persuade him to move to a safer area. They’re only up there for a short time when a killer strikes, promising to kill a person on each of the twelve days of Christmas. Maybe Kirkby Abbey isn’t safer than North London after all?!

A brilliant, well-written story that I didn’t want to put down.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for an advance reader copy in return for an honest review.

Christmas themed murders?! Yes please. When i saw the cover of this book. I knew that i needed to read it. A holiday mystery just checked all my boxes.


The Christmas killer, which takes place in Cambridge England, is very atmospheric. The reader gets a feel for this small town. As the book opens, it introduces us to two main characters: James and Annie Walker. James, a police officer, and Annie , a school teacher, are suprised to find out that one of James’ most dangerous high profile ‘collars’ Andrew Sullivan) was released from prison.
he is seeking retribution. Shortly, the threats arrive.

The Christmas Killer, book 1 in the series, was a easy read with a fairly simple writing style. The main focus of the book was a police procedural to solve the crime. The story follows DI James Walker through an investigation. As the book begins, He is ready to spend the holiday with his family. That is until a package shows up on his front door promising 12 murders in 12 days. Shortly after the bodies start to show up and the clues begin to roll in.

The book reallly focuses on the dialogue between characters as the investigation takes off. After a while all these conversations slowed the book down for me. speaking of characters, the detectives were a bit too nice. There came a point in the book where i was actually rooting for the murderer because the detectives lacked dimension. It took me longer than usual to read this type of book. I did love how neatly the ending wrapped up all the lose ends. The story seemed too mundane At times, the book read like arime show.

I did like this story. It had some postive aspects to it but there is room for improvement. The christmas killer is
the perfect book to curl up with while drinking hot chocolate .

This book was enjoyable in that the plot was well-written and the suspense was sustained throughout. I personally did not guess the identity of the killer, which is always a plus, and keeps the reader on their toes and wanting to finish the book. I would therefore recommend The Christmas Killer to all crime novel fans as I am sure that they would enjoy it.

The Christmas Killer - Alex Pine

'Twelve Days. Twelve Murders'

I was really intrigued to read this as I am a massive fan of both Thrillers and the normal romantic Christmas style books, so thought this would be an excellent mix up. I enjoyed the "small village cut off from the rest of the country because of a storm concept", but did feel that the pace was a little slow and it was giving me old style murder mystery story vibes - not that this is a bad thing, it just wasn't what I was expecting.

It was straight forward and had a predictable ending but overall I thought the characters were good and short chapters helped me to read this pretty quickly but I just wanted a little more 'oomph'.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Author and Publishers for the chance to read and review this book!

DI James Walker and his wife have recently relocated to a small remote village. It's a big change from London, but they're both working on fitting in. There's not much crime here and Walker finds himself a little bored ... he's used to all the 'big' crime in London. But when someone from their past gets out of prison prematurely, they are threatened and in order to appease his wife, they leave, and don't bother with a change of address note.

It's almost Christmas and Walker's thoughts are about decorating, buying presents, and his wife has invited his whole family to spend Christmas with them. Returning home after another long day, he finds an early Christmas on his front porch.

What he finds when he opens the box, inside is a grisly surprise with a note attached.

Think 12 days of Christmas ... promising a body for every day until Christmas. This was just the first. It's not too long before another body is found, buried in the snow.

How many more bodies will be found before the killer is caught? Is this connected to the reason they left London? Is there somewhere in their new home town who has taken issue with him and/or his family?

A new crime series is always welcome... especially when it begins with a lot of suspense that steadily increases until the very end. (No cliffhangers here). This is action packed and will keep you riveted from start to finish. The characters are solidly drawn lending credibility to the story. I look forward to more adventures of DI Walker.

Many thanks to the author / Avon Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

To be honest, I find there is more suspense with opening an advent calendar than there was in Pine’s murder mystery. I could not get a sense of danger and the perpetrator was too obvious.

The remote Cumbrian setting is intended to isolate the village, meaning there is no escape from this silent killer. I loved the excessive snow because it truly is synonymous to a jolly good Christmas! As such, I could vividly picture the silence as the snow falls, blanketing the village. James’s frustration to the weather did make me chuckle; having moved up from London, he struggles to see how life comes to a halt as a result of this extreme weather – such a recognisable quality!

The novel opens with a Prologue to establish what made James and his wife, Annie, move to Cumbria. However, this rapidly becomes a red-herring in the story and does not really feature. Indeed, I suspect this will become the basis of a future story in this series and I am sure the criminal will feature again.

Running around the village trying to find the killer, I found James’s approach rather slow and dull. His wife, Annie, was particularly grating and I was annoyed by her intrusive approach. She demands to know what is going on with the investigation and I was shocked with how much James shares with her – even down to crucial evidence! I did not find this realistic and it definitely lessened the impact of the story.

It takes a long time for the story to truly get going. It was only until I was 20% in did the first body appear. Consequently, I found the narrative quite mundane up until this point and this was a feeling that never truly disappeared, even as the tension is supposedly rising in the plot. There’s a lot of detail included in the story that I found was unnecessary and really slowed the pace down. I was left feeling bored and frustrated that there was not enough suspense and grit that the blurb appeared to suggest.

Despite my criticisms, this is a good candidate for a Christmas read. Aside from the obvious, it is not too gory or gritty to make you feel uncomfortable at such a festive time of year. Indeed, it almost felt like a cosy mystery because I could not fathom any danger and was not gripped by the plot development. Instead, it was a gentle read that eventually provided dead bodies and, finally, a killer at the end.

I was not blown away by this story. Should I read the next in the series, I am really hoping for something that has far more suspense and intrigue. For me, there was not enough of a thrill factor. I felt I was, like James, trudging through the snow trying to find some excitement.

With thanks to Avon books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first book I have had the opportunity to read and review via NetGalley and it has been a most enjoyable experience. I would give this book ‘ The Christmas Killer’ by Alex Pine 4 stars. This is a story full of twists and turns that kept me guessing right up to the very end. It is a murder mystery with all of the necessary grit to keep you hooked but none of the grim and gruesome details.
This is the first book in a new British crime thriller series and I am keen to learn more about the characters we have been introduced to, especially the detective James Walker. I want to thank NetGalley, the publishers Avon and the author Alex Pine for allowing me to read and share my own opinion of this book.
#books #reading #bookworm #firstreview #4stars #readersofinstagram #Netgalley #Alexpine #thechristmaskiller

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books Uk for this ARC!
"Twelve days, twelve murders, twelve victims. And they all deserve what's coming to them"
Merry Christmas Detective Walker, you get to play who's killing all these people for the holiday.
I give this book a solid 4⭐. It kept my attention and the story was interesting enough. I'm a sucker for a good detective/serial killer thriller.

The Christmas Killer is the first instalment in the Detective Inspector James Walker series and is a book as chaotic as the time of year it evokes. DI Walker has relocated to Cumbria CID, where he and wife, Annie, have moved into Annie’s mothers home bequeathed to her 18 months earlier, believing it'll be a change of pace from his previous police work in London, but little does he know, the serenity of the sleepy village of Kirkby Abbey is about to be shattered. One of James’s most high profile and dangerous convictions, Andrew Sullivan, has been released from prison unexpectedly, it having been deemed that he had been wrongly convicted. And on his mind is revenge against those who put him away with James and family being at the top of his list. Soon threats are being made. The decorations are up, the nativity is underway, the villagers are full of festive cheer and a blizzard of snow is predicted to be on its way. As Christmas approaches, James receives a present and card left on his doorstep. A dead partridge accompanied by a note stating that one villager, deserving of death, will be murdered for each of the 12 days of Christmas. As the snow begins to fall, and most are sipping mulled wine by the fireside, the body count begins to climb.

Although this starts out quite slowly, by introducing and building the central characters of James and Annie Walker in the prologue, once the scene is set the pace picks up and it becomes a dark, engaging and atmospheric police procedural. You may ask what could be more unsettling than a vengeful serial killer on the loose during the festive season but add to this a village of snowed-in residents and you have got yourself a Christie-esque ”locked room” thriller which has a mix of cosy elements associated with Christmas, some masterfully-executed twists and some incredibly threatening elements doled out by a killer who doesn't feel he has anything to lose. I didn't really get a good feel for the James and Annie but as it's just the first instalment I'm hoping in upcoming books we will get to learn more and see them develop as people. I also expected it to feel more Christmassy than it did but I'm not complaining about that at all as it's a perhaps a little early for festive-themed reads. There's quite a large suspect pool which keeps things interesting and I definitely felt the tension throughout and the Lake District location was remote and perfect. Many thanks to Avon for an ARC.

Twelve days, twelve murders is the promised threat DI James Walker receives at his doorstep in the small town of Kirkby Abbey. Him and his wife, Annie, thought they were out of the crosshairs moving from London back to Annie's hometown, but the first body is found and that seems like it's only the beginning. Can DI Walker find the killer before he strikes again?

I was surprised when I looked down and saw I was halfway through the book before the actual murder action starting going and then felt like the ending was a bit rushed. Alex Pine wrote multiple suspects to try to throw you off the real killer's scent which I thought was done well, but it wasn't much for character development. All in all, a quick and easy read and perfect to take you from spooky season into the holiday season. I could definitely see this as a good Christmas gift to a murder mystery fan.

Thank you Netgalley, Alex Pine and Avon Books for my e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I was compelled to read this book as soon as I saw the cover. I love a good seasonal crime thriller and nothing better than a Christmas one!

I really enjoyed the premise and how it was written. It took me a while to get into it but once the investigation started I really enjoyed it.

Although I found that some parts were predictable I still enjoyed to find out that my guesses were right. I enjoyed DI James character and would definitely like to see more from him but I didn’t really relate to Annie as a character.

Overall, although it can be slow at times and there are some predictability, I still enjoyed the plot and found the book well written and I would recommend it to crime fiction fans.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Avon Books UK for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review

This is a great read and an original concept for a crime thriller.
James and Annie move up to a village in Cumbria after some trouble in London.
All seems ok but James is a bit bored with the small amount of crime in the village. That soon changes when he receives a sinister gift along with a card that explains 12 murders will be carried on in the lead up to Christmas.
The first victim is soon found and James is unsure if it’s just a coincidence with the message he received.
When another body is found and a note saying she deserved it, he takes the cards seriously.
It’s a small village where everyone thinks they know each other but it appears some residents have been keeping secrets and the killer is punishing them.
This is a gripping crime thriller that had me hooked throughout the book.
Thanks to Avon Books UK and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for kindly providing me with a digital copy of this book for review.
I really enjoyed this Christmas set thriller. I don’t tend to read that many thrillers- preferring my crime to be on the cozy side, but this wasn’t too psychologically challenging and I feel it had more of a Midsummer Murders feel to it.
I also have to pat myself on the back as I had guessed who the murderer was by the second death, but that didn’t spoil it for me- it was fun seeing if my suspicions were correct.
There were a few points which didn’t sit right with me but I did enjoy the character forming and felt the plot moved along at the right pace. Would definitely recommend and will most likely continue with the series.