Plot - no spoilers
Escaping the hustle and bustle of The Big Smoke, DI James Walker and his wife Annie relocate to the quaint town of Kirkby Abbey in the north of England. Whilst there are conflicting opinions on a calmer, quieter walk of life, their lives are soon shaken up when an unexpected Christmas gift is left on their doorstep. DI Walker soon finds himself at the centre of a murder investigation, with very little evidence, no suspects and a strained police force behind him. As the elements battle against him, blizzards descend and the town halts to a standstill. However, the killer is still at large, and DI Walker must work against the clock to find the town's serial killer before the death toll rises.


Pros
The initial chapters of the book were truly gripping. From initially being set in London, to then being transferred to the quiet village life, the pace of the start of the novel was fast and set the scene really well. I found myself wanting to read more and see how both the storyline and pace developed after the couple had relocated. I felt the author was able to captivate the two settings through tactical use of contrasting descriptions, highlighting the two extremes of a bustling city and a rural village.

Without giving any spoilers, I am thankful that the killer is revealed at the end. Whilst I had my list of suspects, albeit it was only small, I was glad that the author gave us closure as to who The Christmas Killer is and what their motives are. In my opinion, I prefer to know who the perpetrator is and why they committed their crimes, rather than an author leaving one or both of those aspects open ended.


Cons
It is always difficult to write about the negatives, but unfortunately for me this book has more negatives than positives. Although the beginning of the plot was fast paced and set the scene well, it certainly lost steam from that point onwards. I felt the storyline became extremely slow and the writing style of the author didn't help this. The author particularly likes to use short, simple sentences which ultimately impacted on the overall flow of the narrative; becoming almost staccato. Using this style simply didn't allow for depth, development or complexity, causing the narrative to feel, simply put, as if it were written by a teenager. Whilst a typical thriller/mystery has the standard components of twists, turns, suspects etc. I felt The Christmas Killer seriously lacked on this part, thus causing the narrative to seem so drab.

Secondly, I must mention the characterisation of Annie Walker. Annie spends most of the novel drinking wine and/or feeling sorry for herself. Annie is consistently whining about something; she is always on edge and the way she is portrayed in comparison to James is simply a damsel in distress (with wine). I'm not saying that the author isn't trying to be realistic, we all have our down days, but there are very limited moments where Annie is seen to be genuinely happy. Further to this, I also seriously dislike the fact that James labels her "hon" and insists on using this pet name as much as possible, rather than just addressing Annie using her own name, particularly in her hour of need.


Final thoughts
When I finished this book, I felt relief. I did not enjoy the vast majority of this book and towards the end it felt like a chore. Whilst the initial pages are gripping, the intensity fizzles out and we are left with nothing but a rather beige storyline. Although it is lovely to read about Christmas in September, especially in current COVID circumstances, this novel certainly didn't fill me with any warm fuzzy feelings of Christmas joy, or with that being said it didn't really bring any positive feelings at all. If you are looking depth I would read elsewhere, but if you are searching for an easy, brain-off read then this is the book for you!

I really enjoyed this book, there is all my favourite things from a thriller / police procedural. The creepy setting, the threat of it being closed off and the small community where everyone has a secret or two to hide. While I did think some parts were a bit obvious, it still left me guessing and I got a few things wrong! I do wish the ending hadnt been so rushed, I was at about 90% and I dont think the last 10% wsas enough time to fully wrap it up in a satisfying way, but if this book is going to be part of a series I am already eager to read the next one!

I read this book pretty much in 24 Hours as I could not put it down!

The storyline was somewhat believable and the DCI was methodical in his investigations. Although as the story progressed there were things that I felt the DCI missed

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon books for the advance copy of this book.

Interesting idea of the 12 kills of christmas for this festive thriller. It introduces a new detective, DI James Walker, who is drawn into the grisly case by a mysterious 'christmas present' left on his doorstep. Then the killing begins.
This was tense and engaging but I struggles at times with the pace and some of the time I got irritated by the author stating the obvious. Annie was a bit irritating too.
Engaging and clever but didn't find it was unputdownable.

I enjoyed this book. The characters were quite believable and the DCI was methodical in his quest to find the murderer. No real surprises but well written.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon books for the advance copy of this book.

Oh I loved this book it was really good! I sat down and read it in one sitting. Being from Australia I really enjoyed the whole winter snow storm thing, I could really imagine the chaos and terror of being stuck in the village with a killer on the loose. I felt this was well written, it definitely sucked me in and I felt compelled to keep reading until I reached the end. I kind of had an idea who the killer was but I didn’t figure it out until the end. It was very atmospheric and tense. Highly recommend I really enjoyed it.

Here in Southern California as well as across the world the awful pandemic has me depressed plus we are having a recording breaking/historic heat wave this Labor Day weekend. Soooo! I thought this might be a nice winter/Christmas mystery to read.
Story starts with our protagonist DI James Walker preparing for a nice Family Christmas in the small Cumbria village of Kirby Abbey. However, in this story the typical twelve days of Christmas (you remember “A Partridge in a Pear Tree etc?)… well in this story it is the twelve days of Christmas done mystery/ thriller style…With twelve murders, one each day for twelve days. Sure enough bodies start to appear in the snow!
It seems everyone in this nice quiet village hasty something nasty to hide.

Story is a bit slow for me, plus some characters are oh hum! Annie Walker is a good example her whining gets boring. However, there is a snowstorm which is something I love as I believe there is something magical about a white Christmas (here in SoCal we have to drive to snow! So you can understand my excitement).
Hung in there and may read #2 in hopes that Annie is happier!

Want to thank NetGalley and Avon Books UK for this early release granted to me in exchange for an honest professional review. Publishing Release Date scheduled for October 29, 2020

James and Annie move from London to her home village in Cumbria to escape a villain just put of prison and wanting revenge. James is a DI and he finds the drams follows him. Murders begin to be committed and as the weather worsens, the village is snowed in.
The author creates a good atmosphere and you can feel the tension with the poor weather, the murders and the lead up to Christmas.
I managed to work out who the killer was part way through but this did not spoil my monument of the book. It was nicely written and well laid out.

“𝕋𝕨𝕖𝕝𝕧𝕖 𝔻𝕒𝕪𝕤 , 𝕋𝕨𝕖𝕝𝕧𝕖 𝕞𝕦𝕣𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕕𝕖𝕤𝕖𝕣𝕧𝕖 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥𝕤 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕘 “

As a mystery lover , that sentence is enough to pull me in
I was mainly curious of why this killer thought these people deserved to die and I’m satisfied with the answer I got

The Christmas killer is a story of Detective James walker and his wife Annie who decide to leave the city and transfer to Cornwall ( a small silent village ) after one of the vengeful prisoner,Andrew Sullivan is released
But a few days after settling in the village, James finds a gift package on their doorstep and a Christmas card warning them of a serial killing

This book had a great opening which pulls you in almost instantly with a great plot but in between it felt like the story was too dragged which kind of made me think whether the detectives aren’t doing their jobs or the killer is just too smart and careful

What I liked about this book is the fact that we got to hear the victims side of their story before their deaths and they couldn’t see their killer which kept the killer unknown and a mystery to us unless you kinda guessed it right 😉
( which I didn’t )

All in all it’s a great story and I look forward to reading more from the series and author

Thank you NetGalley and Avonbooks for the Arc copy

"DI James Walker is ready for a quiet family Christmas in the sleepy village of Kirkby Abbey.
But when he opens an early Christmas present left on his doorstep, he soon realises it is no gift. Inside is a gruesome surprise, and a promise – twelve days, twelve murders. Not long after, the first body is found, half frozen in the snow.
As the blizzards descend, panic spreads through the remote Cumbrian village – there’s a killer amongst them, and with eleven more victims to go, anyone could be next…."

This is the 1st book in a new series by Alex Pine. I love thrillers that revolve around a holiday like Christmas or Halloween and this one did not disappoint! I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series and I hope it comes pickley after this one is published news!

Thank you NetGalley and Avon Books UK for the eARC!

I quite enjoyed this book, it was a bit like Midsomer Murders and kept me interested throughout although the ending was very disappointing. I suppose there were so few people left so at least one of them had to be the murderer. Suddenly they are exposed and the book abruptly ends. This should have been handled differently and perhaps more characters included to make the villain less obvious. NOW ATTENTION PUBLISHERS PLEASE. Firstly, it was very irritating that James kept on calling his wife "Hon". I honestly don't think a sernior detective would call his wife by this affection, it is mostly used by women to their friends or colleagues. Secondly, the character of Annie was very weak, she didn't seem to have any palpable personality but what she did have was a face full of movement as I discovered over three to four chapters later in the book.. These were just some of her facial expressions:- noise at back of throat, jaw inched forward, squinting with one eye, biting bottom or top lip, back that straightened, blinked and puffed out cheeks, squinting with tiredness, eyes out on stalks, jaw clench, eyes tighten, ground teeth. It actually became very amusing but detracted from the seriousness of the story. This is a good book but it really needs tidying up.

We usually think of warm toasty reads when we think Christmas. Love stories and happy endings. Well not this Christmas read…..12 days of Christmas and 12 dead bodies, bring on my next thriller read.

Firstly I have to admit I’m a total sucker for British crime dramas. My Foxtel IQ is full of police and detective series and that is why I loved this one. This felt exactly like I was watching one of my favourites, complete with that memorable line that every crime show seems to have….. “Where to now guv?”

It’s the lead up to Christmas and a killer is on the loose in the small village of Kirkby Abbey. Not only is he is on the loose, but he’s taunting the police, and a few of the locals, by sending them creepy Christmas cards, and trust me, these aren’t Christmas cards you want to receive.

Twelve Days of Christmas and twelve murders, our killer has a hit list and it would seem, a score to settle. Who would have a vendetta against any of the residents of this sleepy little hamlet? Certainly not the warm welcome our new resident detective was expecting having left London to escape the evils of his past case and live a somewhat quieter life.

Very much procedural driven we follow Detective James Walker step by step through his investigation while he follows up leads and conducts his interviews. Even with the heavy detail, the story still skips along pretty rapidly.

Although for some reason I found the Detective’s wife Annie beyond irritating (is it wrong I was hoping she was on the killer’s hit-list?) I still found this a quick and enjoyable read, almost like reading an episode of Midsomer Murders.

Thanks to Netgalley and Avon Books UK for the opportunity to read this one.

Excellent book thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review.
Well written, excellent characters that you can really invest in and a plot that twists and turns and keeps you guessing.
Highly recommended.

I love books set in the winter. I love books with Murders. I love a detective story. I loved this book!

I really enjoyed this book, well written, all the characters were good and the story line kept me involved all the way although I was wanting there to be more murders and I did guess who the baddie was!

I can definitely recommend this book and I look forward to reading more from this author who is new to me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

With thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Detective James Walker and his wife Annie relocated to the quiet village of Kirkby Abbey after being involved in a high profile case in London and being threatened by the perpetrator. Not long after moving in James receives a package and card threatening him that the sender will 12 people who deserve it over the Christmas period. Can James catch the killer before the murderer carries out his grizzly threat.

I found this book a little clunky. Almost like the writer was following a "Writer's 10 step guide to writing a thriller". I didn't really connect with any of the main character's and just felt that the whole book lacked depth. I also worked out the end almost immediately which was a disappointment. It's a good book to read in one sitting that is not too taxing on the brain but I can't say I'll be seeking out anymore in the series if there were to be any.

An enjoyable read. A little slow paced and if it was on the TV would be comparable to Vera or Midsomer, so if that's your kind of murder mystery then this is definitely for you. Well written with great characters.

Thank you Netgalley for given me a chance to read this book. Its about a detective who lives with his wive in a small town near London and is trying to the solve a mystery. I enjoyed trying to get to know all of the characlters iving in the small town and figuring out who wa the mastermind behind the murders. It kept we guessing. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and look forward to many more.

The Christmas Killer tells the story of DI James Walker and his wife, who have left the stresses of life in the Metropolitan Police. Threats linked to a previous case of DI Walker's persuades him to move to the sleepy village of Kirkby Abbey in Cumbria, his wife's childhood home. They are soon to discover that Kirkby Abbey has many deep and dark secrets - and there is a killer on the loose who is set on taking the lives of the holders of those secrets. A cat and mouse game is on with DI Walker who is taunted by the killer's use of Christmas cards to hint at what is to come.
I started reading this book when I had a few minutes spare and couldn't put it down. The snowy Christmas scenes are very atmospheric and add to the sinister nature of the killer moving quietly through the village.
As with any good crime thriller, I had several suspects in my head and these kept changing with each twist of the plot.
My only slight criticism of the book is that the ending felt very rushed and the epilogue could have been slightly more detailed.

Alex Pine has come up with a novel idea for a crime story and then set it in a small Lakeland village, trouble is it just doesn’t quite work completely. It’s well worth a read but it could have been so much better. A policeman hero with a wife who you wish had been number one on the murder list rips through the story at a good pace. Tipped off that there will be 12 murders in 12 days it should have been a real mystery but lack of characters meant the murderer was quite easy to spot early on, never mind you read it and make up your own mind