I found this to be an okay read. Like others, I felt the writing was a bit awkward and simplistic; the wife a bit of a wet lettuce; and the police investigation not very impressive. It was a reasonable effort at a different slant on a Christmas story but overall it could have been better.

“Twelve days. Twelve murders. Twelve victims. And they all deserve what’s coming to them.”

Ahh, Kirkby Abbey, a quaint, snowy, English village...the perfect place to be for Christmas. Until you realize there is a serial killer on the loose with a thirst for vengeance!😱

I enjoyed the whodunnit aspect of this one as well as the small village and snowy setting. I also enjoyed learning about how the different characters’ lives intersected and their hidden secrets!

I had really high hopes for this one and a crazy ending, but unfortunately I guessed who the killer was about 30% into the book. I also felt like things were VERY spelled out and didn’t leave too much up to the imagination. As someone that reads a lot of thrillers, I was hoping for a more outrageous twist that I didn’t see coming.

If you don’t read a lot of thrillers and are looking for a wintery mystery about a serial killer on the loose in a small English town, then pick this one up!

This is a fast paced thriller all centering around Murders that lead up to Christmas

I enjoyed that the chapters were short and I found myself to be intrigued throughout the entire book

I did end up figuring out who the killer was about halfway through because I thought it ended up becoming fairly obvious, but there were parts of the ending that still took me by surprise.

If someone is looking for a thriller rather than a romcom during the holiday season, this is it!

I got about half way through this book and had to stop. I read a large number of detective novels and this book was lacking in every way. The characters had no depth, in fact some where so bland I just didn't care. The writing lacked any flare or suspense, the language seemed like someone who had never written before just sat down and I thought I know I can write a detective novel and if it was that easy we'd all do it. It's a real.shane as Cumbria is a fantastic location for a detective series

Yikes, this was underwhelming. The plot was slow; there wasn't' a murder until over a quarter of the book was completed. None of the characters were intriguing. For a detective who had lived in London, James was a total bore. Annie was underdeveloped. The priest was glaringly the perpetrator from the very beginning. The dialog was also very stiff. Sometimes there would be internal dialog, then there would be actual dialog, restating what was just said, and then we would get a third dose of explanation. I really hate giving bad reviews but there was almost nothing redeeming about this novel.

This was an uncomplicated murder mystery set in the picturesque dales of northern England. A serial killer is loose, & planning to kill 12 people “who deserve it”, one for each of the 12 days of Christmas. It takes a while to set the scene (we are 25% through before the first murder) and there is a lot of extraneous information. It’s a bit slow, and the dialogue is klunky, but the ending wraps up well & satisfyingly.

I did enjoy this book on the whole but I did find that the writing wasn’t as experienced as some thriller books that I’ve recently read. I found that it lacked a certain professionalism in parts and the fact that the main character continuously referred to his wife as “hon” throughout really grated on me and got on my nerves. That being said that’s just a matter if personal opinion and preference. I liked the originality of the story line and it did have some good twists and turns throughout. I did manage to guess the identity of the Christmas killer about 60% of the way through but it did surprise in other ways. A nice and easy read and a nice change from all of the chic lit Christmas books that are out there at the minute.

I found this book quite a good read. It had me wondering throughout who the killer could be. I never guessed who it was until the very last moment.

I did feel like the middle bit did drag on a little with the police not knowing who did it and just going over the same information.

Thank you to the author, publishers and netgalley for allowing me to read this book.

A Christmas time based murder mystery with plenty of suspects to get you guessing who is the killer. With each victim having a secret that the killer feels they need to die for, but why ?
This story reads a little like an Agatha Christie novel, with everything becoming clear in the final reveal.

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for a free copy in return for an unbiased review.

I read this book with my virtual book club and was looking forward to a festive thriller read. Unfortunately, this fell flat for me in a few places. Firstly, the speech irritated me as it just wasn't reflective of how people interact in real life. It's one of those things that once you pick up on, you can't ignore. I really think it would have been a much more enjoyable reading experience if conversation was more realistic, rather than "we need to summon forensics and the pathologist right away" and "it just came out and as soon as it did I knew I’d boobed."

Secondly, I felt like I was being condescended quite a lot and needed things literally spelled out for me - e.g. the constant repetition of what was in the cards - I remember, I was there when you discovered it the first time, I don't need reminding of <b>what's in store</b>. I also felt the murders were dealt with and spoken about in a very detached manner which took away all the tension and made them feel mundane.

Thirdly, I guessed the murderer quite early on and this is something that never happens when I read books in this genre. I mention it here because I felt like the author didn't do a good enough job of covering the tracks. This is a personal thing and I know others won't guess, but the fact I worked it out made the book less enjoyable just waiting for the big reveal I knew was coming.

I know I've touched a lot on the negatives but there were parts of this book I still enjoyed. The short chapters gave it a fast pace and I loved the setting, having grown up not too far from the Lakes District. The small-village vibes left you questioning everyone and not knowing who to believe.

The main shortfall for me was that I've read too many books in this genre and rate many as mediocre as I have such high expectations. Perhaps if you're new to thrillers or looking for a Christmas-themed murder spree, this would be a good place to start. But I'd say regular thriller readers should probably skip this one.

I was able to read this book thanks to NetGalley. It was an entertaining spooky read perfect for thriller and holiday lovers alike. Thanks again to NetGalley for the chance to read and review this book.

THE CHRISTMAS KILLER is written in the style of a traditional whodunit, set amidst a small snowed-in village in Cumbria in early December and delivers just what its title promises. A killer is on the loose and has chosen a 12-days-of-Christmas card to deliver their sinister message: he / she is vowing to murder twelve villagers “who deserve what’s coming to them” in the days leading up to Christmas. Enter DI James Walker, a detective who has relocated to the small village from London to get a break from crime and to appease his wife Annie, who has longed to return to the place of her childhood. It’s needless to say that James’ semi-retirement plans don’t pan out quite as he had hoped when the Christmas killer makes his appearance.

Whilst an Agatha Christie novel this is not, despite its similar “and-then-there-were-none” style, THE CHRISTMAS KILLER made for a quick and entertaining read perfect for the busy season. I really enjoyed the snowy, small town setting, including the quirky village characters, even though I found the dialogue stilted and the plot very predictable. I read this as a group read and our favourite part was coming up with wild and wonderful theories, just to find that my initial suspect was indeed the murderer. So if you are craving twists and red herrings, this book might not be a good fit for you. However, it will appeal to readers who enjoy a cosy mystery with an atmospheric setting, and those who really love to solve the mystery on their own without being blindsided.

I'm sad to say I found this really underwhelming! I didn't think there was a lot of suspense & I guessed who the killer could be early on. For me with a thriller I feel like you need to be hooked from page 1 & I really didn't get that from this which is a shame at I had such high hopes for this book!

I didn't like Annie as a character, I found her really irritating. She was just so mopey (don't know if that's a word but thats how I'd describe her 😂). I also thought that a book that has a tag line of 12 days, 12 deaths, you kind of expect 12 deaths, not 3. To never find out who else was on the killers list was a shame as you never found out why they were on there. The ending was really rushed & abrupt, everything seemed to happen in the last 5%! There was just a lot of faffing around for me.

One final thing, I hope never to see or hear the word "hon" being used ever again I hate it 😂🤮!!

Think I'll stick to my chic lit books for Christmas in future! Such a shame as the concept sounded great, but this just wasn't for me

I did enjoy The Christmas Killer by Alex Pine, the premise of the book sounded great. 12 days, 12 murders....can they stop the killer. But I felt that it was a little slow and it didn't deliver what you were expecting. There was a lot less murders than I was expecting there to be.
I still enjoyed the story, just wish it had been a bit more gritty and exciting. It kept you wondering who could be the killer, even if it was a little bit predictable, it added plenty of different options of who the killer could be.
I would read another book by Alex Pine and enjoyed the Christmas theme to this one.

I really enjoyed the premise of this book! I was sucked in right from the very first chapter. I loved the setting of the book, as I absolutely love Cumbria and I found it easy to envision the little village & the lives the people led there.

It was a super fun & quick read, however I did find it slightly predictable! I guessed who the killer was from the offset which is disappointing, however this may be because I have read so many thriller/mystery books. I think this would be a great book for people just branching into the genre.

I thought this book was an okay read but I can't say that I was gripped by the plot. In some places I felt that it locked some background detail. James is the detective of the story but I felt that the police aspects were superficial. His wife Annie is a wimpish character; usually police wives get on with their role much more effectively. All together, I just thought this book was rather mundane, sorry.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Believe it or not I have never read a Christmas book, let alone a Christmas Thriller. The premise of 12 murders for the 12 days of Christmas was one that intrigued me. I had never read anything quite like it, so from the very first page I was excited, intrigued and ultimately hooked.

The character development in this book was next to none. Assisted by the fact that it was set in a small town (which might be one of my favourite settings!), I felt that we really got to dive deep into a lot of characters which gave us a number of potential murder suspects!

It had the perfect amount of Christmas, and the perfect amount of mystery and twists and turns. I did think that the last part of the book was a little rushed and I would have loved the ending to be stretched out a little more than it was.

Overall, a great read by a new author for me, and it definitely will not be the last of his books that I read. I’ve heard that this is the first in a series, so I am excited to see what DI James Walker is up to next!

💫📖𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬📖💫

📖 The Christmas Killer
🧑🏻‍💻 Alex Pine
🌟𝗔𝗺𝗮𝘇𝗼𝗻: 4.1/5
🌟𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀: 3.69/5
🌟𝗦𝗲𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝘆 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴!

❄️𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬: Detective James Walker and his wife and getting ready for a nice, quiet family Christmas, when an unusual package arrives on the door step, with a note. The note warns the detective that he should prepare that over the next 12 days- there will be 12 murders. . .
❄️𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝: I was sucked in right away, trying to decipher who the killer was. There was some good plot twists in the front half of the book that kept me engaged.
❄️𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐝: I felt like the story plateaued around 70% in and it seemed like the same thing was happening over and over. It had a long plateau and then a sharp ending. The last quarter of the book felt rushed.
❄️𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐠𝐥𝐲 : overall, If you are looking for a thriller during this holiday season, I would recommend. Otherwise, wouldn’t be something I would overtly recommend.
🌟 𝐌𝐲 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 3.5/5

DI walker arrives at his Cumbrian village home in Kirky Abbey and discovers a gruesome package that contains a dead bird and a twelve days of Christmas card with a message saying twelve days twelve murders. Then the first body is discovered. The snow and blizzard cuts the village off leaving residents feeling scared and vulnerable. Will Walker be able to catch the murderer before they strike again. Absolutely brilliant read.

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. I enjoyed this book it kept me guessing and had a good story.