This novella really can be read in one sitting, perhaps in front of a crackling fire after you open Christmas gifts. I'm not sure I'd recommend it if you are home alone . . .

The main characters in this one are students – Ashley, an American studying abroad for the year at a London art school, and a fellow classmate, Emma. Emma invites Ashley to her country home as Christmas break approaches since she's not returning to the US.

We read about all these events from Ashey's diary, which was an interesting way to tell the story. I really grew to root for Ashely since we get her inner thoughts through her diary. And clever Peter Swanson, very clever!

It's a dream for Ashley to be at a cozy home, visiting pubs and meeting Emma's dashingly handsome brother Adam. Could there be a holiday romance, too? There's also a recent murder, so Ashely wonders if she should also investigate that over break.

The second part picks up the action about 30 years later and has some delicious twists I was not expecting. I enjoyed this quick read; the atmospheric setting put me in the holiday spirit!

Dedicated to three women who don’t particularly like Christmas, and with a nod to Charles Dickens, this 112 page novella opens in modern day New York, where Ashley Smith is happily spending Christmas Day ALONE.

In Part One, after partaking in her own personal Christmas Day rituals and traditions, Ashley decides to clean out her closet and she finds the diary written by her “younger self” thirty years prior in 1989.

It was the year that Ashley, then an American Art student studying in London, was invited to join fellow student Emma Chapman at her Cotswold Manor House, Starvewood Hall for Christmas week. The pages are oozing with atmosphere.

Despite being given a freezing cold attic room, she is enjoying drinking mulled wine by the fireplace, playing board games with the many guests at the Manor, and visiting the charming local Pubs. It’s a Christmas week like no other.

And, it doesn’t hurt that Emma’s handsome twin brother, Adam is also home for the holidays. Even the fact that he is being investigated for the brutal slaying of a girl he dated cannot put a damper on things.

But why exactly did Emma invite Ashley to tag along when they weren’t even close friends?
I immediately felt a sense of foreboding!

I enjoyed the diary entries of this more innocent, hopeful girl, but they will end abruptly on Christmas Eve.,

In Part Two, the woman in the PRESENT day who is haunted by the PAST, has all the answers of what transpired on December 24, 1989-and she will fill in the blanks for us.

This ISN’T your typical Christmas story, that is joyful, merry and bright.

And, you definitely WON’T see it getting adapted for the Hallmark channel, which is probably why I liked it so much! 😉

Expected publication date: October 17, 2023

Thank You to William Morrow for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. It was my pleasure to offer a candid review!

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for an ARC of this novella. I tend to have a harder time with shorter reads, but I enjoyed this one! I loved the two different perspectives between chapter 1 and chapter 2 and was happy that I didn’t guess the twist! It got me into the Christmas season spirit already and it’s only September 😝

An American student who avoids the holidays decides to spend it with a friend in England. What unfolds is a story filled with holiday cheer as best as it can be, friends, a strange family and a murder. What more do you need for a holiday read.

If you enjoy bite sized stories that pull you in, you'll feel like you've entered a place where anything can happen, no one can be trusted, and the truth ... that is still to be determined.

This was the first book I'd read by Peter Swanson and enjoyed the writing style using diary entries, texts, and a bit of narrative. I can't wait to read more.

"The Christmas Guest" is perfect holiday read with a side of just enough creepiness to give you the chills. Perfect for gothic literature fans who love a great twist.

3.5

this bummed me out :( it’s a quick creepy little christmas mystery and it’s basically an enjoyable read, just… unexpectedly sad.

thank you netgalley and william morrow for an arc.

Peter Swanson's books can be hit or miss for me. When I love one I love it, but a few I have not enjoyed at all. This novella might be my favorite thing I've read by him. I LOVED it. It was the perfect length for the plot, and the writing was superb. Even though I read it during the heat of summer, I felt like I was in December. It was clever, original, creepily festive, well-paced, and had authentically written characters. I also love that he didn't try to deliver twists for the sake of being shocking. I highly recommend this one.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my complimentary digital copy. All opinions are my own.

Thanks to the Publisher and NetGalley for the early read. This was fun quick read to knock out today. I especially liked that the Christmas Guest was Ashley Smith (my wife's name) and the first Diary entry is December 17 (my wedding anniversary). For being a novella I still didn't see that twist coming in that way.
4.5 stars 🌟

It's 1989 and Christmas. American exchange student, Ashley Smith, has nowhere to go for Christmas because her mother is dead, and she has a sad story. Luckily, she is invited to spend Christmas with her fellow London University student, Emma Chapman and her family. She is thrilled to spend her English Christmas at Starvewood Hall, with her friend and her gorgeous twin brother, Adam.
The family is odd and eccentric. The old mansion is freezing cold. A lot of strange things are going on and come to find out, Adam is accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend who happens to be a ringer for Ashley.
I love the Gothic creepiness of this novella. The Christmas vibes give it a cheery, if murderous vibe.
I love Peter Swanson and this little story is a perfect little Christmas treat! Murder, holidays and thrills!
5 stars.

I loved this book! It was such a cozy read and I recommend reading it closer to winter. I finished it within a few hours because I couldn’t stop reading. I felt so connected to the characters and I loved the writing style. The twists and turns along the way made it all the more worthwhile. If you like cozy thrillers, pick this book up!

Wow, I really did not see that second half coming. The Christmas Guest is a dark and suspenseful novella that will keep you guessing … well, right up to around the 60% mark, anyway. This book is fairly unusual in that the mystery is “solved” pretty early on in the beginning of Part Two, and then all that's left is the confession.

I mostly found this novella to be a well-written and entertaining read. I've always particularly enjoyed books written in diary format so the first half was right up my alley. And, while I had a good idea of who Joanna's murderer must've been, I certainly did not see the big twist coming.

Because the big reveal happens well before the end, this book doesn't have a particularly climatic ending. In fact, there's really not much of a climax at all since most of the action takes place between Parts One and Two, and the reader only finds out what went down after the fact. While this normally would be negative for me, in this case it actually kind of works? I thought that the unusual format was a nice switch up from the traditional murder mystery, at any rate.

For such a short story, Peter Swanson does a nice job of fleshing out the characters, plot, and setting, and I really felt as if I was there in the Cotswold manor house with Emma and Adam's dysfunctional family. And, while I'm not quite ready for winter yet (I live in Michigan so please no), it would have been perfect to cuddle up under a blanket and read this book with a snowstorm raging outside.

Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review.

The Christmas Guest by Peter Swanson is a fast paced novella filled with your lovely cozy Christmas tropes and murder sprinkled in between. A young American Orphaned girl named Ashley is excited to make memories and for new experiences in a foreign country. But it's Christmas break and she has no one to spend it with. Last minute, she's invited by a fellow student, to spend the week of Christmas with her and her family. This is where she meets her friends twin brother and quickly forms a huge crush on him. Even after learning he's the main suspect of his ex-girlfriends murder. Not only that, but there's a creepy man lurking in the woods near her friends home and the police aren't taking it seriously.

This story was filled with twists that I did see come...until I didn't. The first few were kinda of predictable, but then right when you're close enough to the end of story and think there can't be anything else, Swanson hits you with a good one! That ending still has my noggin working.

Book Title: The Christmas Guest
Author: Peter Swanson
Publisher: William Morrow
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Pub Date: October 10, 2023
My Rating: 4. Stars

This is my seventh Peter Swanson novel. I totally loved all ~ (well six!!! One was okay.)

Story is told in two parts

Parent Day: Story starts by celebrating a typical Christmas in Manhattan which is basically nothing. While cleaning out her closet she finds a 1989 Diary. Flipping through pages comes upon Christmas thirty years ago. Not sure if prepared about going back in time. However once starting cannot stop!
.
In 1989 Ashely was an art student attending school in London. She has no family as her mother died of cancer and never knew her father. So when Emma Chapman invites her to spend the holiday with her family at their home - Starvewood Hall in the English country, Ashley is excited (or ‘chuffed as the Brits would say). Ashley is also looking forward to meeting Emma’s twin brother Adam and perhaps enjoying fun times at local pubs.
One evening while at a fancy pub the Sheepsfold, an older woman points at her and immediately another woman put her arm around her. It seems Ashley looks like Joanna Davies the woman’s daughter who was murdered! Making matters worse Adam was a suspect.

Ashley is no longer so sure about this fun holiday!

Now onto Part Two
Awww I don’t want to give away too much so I‘ll let you read for yourself.

I was attracted to this story as I love the author and didn’t realize it was a novella ~ as I am not a short story fan ~ However, my mouth totally fell open ~ this turned out to be a great story!

Additionally I enjoyed reading author Peter Swanson’s explanation of “Why I Wrote “The Christmas Guest”-
He tells us that he didn’t want to write a mystery story that takes place at Christmas but wanted all the Christmastime festivities ~ decorations, food,. Christmas Carols, snow!

SO yes I love Christmas and enjoyed all the Holiday activities and of course a little murder thrown in!

Want to thank NetGalley and William Marrow for this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for October 10, 2023.

I had no idea this was a novella when I requested the arc. I was disappointed it was only 115 pages, disappointed that the story wasn't longer because it was really good. Fun, mystery, murderous, straight to the point and I love that. Peter Swanson is a great author in this was a great little story.

Definitely readable in a day, which writer Peter Swanson said was his goal in writing this. I loved the setting and I really really loved the first half (the diary entries) and couldn't put the story down. But the second half wasn't as good and I would have liked a few more twists as it rolled to a resolution. It was definitely dark, though, and I do appreciate a well-crafted murder plot. I also really like how the diary entries felt like diary entries - too many times journals are written like a book scene and I liked that this was exactly how a college student would write.

Sidenote: I did appreciate the mention of "Carbondale," my hometown, which isn't particularly wellknown.

I collect Christmas and holiday books, especially novellas. I love a few quick reads to get me in the Christmas spirit.

The Christmas Guest is an unexpectedly delightful murder/mystery from Peter Swanson. I enjoy how he tells a story and keeps me on edge from beginning to end. I was waiting for the hook and twist that would make me shiver. The story starts with remembering the Christmas of 1989 via reading a diary.

Ashley is an American studying art in London for a year. She is alone now that her grandmother is dead and has nothing to keep her anchored in the U.S. Ashley is thrilled when her friend, Emma Chapman, invites her to spend Christmas at her home. Ashley is excited to experience a true British celebration.

From the start, it doesn't feel right. Ashley is surprised when she finds her room in the servants' quarters. It is freezing cold. Emma's family isn't what Ashley expected, either. Secrets are floating around the house. Regardless, Ashley is happy to be with a family. When Adam, Emma's twin brother, shows up, Ashley wonders if the adventure will turn from a Gothic murder story to a Gothic romance. Her experience is all documented in her diary.

There is a lot of story in this concise 110-page thriller. It is short enough to finish in one day but long enough to keep me wondering until the end. I enjoyed this fast-paced thriller. The ending took me by surprise. It's a wonderfully unexpected twist. I don't know if I will add this to my yearly reading list, but I will recommend it to my mystery lover fans.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read and review an advanced copy of ‘The Christmas Guest’.

When Ashley, an American student in England, is invited by Emma to visit her family’s estate in the Cotswolds over Christmas, she is excited. To top it off, she meets Emma’s brother, Adam (who is a suspect in a past unsolved murder), and she feels some chemistry. Little did she know that her stay would be more like a gothic thriller.

Peter Swanson knows how to write a mystery, and this Christmas novella is another story that will not disappoint the reader.

I enjoyed this quick novella from one of my favorite thriller authors - this is more of a gothic, creepy feel rather than a thriller - but I couldn't read it fast enough!

Short and sweet…or not so sweet. Twisty and entertaining. I enjoyed this novella. Love the cover too.

Thank you to NetGalley, the Publishers, and Peter Swanson for an ARC of The Christmas Guest! This book shows that not all books need to be 300+ pages to be enthralling. This is a perfect book you can read in one sitting and has you at the edge of your seat. I had an idea at the twist, but still had me swiping back a few pages to make sure I read it right! This was a great Christmas murder mystery that I wish I could get more of. I may be coming back to this on Christmas Eve lol!