I enjoy Peter Swanson's storytelling style - and think that it is very well suited to the novella format. This was an engaging and entertaining tale, full of darkness and twisty goodness wrapped in holiday packaging. It was a quick and fun read and I quite enjoyed it!

I’ve only read the kind worth killing and the kind worth saving from this author so I was excited to be asked to review the ARC of his newest Novella. It did not disappoint! I loved the twist and the way I thought I was reading one thing in the beginning and it turned out completely different for the second half. I read it in 2 sittings, but could definitely be finished in a nice, cold afternoon during the Christmas holidays! Who doesn’t like a little murder mystery to break up all the Holly Holly!

The Christmas Guest follows Ashley Smith, an American student who is studying in London. Ashley doesn’t have any family back home, so when she is invited to a new friend’s house for Christmas break, she is happy to accept. She is picked up at the train station by Emma’s brother, Adam, and is immediately interested in him. While at a local pub, she finds out Adam was investigated in regards to a murder last summer. Is her crush a murderer?

This started off pretty quick for me and i’m not sure why, but it wasn’t holding my interest. A large portion of the novella was diary entries, and I understand they were from a college student, but it all felt a little juvenile to me. The twist I didn’t necessarily see coming, but also felt a little far fetched to me. I’ve read plenty by this author and have very much enjoyed him in the past, but this one didn’t work that well for me.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A Christmas novella by Peter Swanson? Yes, please! This is as creepy and gothic as you would expect it to be. A unique book for the holidays. ;)

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/83814905

I was given a copy of this book by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Peter Swanson likes surprises. And not the good ones like a puppy under the Christmas tree. No, he likes the creepy ones that make you suspect every person you've ever considered a friend. But he does it so well.

Ashley is a Californian attending college in England. With no family or close friends to return to for the holidays, she is excited when Emma invites her to spend the holidays with her at her home in the Cotswolds. As the week progresses, we see through her eyes via diary entries how it's not just the quaintness that she is besotted with, but Emma's brother.

But nothing is really as it seems, not even a diary.

This story is presented as the re-reading of a 30 year old diary, found during a closet cleaning by the unnamed narrator. The diary belonged to an American college girl who was studying abroad and who was invited to an old English country house for Christmas by a classmate named Emma Chapman. While visiting the nearby pub, the diarist is called out on her uncanny resemblance to a recently murdered girl, a close acquaintance of Emma’s twin brother Adam, who is a also suspect in that crime (and someone she is crushing on). The diary abruptly ends on Christmas Eve because a tragedy occurred. Back to the present day — and we find out our narrator’s surprising identity.

Mr. Swanson wraps a murder mystery in the trappings of a traditional Cotswolds Christmas scene, but it’s nonetheless creepy and uneasy. Will a 30 year old mystery get a satisfactory resolution when the entire novella is told through one perspective? Or, do we get (as the author’s note mentions) a big Bah! Humbug?

As the author wished —I’m one for mixing my Christmas cheer with a murder mystery. 5 stars for this novella!

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for a free advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO Eyes: No eye colors are mentioned at all.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO, but just like in “Clue” there’s a greenhouse conservatory.

For me, an okay read, but not my favorite. Maybe if not a novella, it could have expanded the plot more effectively. None of the main characters were easy to like.

I did appreciate the opportunity by Netgalley, the author and publisher to read and offer an honest appraisal of the work.

American, Ashley Smith, has been studying art in London. It's now Christmas and she has no family to spend it with. Her classmate, Emma, invites her at the last minute to her family home, Stravewood Hall, in Cotswold. When Ashley arrives, she is immediately smitten with Emma's twin brother, Adam. During her visit, she learns about a local girl in the village named Joanna Davies that had gone missing and was found dead in the woods nearby. Adam tells Ashley that some people believe he committed this crime because he saw Joanna before she went missing, but of course Ashley doesn't believe it. After a night out at a local Pub while walking back to Starvewood Hall, Ashley encounters a creepy stranger in the woods. When Emma encounters the same stranger at another time, the police are called to investigate.

THE CHRISTMAS GUEST was the perfect novella. It was filled with suspense and just the right amount of creepiness. I thought it was neat that part of the story was told through Ashley's diary entries. I was not prepared for the shocking revelation. I have been a fan of Peter Swanson's books for a long time and I feel he really hit it out of park with this one.

Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow Books for my gifted copy.

This review will be shared to my Instagram (@coffee.break.book.reviews) closer to the pub date.

A Christmas murder novella? What’s not to love! I enjoyed the mystery, the ah ha moment, and the Christmas vibes. Very cute story, designed per the author to be read in one sitting. Would recommend for a quick read!

A fairly unassuming start that turned into a very dark and twisted little tale.

I have some very mixed feelings about this. I will say to start off that while I do enjoy the occasional Christmassy thriller or mystery, on the whole I prefer my Christmas books on the lighthearted end, which this most definitely was not.

This novella follows Ashley, an American studying abroad in London who is invited to spend the holidays with her friend Emma and Emma’s family.

The first half of the novella is Ashley’s diary entries leading up to Christmas.

And then the twist happened. I had kind of suspected things with some context clues, but I didn’t love just how dark the story got, and I really didn’t like the second half of the story. I guess overall I would give this a 3/5 but those who enjoy reading macabre stories at Christmas would enjoy this one more.

A Christmas novella mystery set in the Cotswolds. The protagonist is an American art student invited to spend Christmas in the countryside. Mystery and murder abound.

I normally really enjoy Swanson's writing but this didn't hit the mark for me. I just found the style a bit confusing. Others might enjoy it more but the suspense I normally love from.his books wasn't there for me.

A Christmas Novella with a spooky twist. I enjoyed this story. It is about Ashley, who goes to London to her friend's family home for Christmas and there have been some unsolved murders, there. Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow publisher and the author for the arc in exchange for a fair review.

Peter Swanson, oh how I love thee! This was a fantastic novella. From the English manor setting, to the creepy Christmas hosts, this story was perfect. The only downfall was wishing I had waited to read it on a snowy night!

Thank you to Peter Swanson, Netgalley, and William Morrow for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Peter Swanson does it again! The Christmas Guest is a novella I devoured in about an hour. I loved the feel of the book. It’s dark, festive, and a wonderful mystery. It was a bit predictable but there’s more to it than you think! I will read anything by Peter Swanson, he really knows how to weave a web of a story. 4 1/2 stars!

When Ashley is invited to an English country Christmas by her college friend Emma she is excited and also a little surprised; she didn't think she and Emma were that close. But since Ashley is an orphan, going home for the holiday to California wasn't really an option. When she arrives at the estate she is immediately smitten with Emma's twin brother Adam, and the story that unfolds has a twist that I didn't see coming. Swanson is a master of psychological thrillers.

There's no place like homicide for the holidays. This was a fun, twisty, quick read that you can devour in one sitting. The Christmas setting was the perfect combination of cozy and gothic. I just got done with reading all of Agatha Christie's murder mysteries so this was a fun one to dive into immediately after. I do admit that this could have been better had I not read it on a sweltering sunny day.

When I saw that The Christmas Guest was a novella, I was a little worried. Would Peter Swanson be able to make a shorter book as great as his others? The answer is yes. The Christmas Guest did not disappoint!
It had plenty of thrills, which left me pleasantly surprised. How was the author able to do so much in such a short book?
I love how the author used diary entries and flashbacks to add variety to this story. I also liked how the story focuses on the relationship between two college friends and the friend's brother. It was a fun triangle. I also loved how it took place at Christmas time at an English country home. What a perfect holiday mystery.
I would recommend this book to people who like books about siblings, Christmas mysteries, and old fashion mansion crimes.

Peter Swanson's novella, The Christmas Guest, was excellent. The gothic feel of an English manor left me wishing this was just a bit longer. American student, Ashley Smith is studying in London. As the holidays, approach, she believed she would spend the holidays alone. She is enthralled when her classmate Emma invites her to stay with her family. This book contains everything you want from a full-length Peter Swanson thriller, but on a smaller scale. I was able to read this in one sitting and it was a fantastic afternoon well-spent.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced e-reader copy in exchange for a my non-biased review.

This was such a twisted and fun novella. I almost wish I could’ve waited and read it in the winter for the vibes but oh well. I really didn’t know what was going to happen but I really loved all of the descriptions. I could feel how cold it was, I could imagine how intimidating the house and family were. I felt very unsettled the whole time waiting for something to happen. I loved the twists I loved the haunting ending. Any book that starts with a quote from A Christmas Carol is one I want to read. Thank you so much to Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

An enjoyable one-sitting read, perfect for Christmas, Halloween and otherwise!

This was so fun and bingeable. I loved the atmospheric setting and gothic thriller vibes. There was plenty of suspense despite this being a novella and I was left blindsided 🤯 I'll admit the diary entries came across as juvenile and like the author was trying too hard to sound female, but it was all very engaging still.

At the end of the book, Peter Swanson shares why he wrote The Christmas Guest where "friends and families gathered in country houses with snow piling up outside. Lots of drinking and resentment. Perfect recipe for a murder". Well, I think he has nailed it with this one!