Christmas Presents had a lot of elements that drew me in - thriller set at Christmas, true crime podcast looking into an old case, main character working in a bookstore - all catnip to me! Unfortunately the execution really wasn’t there. This was a quick read so I finished but I didn’t believe the relationships between characters and the plot just felt tired. I will have forgotten this book entirely by the end of the day. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free ebook to review.

I was intrigued by Christmas Presents: a thriller novella, set at Christmastime.

And it starts off pretty engaging, though I'm afraid the suspense doesn't persist. This is a serviceable thriller; by which, I mean it's one that'll occupy your time but otherwise isn't special or remarkable in any way. Books don't have to be, to be worth one's time - it's all a matter of what you're looking for. So if you're in the mood for something shorter with Christmas vibes, this might be for you.

Personally, I wanted a little more from the overarching plot (the book was somehow too long and a bit repetitive, while not giving me enough plot-wise). The main character owns an indie bookstore; I most enjoyed scenes set there. 2.5 stars rounded up.

This novella was completely gripping and yet another hit by LIsa Unger. Set at Christmas in the small town of Little Valley, Madeline finds one of her favorite true crime authors buying a present for his father in her bookshop. However, the author actually wants to speak with her because Madeline is a final girl, a survivor of serial killer Evan Handy. The author explains that women have continued to go missing since Hardy was sent to prison. Told in a dual timeline with perfect pacing, this read was suspenseful and tension-filled. Thank you to NetGalley and Mysterious Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. I highly and enthusiastically recommend!

Christmas Presents
By Laura Unger
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thank you to @NetGalley, @penzlerpub, and @mysteriouspress for an advance copy of CHRISTMAS PRESENTS in return for my honest review.

“Be vicious. Be fast. Don’t hold back. Scream. Be a bad girl. I tuck myself into the darkness and wait for Santa” 🎅

Madeline Martin is the successful owner of The Next Chapter bookshop in her hometown in rural New York.

True crime writer and podcaster Harley Granger is taking a second look into the case of a convicted killer. He’s looking for help from the killer’s only surviving victim… a small town bookshop owner. 😱

💭 If you’re a fellow thriller lover, you’ll agree that there aren’t enough Christmas books out there for us!
So THANK YOU Lisa Unger for this festive psychological thriller just in time for the holidays 🎄

In under 250 pages, this Novella got my pulse racing, my head guessing, and my heart fully invested in this intriguing cast of characters.

This 👏 Book 👏 Has 👏 Everything!

📚 Cozy bookshops
🎙️ True crime podcasts
🌲 Atmospheric settings
💪 Badass female survivors
🔪 Serial killers
🕵️‍♀️ Amateur detectives
💕 Friends to lovers
🎅 Scary Santas!

I won’t say too much, other than this is a must read for all my #thrillerfans out there. CHRISTMAS PRESENTS is exciting, nerve wracking, and unpredictable. I will definitely be buying a physical copy!

A quick mystery set at Christmas time. Maddie has (mostly) healed and moved on from a tragic, violent event in her past. Her former boyfriend has been in jail many years for the crime that left her badly injured, her best friend dead, and two other girls missing. A famous true crime podcaster shows up and starts asking questions. Is Maddie’s ex really to blame or is there still a killer roaming free in their small town? I would have liked more Christmas content, but I guess this one remains readable all year.

Novella length reads must grab the readers attention, build the story, then show us the solve all within limited chapters. Lisa Unger is well known for being an expert in this craft. She again proves herself of holding a top ten spot on my followed authors list.

Christmas spirits are always tempered by the thoughts of those we have lost along the roads of life. But when those lives were lost to violence, there's an added dimension and many, many scars. As a teen, Madeline survived an attack where her friend was killed. Two other young women went missing the same night and have never been found. Madeline's father, the sheriff at the time, never stopped looking for the young women, even after Madeline's boyfriend was convicted and imprisoned. Madeline has worked hard to hide her scars, but the story is now the subject of a popular podcast where they are investigating the missing teens and three more young women who have gone missing since. More clues will come to light as pressure builds on the town to tell all of their secrets.

Another excellent read by Lisa Unger. Her thrillers are what most of us look for in a book.

Enjoyed this Christmas thriller, a nice contast to all the Christmas rom-coms that come out at this time of the year.

It had some fun elements for sure. The main character, a bookstore owner is the sole survivor of Evan Handy who attacked her and is the presumed perpetrator of the disappearances of two of her friends. He is in jail, but a true crime podcaster who often cracks cold cases is investigating the crime and suspecting that there may be a second perpetrator at large.

Overall this was a solid thriller, but a few of the twists just didn’t work for me personally.

Thank you to Penzer Publishers and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book to read and review.

The time is Christmas and the setting is a small town called Little Valley. The description of the town makes it seem like an idyllic place to visit, until you learn that one teen girl was murdered there, two are missing and the survivor is defaced and barely holding her life together. The incidents that put Little Valley in the news happened ten years ago, but Madeline, the survivor, still believes that her two missing friends are alive somewhere. So when podcaster Harley Granger comes to town set on investigating the crimes, Madeline reluctantly cooperates. There are a lot of complex twists in this dual timeline suspense novel and they made the story for me. The narrator may or may not Nobel reliable, so I found myself second guessing what Madeline was telling me. I also thought her father, the former sheriff, was an interesting addition. He continued to work the disappearances until he had a stroke and he seems to know more than he is currently able to communicate. The relationship between best friends Badger and Madeline borders on obsessive dependence. This story has a lot of elements that are woven together seamlessly in a way that makes the take edgy, intricate and mesmerizing. I had difficulty putting the book down because I was afraid of what trouble the characters would get into while I was away! Seriously, they were that realistic and believable! The plot moves along at a good pace, speeding up to super sonic speed as the revelations begin. This is a must read book for anyone who enjoys suspense, mystery, a few thrills and a lot of surprises.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guidelines Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🔪 🎄 🎅
Happy Pub Day . Lisa Unger does it again. Santa is super creepy in this fast paced Christmas thriller. Madeline Martin is the survivor of brutal crimes committed at a high school party ten years ago. Several of her friends and classmates weren’t so lucky. One dead , two missing. She has spent her life trying to forget the Brutal attack. When true crime podcaster Harley Granger arrives in town, he’s going to drudge up the past and hopefully determine who really committing these crimes. A super quick read, only 226 fast turning pages. Thank you @netgalley and #penzlerpublishing for the ARC.

10 years ago, Madeline's best friend Steph was murdered and her other two best friends Same and Ainsley disappeared at a party at her boyfriend's house. Now, she owns an independent bookstore, where true crime novelist and podcast host Hardy Granger shows up, wanting to dig into her past and make a podcast about the murder and disappearances. Madeline is reluctant to go back to the past, urged on by her friend Badger to let the dead lie. But as new information turns up, Madeline is torn. Can they really figure out what happened to Sam and Ainsley and solve other cold cases along the way?

This was a short book, but it still packed in a lot of twists and turns, some of which I never saw coming. I really enjoyed it, zipped right through it. I'm failry new to Lisa Unger's books, but the more I read of hers, the more I know I need to keep reading her books, and read more of her backlist. Her writing puts you right there in the action, and keeps you wanting to know more.
My one critique is that there are two first person POVs, and it can be a little hard to tell which character is talking when they switch, and there are a couple of chapters where we switch between the 2 first person POVs.
Overall, I really liked this book, and if you like thrillers and want to read a seasonal one, this is a good one to pick up.

CHRISTMAS PRESENTS review

⭐️⭐️⭐️.25/5

🎄Tis the season for holiday reads?! I know it’s not even Halloween yet but as a huuuuge Christmas lover I couldn’t wait to dive into my holiday tbr. This one publishes today so if you’re also in the holiday spirit you can snag this one now!

🎄Here’s a summary of the plot:👇
Madeline has suffered a lot of tragedy in her life and now wants live a quiet life running a bookstore in her hometown. But when a popular true crime podcaster comes to town he starts to dig up parts of the past Madeline would rather forget. The killer has been caught years ago, so why are more women going missing? As Christmas gets closer, Madeline starts to wonder if the true killer is still out there…

🎄It was fun to read a Christmas thriller! The only other one I’ve read was The Family Game and I loved reading a spookier holiday book! I think I would have enjoyed this one more if it had been a full length novel instead of a novella. I felt like with the shorter story some of the storylines felt incomplete and I had more questions I wanted answered! Also I don’t love that soooo many thrillers lately seem to have a romance subplot included. Not every book needs a love story, especially when the main plot of the book is about finding a serial killer. 🫠 Parts of this book gave me the creeps and made me look over my shoulder as I was reading. 😂 Overall, I’d recommend this one if you want a quick, holiday thriller!

🎄Thanks @penzlerpub and @highbridgeaudio for my advance copy of this one! It publishes today!

For some people, the holiday season is a time of joy and togetherness—of food and gifts and parties with family and friends. But the residents of the small town in author Lisa Unger’s Christmas Presents have spent a decade trying to recover from a Christmas party that changed their lives forever.

Full review published on NightsAndWeekends.com and aired on Shelf Discovery.

"The past is alive. It lies, keeps secrets, taunts, invades our thoughts and dreams. It demands reckoning, even after we've tried to bury it, still breathing in the shallow grave of our subconscious. Ignore it at your peril."

"Funny how things work, the twisting path that life takes. How one thing leads to the next. How you make all kinds of vows to yourself about what you'll do and won't do. And then break them."

"Thats why they put erasers on pencils. Everyone makes mistakes. It's what you do next that counts."

Happy Pub Day to this gem!!!

This book may be set around Christmas time, but it is anything but a happy holiday book. This one starts off fast and doesn't let up throughout the entire book. This is considered a novella, but I also would say it's anything but. It is jampacked with a perfect atmospheric setting, with a well throughout plot and mystery, perfectly developed characters and plenty of twist and turns to have you flying through this one. I thought this one was such a fun read. This is literally everything that I want in thrillers, no lagging, the perfect amount of backstory with a great mystery and well-developed characters.

Christmas Presents is told in multiple POVs, throughout multiple timelines and also through bits and pieces of a podcast. I always enjoy when authors use a mixed media format, I find it to be very entertaining. I cannot say enough how fast paced this one is, once you start you aren't able to stop as you are sucked into the mystery of this story. I did manage to figure out how the ending was going to go about midway through but that did not stop from my enjoyment of this story. Everything about this story is wrapped up nicely in the end and I was super thrilled with how, dare is say - wholesome, parts of the ending were.
I was lucky enough to listen to this one via audio while also reading on my kindle. The narrator, Jennifer Pickens, was phenomenal. She managed to create voices for all of the characters that kept my ears glued to the air pods!
Huge thank you to NetGalley, Lisa Unger, HighBridge Audio, Penzler Publishers, Mysterious Press for the ALC and eARC in exchange for my honest review. Christmas Presents releases today and I highly recommend both the Audiobook and the print for a very fast paced, atmospheric, thrilling and gripping read.

A thrilling novella set at Christmas time! A cold case of a murder and missing girls being looked at by an author and podcaster. The story itself was definitely good. A crime committed years ago, someone already in jail for said crime, but when Harley Granger shows up to investigate, more details are revealed. We also get a dual timeline as the story unfolds which provided much needed details. This novella was surprisingly detailed and packed with action. The ending was something I didn’t see coming. A very enjoyable thriller!

I always love a Lisa Unger book and this one did not disappoint! Do not think because of the title that this is a sweet little Christmas story because it is not! It's a true Unger thriller!

Madeline Martin is trying to forget her past as she runs her bookstore; but true crime podcaster Harley Granger. comes to her store to purchase a Christmas present and in the process brings up the events of the past that Madeline does not want to revisit.

Thank you Netgalley, the publisher and author for my ARC !

This was a very quick read, and I enjoyed it overall. Although I quickly suspected where the story would go, it was worth reading and captured me until the end. I look forward to another suspenseful book from Unger in the future.
Thank you NetGalley and Penzler Publishers-Mysterious Press for an ARC of this novel.

Madeline still lives in her small hometown, where she was once attacked and left for dead, taking care of her dad and running the local bookstore. When true crime author, Harley, enters the store to let her know he is investigating the crime that left her disfigured, her best friend dead, and two of her other friend's whereabouts unknown still to this day.

I liked this story. I enjoyed the pacing of the book. While it was short, it never felt like details were missing or that the story/ending gets rushed based on the length. I appreciated that the story was straightforward without tons of added details. Some pieces were a little predictable, but that never took away from the big reveal. I loved Lolly and I thought Madeline was a realistic character.

Thank you NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

If you are expecting a cozy little Christmas story, you are looking at the wrong book. This should be no surprise for fans of Lisa Unger. Lisa Unger once again writes a chilling mystery which revolves around a terrible occurrence that happened in a small little town named Little Valley. Little Valley was a small town where everyone felt safe and secure until one awful year when everything changed.

Madeline Martin is a survivor, literally. She is the sole survivor of a killer who she thought was her friend. Evan Handy is in prison for the murder of her best friend, Steph, and is suspected of killing two other friends that same night, although the bodies were never found. Madeline escaped with her life, but the memories haunt her daily when she looks in the mirror. She has established a successful bookstore, and is happy with her life until Harley Granger walks into her store one evening. Harley is a true crime podcaster, and he wants to reopen the wounds of that fateful night because he questions Evan Handy's guilt.

In true Lisa Unger fashion, you will be taken on a journey from the past and present as you tried to untangle the web of clues strewn about. You will read Madeline's thoughts from that time many years ago and what led up to that night, and then you will be brought back to the present. The true mystery is that three other women have recently disappeared. Evan Handy is behind bars and could not be responsible. This is what has peaked the podcaster's interest. Even though this book is written during the Christmas season, the only red you will see in this book is blood. It is a short book jam packed with a lot of mystery and intrigue. It was a expertly crafted mystery which will pull you from the beginning pages.

Thank you to Penzler Publishers and NetGalley for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A holiday read, a thriller AND Lisa Unger??? Yes, please!! This is the perfect holiday read for those of us that like thrillers and it did not disappoint! A girl who went to a party 10 years ago, one friend was murdered, 2 friends disappeared, she was injured and she can't remember what happened. Will she remember?? Great book!

4.5 stars rounded up

Lisa Unger has done it again! With Christmas Presents, she has written an immersive, suspenseful tale that is both plot-driven and inhabited by well-drawn characters.
The prologue is an immediate hook, with a young, homesick pole dancer working in a dingy bar resolving to reunite with her mother for Christmas, but not noticing the dark pick-up truck that follows her out of the parking lot at the end of the evening.
The meat of the story is narrated by protagonist Madeline Martin, an indie bookstore owner in Little Valley, a small town in upstate New York. Ten years before, at age 17, Maddie barely survived a brutal attack in which her best friend was murdered and two other girls went missing. Now, a decade later, a well-known podcaster, Harley Granger, wants to look at the cold case, and also figure out why several more girls in the area have gone missing since the original attack.
The plot is complex and has enough twists to keep raising questions about the killer’s identity and motivations, as well as challenging the veracity of the character’s memories and stories. The two timelines, present and 10 years before, work well as Maddie recollects her friendships, then and now. The small-town setting lends itself to a quasi locked-room mystery, as the reader sees how the residents evolved over the decade, and how that evolution informs their actions and motivations.
While the title “Christmas Presents” is apt, this is not a cheerful holiday tale. It is a tightly written suspense novella, with a mystery that unfolds and resolves in a short six-day timeframe. Unger’s writing is always atmospheric and beautifully descriptive of places, senses and feelings. She can imbue a dark topic with a deft touch of sensitivity.
I am happy to recommend yet another well-written psychological thriller by Lisa Unger!

Thank you to Mysterious Press and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.