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.

This is a different Christmas story. If you are expecting a Hallmark book this is not it...it is better. Love a good story that is haunting, gripping and a thriller.
Madeline is a survivor of an attack that took place ten years ago. Her best friend was murdered and two of her friends disappeared. Madeline's boyfriend at the time is in prison for the crime.
Currently Madeline is the owner of a bookstore . She meets a crime podcaster that wants to reopen the case that Madeline was involved in. Another woman goes missing . Is this connected to the crime that took place 10 years ago?
Author, Lisa Unger is an impressive writer that can craft a story that will have you on the edge of your seat. Loved the unexpected ending.
Thank you NetGalley the opportunity to read and give an honest review.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is a great little novella read with a whole case of who-done-it and maybe things aren't what they seem. Turns out a lot of people in town are hiding secrets, secrets a well known podcaster tries to uncover. Perfect length for a cozy evening of reading.

A dark and thrilling novella that I plowed through. While it won't give Christmas cheer, it'll give plenty of chills and thrills...perfect for its October release date. I enjoyed this one better than her last two full-length novels.

Christmas Presents, Lisa Unger’s new novella, is a thriller exploring the tragedy of Madeline Martin. Years ago she barely survived a night that left one of her friends dead and two others missing, presumed dead as well. The culprit? Her boyfriend who is now locked away in jail. But when a new girl goes missing and with a true crime podcaster sniffing around, Madeline can’t help but think of that horrible night and worry that things aren’t over. Was her boyfriend working with someone else? If so, who. This is a quick, tight thriller. Thanks so much to Penzler Publishers, Mysterious Press and NetGalley for the eARC.

NYT bestselling author and master of suspense, Lisa Unger (favorite author) returns following Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six with one of the best Christmas crime thriller novellas, CHRISTMAS PRESENTS —It has it ALL! Everything you look for in an engrossing psychological crime WHODUNIT thriller! Top Books of 2023. 5 Stars +

It checks all the boxes!
~A bookseller
~A survivor with a scarred face
~An author/true crime podcaster
~A devoted father/cop with a stroke
~A cold case
~A serial killer wearing a Santa mask
~Mysterious annual Christmas presents to the surviving victim
~Atmospheric secluded winter setting: Little Valley/The Hollows (reference -love)
~Missing Girls
~A snow blizzard
~A remote lake house
~Two friends unite from the past crime to search for the missing girls
~A Countdown to Christmas

RIVETING and unputdownable! The past and present collide as it is closer to the anniversary date of the decades-old crime for an explosive, jaw-dropping, heart-pounding conclusion.

I LOVED CHRISTMAS PRESENTS. Of course, I am a long-time Lisa Unger avid fan and have read all her books!

Madeline Martin is a survivor and now owns The Next Chapter Bookstore. She cares for her father (ex-cop), Sheriff James Martin, who was working on the case and obsessed until he had a stroke.

Madeline is scarred for life (both physically and mentally). She still wears the star across her face, left for dead by the lake, but she lived when her friend Stephanie was not so fortunate - stabbed seventeen times and two other friends still out there, missing.

Harley Granger, a novelist turned true crime podcaster, walks into her store days before Christmas and wants to revisit the events from the past.

Madeline was the sole survivor of Evan Handy, whom she thought was her boyfriend (bad, rich boy) her father warned her not to see. But she did not listen. Evan is in prison, serving a life sentence, convicted of murder, which she helped put behind bars.

Her two other friends, Ainsley and Sam Wallace (sisters) have never been found for nearly a decade, and now there is another girl recently missing, Lolly. She does not want to relive the past, but at the same time, if she can help find Lolly, she will do what she can. These girls are being drugged and taken.

Did Evan have help that night, or is someone on the outside still working with him, taking young girls and women?

In addition, Madeline receives Christmas presents (thoughtful gifts) each year since the murders, but she has not told anyone. She suspects they are from Evan.

Lolly Morris was a college student who had dropped out and was a stripper at a local club and was heading home to the Hollows for Christmas. She went to the diner with some man and has been missing since. He was nice. But he turned out to be a monster. Her parents will be worried. (both lyrical and poetic, Lolly's thoughts and dreams of her parents and Christmas).

Time is running out. Madeline and her best friend Badger (who helped save her that night), along with Harley and the cops, must work diligently before it is too late to find Lolly before he kills again and the missing girls.

Five young women are missing in the same area in a decade. Are they connected? Was Evan Handy innocent after all? Or was there someone else there that night?

Lolly is fighting for her life, held captive by a monster psychopath dressed as Santa with a mask. She must find a way to escape. (I loved the car/forest/ice scene).

As Christmas draws near amid a blizzard, Madeline and Badger find her dad's files and maps in the basement, and they have a clue. Will her dad be able to speak? The danger is closer than they may know.

What a book! Nailbiting and heart-pounding CHRISTMAS PRESENTS is action-packed, beautifully written, and will keep you on the edge of your seat from the first page to the explosive conclusion!

CHRISTMAS PRESENTS is packed with sharp characters, psychological suspense, and gasp-worthy plot twists. As always, Lisa is a pro when it comes to creepy, unsettling settings and characters, both good and evil. Superb writing and twists you do not see coming.

Claustrophobic and haunting, I enjoyed Lolly's character, tenacious, a survivor. Spine-chilling! A perfect book for Halloween or Christmas true crime fans.

After reading and loving the book, I listened to the audiobook by Jennifer Pickens, and the performance was SPELLBINDING! A fantastic and engaging listening experience for all voices.

This is a must-read Christmas novella for Lisa Unger fans! Perfect for gift-giving and book clubs.

Thanks to Mysterious Press, Penzler Publishers, and NetGalley for an ARC and Highbridge Audio for an ALC for an honest review. I also purchased the hardcover copy for my home LU library!

UPCOMING: Put Lisa's 2024 book on your TBR list, The New Couple in 5B, Coming March 5, 2024.

Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars +
Pub Date: Oct 24, 2023
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3.5 stars. A decent mystery novella. I think it could have been fleshed out a bit more and made into a novel for more impact. Also.....if Unger truly wanted to make it a Christmas mystery, I felt that she could have gone in more on the whole Christmas theme.

Looking for the rare Christmas mystery/thriller? Lisa Unger has written a novella - Christmas Presents.

"Madeline Martin just wants to sell books and be left alone. But true crime podcaster, Harley Granger, is looking at an old case. One where Madeline was the only survivor the night her best friend was killed and two others disappeared. Evan Handy went to jail for the crimes but other girls have gone missing since. Now Granger is dredging up old memories and looking at what really happened that night."

Mostly told through Madeline's POV, including the flashbacks when she is telling her story to Granger. Other times we get Granger's POV. And one from a missing girl. Unger keeps you guessing about what's happening and who the killer might be. I didn't guess. There's some creepy scenes with a Santa mask. And a wild ending.

I like this short form because the tension never lets up - there's always something happening.

Great pick for thriller fans wanting a Christmas setting.

True crime podcaster, Harley Granger, comes to Little Valley to question the townspeople about a crime that happened almost ten years ago. A party on December 23, 2014 ended in a death, two disappearances and Madeline Martin left for dead by a riverbank. The sheriff arrested Evan Handy for the crime. Evan insists he is innocent.

Madeline still suffers PTSD from that night. She just wants to be left alone to run her bookstore in town, The Next Chapter Bookstore. Now another girl disappears, a dancer from a local top less bar. Ten years ago the sheriff believed that a second person was involved but could never prove it.

This book is all about the ghosts of the past and how we move forward. It is a fast moving mystery told in two timelines. It is a quick read, a little longer than most novellas. It will keep you wanting to read to the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Mysterious Press, for an ARC. The review is my own.

Where this “lacked” in length, the plot certainly made up for it!
I did find at times it was hard to keep the characters straight, and wish I could’ve read this in winter for the true atmospheric experience!

This was my first Lisa Unger read and I am looking forward to more. The pacing was really satisfying.

I am so grateful for my advanced copy!

A well paced and appropriately short holiday thriller.

The holiday atmosphere could have been better rendered in this (it doesn’t truly feel like a Christmas book), but it moves well and it’s a solid, tight mystery that feels complete despite being pretty brief.

I liked the setup for the plot as well as the principal characters, and though missing girl stories sometimes feel a bit too on the depressing side for me, Unger keeps this one from getting too heavy.

The solve is revealed surprisingly early, so I kept waiting for a twist that never came at the end. It results in the story fading out in the concluding chapters rather than ending with a bang, as I feel most thrillers should, but the ending is certainly a satisfying outcome for a set of characters who Unger does a remarkably good job of making you care about in a relatively short amount of time.

Madeline Martin is trying to live her life in her small hometown after surviving near death ten years ago. Harley Granger is a true crime author and pod caster who comes to Madeline's small town to find out the truth of what happened that night years ago and how it might tie into events that are happening right now. And what Madeline discovers she couldn't remember has been right in front of her all these years.

Lisa Unger has written an entertaining holiday novella that is anything but merry and bright. As the author says in her Acknowledgements, it's 'a walk on the dark side,' very much a psychological thriller which just happens to be set at Christmastime.

Madeline Martin is a survivor. Just before Christmas, 2014, the teenaged boy she thought she loved murdered her best friend, Stephanie Cramer, and attempted to kill her as well, leaving her grievously wounded. Their other two friends, sisters Ainsley and Sam Wallace, have been missing ever since that night. The boyfriend, Evan Handy, is in prison, serving a life sentence for his crimes. Now Harley Granger, a true crime writer, podcaster, and self-styled cold-case detective, wants to write about Evan Handy and dig deeper into the case, especially now that another local girl has gone missing. Is it possible Handy had an accomplice who is still out there and active?

This is a quick, entertaining read with plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. I, for one, enjoyed it. I received an arc of this novella from the author and publisher via NetGalley. Many thanks! My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

I didn’t find this story to be very much about Christmas, but it moved at a fast pace and kept me engaged throughout.

Maddie, our main character is a survivor of a terrible crime. She’s grown now, owns a bookstore and has tried to put the past behind her. As the holiday season draws near, a podcaster with a shows up in order to do an investigation for his show and possibly get the case reopened.

Things heat up quite quickly and it’s a fairly easy task to figure out who the culprits are, but I enjoyed the story in spite of it. Also, there were a few aspects that I questioned near the end, but I guess I can overlook them and hope she writes a sequel to wrap up the loose ends.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penzler Publisher, Mysterious Press for allowing me to rad an advance copy. I’m happy to offer my honest review and recommend this to other readers who enjoy mystery/thrillers.

This was a very short, and quick read! I really enjoyed it, but I do wish that I could have read it closer to Christmas time! I was concerned that because of how short it is, that there wouldn't be much plot, but I was very surprised! I will be recommending this one to all the patrons during this Christmas season!

While this was short and to the point, I felt lost at times keeping up with all of the characters. Once everything started clicking, I was very interested in the mystery and I never figured out the murderer until it was right in my face. The ending was kind of abrupt but I loved how it was tied up in a nice bow.

While the story is set at Christmas time and definitely can be read all year long. I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed the narrators performance. If you are looking for a short read, this one would make a great addition to your TBR.

****Many thanks to Penzler Publishing, High Bridge Audio, and NetGalley for my gifted copy in turn for an honest review.

This was not my favorite Unger, but I liked it a lot more than the last of hers I read. I thought she did a great job setting up an interesting premise and building an uneasy atmosphere. The writing felt crisp, and the characters were dynamic and well-rounded. I thought it was fairly predictable and kept waiting to be surprised by a twist, and it didn’t live up to that hope, but it was very fast-paced (I read it in one sitting). My main complaint is she built a really cool villain with Evan and then didn’t give him nearly enough screen time. But in generally this was a decent thriller.

Thank you to Penzler Publishers and Netgalley for the ARC. Christmas Presents is out 10/24

Madeline survived the unthinkable. Now, years later, true crime writer and podcaster, Harley Granger is in town to dig up all of the buried secrets.

This was an interesting thriller. It was short and right to the point of the case. While I did figure out the twist ending, it was nicely structured by Unger with lots of secrets and twists. The added element of the podcast was really cool. I would have liked to see a little more from all of the characters and the town. This is short, more novella length, but overall enjoyable.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the gifted copy.
My reviews are always honest.

Special thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. 'Christmas Presents' was a quick and predictable thriller. It is not very Christmas'y, so the title was deceiving. Just ok for me.