Creepy with Christmas is one of my favorite things. This story really captures the holiday spirit with darkness of course. I love when a book keeps me guessing but also feeds you enough clues to help you theorize. This is my first book by Unger but I enjoyed it enough to seek out more.

I felt I was left wanting more. More character development, more when it came to the podcast element of the story. Just more. It could have been a lot longer.

Since Evan Handy went to jail, three other young women have gone missing, most recently a young college dropout named Lolly. Five young women missing in the same area in a decade. Are they connected? Was Evan Handy innocent after all? Or was there some else there that night? Someone who is still satisfying his dark appetites?

I am a fan of Lisa Unger and this novella did not disappoint. While I read it months before the holidays. it was a nice gift in July! It is difficult to go into too much detail without giving spoilers, so I will just say, it packed a good punch for a novella...it was engaging, character development was the right amount needed but not overly done, and the twists were good! I had my suspicions and while I was right, that didn't take away from the story since it wasn't confirmed until the very end.

Thank you NetGalley and Penzler Publishers, Mysterious Press for ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Madeline Martin revisits her hometown to collaborate with a podcaster and attempt to unravel a lingering mystery from her past that involves the deaths of her best friend and two other girls during their teenage years. Some suspect Madeline herself and believe the incarcerated man's claim of innocence. As Maddy immerses herself in the investigation, she discovers that she may have made a mistake in trusting certain people. The ending was surprising yet tied everything together and left me wanting more.

A Christmas thriller novella pretty good short little story. Grabs you and pulls you in from the start.

I am such a fan of Lisa Unger, and holiday themed thrillers. Plot was good, characters were good and relatable, and the book in general was a lot of fun. I recommend this book.

Thank you to the author, Penzler Publishers, Mysterious Press, and NetGalley for an ARC of Christmas Presents in exchange for an honest review.

Christmas Presents by Lisa Unger is a quick holiday novella full of mystery and twists. Since it is a novella things start happening fast and I missed a few key details with everything going so quick. This is a fun holiday thriller and if you like twists and turns I highly recommend.

This was a great book. I loved every paragraph, every sentence and every word of this masterpiece! I read it in 12 hours, which is a lot for me to do! It had everything and more laid out in the novel! I sure hope There is more to come from this author! I am totally hooked!

Not my favorite from this author. The ending was good but I think I struggled with the character developement aspect since it's a shorter book.

This was really middle-of-the-road for me. Nothing great, nothing terrible. I honestly am not sure I even have anything to say about it, to be honest.

love the trend of holiday thrillers this year! this one was short but packs a punch - however although it’s set at Christmastime it wasn’t very holiday themed at all, just kinda served as a backdrop for a normal thriller.

This was not at all what I expected… but I wasn’t disappointed. Madeline, a local bookstore owner, never left the town where she was brutally assaulted as a teenager. She lives with her father, the former police chief, who suffered a stroke and is slowly recovering. The night Madeline was hurt, one of her friends was murdered, and two others disappeared without a trace. When a famous author and podcaster comes to town to investigate their cases, tightly wound secrets start to unravel.
Christmas is the setting of this book, but not the subject. Much like the ongoing debate of whether or not Die Hard is a Christmas movie, I imagine the same could be argued with this book.

dislikes:
- the writing. it was a strange mix of overly pretentious writing that doesn't really fit the tone of the book and overly simple writing.
- the POVs
- the characters
- very predictable

I love a Christmas story, but I REALLY love a Christmas thriller! Especially one as neat and twisty as this one. It was the perfect break from all the Christmas rom-coms I was reading.

Who doesn't love a fun, twisty Christmas novella?? I read this back around the holidays it was the perfect little thriller to get me in the holiday spirit. We discussed it with my book club and it made for such a fun conversation; a killer in a Santa mask? What could be better to discuss with a thriller book club?? This is a quick, easy read and I highly recommend for all thriller readers who like to read with a theme.

I’ve always enjoyed Lisa Unger, but maybe holiday related content just isn’t for me. I found it hard to get into this novel. Just wasn’t meant for me.

I love Lisa Unger and was thrilled to get an advanced copy of her Christmas novella. As most would do...I saved it for Christmas time and read it in the magical week between Christmas and New Years. I thought it was so different as Christmas novels are generally romance or rom-com. It was a quick engrossing read with a bookseller main character which I love. I absolutely recommend this one and will continue to read everything that Unger puts out -- frankly I think she just getting better and better!

3.0 stars!
Thrillers, suspense and mysteries set on Christmas time is usually not the kind of combination I prefer, but because it’s Lisa Unger, so here we are.

In this little town, young ladies are disappearing. Two of those missing ladies were Madeline’s bestfriends. Madeline herself has one been attacked when she was a teenager and the suspect was her boyfriend who is currently in jail for the said crime? So who is now responsible for these disappearances? That is what podcaster Harley has come to investigate, trying to uncover secrets to soon to be cold cases.

This was just an okay read for me. I would rather have a “Hallmark HEA” holiday plot than suspense and missing people but that is totally a me-problem. I don’t think it’s this is LisaUnger’s best work but it has potential. It was predictable and that disappointed me It was written well and has lots of potential.

Thanks yo Netgalley for the ebook file in exchange of an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley. This was a quick and engrossing read. I am normally not a fan of the podcast storylines but tis was well done. The story will keep you on your toes and delivers a great final twist.

I love anything Lisa Unger writes and this book is no exception. It was also exactly what I needed when things got a little rushed.

I was drawn to this read by the true crime podcaster aspect and I stayed glued to the pages because of Madeline Martin. I found her strong but believably so. This is a girl with trauma, and she does her best to put that behind her.

The dynamic between her and Harley was spot-on, and I enjoyed all the tension.