Madeline lives a quiet life as the proprietor of a bookstore in her home town while taking care of her retired sheriff father who has had a stroke and maintaining a close relationship with Badger, her childhood best friend and his brother, Chet. She is haunted by the memory of being a survivor of an attack 10 years ago by a monster who killed her best friend and may also be responsible for the disappearance of two other friends. He has been locked away all this time but, as the anniversary of the attack and disappearances approaches, a writer has come to town to investigate these incidents for his true crime podcast. To add to Madeline’s discomfort, another local girl suddenly goes missing.

Don’t let the title or the bookstore locale mislead you…no cozy mystery or rom com this. That is not a criticism as I couldn’t put this dark thriller down. It is engrossing and very fast paced. A novella rather than a full length novel, it can easily be a one day read. I think, though, it may leave many readers yearning for more. Quite atmospheric, I could feel those icy, slushy conditions as the days lead up the Christmas. Told in alternating POVs and timelines, there are no real surprises; despite some violence, it is a very entertaining read.

Regarding the title…you will just have to read the book to discover its significance.

Madeline is a survivor. Her high school boyfriend, Evan Handy, has been convicted of murdering her best friend and is suspected in the disappearance of two of her other friends (sisters) who vanished the same night. A true crime podcaster comes to town to investigate the missing girls and find out what really happened that night.

I pretty much never want books to be longer, but I wish this novella had been fleshed out a bit more into a full-length novel. Madeline was a great character and the setup was excellent - just didn't love how abruptly everything was wrapped up. I'd recommend this for thriller fans looking for a quick read who don't mind a bit of a rushed ending.

(3.5)

I am not a fan of short stories, but if the phone book had the name Lisa Unger on the cover, I would read every single word, so I gave this one a chance. This turned out to be a really good, fast read. Madeline survived an assault 10 years ago that left a friend dead and two others missing. Her boyfriend was convicted and is in jail. Other girls are going missing. Enter podcaster Harley to dig everything all back up. While I liked Harley and Madeline and enjoyed the story, I felt it was missing more detail by being a short story. This would have been a really great full-length novel with more backstory and such. But as it is, I still recommend it. Fun read, good twist and lots of clues so pay attention! Look forward even more now, to Lisa Unger's next book!

Thank you to #NetGalley, Lisa Unger and Penzler Publishers, Mysterious Press for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I will post my review to Amazon, Instagram and other retail and social media sites upon publication.

This was such a quick and intense read. I was sucked in immediately. I loved the different narratives of what was happening with the podcaster, Maddy, and the unknown girl. This has a major twist for me and a little bit of a love story which I loved.

No Christmas cozy stories in this house!
Lisa Unger has brought us a fantastic mystery/thriller novella to put under our tree 🎄
It's set around a bookstore owner, Madeline, who, along with her friends, was attacked one cold December night. Two missing, one dead. She survived.

A decade later, a true crime Podcaster comes to town inquiring about Madeline's case. Questions are raised. Was the right man in jail? What does Madeline remember from that fateful night?

This is a story of how ghosts from the past can affect our present and the people around us. About healing and love.

I was caught up right away in this suspenseful whodunit. I liked how the story switched back and forth between the present day and the past, filling in the gaps of what actually happened.
The characters were believable, but being a short novella, the back stories were not entirely developed.
Lisa Unger is definitely one of my favorite authors, and this short read really packs alot if detail and has an ending. I didn't see coming.
Thank you, Netgalley and Penzler Publishers, Mysterious Press, for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Publication date 24 October 2023

This was definitely on the longer side for a Novella but honestly would have loved it to be a full novel. There were a few parts of the story that would have been better explained with a few more chapters.

The characters were easy to empathize with. And a story with a bookshop in it? Added bonus. The atmosphere was well described and you can feel the unease mounting.

Loved this novella! It had all the elements I love from Lisa Unger, and definitely took me most of the book to figure out the real villain. I was close in a few of my early guesses—but not completely on point.

I love the concept of a true crime podcaster/writer working with a bookstore owner (also: crime victim) to solve the biggest unsolved case around. I also loved Unger’s deep dive into the reactions of the affected community—I felt like she hit that part out of the park.

I wouldn’t change anything—but I also wouldn’t object if she turned this into a full-length novel at any point!

Want thrill? Lisa Unger delivers. Want suspense? Lisa Unger delivers. "Christmas Presents" joins her other works as other gripping page-turned, with some holiday flavor.

Ten years ago, Madeline Martin was left for dead on a riverbank on the same December night her best friend was killed and two other friends went missing. Her boyfriend Evan Hardy went to prison for the heinous crimes, but now a true crime podcaster is intent on raking things back up. He’s convinced that cases of other missing young women are linked and that there’s more to the story than originally thought, leading Madeline to question everything she thought she knew about that night.

A Christmas thriller novella set in a bookstore penned by the talented Lisa Unger – what’s not to love? It has a creepy Christmassy vibe (no cozies here!) kept me hooked. The chapters are short and the plot fast-paced, seamlessly weaving in some history with the present timeline. The story gets all wrapped up with a nice shiny bow in a little over 200 pages, making it the perfect length to squeeze in some Christmas thrills during a busy holiday season!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Penzler Publishers, and Mysterious Press for providing me an advance copy of this book.

I enjoyed this. The plot was intriguing and the characters interesting. Some were better fleshed out, particularly Maddie, than others

This was okay, it held my interest well enough. I did find it overall predictable and guessed the plot twist within the first few chapters. I do love a christmas thriller as I feel like I don't come across those very often!

What more do you want than a thriller set around a bookstore owner at Christmas time? The absolute PERFECT setting. Throw in a true-crime podcaster and it's literally the best. This was a novella, so I did feel there were some aspects of the story I wish were explored a little more thoroughly, it definitely left me wanting more! A haunting thriller with an unexpected twist left me wishing for colder weather!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC, all opinions are my own!

This is a slow burn thriller that I finished in a day. It’s a good book and once started I couldn’t put it down. It didn’t have all the twists that I enjoy in a thriller but ending was a bit of a surprise.

I was so happy to be chose to get an advanced readers copy of Christmas Presents. This Novella was wonderful! A story about a small town tragedy, secrets, and searching for truth. I wouldn’t have known it was a novella because of the length and the details of the story. It was suspenseful and twisty. I can’t wait to read more by Lisa Unger! I definitely recommend this book.

Lisa Unger is quickly becoming one of my go-to authors!

Christmas Presents is a great thrill ride.
10 years ago a murder took place and 2 girls went missing. Both friends of Madeline. Evan, Madeline's boyfriend, was convicted of the murder of Sam, bestie to Madeline Martin. Madeline was 17 and Evan attacked her as well and left her to die on a cold December night by the river, just days before Christmas.

Now Madeline owns a bookstore and takes care of her disabled father, who was the Sherrif at the time. A true crime podcaster comes into town and wants to solve this cold case. Will Madeline help him or is it too much for her to return to that night that she will never quite recover from?

Lots of characters and players. I have to say I figured out the killer (or one of them) at about 80% but was not bothered by it. I stayed up late to finish this bc it was so good. If I stay up late to finish it is a very good read for me!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy to read for review. I will be adding more and more by Lisa Unger. Highly recommended!

Thrillers are my favorite genre right now, and Unger is one of the queens of the genre, so requesting this was a no-brainer.

As Christmas approaches, podcaster, Harley starts investigating the murder case of Evan Handy. Madeline was the only survivor of the murders a decade ago, and Harley’s arrival has her questioning what she thought she knew about that night.

This book weaves together the past, the present, and a current victim of Evan’s unknown accomplice from back then. This layout and the storyline kept me turning pages. Fans of thrillers, or of this author will definitely enjoy this one!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for review.

I love Lisa Unger and requested this one as soon as I saw it. I will say that I didn't realize it was a novella, until I was 70% of the way through and thought, Wow it's almost done?? So that was my bad! If you're looking for a quick mystery read, this is it. I will say it does not feel particularly Christmas-y, so if you're looking for something cozy, this isn't it! But, if you want to catch up on a crime that involves a bookstore owner, a podcaster, and characters adjacent to The Hollows, this is it for you!

Before writing my review, I want to extend a huge thank you to NetGalley, Lisa Unger, and Penzler Publishers, Mysterious Press for gifting me the ARC of this book! I appreciate you trusting me with an honest review!! It was a privilege to be able to read CHRISTMAS PRESENTS before publication in October!

This novella by Lisa Unger was such an enjoyable read for me this summer— who doesn’t love a bit of Christmas spirit to make this unprecedented July heat a little more bearable! The premise seemed fantastic and quite unique, and drew me in immediately. The novella took off right away, and the short chapters helped keep a fast pace, adding to the suspense and propelling the story forward. The alternating points of view keep you, as a reader, on your toes and help you understand more fully what the characters are going through— especially Madeline, our main protagonist. And I do enjoy when stories like this one that take you back in time to experience events first hand, so to speak.

The characters of Madeline and Badger were so intriguing, and I would have loved for them to be fleshed out a bit more— that being said, I would have loved CHRISTMAS PRESENTS to be a bit longer than a novella. The ending seemed a bit rushed, and a full-sized novel could have let events and plot points play out more fully. But this did not in any way take away from my enjoyment of this novella, which is a perfect escape from the summer heat— at least for one afternoon! :)

Lisa Unger‘s Christmas Presents immediately sucked me in as the main character, Madeline, owns a bookshop. Admittedly, I’m a sucker for bookish characters in novels. The quick synopsis is that Madeline feels anxious when a well-known true-crime author begins investigating a cold case in her city. We quickly discover that not only does Madeline have firsthand knowledge of this crime, she has worked hard to keep quiet about all that she knows. Her anxiety ratchets to new levels when the true-crime author wants Madeline’s assistance on his new book.

I appreciated Unger’s steady momentum in this novel. The short chapters made for quick reading. It’s a novella so the characters were somewhat unknowable, but that didn’t affect my enjoyment of the book. The varying perspectives and timelines were initially somewhat confusing. However, the various viewpoints did seem necessary to the storyline and certainly added more intrigue. I thought I had the ending figured out throughout the entire novel, and I was surprised to see I was wrong.

I always recommend Lisa Unger to fans of Lisa Jewell, Ruth Ware, or Harlan Coben. Even though, this is a work of fiction, I would also recommend Christmas Presents to anyone who enjoys the true-crime genre. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a DRC copy.

I really enjoyed this holiday mystery novella! Madeline Martin, the main character, survived a horrific attack as a teenager. One friend was killed, and two others disappeared. Madeline now leads a quiet life in her small home town, but when a true crime podcaster comes to town, events from the past are stirred up, and questions are raised about whether they caught the right man all those years ago.

Lisa Unger does a great job of illuminating the lives of the characters by alternating points of view and going back in time to the events of that fateful nights. And the suspense is ratcheted up by the disappearance of yet another young woman in the present--is she still alive, and will she be discovered in time?

A quick and enjoyable read!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!