I didn’t realize that this was a novella and as a rule, I don’t read novellas, but in this instance, I am so happy that I did. Christmas Presents was Lisa Unger at her best. I first read Beautiful Lies when it first came out and was captivated by it. This latest book is just another beautiful feather to add to her cap.

The story is skillfully woven around a small-town upstate New York town at Christmastime where ten years ago one young woman was murdered, a friend left for dead, and two others disappeared without a trace. With the killer in jail, murders occurring again, and one young woman missing, a serial killer is on the loose.

I was hooked right from the start and invested in all the characters, constantly trying to decide who was guilty. There was Madeline Martin, the original surviving victim who now owns the town bookstore; her best friend Badger, expert car mechanic and antique car restorer; true crime novelist Harley Granger, who wants Madeline’s story for his podcast and book; Madeline’s father, the former Sheriff who is now infirm after suffering a stroke; or was it the strange man who took the young stripper out after her show?

I read this fabulous story in one sitting and was on the edge of my seat for the entire crazy ride. The last third was a nail-biting, squeeze-your-eyes-shut-tight type of experience. Many thanks to NetGalley, Penzier Publishers, and Mysterious Press for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest opinion. I overlooked that it was a novella and gave it five stars!

A big thank you to #NetGalley and #PenzlerPublishers for the read and review of #ChristmasPresents by #LisaUnger. I am a huge fan of Lisa and live her books. This one is a big hit like all her other books. I cannot praise this woman enough. Fifteen stars if I could!!!

Incredibly thrilling, fun novella. I would gladly read a longer book like this one. I liked the characters and the plot was entertaining from start to finish. Recommended.

I LOVED this novella! As always, without giving away too much, I loved the two main characters and my only complaint about this was that I wanted more! However, I think the author did a great job of making this short and sweet. It was such an easy read. I loved the creepy vibe of the potential snowstorm. This author has quickly become an auto-buy for me, and I can't wait to recommend this to everyone. Thank you for letting me read this!

This was super good, Unger has done it once again and wrote something that I could not put down! I'm a sucker for books that go into the realm of fictional true crime via podcasts or just revisiting an older crime.

Madeline, now a local book store owner in a sleepy town, has a tragic past. Her friends were murdered roughly a decade earlier and the murderer was incarcerated. Harley is a podcaster who comes to town to revisit the crimes and dig into them further. At the same time, there are now more missing women. Are they connected and how?

This is a quick novella that takes place at Christmas time, told from different POV's as well as different timelines. I wanted more!!! It was a very fast read and had me intrigued from the beginning. I really enjoyed the little Easter Egg's from Unger's previous books - The Hollows. What I did want to hear more from was Evan, I would have loved a podcast/interview getting into more of that detail. I could have read another hundred pages of this one, I was sad it was so short! Overall, highly recommend.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

My only regret- not reading this book in December. This is the perfect mystery novel with depth and thrillers unlike the typically cozy mystery books. I liked the pace of the book but I am not a fan of the authors dual POVs because she always has too many that don't help the plot but just convulute it. This book was the same with too many POV to track and it got a bit confusing. I loved the book though and will never hesitate to read a Lisa Unger thriller.

Loved this! The plot was engaging. The characters were relatable and likeable. I devoured it in one night!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review!

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review-
Madeline has suffered a rough childhood being the only one who survived the murder of her best friend and the disappearance of her sisters. With Evan in jail three other women have disappeared. Have they locked up the wrong man? Harley a writer of true crime comes and wants to talk to Madeline about this case.- can he find answers that others couldn’t ?
Then Madeline and her friend Badger look through her dads files of the case and decide to return where it happened to see if they could find answers and what they find shocks them!

My favorite that Lisa Unger has wrote to date! I was drawn in from page one. In the beginning, the switching between POVs was a bit confusing and took until the next chapter to realize what time period you just read. I figured out the ending but in no way did it take away from the story or the ending for that matter. This was a quick and enjoyable read. I love the bookworm main character.

Thank you to Netgalley, Mysterious Press, and Lisa Unger for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Publication date for Christmas Presents is October 24, 2023.

This is a great quick read for the upcoming holiday season.

Madeline has put the trauma from her past behind her in the last 10 years. She’s built a successful business and is working on taking care of her dad. True crime podcaster Harley Granger has came to dig it all up.

Under 250 pages so this book starts off quick and keeps going until the very last page. I was confused when the book first started because we get different POVs and I had no clue who the first one was until the next chapter.

I did love the setting of the crime and the storyline that went along with it. I was drawn into the whole story and wanted to find out who the killer is and if the past killer was innocent or not.

Definitely going to be reading the back catalogue of Lisa Unger.

This is a great book, if you want the holiday feels that isn’t a Hallmark movie in a book.

This Novella by Lisa Unger was an absolute great, fast paced, page turning read! The story hooked me right off the start and I didnt want to put the book down.

The story has some mystery, survivors guilt, a bit of love, and a need to unravel the past that keeps coming back. A few twists may have been predictable however i enjoyed the book so much it didnt matter much.

Overall, i highly recommend this read!

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novella.

This novella was ok! There were parts I liked and others I didn’t. For being short, the story felt long in my opinion. This was a 3 star read for me. I did like the premise of the story!

Unger always writes the absolute best compelling stories.
Christmas Presents by Lisa Unger is the definition of a page-turner.
A twisty, immersive, compelling thriller that was a one-sitting, page turning read for me!
This mystery novella is the best little story to keep you entertained and flipping those pages. The writing as usual was great. The characters are intriguing and the story was truly interesting.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Mysterious Press for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Christmas, murder, and mystery...what is not to love?

Madeline Martin survived a traumatic experience as a teenager...she survived her friends did not. True crime write Harley Granger shows up to take his turn at the ten year old cold case...and of course things are not always what they seem.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC. This is definitely not your typical Hallmark Christmas story! It was a quick read with lots of twist and turns....I knew it was a novella, but I wish it would have been longer!

Trauma, survivor’s guilt, and best friends with well kept secrets in a small town come to a shocking conclusion in Lisa Unger’s novella, Christmas Presents. Can you trust anybody?

Madeline Martin is the scarred only survivor of murderer Evan Handy, who killed her best friend while she watched. 2 other friend’s of Madeline’s disappeared that same evening, and haven’t been heard from since. Their disappearance has always been attributed to Evan, but he denies any part of their disappearance. Of course, he also denies the murder he is in jail for, as well as injuring Madeline.

10 years later, a podcaster comes to town to investigate the cold case of the still missing girls, as well as several more recent disappearances. Old wounds are opened up and long kept secrets uncovered.

Christmas Presents is perfect for fans of Lisa Unger and Megan Miranda. Murder mystery and thriller fans alike, grab your copy!

3.5 stars

I’m a huge Unger fan so I was excited to read this arc. However this one left me wanting more. It felt a little disjointed at times, but was still classic Unger. Fast paced good thriller/mystery. There were just parts that seemed like they need to be explored a bit more. Not one of her best, but still a good read.

I am a huge Lisa Unger fan so I was very excited to receive this book from NetGalley for review. I will always give an honest review.

I loved the story but was left wanting more. I want to see where everyone's story went after the end! My main issue was no obvious warning, for lack of a better word, of the story flipping back and forth between Maddy and Harley and between current and past. I also would have liked to have seen more of Maddy and Harley working together to figure it out. It seemed like Harley's storyline or Maddy's storyline alone could have worked without the other.

I give it a 4 star rating only because I reserve 5 star for books that I read more than once.

This was a good creepy (out of season) short read. I enjoyed the twist and I love the way the author always writes her characters.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

This was quick a really quick read (I looked on here after reading it and it was at 224 pages and the comments at the end referred to it as a novella I believe). For some reason the different POV's felt a bit disjointed (there was one time where it was Lolly's POV and I completely forgot who she was/what was going on for a second). Also, I didn't really feel like the podcaster angle really helped move the story along? I didn't really care about any of that and it almost felt like it was thrown in there to make the story longer. I think this book could have just as easily been written with our main character picking up the investigation for a super plausible reason and it not being a podcast. Oh and the bad guy was easy to figure out.


Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and WW Norton for the ARC. Unger is a fine writer. I enjoy her easy reads. This was an entertaining domestic suspense that was a quick read.