A brilliant story that kept you hooked in until the end, you never knew who would end up dead next. The intrigue around it all and the characters were very well written, I loved this and read it in a couple of days.

I must say initially that I read this book in a couple of days as it was easy and the story was sufficiently engaging to make me want to get to the end.  I did find however, that the style of writing was too simplistic and the killer far too easy to guess very early on.  The main character was likeable although his wife was slightly soppy and  annoying. It just felt a bit pedestrian for professional writing.

DI James Walker, who has just moved from London to a small village in Cumbria, comes home to find a present on his doorstep.  Inside is a dead partridge and a Christmas card promising 12 murders in the run up to Christmas.

The cover is striking really made me want to read this, and I love Christmas themed crime fiction.  I found this a quick, fun read which hooked me in straight away.  Most of the action is in the first half of the book, and the pace of the second half is much slower.  I did guess fairly early on who the killer was but it didn't spoil my enjoyment of the book, though I do feel the ending was a little rushed.  It is an interesting start to a new series, and I will certainly read book 2 when it comes out.

A really good whodunit!  Lots of characters and plenty of red herrings.  A small village with virtually no crime is suddenly a target for a serial killer.  Who could possibly be killing in this sleepy place without getting caught even with police patrolling?  And why is someone taunting police with Christmas cards?  Can't wait to read more in this (hopefully!) series.  
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher and voluntarily chose to review it.

I so enjoyed reading this  book,the more I read the better it got!
A great story line and I especially liked the interaction between the police Inspector James and his wife Annie.
Loved the little bit of background information at the start of the book and how it impacted on the story being told..
A totally compulsive read and I cannot wait for the next book from this author!

Review featured at www.books-n-kisses.com

2.75 Hearts This book just dragged and dragged for me. There was so much alliteration that the paragraphs seemed to last forever. And it took a quarter of the book for the murder to even happen. 

I just couldn’t get into this book. I ended up skipping a lot of the time, skipping over paragraphs going to dialogue to understand what was going on but could miss so many extra words.

I think a fan of suspense would be disappointed in a story like this but that is just my opinion. 

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Such a good crime story, makes a change to Christmas books being all romance and love and having a twist on a happy time of year! Fast paced and easy to get into, gave me a switch up and made me realise how much I enjoy a crime book.

Awsome!! Turns out I love Christmas thrillers now! I love a good Christmas book but usually go for a bit of sentimental mush... so this was a great change. Well paced and well written characters

This was a fairly good crime story. That it was set during Christmas gave it a difference as usually Christmas books are all romance. The characters were good and it was interesting finding out the killer at the end.

I love a good crime story, and this one is definitely one of the better ones I’ve read this year. When I started reading, I was instantly immersed in the story, followed the investigations, and kept thinking about who could be the Christmas killer. Very well written book, with a compelling story, where something happens every other chapter and you really really want to keep reading until you finish the book. I can only recommend it.

The Christmas Killer by Alex Pine is set in a small village which DI Walker, our main character, has recently moved into.  It's Christmas, there's snow predicated, which will isolate the village, and someone is posting Christmas cards threatening to kill 12 people. 

 I found the writing to be very basic, and written with little feeling.  It felt more like a first draft of a novel than of one that is being published.  The beginning was confusing.  It read as though it were book 3 in a series with a recap of what had happened in previous books, except it was trying to set the scene in a rushed manner. I read all of the book, hoping it would get better, but it didn't.

I had hope for the plot, but I found the identity of the murderer predictable, which is unusual for me! 

In short, not a book I would recommend, even though I've seen other reviewers giving it 4 and 5 stars.  I really didn't enjoy it.

 The Christmas Killer  was published on 29th October 2020, and is available from  Amazon ,  Waterstones , and your  local independent bookshop .

I'm afraid I couldn't find any links for you to follow Alex Pine!

I was given this book in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to  Avon Books UK .

Thanks to Avon publishing for giving me a copy of “The Christmas Killer” in exchange for an honest review. .

With Halloween coming up, I was looking forward to a creepy read. It’s an intriguing  idea for a book - after threats and intimidation on the crime ridden streets of London, Police officer James and his wife Annie move to a sleepy countyside village for a fresh start.  Nevertheless, all is not as it seems and a serial killer is on the lose. Deemed the Christmas killer, they send out Christmas cards promising an advent calendar of murder- 12 deaths in 12 days. 

I enjoyed learning  the secrets of the villagers and speculating who the killer could be. The narratives of the victims as the killer approached was entertaining. I liked how the worsening weather was used to show the panic and claustrophobia in the village as the murders occurred.

However, I felt there was something missing in the novel. The sense of foreboding and tension promised in the blurb wasn’t present for me as I read through. I didn’t feel the characters had much depth and I wasn’t invested in them to get the crime solved. Some of the dialogue was cliched and cheesy. I guessed the killer and I felt the ending was particularly rushed. 

It was a disappointing read for me but I can see it would be entertaining for readers to pick up during the betwixmas period .

D.I. James  Walker, having moved to Cumbria from Tottenham due to some unwanted attentions by a particularly unpleasant criminal,  was expecting a quiet family Christmas, however his expectations were doomed to be destroyed. Arriving home from work whilst his wife, a primary school teacher,  was helping out at the Nativity Play, he finds a present left on their doorstep addressed to Detective Walker. Needless to say it doesn't contain a present,  it holds a dead partridge and a card informing him that there will be 12 murders committed over the 12 days of Christmas and each victim will deserve their death. James hopes it's a hoax but calls it in anyway...just as well, some hopes are doomed to disappointment. 

What a brilliant book, I am very pleased that this is the first in a series! I loved Alex Pine's style of writing and really took to his characters, in fact I haven't felt so enthusiastic about a new series since I came across Peter Robinson's Alan Banks and that is many years ago now (and I'm still buying them). I hope Alex Pine is as prolific! He really kept me guessing right the way through and the setting, a snowbound small village in Cumbria, is perfect for a Christmas crime fest, definitely one to curl up with. Perfect!

Twelve days of Christmas, twelve murders all in one little town. Each victim deserves to die says the killer but why and who might the victims be. Can DI James Walker figure out who the killer is and why he received the first clue could it be someone from his past? 

What a ride this was. I had no clue who the killer was until right at the end. It was well written and kept me guessing. The story itself is well paced, building to a dramatic climax with a clever unmasking of the killer. The ending was brilliant and finished the story off just right. I want more from James. The plot was clever and left you guessing who the victim might be or what they did to deserve dying. I liked how it all came together. James is really likeable as is his wife Annie. They work well as a couple and added more depth to his character. A great festive read for those who don't like light and fluffy but want a mystery.

I’ve always loved crime and mysteries on television, but it was only during lockdown that I managed to get into reading them – and now I’m hooked!

This is an amazing debut novel from Alex Pine and I’m really looking forward to reading future books by the same author.

The story starts off in Tottenham, where DI Walker and his wife, Annie, live, but then we’re taken to Cumbria.  Annie has inherited the family home in the village of Kirkby Abbey and when she gets a fright connected to her husband’s job, she starts to persuade him to move to a safer area. They’re only up there for a short time when a killer strikes, promising to kill a person on each of the twelve days of Christmas.  Maybe Kirkby Abbey isn’t safer than North London after all?!

A brilliant, well-written story that I didn’t want to put down.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for an advance reader copy in return for an honest review.

Christmas themed murders?! Yes please. When i saw the cover of this book. I knew that i needed to read it.  A holiday mystery just checked all my boxes.  


The Christmas killer, which takes place in Cambridge England, is very atmospheric. The reader gets a feel for this small town.  As the book opens, it introduces  us to two main characters: James and Annie Walker. James, a police officer, and Annie , a school teacher,  are suprised to find out that one of James’ most dangerous high profile ‘collars’  Andrew Sullivan) was released from prison.  
he is seeking retribution. Shortly, the threats arrive. 

The Christmas Killer, book 1 in the series, was a easy read with a fairly simple writing style.  The main focus of the book was a police procedural to solve the crime.  The story follows DI James Walker through an investigation.  As the book begins, He is ready to spend the holiday with his family. That is until a package shows up on his front door promising 12 murders in 12 days.  Shortly after the bodies start to show up and the clues begin to roll in.  

The book reallly  focuses on the dialogue between characters as the investigation takes off.  After a while all these conversations slowed the book down for me.  speaking of characters, the detectives were a bit too nice. There came a point in the book where i was actually rooting for the murderer because the detectives lacked dimension.  It took me longer than usual to read this type of book.  I did love how neatly the ending wrapped up all the lose ends.  The story seemed too mundane At times, the book read like arime show. 

I did like this story. It had some postive aspects to it but there is room for improvement. The christmas killer is
the perfect book to curl up with while drinking hot chocolate .

This book was enjoyable in that the plot was well-written and the suspense was sustained throughout.  I personally did not guess the identity of the killer, which is always a plus, and keeps the reader on their toes and wanting to finish the book.  I would therefore recommend The Christmas Killer to all crime novel fans as I am sure that they would enjoy it.

After what was a dodgy start (of my own doing) to my membership I thought I’d best get on with my review on this book, but not after first thanking Alicia for her help and patience with me after my initial start with NetGalley. 
Thank you NetGalley & Avon books for giving me the opportunity to read and review The Christmas Killer, I like a lot of other readers thought I had the killer bang to rights but with twists & turns, no I was totally wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this thriller and found James & Annie Walker very likeable.  I loved the Christmas card theme and a serial killer on the rampage, I also enjoyed the setting as I haves in the Kendal area and found myself imagining the scenery and the going’s on in places. I am looking forward to more of Mr & Mrs Walker and  future cases. Highly recommended

The Christmas Killer - Alex Pine

'Twelve Days. Twelve Murders'

I was really intrigued to read this as I am a massive fan of both Thrillers and the normal romantic Christmas style books, so thought this would be an excellent mix up. I enjoyed the "small village cut off from the rest of the country because of a storm concept", but did feel that the pace was a little slow and it was giving me old style murder mystery story vibes - not that this is a bad thing, it just wasn't what I was expecting.

It was straight forward and had a predictable ending but overall I thought the characters were good and short chapters helped me to read this pretty quickly but I just wanted a little more 'oomph'.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Author and Publishers for the chance to read and review this book!

DI James Walker and his wife have recently relocated to a small remote village. It's a big change from London, but they're both working on fitting in. There's not much crime here and Walker finds himself a little bored ... he's used to all the 'big' crime in London. But when someone from their past gets out of prison prematurely, they are threatened and in order to appease his wife, they leave, and don't bother with a change of address note.

It's almost Christmas and Walker's thoughts are about decorating, buying presents, and his wife has invited his whole family to spend Christmas with them. Returning home after another long day, he finds an early Christmas on his front porch.

What he finds when he opens the box, inside is a grisly surprise with a note attached.

Think 12 days of Christmas ... promising a body for every day until Christmas. This was just the first. It's not too long before another body is found, buried in the snow.

How many more bodies will be found before the killer is caught? Is this connected to the reason they left London? Is there somewhere in their new home town who has taken issue with him and/or his family?

A new crime series is always welcome... especially when it begins with a lot of suspense that steadily increases until the very end. (No cliffhangers here). This is action packed and will keep you riveted from start to finish. The characters are solidly drawn lending credibility to the story. I look forward to more adventures of DI Walker.

Many thanks to the author / Avon Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction.  Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.