Lussi's the newest hire at Blackwood, a mysterious and half-defunct publishing house that she's tasked with saving within the first month of getting hired. Blackwood is a creepy place in a bad neighborhood. Lights regularly flicker, iron bars cover every window, Lussi's coworkers are, well... strange. Then a mysterious secret Santa gifts Lussi a creepy Perchta doll, and the bodies start dropping. This is a gloriously done classic horror comedy perfect for fans of The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires, or for fully-grown Goosebumps fans looking for something more up to speed. I can't recommend this enough.

Andrew Shaffer brings his tongue in cheek satire to the 80s horror publishing world, and boy does it work. While SECRET SANTA wasn't a particularly scary novel, I didn't really bank on it being as such. I went in looking for 80s nostalgia with a little bit of schlock horror, and Shaffer delivered. While Lussi is a fun protagonist and I liked seeing her slowly come to the realization that it's not jerk coworkers creating havoc, but a cursed object. While this book is light on the scares, there are some creepy elements to it, especially if you don't care for dolls (and that is all I'm going to say). The thing about SECRET SANTA that worked the best for me was that it is a love letter to 80s Horror paperback fiction, with a cheesy cover, over the top violence, and a nutty magical system that all feels like it is, indeed, of the era in which the story takes place. It's super meta and it's super fun.

I would suggest that you not go into SECRET SANTA expecting something truly scary. It's a bit more horror light. But it's a charming Christmas creep tale that will probably entertain you this coming holiday season.

Secret Santa (A Horror For the Holidays Novel)
HOLIDAY HORROR!! something I never knew I needed, for fans of trashy 80's horror movies.
Absolutely loved it, such a fun way to get away from the real life horrors atm, treat yourself to some
silly, gory, nostalgia. You won't be disappointed!

This was such a horrifically fun read! It was definitely in the vein of an 80's humor horror, rather than any kind of slasher, haunting, brutally horror type book, but it was thoroughly enjoyable. Think of a shorter Gremlins, in terms of overall vibe, but the book takes on a plot all its own. The publisher element, plus an editor who loves finding horror novels to publish, really adds a meta- layer that I also found fun. If you're looking for a fun, funny, retro-style, horror, then definitely add this to your TBR pile.

I received an ARC through NetGalley from Quirk Books. If you like campy horror and are in the mood for a little Christmas cheer, go with Secret Santa. Lussi interviews for a publishing job and while there an old German doll falls into her lap that forever changes the course of her career. Now, she has a new job in a creepy building and co-workers who aren’t quite warm and friendly. Can she impress her new boss even with people falling victim to horrific events all around her? Is there a scandal afoot, is there evil lurking in the building, or is Lussi just falling victim to all the horror novels she loves to read?
The cover is just fabulous and the story is short and fast-paced. The environment of the old publishing house is eerie and there are no romantic heart strings to worry about. Just a girl on a mission to succeed in business and figure out why things are amiss. This was exactly the mindless read I was looking for and I was happy to read it during Halloween into Christmas with all the stores decorated for both upcoming events, LOL!

This is a horror with a creepy doll, a weird workplace and a link to nazis. It is set in a publishing house which I thought was a fun setting for a haunting. I liked the mystery of the secret Santa gift and where it came from. I don’t read much horror so I don’t know if it’s a good horror but I enjoyed it. I found parts of it a little predictable and I would say I didn’t feel scared when reading. The writing style was easy to read and it was a really quick read for me. The main character was okay, I liked her enough but I didn’t connect. Overall this was a quick fun read for me.

#SecretSanta
Secret Santa is one of those books that has both wit and humor. It also is dark and a tad bit scary. I love when you read a book and it is unexpected how the plot plays out. Secret Santa has many great qualities it shouldn't be categorized as just horror. Try it out even if you are not a horror fan!

The Christmas tinged scares of "Secret Santa" are a fun, pulpy thrill that any fan of the 1980s horror boom will enjoy.

When Lussi Meyer goes in for an interview at the prestigious Blackstone-Patterson publishing company, she certainly doesn't expect for the interview to go south so quickly - or to end in the death of the head of the publishing house mid-interview. Somehow, she still talks herself into a job as a Senior Editor in charge of turning the sinking ship around. Lussi expected the transition wouldn't go smoothly, but she couldn't possibly anticipate just how rocky the new position would prove to be. What starts as a likely case of mild hazing soon escalates when people start getting injured - then killed.

"Secret Santa" is a tongue-in-cheek homage to the hey-day of horror publishing. Clearly inspired by many of the greats - and frequently referencing them - the novel has the familiar feel of the horror novels so many of us grew up with, but still feels refreshing and new. Lussi is a well informed, genre savvy character who still manages to be relatable and as fallible as a horror protagonist needs to be. This is a quick, enjoyable read that will make a horror fan's holiday season a bit more fun.

Creepily delightful. As a long-time, old-school, horror-book fiend with far too many paperbacks from hell gathering dust (bugs? spirits? burnt offerings?) on my shelves, I was excited to receive an invitation to check out Andrew Shaffer's ode the genre: SECRET SANTA. So much so that I read it immediately -- I mean, how can you resist that cover!? As a throwback to '80s horror, SECRET SANTA does its job. Count the tropes: scary dolls, mysterious deaths, strangers across the street, spooky basements, hazing rituals, cults, and on. Everything is mashed up alongside a fun send-up of 1980s publishing. It's funny, fresh, and fast-paced, with a genuinely endearing protagonist navigating a host of book-ish weirdos. It's not especially gruesome opting instead to provides it's chills in more ... unexpected ways. Read with the lights on!

This was my first Andrew Shaffer book. The author has a niche and it just didn't vibe with me. His writing is too quirky for me to take seriously. Not that I don't love quirky, I do! I just find it odd in a thriller/mystery. I'm giving it three stars for the sheer creativity. I'm sure if you're Shaffer fan, you'll enjoy this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC.

This book is advertised as “Stephen King meets the Office”, and there were definitely elements of both throughout. I also noticed many nods to other horror movies from the 80s and late 70s, which I enjoyed as I am also a horror movie fan. Lussi is an enjoyable protagonist, and the author was able to recreate a gritty New York in the 1980s without it seeming too cliched.⁣
There were a few things I felt kept this book from getting a higher rating. So much horror is promised, yet I felt like the book was holding back from depictions of true terror and gore. Or maybe I have read too many Stephen King books and I’m immune to shock factors? The book is slim yet it felt rushed in parts, particularly towards the end. There is a scene involving Lussi and a ritual that seemed to come completely out of nowhere and threw me off, and comes with no consequence at the end. Also, I felt more could have been divulged about the creature. There is some history presented at the prologue, but that’s it for the entirety of the book. Maybe the unknown IS the scary part of its folklore, but even in related movies (such as “Gremlines”) you are provided some background on spooky creatures. ⁣

For fans of 80's campy horror films and novels, Andrew Shaffer's Secret Santa should be your holiday read. This light-hearted, but frightful novel will be a great binge read, while your family binge drinks around the yule log.

I was so excited to read this – I love books set in the publishing world, I love trash horror, and I love short novels. Perfect.

Unfortunately, I didn't find this scary or horrific at all – it's clear that the author usually writes crime novels, as this felt a lot more like a crime novel with some schlocky horror elements (specifically: Nazi devil doll) tacked on. And I LIKE schlocky horror, but I think if you're going to use it, then it has to be a central part of the story – and it has to be actually scary.

I hope that this is part of a series (like the Hammer Horror novellas) and there will be more by different authors. I love the setting of the 1980s horror novel boom, and I love the format – I just want my horror fiction to be actually scary.