I was so glad to get the NetGalley approval for this book. I didn’t realize that it was a novella at first so I thought it might be too short. However, I was wrong. It was actually the perfect length for this story, which made for a quick enjoyable read!

Madeline Martin has tried to put her tragic past behind her and has made a life for herself as the owner of The Next Chapter Bookstore. When true crime podcaster, Harley Granger visits her store one day, her past comes back to haunt her. Madeline is the only surviving victim of Evan Handy who is responsible for killing her best friend and for the disappearance of two sisters ten years ago. Harley wants to dig up the past and investigate the case for his podcast. Madeline is not comfortable with this but now another woman has gone missing. Evan Handy is in prison but she wonders if these cases could possibly be related and who is the mysterious person leaving her Christmas presents every year since that awful night?

This is a great short thriller that will keep you hooked. Since it takes place right before Christmas, it’s the perfect time of the year to read it. You won’t be disappointed!

Thank you to @netgalley and @w.w.norton for this ARC

This book had me guessing throughout. I highly recommend reading it
This will make a perfect gift for any Lisa Unger fan. It’s another great book from Lisa Unger and will not disappoint

Thank you Lisa Unger, Mysterious Press and Netgalley for providing an arc of this novel. Madeline Martin is a book shop owner who lived through a heinous crime when she was a teenager and she has been trying to move on for so long. But true crime podcaster Haley Granger has different plans, he's bought a property in the town and is here fixing it up and investigating the crime. This novella kept me guessing, as the crime was never fully solved and there is still a lot of questions that need answering. I enjoyed the book and was happy to get to read something holiday related but still a psychological thriller.

Oh those true crime podcasters! Harley upends Madeline's quiet life when he comes to town to interview her about the night she was left for dead after an attack by..her boyfriend who was convicted for killing her friend and was a suspect in the disappearance of others. Harley forces Madeline to acknowledge that not only does the time line not work for the original crimes, three other young women have also gone missing since he went to prison. Together, they peel back the past, the lies, the assumptions to get to the truth. This is short and Unger does a good job with packing the plot twists in (it's actually a reminder of how often this sort of novel goes on too long). Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. No spoilers from me.

Madeline Martin has turned her life around after experiencing a traumatic life event ten years ago. As Christmas approaches and her bookstore continues to thrive, Madeline is unprepared when a local woman goes missing and a true crime podcaster shows up at her door asking her about the past.

CHRISTMAS PRESENTS by Lisa Unger was such a fun novella (and also had me wishing for Christmas a little??? It’s October, I’m sorry!!)

This book draws you in right away, though the opening chapter doesn’t get hinted at again for quite a ways into the book, which threw me for a loop at first, and has all of that small town, nosy neighbors energy.

The investigative side of things was intriguing and the addition of a true crime podcast element was both fun and a bit unnecessary, BUT really amped up the story from its introduction!

Overall, a super fun murdery novella that will be perfect to pick up this holiday season!

Thanks to NetGalley, Penzler Publishers, and Mysterious Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Publication Date: October 24

Christmas Presents is a fast-paced twisty thriller that had me on the edge of my seat. I loved the dual timelines, and Maddie and Badger were definitely my favorite characters. Lisa Unger packed a whole lot of story into this novella and I enjoyed every moment not figuring out who the killer was until the big reveal.

Thank you to the author and publisher for providing me with a digital ARC of this title via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

This was a mediocre read for me. It was a fun little mystery without being overly gory or violent. An easy, quick read that was not bad nor great.

I love this author! Her detail and character build is so addictive and the setting is so much of the story. As a blizzard builds, so does the suspense. Madeline is a survivor of a brutal attack from her boyfriend, Evan, that left her best friend Stephanie dead and two other girls missing. Her father, Sheriff James Martin worked diligently on the case. Evan is serving a life sentence for the crimes.

10 years have passed, but the wounds have been reopened with 3 other girls missing and a true crime pod caster has appeared in her Madeline's bookshop wanting answers. Harley Granger digs up more than answers something is lurking. Can the disappearances be related to the first ones? Could there be more than one person involved?
Excellent book with a suspenseful plot and a chilling setting. Don't miss this one!! I must say it was hard to stay focused on scenes with snow and Christmas while laying beside the ocean waves crashing.🌴
Thank you NetGalley and Penzler Publishers, Mysterious Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

2.5/5 Not sure what to think of this not really a Christmas story Christmas story. The opening hook of a young woman going missing seemed like a great start, but then it got bogged down by a lot of backstory. Coming in at around 220 pages, I can't decide if this story was too long or too short. I didn't really connect with the characters, so it could have helped with some fleshing out of the story. However, it also seemed to drag at times, which could have been remedied with a shorter story and snappier pace. Overall, this story didn't really capture my attention.

Lisa Unger is the hero I didn't know we needed after giving us a truly spectacular Christmas-centered psychological thriller. As I read through the novella I found myself asking again and again "Why are there not more holiday crime stories? Surely these would kill (PUN INTENDED!) with the millennial true crime audience." The only answer that satisfied this curiosity was that no one else has the skill and the finesse Unger uses effortlessly to tell a story that is heartwrenching and deeply upsetting instead of tacky and overdone. "Christmas Presents" is a masterclass in how to write a thriller with both bite and suspense and compassion for all those whose lives are forever altered by a terrible crime.

Christmas, the most joyous time of the year for many, has been nothing but a nightmare for Madeline Martin since a fateful house party a decade ago. At the party, Maddie watched as her best friend, Steph, was stabbed to death by Evan Handy. Maddie was "lucky" enough to escape with a nearly fatal stab wound that traveled the length of her face and left her bleeding to death on the side of an icy riverbank. Two other friends, Sam and Ainsley, disappeared from the same party without a trace.

Although she's opened a successful bookstore in many ways Maddie has never moved past that night. She lives in the same small town, caring for her ailing father, and hoping against hope that each new year might bring news about Sam and Ainsley. When true crime author Harley Granger breezes into town hoping to dig up new evidence and solve the cold case disappearance, Maddie feels nothing but anger at him for so casually demanding entry to the most traumatic episode of her life. When he ties in the new disappearance of a local college woman, Lolly, Maddie must look deep within herself and face the question she's always had, did Evan Handy have an accomplice? Could there be another monster still lurking in the dark shadows of her quiet town?

Lisa, there are so many holidays that could use their own murder mystery. New Year's, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Arbor Day, the Fourth of July, Halloween, Earth Day, you write it and I would read it! Delightedly! Until the fateful day that Unger blesses us with another holiday masterpiece, I will be recommending this to everyone who starts listening to Christmas music on November 1st, and it will absolutely be the book club pick of the winter. Perfect for fans of Megan Goldin, Sallyhepworth, and everyone who wishes that just this once the handsome Christmas tree lot owner who sweeps the overworked and overtired city girl off her feet would have a body in the closet. Special thanks to NetGalley and to Penzler Publishers for providing an Advanced Reader's Copy of "Christmas Presents" in exchange for an unbiased review. I

So, I didn't realize this was a novella when I requested it and I think my thoughts and opinions might be slightly skewed by that. However, even a novella can be written well and in un-rushed way. This story, unfortunately, did not accomplish that. I felt that the ending came crashing down at the end of the book, and the answers I was hoping for throughout the book felt like they were all dropped onto the last two pages. To be fair, I would consider this book to be on the longer side for a novella, so I really was hoping for a more skillfully written ending.
Did the suspense keep me reading? Absolutely. Were some of the characters complex and enjoyable? For sure. I especially liked the "presents" aspect of the story and the way that was integrated into the ending (no spoilers, I promise!). This was a creative concept, but I really wish she'd written a full novel and spent more time developing the story line.
Part of my problem is that I have loved many other Lisa Unger books, so I went into this one with extremely high hopes. That, combined with me not realizing it was so short, made this one feel very middle-of-the-road for me.
For those wondering, this is absolutely not a Christmas story. It's a story set around Christmas time, but if you're looking for a "spooky season" read, I'd recommend this one now versus around December. Can't say I loved it, but I wouldn't steer anyone away from reading it if they're interested!

This review will be featured on my bookstagram @leannaslittlelibrary on the publication day 10/24/23
Thank you for letting me read!

Love me some Lisa Unger and this book (novella) didn't disappoint. The writing was excellent and the characters well developed. I appreciate the opportunity of the ARC

Did I miss something?

For one thing I did miss the fact that it’s a novella so the quick wrap up with a bow makes sense in that context. The problem though is there are a lot of unanswered questions at the end. It feels like I missed something but I didn’t since I went back and checked.

Harley Granger, a true crime podcaster with questionable methods decides to come to a small town and did up a 10 year old partially unsolved case. And it’s just before Christmas and also the anniversary of the incident. What happened?Madeline, a local woman and bookstore owner, was 17 on the night 10 years ago. The night changed her life forever when her boyfriend attacked her and her best friend, killing the friend and leaving Madeline for dead. She’s rescued by her other best friend Badger who finds her and gets her help. That night two other girls, friends of Madeline’s, also go missing. The killer is caught but he’s maintained his innocence and there’s never been any proof that he came in contact with the other girls that night... so what happened?

Hardly does nothing more than stir up the past and without care bring it all up to the surviving victim because of course his search for truth is more important than anything else. He’s kind of superfluous, he doesn’t actually do much of anything. And he does not solve the case. At best his presence pushed Madeline and Badger to start truly face what happened that night. Madeline’s father the former sheriff who prior to the start of the book had a stroke leaving him unable to speak for six months, did all the work. He never gave up on the case or trying to find those lost girls. I suppose Harley did point out that there were other young women going missing in the general area. Which brings us to poor Lolly the latest victim who was kidnapped.

There are glimpses into the past from Madeline detailing her meeting the man convicted of killing her friend. How he changed her life back then and how things changed with her friends. At no point does it ever really paint the picture of him as some monster. What happened with him just seemed like something was missing there. The identity of the kidnapper was fairly obvious it literally could only have been 1 of 2 people. But that person’s motivations and connections to the other killer seem a bit too convenient. Like oh he was manipulative he made me do it. The kidnapping of the two girls didn’t make much sense. There was a how but not really a why or any real details of what happened. Everything was just wrapped up with a bow like a Christmas present, the details were not part of the present.

I get that it’s a small town police force or whatever but did nobody ever consider that the murder/attempted murder and the disappearance/kidnapping were two unrelated events? Sure they happened around the same time at the same place but no evidence ever connected the two.

The story just felt incomplete. Like there was something missing from every part of it. The reason for the title of the book was random. But really the one thing that made no sense was who was the shooter? It couldn’t have been the kidnapper who had been busy at the time. Though the timeline is all over the place it’s pretty clear in this instance. Police cars were seen going by just before the shooting which means they were headed to the scene with the Lolly and her kidnapper. I thought I missed something there I didn’t though I suppose considering Harley’s questionable morals and tactics there were probably a lot of people who wanted him dead.

It was an ok read, pretty easy to get through and I was curious enough to keep reading till the end. But it didn’t all work out right. Seriously if you took Harley out of the story and had Madeline and Badger get curious after the news of a missing woman it might have been better. I didn’t like Harley I found him insufferable. But I did like Madeline and Badger.

True crime author and podcaster Harley Granger shows up in town to investigate the case of Evan Handy, a man convicted of killing Madeline Martin’s best friend, stabbing Madeline, and leaving her to die, and suspected of being involved in the disappearance of two other friends of Madeline who have never been found. Now three other women have gone missing, but the cases can’t be connected to Evan, or can they?

Madeline and her childhood friend, Badger, work to help solve the crime of the latest missing women. And it involves digging into her father’s files on her own case. Can they come up with any new evidence or clues as to what happened?

An exciting thriller by a new-to-me author.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book combined 3 of my favorite things - Christmas, true crime podcasts and a thriller novel! Haunting Christmas presents left at the main character's door every year after she survived an attack that took her best friend's life. This was a shorter book and the story kept me turning the pages so definitely a quick read!

There are secrets that happened in the past for the heroine of this book, but the incidents of that night are fuzzy for her. On that night two friends go missing and one is murdered by her then boyfriend, who is not in prison. A person comes to town to reinvestigate the items in her past and she does not want to talk about it. What happens next is a powerful reliving of the past with new information from current days that will keep you going. Although I did figure out part of the story early, I could not put the book down as I tore through it in two days. Great story with twists and deception that keep you guessing. Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

Thank you to Mysterious Press for letting me read CHRISTMAS PRESENTS early. This novella publishes on October 24.

This little novel is super fast paced. Lisa Unger packs a lot into a small amount of pages. She did a great job developing the characters and the settings felt so real. My only complaint is I wish this was longer. I think if it had been, I wouldn't have figured out the ending before I read it. Either way, this one is definitely worth the read.

Madeline is a survivor of a killer who murdered one of her friends while two others are still missing. She has tried to rebuild her life, but now a crime writer has purchased her missing friends' old house and is trying to get her to talk about her ordeal. And more women are now missing.

This is more than a Christmas novella. It is a lot of expertly crafted surprises in a small package. It will keep the reader guessing. The characters are easy to connect with and Madeline's pain is expressed well. Fans of thrillers will enjoy this novella.

My rating is 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5 on sites with no half-star option.

I received a free copy of this book from the publishers via Netgalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

Christmas Presents is the perfect holiday themed thriller that is just in time for the start of spooky season!

For years, the town of Little Valley has been haunted by a cold case involving one survivor, one deceased, and two missing girls. When more young women begin to go missing, the past that Little Valley can’t seem to escape from comes back, and brings along a notorious true crime podcaster who is seeking the truth, and fame.

This book was extremely well paced and each chapter kept me wanting to read the next! There are layered story lines and the family dynamics between the characters make for great bookclub discussions!

Christmas Presents by Lisa Unger was twisty, bingeable read that will be fun for the holiday season! This novella is short but also packed with enough suspense that I read the entire work in one sitting. My only qualm with the novella is that the dialogue and one of the relationships felt forced - too much was shoved into a short period of time.

Thank you to the publisher, Lisa Unger, and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my fair and honest review.