Well this was a fun, festive popcorn thriller 🍿

I’m a big fan of anything Lisa Unger and this was no exception. If you are looking for a “holiday” read tonight (I finished this in one sitting!) then I highly suggest you pick this one up 🎄🔪

Thank you to @netgalley for my copy!

I really enjoyed this novella thriller set around Christmas/winter and definitely recommend it. It was a nice break from the usual romance holiday books!

This was a good, quick read that hooked you and kept you wanting to figure out what was happening. Following the trend of a true crime podcast character, but switching it up as he wasn’t one of the main characters. More of a tool to get things going. I did have a hard time with the sheriff knowing who it was and not being able to pass information on while he recovered from a stroke, because I’ve seen way less important information get communicated in a variety of ways post stroke. But that wouldn’t make a good story, would it? 😅 overall, a good thriller set over the Christmas season.

Madeline survived a horrific attack that killed her best friend, almost killed her, and two of her other friends are still missing a decade later. A true crime podcaster rolls into town to look into things, even thought the bad guy is convicted in prison. Madeline had nothing to do with him until he showed her that more girls are missing, and they look like her. She steps into her dad’s home office, where the retired sheriff was working to try and find her friends still. He suffered from a stroke, and can’t tell her any theories, but she will keep looking to find her friends.

It is a fantastic story, exhilarating plot, well developed characters, and a well executed shocking ending. I read in one day, unputdownable and very addictive. Recommend to every thriller reader.

3 stars!

I read this little novelette as a precursor to Christmas and I thought it was pretty good! I really liked the setting and I am always a fan of a podcast thriller, but it did feel like at points the writing was a bit clunky. I think that the majority of the book I felt like it was a little too short and I think that it wrapped up just a little too fast.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Creepy with Christmas is one of my favorite things. This story really captures the holiday spirit with darkness of course. I love when a book keeps me guessing but also feeds you enough clues to help you theorize. This is my first book by Unger but I enjoyed it enough to seek out more.

I felt I was left wanting more. More character development, more when it came to the podcast element of the story. Just more. It could have been a lot longer.

Since Evan Handy went to jail, three other young women have gone missing, most recently a young college dropout named Lolly. Five young women missing in the same area in a decade. Are they connected? Was Evan Handy innocent after all? Or was there some else there that night? Someone who is still satisfying his dark appetites?

I am a fan of Lisa Unger and this novella did not disappoint. While I read it months before the holidays. it was a nice gift in July! It is difficult to go into too much detail without giving spoilers, so I will just say, it packed a good punch for a novella...it was engaging, character development was the right amount needed but not overly done, and the twists were good! I had my suspicions and while I was right, that didn't take away from the story since it wasn't confirmed until the very end.

Thank you NetGalley and Penzler Publishers, Mysterious Press for ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Madeline Martin revisits her hometown to collaborate with a podcaster and attempt to unravel a lingering mystery from her past that involves the deaths of her best friend and two other girls during their teenage years. Some suspect Madeline herself and believe the incarcerated man's claim of innocence. As Maddy immerses herself in the investigation, she discovers that she may have made a mistake in trusting certain people. The ending was surprising yet tied everything together and left me wanting more.

A Christmas thriller novella pretty good short little story. Grabs you and pulls you in from the start.

I am such a fan of Lisa Unger, and holiday themed thrillers. Plot was good, characters were good and relatable, and the book in general was a lot of fun. I recommend this book.

Thank you to the author, Penzler Publishers, Mysterious Press, and NetGalley for an ARC of Christmas Presents in exchange for an honest review.

Christmas Presents by Lisa Unger is a quick holiday novella full of mystery and twists. Since it is a novella things start happening fast and I missed a few key details with everything going so quick. This is a fun holiday thriller and if you like twists and turns I highly recommend.

This was a great book. I loved every paragraph, every sentence and every word of this masterpiece! I read it in 12 hours, which is a lot for me to do! It had everything and more laid out in the novel! I sure hope There is more to come from this author! I am totally hooked!

Not my favorite from this author. The ending was good but I think I struggled with the character developement aspect since it's a shorter book.

This was really middle-of-the-road for me. Nothing great, nothing terrible. I honestly am not sure I even have anything to say about it, to be honest.

love the trend of holiday thrillers this year! this one was short but packs a punch - however although it’s set at Christmastime it wasn’t very holiday themed at all, just kinda served as a backdrop for a normal thriller.

This was not at all what I expected… but I wasn’t disappointed. Madeline, a local bookstore owner, never left the town where she was brutally assaulted as a teenager. She lives with her father, the former police chief, who suffered a stroke and is slowly recovering. The night Madeline was hurt, one of her friends was murdered, and two others disappeared without a trace. When a famous author and podcaster comes to town to investigate their cases, tightly wound secrets start to unravel.
Christmas is the setting of this book, but not the subject. Much like the ongoing debate of whether or not Die Hard is a Christmas movie, I imagine the same could be argued with this book.

dislikes:
- the writing. it was a strange mix of overly pretentious writing that doesn't really fit the tone of the book and overly simple writing.
- the POVs
- the characters
- very predictable

I love a Christmas story, but I REALLY love a Christmas thriller! Especially one as neat and twisty as this one. It was the perfect break from all the Christmas rom-coms I was reading.

Who doesn't love a fun, twisty Christmas novella?? I read this back around the holidays it was the perfect little thriller to get me in the holiday spirit. We discussed it with my book club and it made for such a fun conversation; a killer in a Santa mask? What could be better to discuss with a thriller book club?? This is a quick, easy read and I highly recommend for all thriller readers who like to read with a theme.