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.

Oh boy! This un-put-downable tale from Lisa Unger kept me guessing. Halfway through I thought I’d figured out who the killer was since “bookworms make the best detectives”. However, the author had more twists and secrets to reveal before this story was over. Note that this is a book to be enjoyed anytime of year, not just at Christmas.

A very interesting read. The story starts off at a brisk pace and continues the pace through to the end. The storyline is compelling and the characters are engaging. The main " villain" however was easy to decipher front from the start so there was little mystery or revelations.

This was full of suspense. I loved trying to figure out who the culprit was. The storyline was well written.
I loved Madeline’s character, it was nice seeing a bookworm as the main character.
I really enjoyed reading this one, read in one sitting as it was so good.
Many thanks to Netgalley for the chance to read and review this one.

Christmas Presents by Lisa Unger is a fast paced thriller about a serial killer. Madeline Martin owns a bookstore in her home town. When famed true crime novelist and podcaster, Harley Granger, shows up to shop for a book, she knows he is here for here for her story. She was a victim of a crime in her teenage years. Madeline was attacked by her boyfriend in high school after she witnessed him murdering her best friend, yet she managed to escape. Her other two friends went missing that same night and have not been seen since. Harley plans on revisiting that crime to find the truth of what happened.
I figured out the mystery of the story in the first three chapters. There was little surprise for me when I finished the book. I still recommend reading it, although it is quite predictable, because the story is a quick read and is enjoyable as a mystery, seeing how it all unfolds.
Thank you to Netgalley and Mysterious Press for the advanced copy of the book. The opinions are my own.

Having read the author's previous books, I definitely had high expectations from this novella. True to the form it was a quick read, but I have to say I felt a little let down by the plot and I felt I could predict the twist pretty much right away. The whole premise of the book is very intriguing, with all the focus on a young woman who is actually a survivor and had a weird experience years ago, which ultimately led to the death of a girl and two other friends who are still missing. Now, a well known author and Podcaster is in town to do a series on this incident, so the question is obviously - is it really her boyfriend who did all the killings or is there someone else involved. There weren't too many twists and this was maybe because it was a shorter format. It also did not include much of a personality development for many characters. It was entertaining, but it is not something I would say was a memorable thriller for me .

It was 3.5 read for me so rounding it to 4!! Thanks for the advanced copy!

ARC review

Story: 3/5 ⭐
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To be honest I was a little disappointed with this. I was hoping this would entice me more but I found the plot to be bland and predictable. Usually multiple POVs offer more complexity and insight into the book however, the POVs in this felt somewhat simplistic and didn't really offer the depth that this book needed. They usually offer a chance to develop character-reader relationships but I was very underwhelmed.

Overall a quick and easy read. Nothing too complex, and pretty predictable. It was ok. I've never read any other books by Lisa Unger so I can't do a full comparison.

***I received this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you to the author/publishing company and netgalley for this opportunity!

This novella starts out filled with action and does not stop until the end. A perfect short story with twists and multiple POV.

Thank you for the opportunity to preview Christmas Presents.
Lisa Ungrr gives us a mystery novella that is a quick read and an interesting cast of characters
The story centers on a young woman who has survived an attack by her boyfriend 10 years ago. Her friends not so lucky. They are dead and missing.
She cannot remember what happened and now a well known author and podcaster is bringing the mystery of who done it to his audience.
Will they find out what happened? The boyfriend is in jail declaring his innocence. Who killed her friends and could it be someone close? Does she really want to know.
Quick read and looks like it could be a series
4 stars

Book: Christmas Presents
Author: Lisa Unger
Publisher: Penzler Publishers
Pub Date: October 24, 2023

I love Lisa Unger. This is a novella and a great little quick read. It provides just enough information to give you a good who-done-it but not overload you with too much description to weigh you down. I gave it four stars because I feel like it’s pretty easy to guess who the killer is. And if anyone can tell me who shot Harley that would be awesome! I feel like I know but I am positive after it happens no one ever tells who did it. There aren’t too many twists or jaw dropping moments but I was invested in these characters and didn’t want to put it down. This may seem corny but I wish I had read it during winter and around Christmas. Goofy I know but it definitely gave out winter vibes and I’m sitting in 90 degree weather. It’s a cozy read for me. I don’t feel cozy in the summer.

Thank you Penzler Publishers and NetGalley for this sneak peak! Publication date is October 24, 2023.

I found the premise of this book really interesting and was excited to read. However, at times I found it difficult to follow who was speaking and what timeline it was. I really enjoyed the POV of the current crime. While I predicted the twist pretty early, I just did not find it that satisfying. Overall I’m giving it three stars; it was entertaining, but did not really stand out to me. Thank you for this arc!