A short read but another hit from the author. Filled with page turning mystery and suspense. This is a book which I recommend to those like a good mystery. And it be coming out close to Christmas.

Lisa Unger does it again! With amazing characters, an amazing plot, and twists and turns… this is a must read. My only regret is reading it during the summer and not on a snowy winter day!

I always devour Lisa Unger's work and this was no exception. This was the perfect little Christmas Novella with the holiday imagery, small town vibes and a cold case clashing with the present when a woman goes missing. The only complaint I have is that it's a novella and not a novel, I wanted a bit more from the ending as well as the past storyline. Otherwise this is perfect for the holiday season when it releases, I definitely recommend it. Four Stars.

Thank you Netgalley and Penzler Publishers for this ARC.

Christmas Presents by Lisa Unger

There is no better author in my opinion than Lisa Unger. She continues to give everything she has as a writer so that her readers experience something that comes natural to her……a great thriller. I have read almost all of her books and I would say that they get better but it is more her ability to create characters that are so well developed and they grow within the story. This is one of those slow burn thrillers that will keep you on your toes the entire time. The twists and turns that she takes you on make you feel as though you are on a roller coaster but instead of wanting off, you can’t wait to go again and again so that you can get to the ending. Oh the ending,, the ending is NOT what you expect… Do not even try to figure it out. This one is not predictable, unless you read from back to front, and will keep you engrossed the entire time. Thank you Lisa Unger for sharing your amazing talent with the world.

5 out of 5 stars


Thank you to NetGalley as well as the author and publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my unbiased and honest review.

Thank you to netgalley for this (unfinished) arc.


You better watch out cause Santa is coming to kill your ass.


I was all in for the book and expected big things. It was going really well even though I felt like the ending was revealed near the beginning with some not so subtle foreshadowing. But I was still trucking along thinking maybe I had it wrong. Nope. The very last chapter ruined it for me. I almost threw my kindle across the room. It was extremely anticlimactic. The ending was lackluster and seemed to take sort of a romantic twist and lost the thriller aspect.

Christmas Presents
Since reading Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six by Lisa Unger almost a year ago, I’ve become a fan of hers. I also did a Q&A with her a year ago this summer and it was such a delight. Today I finished reading Christmas Presents which is Lisa’s very first Christmas Novella. Madeline Martin is the owner of a successful bookstore called The Next Chapter Bookshop despite surviving almost being killed by Evan Handler years before even though some of her friends weren’t lucky and trying her best to take care of her father who suffered a stroke forcing him to retire from being the Sheriff. In comes true crime author and podcaster Harley Granger. He wants to speak with Madeline and find out where her missing friends are and if there was a second killer who helped Evan that night and if that second killer is involved with more missing women including college dropout Lolly. With Madeline’s childhood friend Badger and Harley they must figure out who the killer is before it’s too late.

Pros
I started this novella after I finished reading The Night It Ended yesterday. I wasn’t sure I would enjoy a Christmas novella but I really did. I love that the main character Madeline Martin is the owner of a book store. I like that it goes back and forth between the present and the past and with different characters points of views. I could picture myself in the story. My favorite characters are Madeline and Harley and I liked their love interests too.

Cons
While I sped through this novel and enjoyed it, I felt the reveal of who the murderer is and how it was revealed was a bit of a letdown. In my opinion I felt the ending was rushed.

Overall
Overall Christmas Presents will make a great Christmas gift for those who enjoy murder mysteries and Christmas wrapped into one. Thank you Netgalley for the early copy. If you didn’t get to read the story early, pre-order Christmas Presents coming out on October 24th of this year for either yourself or a Christmas gift for your friends and loved ones.

A well written psychological thriller. LIkeable characters and a plot that drew me in and made me want to keep reading. A short novel, which didn't sacrifice plot or feelings so it really worked for me.

a novella, contrasting the season of christmas with the painful history of the town with two missing women, a murdered woman and a survivor of that attack. told in the past, the present and the present version of another abducted woman and a true crime writer, looking into the unsolved case. I loved Lisa Unger's books and this one got me involved right away, i guessed the perpetrator, but it didn't matter and even shed a few tears towards the end.

It's Christmas season in a small New York town, and Melinnda Martin, an independent bookstore owner, is reliving a trauma from ten years ago. Her close friend Steph was killed, and two other friends abducted: and Harley Granger has come to town to research a podcast about the crimes. Unger weaves an engaging story of the search for whoever is snatching up more girls, since Steph's killer, Evan Handy, has been in jail for ten years. Good read!!

Really good mystery/suspense akin to Agatha Christie. Not much gore but instead uses word to build tension. Great read!

It’s almost Christmas and Santa’s on his way. Don’t let this Santa into your house! He’s a serial killer.

For the past ten years, since the murder of one of her friends and the disappearance of two others, Maddie has dealt with the sad, depressing anniversaries, her own disfigurement and now the weight of caring for her father after a devastating stroke. So when cold case investigator and podcaster Harley Granger moves to her small town to investigate the attacks, she refuses to help. After all, murderer Evan Handy is in jail. The case is closed. It should be, shouldn’t it?

That’s the question. Lisa Unger delivers a fast paced, suspenseful mystery with a coldly terrifying subplot involving a stripper. This is one you won’t be able to put down. It’s one of your Christmas Presents! 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penzler Publishers and Lisa Unger for this ARC.

This was a fun ,quick , twisty thriller novella. Maddie has tried to forget the night she almost died. Now a true crime podcaster Harley Granger comes to town and wants her to share the nightmare she went through as he believes there is someone else involved in the murders. Who can be taking woman now?

The Christmas presents being left every year at her door and being such thoughtful gifts freaked me out.

Slowly, the truth is revealed of what went on years ago the night Steph died. Now, with all the pieces in place they can hopefully catch a killer.

Christmas Presents by Lisa Unger Fast paced mystery, suspense, serial killer(s), a true crime author, a bookstore owner who survived a vicious attack with a love interest, some family drama and of an ending that you thought you know what was coming......but then.
Maddie and Badger were favorite characters. The podcast epilogue was quite interesting. The Christmas Presents were truly inspired,
Thank you to the author, Penzler Publishers, Mysterious Press, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

This was a fast paced Novella set around Christmas time. Told from multiple POVs and switching from past to present. Madeline (though spelled Madeleine on several pages) suffers a horrific tragedy when she was 17 and 10 years later is still looking for answers. I love Lisa Unger’s writing.

Book : Christmas Presents
Author : Lisa Unger
Release Date : 24 October 2023

Thank you NetGalley, Penzler Publishers, Mysterious Press & the author for the opportunity to read and review this book.

When I saw this book show up on my recommendations I got so excited because there is not a single book Lisa has written that I do not love & I love a good holiday mystery/thriller novella. Even better, when I’m doing this ARC it is summer time and that’s my favorite time to read holiday thriller.

The plot/storyline was perfection, the character development was perfect and the characters felt so real to me. I loved all the characters that we followed through this story. This book had me guessing all the way to the very last page. Turn after turn there were little twists that I never was right about and you don’t get that comfy mystery feeling you get with some mystery/thrillers…you got this amazing creepy & eerie feeling. I sat down and read this book from front cover to back cover. A fast holiday novella that I didn’t want to put down at all.

I don’t want to say very much about this book because I don’t want to give away anything but will say that you need to scoop up this book and make sure that it is on your TBR. Pre-order and have it ready to go for the fall seasons release! You will not be disappointed.

Written by a talented author, one of my favorites, this book is a page turner. Although the protagonist survived a wicked attack, her friends did not. While running her bookstore and taking care of her father, former sheriff and stroke victim, she wonders about what really happened. A popular author enters the picture. Intrigue and mystery at its best. This book is fiction but reads like nonfiction at times. The story moves quickly with realistic characters. This is not a cozy read. It is difficult to try to determine the ending. This book was sent to me electronically by Netgalley for review. Thanks to the publisher, one of the best, and the much gifted author.

I love Lisa Unger books and her little novella, "Christmas Presents" was a quick awesome read. Great story

It’s nearly Christmas and Madeline, owner of The Next Chapter Bookshop in picturesque Little Valley in upstate New York, is surprised to find one of her favorite true crime authors buying a present for his father in her store. But he’s really there to talk to her, since Madeline is a final girl, a survivor of serial killer Evan Handy. This happened a decade ago and now the famous cold case investigator Harley Granger is restoring the abandoned home of missing sisters while he probes the old crime facts. He reveals something unknown to Maddie: other women have gone missing in the decade since Evan was imprisoned, including one just a few days ago.

Lisa Unger has delightedly decided to join the league of mystery writers who have published Christmas novellas (Janice Hallett has “The Christmas Appeal” and Peter Swanson has “The Christmas Guest” releasing in October 2023 when Lisa’s is due), and this one is perfect. Of course, there will be a big Christmas dinner to end the suspense, but who will survive to be around the table? 5 stars — this might not put you in a holly jolly mood, but it will satisfy a need for a holiday mystery!

Thank you to Penzler Publishers, Mysterious Press, and NetGalley for a free advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES Steph, one of the victims, had startling sea-glass green eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO Just the expected snow-covered and decorated trees you’d expect in a Christmas novella.