Yikes! I thought I would try one of the many 'Christmas murder' style novels, as an antidote to Christmas romances, and this was free on Prime Reading - but I obviously picked the wrong author as an introduction to the sub-sub-genre. Alex Pine is a dreadful writer, and I have no idea (a) how he persuaded a well-known publisher to take on his debut novel, and (b) why he's receiving so many positive reviews and being encouraged to churn out sequels! From the clunky narrative and the stilted dialogue - brought to you by the abbreviations 'hon' and 'guv' - I thought I was reading teenage fiction on Wattpad.

The plot is supposed to be a violent, if not altogether original, murder mystery set in a claustrophobically small village during a blizzard, but Pine has sucked all of the personality, pacing and tension out of his own narrative. James Walker, the hotshot detective from the Met who moves to Cumbria with his whining wife, is both bland and useless. It's a good job that various other characters regularly comment on his professional prowess, because Walker acts like every day is his first day on the job. I had to laugh when the killer, while standing over the detective's wife with the murder weapon in hand, took the time to feed his ego one last time: ‘I underestimated you, Detective,’ he said. ‘And that was a mistake.' Meanwhile, Annie, Walker's non-entity of a wife, seems to spend her time either crying or drinking. She has a bit of a backstory, but she is just so flat and one dimensional that I didn't care. And that goes for the murders too.

The whole twelve murders for the twelve days of Christmas schtick, which Pine exposits like a Wikipedia summary, if handled by Agatha Christie or an American author like Jeffrey Deaver, could have been really disturbing - I was imagining each murder connected to a line in the song, like the gold rings could have represented the first victim - but no. Walker receives a dead partridge and a Christmas card warning that twelve people in the village 'deserve' to die - but we only get the first three victims, and they all die the same way. I had my fingers crossed that Annie would the fourth, however! And oh my word, but the investigation is plodding and repetitive, with lots of aimless wandering - or wondering, as Pine's editor would have it - and harassing the same handful of suspects. Walker also asks the postman to guard one murder scene and needs a junior officer to suggest covering another body with a tarpaulin, not so clever dick that he is.

Nothing about the characters or the story worked for me. The only other string to Annie's bow is that she's desperate to have a baby and feels guilty about 'her inability to conceive' (is she the Virgin Mary?) She waltzes into town and offers her services as a supply teacher - of course women who don't have children must work with them instead - and the mothers ask her advice about how to tell their children about the murders, like she's some kind of expert. She also frets over her estranged uncle, the giant red herring, who comes across as slightly sinister but don't worry, folks, he just has dementia. And then there are the italic chapters, told in first person from the victim's perspective, which drove me mad - 'Oh no, now there is a knife in my stomach, I am in so much pain'.

Needless to say, I won't be moving onto the second or third books in the series, and I'm glad I didn't pay for this honour, but I hope for the sake of other readers that Pine improves with practice. ( )

The Christmas Killer by Alex Pine is a 2020 Avon publication.

When a dangerous criminal is released from prison, who happens to carry a grudge against DI James Walker, his wife insists they move away from the city. Just as they begin to settle into the small Cumbrian village, and a much slower, and hopefully less dangerous life, an ominous package arrives on their doorstep with a note attached which threatens a twelve-day reign of terror ala the Twelve Days of Christmas.

In blizzard like conditions a body is found in the snow – the potential first victim with eleven more to follow if the killer isn’t stopped…

This debut thriller is pretty rough around the edges. This is not an ARC copy, so I was surprised to find several glaring grammatical errors in the book, early on- especially as the book has a seasoned publisher.

I could overlook that if the story was descent- but there isn’t much here for me to recommend. The characters and dialogue are wooden and stiff, and I guessed, not only who the killer was, very early on- but the motive was also apparent, which didn’t give me much incentive to hang around to see how DI Walker would connect the dots.

But I did stick around, despite all that. The flow of the book did smooth out after a while, and honestly, the bare bones of a good crime novel are here- but the delivery needed a lot of work. That said, I think the author has some potential. The issues here can be worked out with some experience- and so I’m going to try the second installment in this series to see if things improve.

Overall, this debut got off to a rocky start- but it might be a diamond in the rough. Hopefully, the next installment is a bit more polished!

2 stars ( )

DI Walker and his wife Annie have moved to Kirby Abbey, Cumbria to a house her mother left her. A move instigated because of the possible threats to them from released convicted killer Andrew Sullivan. The courts having decided after thirteen months in prison that he was wrongly convicted when another man confessed.
But as Christmas approachs they receive a parcel containing a dead bird and a threatening message inside a Christmas card. Threats that there will be twelve deaths during the twelve days of Christmas, deaths of twelve people who deserve to die.
Unfortunately I did determine who was the killer, and I really didn't care much for the character of Annie Walker.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )

After moving his family to the quiet village of Kirkby Abbey, DI James Walker is hoping for a equally quiet Christmas. But, as the snow begins to fall, he finds a parcel on his doorstep containing a gruesome 'present' as well as a macabre promise - twelve days, twelve murders. Walker hopes this is someone's idea of a practical joke being played on the new DI but shortly after, a body is found frozen in the snow. As the snow continues to accumulate, isolating the village from the outside world, Walker must discover if this is just a coincidental accident or if the inhabitants of Kirkby Abbey are trapped here with a determined murderer and this is just the first of many murders.

Ok, I know it's a little early to be thinking of Christmas even in books but I am a sucker for a good Christmas cozy mystery and The Christmas Killer is definitely that. It is the first in a series of murder mysteries by Alex Pine and I was pulled me in from the first page and fully engaged throughout. There's plenty of red herrings and twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. For fans of cozy mysteries, especially those set during the Christmas season, this one's for you.

Thanks to Netgalley & Avon Books UK for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review ( )

When DI James Walker opens an early Christmas present left on his doorstep, he soon realises it is no gift. Inside is a gruesome surprise, and a promise – twelve days, twelve murders. Not long after, the first body is found, half frozen in the snow.

As the blizzards descend, panic spreads through the remote Cumbrian village – there’s a killer amongst them, and with eleven more victims to go, anyone could be next….

The minute I saw this book and its cover, I knew I had to read this one! I love holiday mystery & thrillers, and this book didn't disappoint me at all.

It was so well written, that I was hooked on right from the first page and couldn’t put it down until I finished it. Even though the main focus of the book was the investigation and finding the killer, I was more interested to find out who would be the next victim and discovering the reason behind it.

I had a guess as to who could be the killer and I was glad when I found out that my guess was right. There were instances when the investigation would slow down and some clues overlooked, but that didn't affect my reading experience. In terms of the main characters, I found Annie a bit annoying but DI James is a very likable detective and I would definitely look forward to read more of him.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of murder mysteries.

Thank You to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for this ARC! ( )