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. This debut thriller is pretty rough around the edges. 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… 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. 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. Having said that, as a first in the series, I would like to read the next book to know if there is an improvement in the character portrayal and story line.The Christmas Killer by Alex Pine is a 2020 Avon publication. There’s no thrill or the curiosity to know what happens next. The story definitely has a lot of scope for improvement. Overall, The Christmas Killer was an okay read. Sadly, this story fell flat on both accounts. I do not care much about the pacing as long the character portrayal is impressive. All the characters except James were distant, rude and unlikable. I wouldn’t say the character development was very good. The identity of the killer was no surprise. The mystery behind the murders was pretty good. these inclusions were totally unnecessary. As the story ends (on Christmas Eve), they want to conceive a baby on Christmas Eve so festivity be damned.
There are ‘funny’ moments like – they wake up early one morning and James says it’s not a sex-in-the-morning kinda day. James and Annie are desperately trying for a baby. Annie seemed a little too emotional and wallowing in self-pity.
There are a total of three murders in the story and overall, the story development was a little too slow for my taste.Īs much as I liked the main character/sleuth James Walker, I cannot say the same about his wife Annie. A little slow paced and the first murder does not happen until 20% through the story.
I think this book falls into the sub-category of Cozy Mystery. The Christmas Killer is not a fast-paced mystery. A thanks is in order to Avon Books for providing me the ARC for review purpose. The blurb on NetGalley (and Goodreads, of course) sounded interesting and I was eagerly waiting to read this book.
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