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calturner's review against another edition
4.0
Well, this is a bit different to the kind of Christmas book I usually read! A fabulous psychological thriller that’s full of murder and intrigue. The story moves along at a cracking pace and kept me turning the pages long into the night. Susi Holliday is a fantastic writer and her latest offering did not disappoint.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. A gripping 4 star read that I highly recommend.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. A gripping 4 star read that I highly recommend.
emmachu130's review
4.0
Creepy, atmospheric and intriguing, this book has been the perfect book to read in the run up to Christmas! Festive, but not too much. This was a really easy read yet still very interesting and kept me guessing until the last page. I would love a sequel to this!
jilliansbookshelf's review
4.0
A really good holiday murder mystery thriller! Though I do wish that the ending was a little more final and you knew who it was (the guy’s name), it did leave it open for a sequel! A must read for the new detective!
kirstyreviewsbooks's review
4.0
The Deaths of December by Susi Holliday
I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Mulholland Books and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Blurb
It looks like a regular advent calendar.
Until DC Becky Greene starts opening doors . . . and discovers a crime scene behind almost every one.
The police hope it's a prank. Because if it isn't, a murderer has just surfaced - someone who's been killing for twenty years.
But why now? And why has he sent it to this police station?
As the country relaxes into festive cheer, Greene and DS Eddie Carmine must race against time to catch the killer. Because there are four doors left, and four murders will fill them . . .
It's shaping up to be a deadly little Christmas.
My Opinion
I have recently read the second book in this series, The Party Season, and I wanted to go back and read the opening book in the series. This is a great book to read over the festive season if you are not after the typical festive book. If you have enjoyed the Christmas books by Alex Pine then I think this delight will appeal to you.
Rating 4/5
I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Mulholland Books and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Blurb
It looks like a regular advent calendar.
Until DC Becky Greene starts opening doors . . . and discovers a crime scene behind almost every one.
The police hope it's a prank. Because if it isn't, a murderer has just surfaced - someone who's been killing for twenty years.
But why now? And why has he sent it to this police station?
As the country relaxes into festive cheer, Greene and DS Eddie Carmine must race against time to catch the killer. Because there are four doors left, and four murders will fill them . . .
It's shaping up to be a deadly little Christmas.
My Opinion
I have recently read the second book in this series, The Party Season, and I wanted to go back and read the opening book in the series. This is a great book to read over the festive season if you are not after the typical festive book. If you have enjoyed the Christmas books by Alex Pine then I think this delight will appeal to you.
Rating 4/5
portybelle's review
4.0
I always look forward to the beginning of December and opening my advent calendar. I might not this year. Susi Holliday's The Deaths of December follows detectives Eddie Carmine and Becky Greene (good festive colour names!) as they try to track down a serial killer following the delivery of a rather macabre advent calendar to their office. Behind the doors of this calendar aren't cute robins, wise men travelling on donkeys or shiny stars but crime scenes. And not just pictures, but photographs of actual crime scenes. It seems that a serial killer has been carrying out murders for the past twenty years, with twenty crime scene photos behind the calendar doors. With four doors without victims, can the police track the killer before there are another four photos to fill the remaining days?
The Deaths of December was a book which started off as an intriguing read for me as the detectives began to realise that this was not an elaborate hoax. Before long though I found it a real page-turner as Carmine and Greene uncovered more clues and got closer to catching up with the killer. Chapters from the point of view of 'the photographer' were very creepy and gave a whole different perspective on the story. There was more than one jaw-dropping revelation in the book which took the story spinning off in a direction I didn't expect, making it very personal for the detectives. I have to say that Susi Holliday's characterisation is excellent throughout the book with all of the characters feeling completely realistic whether police, potential victim or the killer.
This is certainly not a cosy Christmas story with snow falling, twinkly lights and a happy ever after ending for the hero and heroine. But if you are a fan of police procedurals and are looking for a darker read this Christmas you won't be disappointed. I'm not sure if Susi Holliday is planning this to be the beginning of a new series but I would love to read more about Carmine and Greene so I do hope so.
The Deaths of December was a book which started off as an intriguing read for me as the detectives began to realise that this was not an elaborate hoax. Before long though I found it a real page-turner as Carmine and Greene uncovered more clues and got closer to catching up with the killer. Chapters from the point of view of 'the photographer' were very creepy and gave a whole different perspective on the story. There was more than one jaw-dropping revelation in the book which took the story spinning off in a direction I didn't expect, making it very personal for the detectives. I have to say that Susi Holliday's characterisation is excellent throughout the book with all of the characters feeling completely realistic whether police, potential victim or the killer.
This is certainly not a cosy Christmas story with snow falling, twinkly lights and a happy ever after ending for the hero and heroine. But if you are a fan of police procedurals and are looking for a darker read this Christmas you won't be disappointed. I'm not sure if Susi Holliday is planning this to be the beginning of a new series but I would love to read more about Carmine and Greene so I do hope so.
panicatthebookstore's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this one. It was a plot that I'd not come across before, and I found that I just couldn't read it fast enough. I did figure out who the killer was quite early on in the book, ages before it was revealed and it annoyed me a little, which is one of the reasons I didn't give it a higher rating. Another reason was because the ending just seemed a little anticlimactic. I just kind of expected more. I'm looking forward to starting the second book in the series.
carolinerd's review
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
An Advent Calendar is sent to the local police station, but it's no ordinary Advent Calendar. Behind each door is a photo of a crime scene. One of the crime scenes relates to a recent unsolved murder case but others go back many years. Is it a prank, or could a serial killer be about to strike again?
This is an enjoyable festive crime thriller. I liked how it managed to combine all the tension and darkness of a murder investigation with the mundanities of the countdown to Christmas.
I did find it a bit slow-moving until around the halfway point when there's a bit of a Eureka moment in terms of the killer's motives and the connections between the different characters. From there the pace picks up and it becomes much more gripping.
I liked the narrative style. The photographer (the creator of the calendar) narrates some chapters and others are from the perspective of the young officer, DC Becky Greene, her world-weary colleague, DS Eddie Carmine, and potential victim, Carly, a potter doing the rounds of the seasonal craft markets. They are all interesting, complex characters.
Quite a dramatic, unexpected ending, although I still felt there were a few loose ends in terms of the key characters and their lives. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a sequel.
This is an enjoyable festive crime thriller. I liked how it managed to combine all the tension and darkness of a murder investigation with the mundanities of the countdown to Christmas.
I did find it a bit slow-moving until around the halfway point when there's a bit of a Eureka moment in terms of the killer's motives and the connections between the different characters. From there the pace picks up and it becomes much more gripping.
I liked the narrative style. The photographer (the creator of the calendar) narrates some chapters and others are from the perspective of the young officer, DC Becky Greene, her world-weary colleague, DS Eddie Carmine, and potential victim, Carly, a potter doing the rounds of the seasonal craft markets. They are all interesting, complex characters.
Quite a dramatic, unexpected ending, although I still felt there were a few loose ends in terms of the key characters and their lives. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a sequel.
titanic's review
4.0
Okay, so the plot doesn't exactly scream realistic, with a man killing twenty (twenty-one?) people to try and get attention on his sister's unsolved murder, but overall the book was still really interesting, I read 200 pages in one sitting. I demolished the book, I could barely put it down.
Besides the fact that the murderer didn't have the best reason for killing, I also found his love for his sister absolutely bizarre. I thought it was his girlfriend or wife who had died because of how in love he had been with her, but then I found out it was his sister and I thought something disgusting went on but nope, just a "normal" love for a brother and sister, which felt creepy, and I would love to show all the points but if you're reading this then you've read the book and hopefully you picked up on what I picked up on.
Secondly! The true murderer of his sister! My God! I had to Google an ebook version to search for a phrase that I remembered being spoken in the book because the ending didn't confirm properly who the actual murderer was, and for a second I thought I was going to have to be unaware and leave it as it was. But nope, I found out who it was, thank you Google Books! So maybe the author should have cleared that up a bit, or maybe it was intentional? I don't know...
Despite these major annoyances, I actually really loved the book. And I hate the fact that I left it sitting on my bookshelf for so long, but in my defense, I really did want to read it in December, it felt fitting.
Besides the fact that the murderer didn't have the best reason for killing, I also found his love for his sister absolutely bizarre. I thought it was his girlfriend or wife who had died because of how in love he had been with her, but then I found out it was his sister and I thought something disgusting went on but nope, just a "normal" love for a brother and sister, which felt creepy, and I would love to show all the points but if you're reading this then you've read the book and hopefully you picked up on what I picked up on.
Secondly! The true murderer of his sister! My God! I had to Google an ebook version to search for a phrase that I remembered being spoken in the book because the ending didn't confirm properly who the actual murderer was, and for a second I thought I was going to have to be unaware and leave it as it was. But nope, I found out who it was, thank you Google Books! So maybe the author should have cleared that up a bit, or maybe it was intentional? I don't know...
Despite these major annoyances, I actually really loved the book. And I hate the fact that I left it sitting on my bookshelf for so long, but in my defense, I really did want to read it in December, it felt fitting.
sooky's review
3.0
Bah, humbug!
Some people go a bit nuts around Christmas time, and act like the world is ending. Our killer in Deaths of December took all this one step further. One murder in December, for the past two decades, and still counting.
When the police receives an advent calendar, addressed to “a detective who knows what to do”, they all think it’s some sort of a prank. All, apart from Eddie Carmine, who recognizes a photo of his latest unsolved case behind one of the doors. He and Becky Greene (yes, Carmine & Greene, ha!) set out to track down a prolific seasonal murderer before he can ruin anyone else’s Christmas.
The story is mainly told by Becky and Eddie, interspersed by a few quips by the killer himself, and Carly, a woman who sells pottery at Christmas markets. When she can actually be bothered.
Eddie is an eager, but somewhat disillusioned cop, who even flirted with the idea of leaving the force. Well, nothing like a serial killer on the loose to keep you motivated! Becky is in her late twenties, still living with her dad, and she’s the sort of person who drinks large lattes “extra hot” (with emphasis), tells her boyfriend who is in the middle of cooking her dinner that she’d rather eat something else from somewhere else (pretty please, with cherry on top, eyelashes batting), and consumes a shitload of Indian take away food, while not considering it “real food”. #eyeroll Yes, I didn’t like Becky.
“He sighs theatrically. ‘I go to all this effort …’ He lets the sentence hang. She can tell by his voice that he’s just as happy as her to have a curry, even though they’ve been eating more takeaways than real food lately.”
They mystery itself was twisty enough, but what a whiny serial killer we got here, my word! He doesn’t enjoy it, you see, and he just wants to rest, but oh he can’t. Bitch, please.
There were a few interesting snippets of different folklore elements I found interesting, but overall this was just an average crime mystery with a main character who may have had a reason to be they way she is, but she kept it so well to herself, that I couldn’t help but think she’s just an ungrateful, annoying woman who lacks self awareness.
“In Germany and Austria, they have Frau Perchta, a witch who likes to rip out the internal organs of the sinful and replace them with rubbish. In France, there is Père Fouettard, who along with his wife, likes to kill, chop and salt children before eating them.”
I did like Eddie a lot though. Wouldn’t mind if he had a spin off!
Some people go a bit nuts around Christmas time, and act like the world is ending. Our killer in Deaths of December took all this one step further. One murder in December, for the past two decades, and still counting.
When the police receives an advent calendar, addressed to “a detective who knows what to do”, they all think it’s some sort of a prank. All, apart from Eddie Carmine, who recognizes a photo of his latest unsolved case behind one of the doors. He and Becky Greene (yes, Carmine & Greene, ha!) set out to track down a prolific seasonal murderer before he can ruin anyone else’s Christmas.
The story is mainly told by Becky and Eddie, interspersed by a few quips by the killer himself, and Carly, a woman who sells pottery at Christmas markets. When she can actually be bothered.
Eddie is an eager, but somewhat disillusioned cop, who even flirted with the idea of leaving the force. Well, nothing like a serial killer on the loose to keep you motivated! Becky is in her late twenties, still living with her dad, and she’s the sort of person who drinks large lattes “extra hot” (with emphasis), tells her boyfriend who is in the middle of cooking her dinner that she’d rather eat something else from somewhere else (pretty please, with cherry on top, eyelashes batting), and consumes a shitload of Indian take away food, while not considering it “real food”. #eyeroll Yes, I didn’t like Becky.
“He sighs theatrically. ‘I go to all this effort …’ He lets the sentence hang. She can tell by his voice that he’s just as happy as her to have a curry, even though they’ve been eating more takeaways than real food lately.”
They mystery itself was twisty enough, but what a whiny serial killer we got here, my word! He doesn’t enjoy it, you see, and he just wants to rest, but oh he can’t. Bitch, please.
There were a few interesting snippets of different folklore elements I found interesting, but overall this was just an average crime mystery with a main character who may have had a reason to be they way she is, but she kept it so well to herself, that I couldn’t help but think she’s just an ungrateful, annoying woman who lacks self awareness.
“In Germany and Austria, they have Frau Perchta, a witch who likes to rip out the internal organs of the sinful and replace them with rubbish. In France, there is Père Fouettard, who along with his wife, likes to kill, chop and salt children before eating them.”
I did like Eddie a lot though. Wouldn’t mind if he had a spin off!