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A review by thepeachmartini
The Christmas Killer by Alex Pine
2.0
The Christmas Killer (DI James Walker #1) by Alex Pine
Date Read: 4 Dec 2023
⭐️⭐️
Oh boy. I had such high hopes for this one. A murder-mystery during Christmas? Two of my favorite things in one book…sign me up!
Only…this was a miss for me. A big miss. It was slow-paced, and the writing was stiff and it just felt…off. It seemed like an attempt to write a noir-style book and the dialog and structure just didn’t flow well. The characters lacked depth; none were very memorable, and I was tired of Walker’s wife within the first few chapters of the book. The reveal was unsurprising and easily guessed. The lengths to which the killer went were a bit ridiculous when you finally connect the dots. There was no tension that you’d expect in a mystery.
It also really bothered me how much information Walker shared with not only his wife, but the local reporter. He’d stress to certain characters not to reveal information about the investigation, but would run home and tell his wife everything. Even a casual fan of mystery/true crime knows that’s just not done.
Two stars feels generous, but the story has good bones…it just needs work.
Date Read: 4 Dec 2023
⭐️⭐️
Oh boy. I had such high hopes for this one. A murder-mystery during Christmas? Two of my favorite things in one book…sign me up!
Only…this was a miss for me. A big miss. It was slow-paced, and the writing was stiff and it just felt…off. It seemed like an attempt to write a noir-style book and the dialog and structure just didn’t flow well. The characters lacked depth; none were very memorable, and I was tired of Walker’s wife within the first few chapters of the book. The reveal was unsurprising and easily guessed. The lengths to which the killer went were a bit ridiculous when you finally connect the dots. There was no tension that you’d expect in a mystery.
It also really bothered me how much information Walker shared with not only his wife, but the local reporter. He’d stress to certain characters not to reveal information about the investigation, but would run home and tell his wife everything. Even a casual fan of mystery/true crime knows that’s just not done.
Two stars feels generous, but the story has good bones…it just needs work.