A review by noellesmagicallibrary
Christmas Presents by Lisa Unger

dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

I read this one so quickly (in under 4 hours) because it’s short and fast paced. The story kept me wondering what really happened the night of December 23rd, but the end result was a bit of a let down. There was little depth to the characters —
I don’t know the motivation behind Chet’s actions or why Evan chose to kill Stephanie
 
I think the shorter length of this book did it a disservice. It either needed to be condensed a little bit into a novella or drawn out to give more of a backstory. Harley’s character and his role in the story could have been really cool but he didn’t do much. I wanted him to get more involved in the cold case, uncover some deep dark secrets and ultimately find out what happened to those missing girls. 
Big spoiler ahead — this is the big reveal I was hoping for
Madeline killed Stephanie and Evan was trying to stop her and he injured her in the process. Then, because of his past (which may or my not have been true) the death was pinned on him. This whole time Madeline didn’t know she did it because she suppressed the memories of the night (and she drank a lot). 
Also, I didn’t care for the “romance” aspect between Madeline and Badger


Overall, Christmas Presents isn’t the best holiday thriller I’ve read, but it’s not terrible either. The author does do a great job at utilizing different characters points of view, switching between first and third person, while also using past and present timelines. 

Oh and one more thing. The profession is “physician assistant” not “physician’s assistant”. There’s no possessive; I do not belong to the doctor I work with. 
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