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A review by moonlightcupofcocoa
The Thing in Christmas Town by Iseult Murphy
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Thank you to the author for the free copy. As always all thoughts here are 100% my own.
This is the perfect read when you're in the mood for a cozy horror during the holidays. From the very first pages, you get a satisfying mix of creepiness and festivity.
Diane and her adult children and her son-in-law decide to take a holiday to Christmas Town, a place that is Christmasy all year long. Even in July! While Diane is still struggling with guilt and grief over the loss of her husband, she decides to join her children even if she seems to be disagreeing with everything they see in the lovely, perfect, almost Utopian Christmas Town.
But is it just her or is there actually something amiss?
Overall, this is a quick read that you can probably go through in less than an hour while nursing a hot cocoa by the fireplace. While in general you can predict the ending and how things will play out, the execution is still fun, and you will find yourself flipping through the pages to see what happens next.
The fast pace is both works in its favour and holds it back. Being thrown into the plot with minimal setup quickly puts you on edge since creepiness set in pretty quickly. As quickly as the second chapter from what I remember. But, also, it does mean that there is very little space to get to know the characters and empathize with them.
Diane's grief is real and strong over the loss of her husband, but that makes her reaction to the events that unfold in the story a bit muted. We barely get enough time for the characters to react or for us to sit down with the events for an emotional connection to evolve that it starts taking away from the shock towards the end when the horrors reach their peak.
Overall though, the story itself is fun and the aesthetic is so well-crafted. It feels like a classic horror movie in book form! So make sure to give this a read next Christmas.
This is the perfect read when you're in the mood for a cozy horror during the holidays. From the very first pages, you get a satisfying mix of creepiness and festivity.
Diane and her adult children and her son-in-law decide to take a holiday to Christmas Town, a place that is Christmasy all year long. Even in July! While Diane is still struggling with guilt and grief over the loss of her husband, she decides to join her children even if she seems to be disagreeing with everything they see in the lovely, perfect, almost Utopian Christmas Town.
But is it just her or is there actually something amiss?
Overall, this is a quick read that you can probably go through in less than an hour while nursing a hot cocoa by the fireplace. While in general you can predict the ending and how things will play out, the execution is still fun, and you will find yourself flipping through the pages to see what happens next.
The fast pace is both works in its favour and holds it back. Being thrown into the plot with minimal setup quickly puts you on edge since creepiness set in pretty quickly. As quickly as the second chapter from what I remember. But, also, it does mean that there is very little space to get to know the characters and empathize with them.
Diane's grief is real and strong over the loss of her husband, but that makes her reaction to the events that unfold in the story a bit muted. We barely get enough time for the characters to react or for us to sit down with the events for an emotional connection to evolve that it starts taking away from the shock towards the end when the horrors reach their peak.
Overall though, the story itself is fun and the aesthetic is so well-crafted. It feels like a classic horror movie in book form! So make sure to give this a read next Christmas.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Grief, and Murder