Something a bit different to read over the festive period. Using the advent calendar is a great idea and the countdown adds an element of tension to the tale. It is fast paced with plenty of twists and turns which keep on right to the end.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC to review.

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 was hooked reading this story from the beginning. The short chapters kept me wanting to read more. I liked the change in narrator from chapter to chapter.

This was a brilliant read. As soon as I started reading this book I just knew I was going to love it. Highly recommended

I’ve had this book on my TBR like for a while now. I’m a fan of police procedurals and with it getting close to the festive season I thought it would be a great time to read it. From the premise this book sounded right up my street. A serial killer who has been killing every December for twenty years. An advent calendar sent to the police station with four empty windows and potentially four further murders to fill them, as DS Eddie Carmine and DC Becky Greene race to catch the killer. Sadly I found the whole book to be too slow going and I couldn’t really gel with any of the characters. I’m sure others have love this but it wasn’t for me. I would rate it 2.5 stars rounded up to three. Thank you to NetGalley, Hodder & Stoughton and the author for the chance to review.

I enjoyed the concept of this book liked the storyline just a bit gutted i had a idea of who had done it and i was right so guessed quite early on but they was some good twists was fast paced.

The Deaths of December is a good crime read, twisted and clever, The writing is excellent, the plot tightly woven and endlessly intriguing

I really liked the concept of the clues being given through the advent calender so I was intrigued right from the start. I thought the pace of the story was very good and I really liked the characters of Eddie & Becky - I do hope there is more to come from them.

A very enjoyable read - a strong 4 stars

I found it hard to connect to this book for some reason. The police characters didn't feel right, even with their back stories. I think the identity of the murderer was revealed too soon and also that the last chapter added nothing to the book. The advent calendar murder pattern was clever, but maybe the book was a little labored and overlong. Sorry.

t 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.

This book took me a while to get into. At first I was bored by it, but gradually as it got my attention more, I began to really like it. I worked out who it was quite early in the book, but was still intrigued enough to want to see why. 4*

This was the first of this particular writer's books which I have read and while I quite enjoyed it, it was a little too contrived for me and the characters needed more depth. Not bad but I wouldn't rave about it.

Loved this book, really gripped me from the start, lots of emotion lots of suspense, lots of twists and turns

This is Susi Holliday’s first book under her full name, rather than SJI Holliday. We’ve moved away from Banktoun in this Christmas standalone, which really doesn’t need to be read (or in my case, listened to whilst driving around a rainy Wales) at Christmas. And maybe this won’t be a standalone, because Susi has created some cracking characters in DC Becky Greene and DS Eddie Carmine.

Practice makes perfect, right? Well, that is very evident here. I’ve reviewed and enjoyed all of Susi’s previous books, but this really is her best yet. The concept is really very good, and the pace of the story feels just about perfect, with some nice ‘wow’ moments when you realise how some things and people are linked. Simple, yet very cleverly done.

A book is for life, not just Christmas. Right?

Didn’t finish this. And I usually skim read if I’m not happy. But it’s just so boring!

DC Becky Greene opens an envelope and out falls a homemade advent calendar. Behind some of the doors is a 35mm negative of a crime scene. The last four doors are empty so Becky and her team are in a race against time to find out what connects all the killings and to try and prevent the last four taking place. DS Carmine is very worried as two of the crime scenes he attended and realises that the killer is seeking him out. The book is written from both the killer and detectives perspectives and is well thought out. It is a great dark crime thriller, full of tension and well worth a read. I hope this is the beginning of a new series.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is the second Susi Holiday book I've read, and will definitely be working my way through the rest of her back catalogue. It's such an easy style of writing to engage with. Great characters - very vivd and distinct, and love how the dialogue flows as well.

The characters were very hard to follow and keep up with.

The book needed more background in to the characters.

I read half of this book and it did not grip me at all. How much more do I have to keep reading before it grips me? Not for me sorry.

A story with a nice final twist to the tale. You think it has ended - the serial murderer has confessed and is in jail - but no.

We then read more of the detective's back stories and then comes the final twist...

A nice detective pair, but why have both of them got a problem in their personal life? This is getting to be just too much of a cliche.

Even though the events in this book are centred around deaths related to an Advent Calendar, don’t let this deter you from reading this book at any time of the year. It’s primarily a police procedural thriller and the fact that it happens at Christmas is a sideline that does not mean it is only a Christmas read.
I sincerely hope that this is the first in a series of books as I love the main characters in the book and can see it developing into one of my favourites in this genre.
It’s extremely well written it features voices of various characters including the killer which is which is really interesting.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.
Thank you to NetGalley for a free Kindle copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Such a clever idea for a serial killer storyline. More so when tying it in with crime scene photography and the December staple, an advent calendar.
Susi Holliday is clearly a talented writer and this book finally signposts her arrival as a crime writer of the highest quality.
The plotting is complex and holds together well. The motives for the killing spree unique when viewed against the motivations attributed to psychopaths.
The varied points of view deployed to tell the story is another strong factor in demonstrating the author’s ease to tell a story an innovative way.
It also addresses the weaknesses in policing at not always solving serious crimes and the tendency to take the line of least resistance perhaps to wrap up a case once a suspect is in custody.
Eddie and Becky are the two voices of the police investigation they are bright detectives but fail to notice how close they are to their murderer.
This is a breath of fresh air in crime fiction; it plays out to be read at any time but during advent it will always carry a more menacing threat. Thrills a plenty and tension you might not want to cut with a knife as the perpetrator is wielding one already.
Some thought is also given to the victims of crime and surviving family members who perhaps relive their grief so poignantly every December in the build up to Christmas. Amid such sorrow and loss when others are joyful and wishing to celebrate, one’s pain can be turned to bitterness. This is the thrust of this wonderful novel and it was a great pleasure to read and place on record the quality of this novel.
Susi Holliday is a name we will be hearing a great deal more about into 2018 and I would urge you to seek out her books and share this journey with me to see a young author develop and demonstrate such creative talent in this cluttered genre. It couldn’t happen to a nicer person either, who initially struggled to meet deadlines, balancing a wage earning job with part time writing. That she has a skill set to make a career at this novel writing lark is so pleasing to see and each new book is something to embrace and welcome as her star continues to rise.