Quick Synopsis

Instead of presents this Christmas, a true crime podcaster is opening up a cold case…

Publisher’s Synopsis

Madeline Martin has built a life for herself as the young owner of a thriving business, The Next Chapter Bookshop, despite her tragic childhood and now needing to care for her infirm father. When Harley Granger, a failed novelist turned true crime podcaster, drifts into her shop in the days before Christmas, he seems intent on digging up events that Madeline would much rather forget. She’s the only surviving victim of Evan Handy, the man who was convicted of murdering her best friend Steph, and is suspected in the disappearance of two sisters, also good friends of Madeline’s, who have been missing for nearly a decade. It’s an investigation that has obsessed her father Sheriff James Martin right up until his stroke took his faculties.

Harley Granger has a gift for seeing things that others miss. He wasn’t much of a novelist, but his work as a true crime author and podcaster has earned him fame and wealth―and some serious criticism for his various unethical practices. Still, visiting Little Valley to be closer to his dying father has caused him to look into a case that many people think is closed―and some want reopened. And he has a lot of questions about the night Stephanie Cramer was killed, Ainsley and Sam Wallace disappeared, and Madeline Martin was left for dead, bleeding out on a riverbank.

Since Evan Handy went to jail, three other young women have gone missing, most recently a young college dropout named Lolly. Five young women missing in the same area in a decade. Are they connected? Was Evan Handy innocent after all? Or was there some else there that night? Someone who is still satisfying his dark appetites?

As Christmas approaches and a blizzard bears down, Madeline and her childhood friend Badger return to a past they both hoped was dead―to find the missing Lolly and to answer questions that have haunted them both, discovering that the truth is more terrible and much closer to home than they think.

Coupling a picturesque, cozy setting with a deeply unsettling suspenseful plot, Christmas Presents is a chilling seasonal novella that can be enjoyed all year long.

Book Review

I have been meaning to read a book by Lisa Unger for some time. Finally, I picked up one! Christmas Presents is Lisa Unger’s newest book, a short novel that takes place at Christmas time for those of you who like your holidays dark.

Christmas Presents is a short thriller/mystery novel about a series of murders that happen just before the holiday. Ten years ago, Madeline’s boyfriend killed her best friend and nearly murdered her; her two other friends have been missing since that night. While Madeline has moved on, a true crime podcaster has come to town to dig up the past.

I was impressed by this brief novel. I often struggle with stories on the shorter side, as they feel unfinished or leave me hanging in the balance. Or if the story does feel complete, the characters are shells without personalities. However, Lisa Unger managed to include a complete and satisfying plot as well as developed characters in only 224 pages.

There are two mysteries at the center of Christmas Presents: what exactly happened 10 years ago and where are Madeline’s missing friends? I enjoyed the slow reveal of the past and the events that irrevocably changed the town. I was left asking what I really knew, even without an unreliable narrator, which is a feat. Although I did figure out the who the “bad guy” was early on, I still enjoyed the story and reveal.

I also grew fond of the cast of characters in Christmas Presents. I thought Unger did a solid job developing the cast, especially given the short form. Despite the book’s dark themes, I still experienced some holiday warmth from the found family aspects. There is even a little romance in the end.

I thought Christmas Presents had a few stumbles, but nothing major enough to ruin the story. While the narrative kept a steady pace, I never felt like it had a peak. In essence, Unger did not build the tension to a clear crescendo. Similarly, I wanted the book to be more atmospheric. It is difficult to make a mystery Christmasy without getting cheesy. But I think Unger could have played up the snow and cold more to feel like the holiday season. I feel like both of these issues can be partially attributed to the novel’s length. Unger set out to write a holiday novella, which I would argue she did not quite achieve since Christmas Presents is a bit too long. Meeting a word or page limit often means limiting details. And I think the atmosphere, setting, and tension suffered accordingly.

Overall, Christmas Presents is a well structured, consistently paced, and well executed novel. I recommend it if you are looking for something a bit dark this season. I definitely plan on reading more books by Lisa Unger in the future.

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