The Christmas Killer is the first book in the murder procedural by Alex Pine. Originally released in 2020, this reformat and re-release (coinciding with the publication of book two) is 416 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
Despite the slow plotting and often lax tension, this was an entertaining and engaging read. It's holiday themed and the 12 days of Christmas plot was slightly creepy and relevant. I personally had some trouble relating to main protagonist James' motivations and found him patronising and unsympathetic. The denouement and resolution were not unexpected and there was quite a long exposition which amounted roughly to "why I did it" from the killer.
There's very little subtlety in the writing, characterisations, or plotting. It's very simply written and the dialogue was often flat and unbelievable to me. I just didn't find much to grab or hold my attention.
Three stars. It might make a good choice for picking up to read in 10 minute snatches during the holiday planning madness.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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