The Christmas Killer: The debut thriller in a gripping new British detective crime fiction series (DI James Walker series, Book 1)

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So DI James moves his family from London to the Cumbrian village his wife grew up in, in the anticipation of a safer life. There had been threats – or so he believed – against his family in London and his wife was increasingly nervous living there. Her home village was small – less than 1000 people, and set in a lovely part of the world – Cumbria is great – if you can take the weather – another wet, windy and cold area of the world. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of murder mysteries. The Christmas Killer was so fun to read just as the weather was turning cooler! In this holiday thriller, Detective James Walker, a London transplant to the sleepy village of Kirkby Alley, is taunted by a serial killer who promises to kill twelve people over the course of twelve days in a gruesome spin on The Twelve Days of Christmas. To top it off, the village is in the midst of a massive snowstorm, cutting it off from the rest of the world.

Although the third book in the series, the book can easily be read as a standalone and there's even a character list at the start of the book to introduce you to who's who which I always find very useful. I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Avon and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.I was not blown away by this story. Should I read the next in the series, I am really hoping for something that has far more suspense and intrigue. For me, there was not enough of a thrill factor. I felt I was, like James, trudging through the snow trying to find some excitement. And as DI Walker arrives on the scene and the investigation begins startling revelations come to light. Not only about the victim, but the family too. The Christmas Killer is the first instalment in the Detective Inspector James Walker series and is a book as chaotic as the time of year it evokes. DI Walker has relocated to Cumbria CID, where he and wife, Annie, have moved into Annie’s mothers home bequeathed to her 18 months earlier, believing it'll be a change of pace from his previous police work in London, but little does he know, the serenity of the sleepy village of Kirkby Abbey is about to be shattered. One of James’s most high profile and dangerous convictions, Andrew Sullivan, has been released from prison unexpectedly, it having been deemed that he had been wrongly convicted. And on his mind is revenge against those who put him away with James and family being at the top of his list. Soon threats are being made. The decorations are up, the nativity is underway, the villagers are full of festive cheer and a blizzard of snow is predicted to be on its way. As Christmas approaches, James receives a present and card left on his doorstep. A dead partridge accompanied by a note stating that one villager, deserving of death, will be murdered for each of the 12 days of Christmas. As the snow begins to fall, and most are sipping mulled wine by the fireside, the body count begins to climb. When Rachel left the wedding breakfast before her speech, newly-wed Libby was furious. But as the night went on with no sign of her maid-of-honour, Libby started to realise something was very, very wrong…* This novel is a marvellous read – the pacing is comfortable, it is well-plotted and the story is intriguing.

As with any good crime thriller, I had several suspects in my head and these kept changing with each twist of the plot. A strongly developed thriller with an interesting case, The Winter Killer is a hard-to-predict investigation with a wedding-clad party full of guests to suspect. DI James Walker is ready for a quaint family Christmas with his wife and extended family in their quiet village of Kirkby Abbey. But those plans are soon scuppered by the arrival of an unexpected gift on the Walker’s doorstop; a gruesome surprise and a promise in the form of a note – twelve days, twelve murders. Shortly after, the first body turns up half frozen in the snow. On the approach to Christmas in the quiet village, James arrives home to find an unexpected Christmas present waiting for him, with the promise that there will be 12 deaths in the village. As the body count rises, it is James’ job to apprehend the killer whilst being cut off from the rest of the team during heavy snowstorms. For me, this read like a Midsummer’s Murders storyline – a local murder spree with village spite and secrets and rivalries all being played out through murder.Very much procedural driven we follow Detective James Walker step by step through his investigation while he follows up leads and conducts his interviews. Even with the heavy detail, the story still skips along pretty rapidly. Moving from city life to village life is going to be so different for DI James Walker. He's moving for an easier pace of life. Just knowing that you know that where ever he goes it is not going to be quite. He's going to be dragged into something. That is exactly what happens. While I like most of the parts in the story with short chapters, great setting and likeable characters, I found the story a bit dragging during the middle part.

So a very general statement…I really liked this book. It was a good police procedural book with a lovely Christmas quaint feeling to it too. I don’t know how I’ve managed to put quaint and murder together but I have. Kirkby Abbey sounded like such a lovely place to live but definitely not boring. Murders aside, I loved all of the secrets that were being held by the residents and they helped to make the story more thrilling. I guessed pretty early on who the killer was, but that didn’t deter me from carrying on reading and exposing if my theory was right. The story get straight to the point from the first word and we soon meet the villagers - Annie and James's new neighbours, who start dropping like flies - which one of his neighbours could it be? So much for being safer away from London! Wow! After reading the blurb, I just had to request this book. I was immersed from the beginning. DI James Walker is ready to spend some quality family time and this Christmas is the perfect time to do so. However, just as things start to settle in, he receives a present that is wrapped on his doorstep. When he opens it, he gets a gruesome surprise. There is also a note attached. Twelve days and twelve murders. Just like the note stated there was a body found in the snow. The quaint little town is now worried. Who will be the next victim? There are eleven more to go. This is a fast paced mystery that will have you guessing right along to the end. The writer does an amazing job with time sequencing and character involvement and keeping it to just what needs to be said. Not going off on tangents about things that only will confuse the reader. I love this book and will recommend it to anyone who is interested in this genre. Never knowing what you are going to get when reading from a new author to me, I have to go in with an open mind. This book didn't disappoint, It was interesting, enthralling and gripping.I started with reading a sample/teaser of this book. It was enough to get me hooked and I was thrilled when I got the chance to read the full book. The novel opens with a Prologue to establish what made James and his wife, Annie, move to Cumbria. However, this rapidly becomes a red-herring in the story and does not really feature. Indeed, I suspect this will become the basis of a future story in this series and I am sure the criminal will feature again. A macabre Christmas gift left on their doorstep is the first clue that their new location gives no guarantee of safety and soon James is facing the anonymous threat of multiple murder being committed on his patch. As the snow falls and the village risks being cut off from the rest of the world James knows it's up to him to prevent panic and suffering overtaking his life once again.

Detective Inspector James Walker and his wife Annie move to a quiet village in Cumbria after a notorious criminal is released from prison and may pay them a visit for putting him in there! If you’re looking for a book to read that isn’t going to have you so tense you’re stiff but will keep you somewhat on your toes and definitely put a little smirk on your face, then I would recommend The Christmas Killer. If you go into this book with the right expectations, I’m sure that you’ll enjoy it like I did.The length gaps between each victim firstly raises the question if a serial killer is about, there's the odd situation where they needed the second body to discover that it just wasn't a coincidence. James's wife Annie, grew up in Kirkby Abbey and has a secret of her own, unbeknown to her husband. There are twists and turns, murders, infidelity, revenge all the things you would expect from a murder mystery with Christmas thrown in!! The side characters are a mix of good and bad and unreliable ones. They made the whole puzzle much more interesting and added character to the story. The multiple POVs - The book shifts between James, his wife Annie, and the victims of the serial killer! I thought it was so cool how the victims’ weren’t identifiable from their POV, so you were left guessing about who was next!