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.
Click to buy The Deaths of December by Susi Holliday
The Deaths of December has an inventive and intriguing premise and Becky and Eddie are engaging enough lead characters. There were some good twists and turns with how some of the wider characters related to each other and there were some amusing parts to lighten a dark story.
My gripe unfortunately was the killer: for almost half the book you pretty much know who and why and how – and I found the the why to be a real stretch. The ending itself was a little unsatisfactory, with a couple of barely mentioned characters making a reappearance, so I wonder if this will be the start of a series.
Grumble aside, this is an easy festive read and I would recommend to those who would like a police procedural with an original serial killer. With thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC of The Deaths of December.
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