C. J. Daley
Preordered this one, but when I saw there were illustrations, I decided to get a paperback copy too. They were a nice accompaniment!
Diane is dealing with the loss of her husband. And yes, maybe she is not handling it well, but that doesn’t mean she wants her family to force her to celebrate Christmas. Especially not a ridiculously expensive trip to Christmas Town. A town that celebrates Christmas year round—an all-inclusive tourist destination to recapture the childlike glee of old. But when do kids ever listen?
Once they arrive, Diane is forced into Christmas cheer that she is simply not ready for. The tea time, Christmas shopping, Christmas cookies and sweets, a trip to see Santa, it should all be perfect, so why does the entire thing feel genuinely forced? And underneath that twinkle light and tinsel-y veneer, why does everything look so wrong? And why is Diane the only one noticing it?
The mayhem that follows feels like a classic Christmas story smashed together with John Carpenter’s The Thing (and not just because of the name!). Is Christmas Town infecting everyone or is the town itself infested? And while that may have your mind racing to practical effects and prosthetics, this novella also features some truly bloody and evil kills. Nothing is as it seems, even Santa!
While this is a blood pounding story of survival, it was also a well done examination into grief. Not only the loss of a husband, but the impact of an accident and misguided blame. Diane’s struggle keeps her from enjoying life, and the author does a fantastic job of showcasing how that grief and fear impacts each individual in her life.
Preordered this one, but when I saw there were illustrations, I decided to get a paperback copy too. They were a nice accompaniment!
Diane is dealing with the loss of her husband. And yes, maybe she is not handling it well, but that doesn’t mean she wants her family to force her to celebrate Christmas. Especially not a ridiculously expensive trip to Christmas Town. A town that celebrates Christmas year round—an all-inclusive tourist destination to recapture the childlike glee of old. But when do kids ever listen?
Once they arrive, Diane is forced into Christmas cheer that she is simply not ready for. The tea time, Christmas shopping, Christmas cookies and sweets, a trip to see Santa, it should all be perfect, so why does the entire thing feel genuinely forced? And underneath that twinkle light and tinsel-y veneer, why does everything look so wrong? And why is Diane the only one noticing it?
The mayhem that follows feels like a classic Christmas story smashed together with John Carpenter’s The Thing (and not just because of the name!). Is Christmas Town infecting everyone or is the town itself infested? And while that may have your mind racing to practical effects and prosthetics, this novella also features some truly bloody and evil kills. Nothing is as it seems, even Santa!
While this is a blood pounding story of survival, it was also a well done examination into grief. Not only the loss of a husband, but the impact of an accident and misguided blame. Diane’s struggle keeps her from enjoying life, and the author does a fantastic job of showcasing how that grief and fear impacts each individual in her life.
This was included with audible until the end of the year, so I grabbed it for a Christmas season read.
This is a Christmas mystery novella. I have read one story by this author, but both were due to their relation to Christmas honestly. A group of friends are meeting for a long weekend during December. After dinner one night, a very rude comment is made to one of the women about how she’s only interested in the master of the house for his status. Without further thought, everyone goes to bed. However, the following morning, the offended woman is found dead, thrown from the bridge to the icy water below. The hitch here though, is that the bridge was designed so that no one could simply fall. Was she pushed or did she jump?
It is proposed that the guilty party should possibly be forced into a crusade or exile instead of involving the police. If they achieve the job they accepted, all would be forgiven. It would be as if they had survived their term of exile. Naturally, Lady Vispasia, who has absolutely nothing to lose, agrees to accompany them on this journey as a friend. The journey itself is rather harrowing, as they’re going further north during the month of December, but I found the whole exile thing to be pretty odd.
After their journey, the novella wraps up into probably one of the most confusing and infuriating endings ever. They have retrieved the mother of the deceased. The letter they brought her from her daughter detailed more of the situation than they realized, perhaps even pointing the finger at someone other than the accused. Then it just ends with—and I can’t stress this enough as the real ending—“Hell, it’s Christmas! The season of forgiving. Let’s party.”
This was included with audible until the end of the year, so I grabbed it for a Christmas season read.
This is a Christmas mystery novella. I have read one story by this author, but both were due to their relation to Christmas honestly. A group of friends are meeting for a long weekend during December. After dinner one night, a very rude comment is made to one of the women about how she’s only interested in the master of the house for his status. Without further thought, everyone goes to bed. However, the following morning, the offended woman is found dead, thrown from the bridge to the icy water below. The hitch here though, is that the bridge was designed so that no one could simply fall. Was she pushed or did she jump?
It is proposed that the guilty party should possibly be forced into a crusade or exile instead of involving the police. If they achieve the job they accepted, all would be forgiven. It would be as if they had survived their term of exile. Naturally, Lady Vispasia, who has absolutely nothing to lose, agrees to accompany them on this journey as a friend. The journey itself is rather harrowing, as they’re going further north during the month of December, but I found the whole exile thing to be pretty odd.
After their journey, the novella wraps up into probably one of the most confusing and infuriating endings ever. They have retrieved the mother of the deceased. The letter they brought her from her daughter detailed more of the situation than they realized, perhaps even pointing the finger at someone other than the accused. Then it just ends with—and I can’t stress this enough as the real ending—“Hell, it’s Christmas! The season of forgiving. Let’s party.”