Happy Holidays, bloggers! Whether you celebrate or not, I hope you all are enjoying this day. Only this morning did I finish reading Christmas Presents, by Lisa Unger. Here’s the description:
Years following a near-death experience, Madeline Martin is moving forward. She’s the owner of an indie bookshop, all the while caring for her father after he’d suffered a stroke. Christmas is approaching, and not only does it help keep her busy in her shop, but it’s also the time of year that she’s reminded of what happened all those years ago. Then in comes Harley Granger, a famous true crime writer and podcaster who’s been trying to convince her to tell her story. But she wants no part in it.
It all started when she’d met Evan Handy, the new, mysterious boy who came to her small town. Madeline was young, naive, and knew nothing. She was drawn to Evan, no matter how many times her father and her best friend, Badger, warned her to keep away from him. Surely, they were wrong about him?
Set in the present time, Evan Handy is in prison, convicted of murdering Madeline’s best friend and suspected of other disappearances. Since Handy has been in prison, though, other young women have disappeared, with the assumption that there might be a copycat or that the wrong man was put away. As the holidays get closer, Madeline no longer feels safe, and she and Badger have to work together to uncover what they may have missed during that tragic event years ago.
Awhile back, I’d read the author’s previous book, Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six. I wanted to like that book, but it seemed as if it had too many conflicts. When I saw the cover of Christmas Presents, I figured this one would do a good job. And it did. It was a good, suspenseful holiday read. I feel this book also is based more on the reality of what can happen when you fall hard for the wrong person. Sometimes we can’t help how we feel about someone, either. Madeline was young and, of course, it had taken her years to finally own up to past decisions. Throughout most of this book, I was thinking, “When your loved ones and best friends tell you hundreds of times that the new guy is scrum, listen to them!” Moral of the story’s conflict, in my opinion: the bad boy is going to ruin your life.
Good job to the author for this story. Feel free to post your comments. Happy reading and Happy Holidays!
About the author: Unger’s critically acclaimed novels have been featured on “Best Book” lists from the Today Show, Good Morning America, Entertainment Weekly, People, Amazon, Goodreads, L.A. Times, The Boston Globe, Sun Sentinel, Tampa Bay Times and many others. She has been nominated for, or won, numerous awards including the Strand Critics, Audie, Hammett, Macavity, ITW Thriller, and Goodreads Choice. In 2019, she received two Edgar Award nominations, an honor held by only a few authors, including Agatha Christie. Her short fiction has been anthologized in The Best American Mystery and Suspense, and her non-fiction has appeared in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NPR, and Travel+Leisure. Lisa is the current co-President of the International Thriller Writers organization. She lives on the west coast of Florida with her family. For more info, click here.
Just a Thought 