Merry AXmas

by Brian Francis

About the book:
A Heartwarming Holiday Tale

When Barry Higgins, part-time department store Santa and failed father, is wrongly accused of being the infamous “AxMas Killer”, he sets out to stop the real killer, save Christmas, and decode the hidden message in the lyrics to Billy Joel’s Piano Man. Both a comedic attack against commercialism and a grisly noir thriller, author Brian Francis’ second novel takes the reader on a tour of Philly’s frozen underbelly during the final days of the holiday season.

ebook

First published November 29, 2013

Reviews

[Katie McKnight · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Merry Axmas has a mixture of gory murder scenes, suspense and interesting characters. Unlike most books, Mr. Francis created a story filled with likeable characters who are riddled with flaws. He did not create typical “pro”tagonists and “an”tagonists that readers either love or hate. Real life people are three-dimensional and so are the characters in this story. I also enjoyed the rich detail he provided on each page. The author drags the reader out from behind the book (or electronic reader) into Wilson's department store, amongst screaming children, crazy parents and odd characters that walk or crawl along the aisles. Parts of the story brought back childhood memories; parts described how silly parents act when it comes to our children and the holiday season, while most of the story kept me wondering how the main character would dig himself out the hole he climbed into. In my opinion, this novel is for mature audiences. I recommend this book to horror readers who want to be entertained at the same time.