Christmas Is for the Kids

by Peter James

A fabulous collection of short stories by Peter James.

Genres: Christmas

21 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 2011

About the author

Peter James is a global bestselling author, best known for writing crime and thriller novels, and the creator of the much-loved Detective Superintendent Roy Grace. With a total of 21 Sunday Times No. 1s under his belt, he has achieved global book sales of over 23 million copies to date and has been translated into 38 languages.

Synonymous with plot-twisting page-turners, Peter has garnered an army of loyal fans throughout his storytelling career – which also included stints writing for TV and producing films. He has won over 40 awards for his work, including the WHSmith Best Crime Author of All Time Award, Crime Writers’ Association Diamond Dagger and a BAFTA nomination for The Merchant of Venice starring Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons for which he was an Executive Producer. Many of Peter’s novels have been adapted for film, TV and stage.

Reviews

[magical_bookcorner2 · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's Christmas Eve and Kate sees a young boy alone in a shop struggling with groceries. She follows him outside and his bags break so she gives him a lift home. I can't say anymore as it's so short I will give the ending away. I just wish the story was longer.

[Christina Rochester · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kate is stocking up at the supermarket for Christmas when she spots Daniel doing his shopping alone. Normally she wouldn’t pay attention only Daniel is a young boy. She offers him a lift home, and that’s when things get creepy.

When they say short reads they really do mean short reads. Honestly this must have only been about ten pages in length.

For a short story however it was really good. I had an inkling of where this was headed, but it was nice to get there all the same.

If you want something short and snappy then this is the one for you.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The reason I only rated this four stars as it was six pages long and I wanted more. Eery and chilling

[Tina Jost · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ghostly

Far to short...I wanted a lot more detail. Please embellish the his story. Even a series of short stories not necessarily chapters. Thank you.

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read some short stories, but this was just 20 pages! Quite enjoyed it, but certainly left me wanting more.

[Chris Fawcett · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was left hanging and very confused

Christmas is for the kids was great. Just how a short story should be, a beginning and an end but the perfect people story ended so abruptly I had to re read it to see if I'd missed something. I've enjoyed all Peter James books but this was a dissapointment.

[Tony Drummond · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was just a bit too short for me - I think it was under 10 pages.

What was worse was that this story was included in a short story anthology I had read about a year ago. Although only 99p on Kindle, it felt a bit of rip off.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

🫨

Very short read, about 13 minutes. It's packed though for its shortness.. . . . . . . . .

[Nikki-ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kate is paying for her shopping at the supermarket when she sees a lone, young boy with his shopping. Upon offering him a lift, she begins to realise all is not what it may seem. Can Kate make Christmas better for this little boy and his family?

This is one spine-tingling short story… In fact, it’s so short there’s a danger my review may be longer than the story! Christmas is for the Kids is currently 50p for the Kindle, but at this length (read in about the same time it takes for the kettle to boil!) I really would have expected it to be free or included as an extra in one of Peter’s books.

However, leaving aside the price paid, this really is worthy of reading. Peter James is a renowned crime thriller author and his talent shows even in this short story. When I say it is spine-tingling, it really did have my spine tingling! I’d have loved the story to have been longer, but perhaps that is the genius of it… It really does leave you wondering and wanting more!

At the end of the short story, the publisher has included an excerpt of Peter James’ standalone thriller, Perfect People, which is actually longer than the short story (Sorry, I feel like I’m banging on about how short it is!). Of course, once you’ve read that, you’re going to want to get the whole Perfect People book, so this has been a great advertising exercise by Pan Macmillan!

Even if you’ve never read any of Peter James’ books before, I’d recommend you read Christmas is for the Kids. After all, you wouldn’t think twice about paying 50p for a drink or a bar of chocolate, so why not pay it to feed your imagination?

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this little atmospheric Christmas short read from Peter James. It was an enjoyable read, but sadly, too short. I wanted more. Glad to see Peter hasn't totally abandoned the supernatural though.

[Mary Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short little ditty that does provide good atmosphere and good character development but so short and brought me into the story right away. I can well imagine what Peter James could do with a longer novel around the theme. Great way to start out the Christmas season.

[DoodlePanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very, very short, but good considering the length of it!