The Christmas Killer

by Jim Gallows, Anthony Galvin

As Christmas approaches a terrifying killer must be stopped...As the snow falls the mutilated body of a young woman is discovered on a construction site. With it, good will becomes the last thing on Detective Jake Austin's mind... Then, when the demolition of the old Chase Asylum reveals further human remains it becomes clear that there's a link between the two deaths. And to the asylum's old warden who disappeared decades earlier. On the hunt for a clever, twisted killer, for Austin and his partner, it's going to be anything but a peaceful Christmas time...Jim Gallows lives in Chicago. The Christmas Killer is his first novel.

Genres: Crime, Christmas, Fiction

441 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2014

Reviews

[Mickey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was a great Christmas thriller. The story was pretty good, with a few twists thrown in. I did figure out who the killer was quite a while before the reveal, and I'd figured out the connection between Jake and the asylum. However, a couple of the twists surprised me. I found pretty much all the characters unlikeable, especially the main character.

[Edward Janes · Rating 2 out of 5]

NYR2015 #31.

I'd hoped for a (very) early Christmas present but it turned out only to be a pair of socks. It's saved slightly by the mystery but this is a collection of just about every overused crime cliche: A cop who has the almost unnatural ability to reconstruct a crime scene from a quick glance. Who finds himself with a difficult boss and clueless colleagues. A problematic family life. A dark mysterious past and serious personal problems. But it doesnt really work.

[PeterB · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy to guess the killer prior to the reveal, and the last third was bordering on the ridiculous. I have read worse though.

[Mary Stover · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, the whole book kept me on the edge of my seat. I never knew who the killer was until the author revealed it in the book. Also the other twist and turns amazing.

[Paula Brandon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Det. Jake Austin has transferred from Chicago to the small town of Littleton in Indiana - just in time for a serial killer to strike! Bodies are showing up with skull injuries, missing teeth and their eyes dangling out of their sockets. Meanwhile, skeletons are showing up at the site of a former asylum whose leader went missing 30 years ago. As bodies drop, Jake must find the killer while dealing with a tough home life situation, including a mother with dementia. These crimes could also link back to his own past.

Very by-the-numbers serial killer thriller that ticks off the tropes as if going off a checklist - the pesky journalist, the guy who confesses to the crime despite not being guilty, detectives thinking they've got the killer over and over again despite the book having another 300 pages to go etc etc. It's reasonably fast paced but utterly routine and predictable. The book's major deficit is unfortunately Jake Austin himself. He has some sort of "gift" that enables him to read crime scenes. He's supposed to be some sort of gun detective, but makes one rookie mistake after another. He throws tantrums. A journalist asking too many questions? Punch him out! A suspect isn't falling for his line of questioning? Go psycho and smash in a vending machine! That psychiatrist is hot? Keep leading her on even though you're married! (The book often describes female characters through how sexually attractive they are.)

Jake was a putz.

There's nothing really new or interesting here. It's not hard to see why there was never another entry in the series.

[Renita D'Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suspenseful

[ReadAlongWithSue ★⋆. ࿐࿔catching up · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a killer on the loose. Its all gotta be wrapped up [excuse the pun] before the New Year to catch the killer, hence, The Christmas Killer.

I have a vivid imagination and I really shouldn't read these kind of books in the dark evenings/nights, eyes popping out of their heads is not the last thought before you go to sleep that you should have!

I did enjoy this book, more than I thought I would actually, but although it kept my attention, its not the best book I have read in this genre. Buts its OK.

Its slow to start, then winds up a bit, then slower again until the climax. But its predictable. Nothing that I haven't really read about before, but there is that certain something that just keeps you turning the pages, so, because of that I have give it 4 stars. I didn't put it down, I had to read until the end, so that must be something right?

First book I have read by Jim Gallows, I would certainly give another book of his a try.

[Plum-crazy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay so on the face of it, this book was right up my street - a killer murdering his victims in a gory way & a detective who seems to have some quirky ability to see the victims final moments.

Jake Austin is the said detective, he's also coping with a stroppy teenager, a young baby & a mother with alzheimers at home , while at work has trouble with his boss, seems to be contemplating a fling with his psychiatrist....you get the picture, nothing new! None of these characters seemed very substantial to me & while the basis of the storyline was a good one it just didn't come off as very credible, by the last few chapters I was losing interest & just glad to finish it.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a killer on the loose who's crushing people's heads until their eyeballs pop out. Detective Jake Austin, a big city cop now living in small-town America, is almost at a loss with the investigation. Okay, so some parts of this were rather predictable and it was somewhat cliched at times but it was still a rattling good yarn and perfect escapism for the dark winter nights in the run up to Christmas.

[Christine Tursunoglu · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book - I hope there is a sequel to this book

[Susan Hutchinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this well written

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good

[Iris · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think the biggest problem for me is that the lead detective has this "gift" to know how a murder played out & the murderers thoughts just by being in the crime scene but then the kicker is when things come to him & his life he can't see the simplest connections.

Also the way he yells at everyone else about not contaminating a crime scene he does it quite often himself. At one point it pissed me off because he went into a suspects house without a warrant (i guess he didn't care if he found anything because it def would get thrown out as evidence)

Last but not least this man mentions his ulcer so damn much like pleeeeeaaase stop we get it. like 20+ times. we get it. you're stressed. take some tums..

[Mrs V · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good, dependable read throughout.

The main character, Jake Austin is troubled cop with a past in the Chicago PD, who is 'transferred' to a small PD in Littleton, Illinois.

His way of pursuing criminals is not the same way as his new colleagues would follow but he's getting results!

This well rounded storyline keeps your mind working, (perhaps too much in my case 😶) but I couldn't put it down.

I'm surprised that I can't find any other book by this author, I hope he hasn't just left it at one book as he has a serious talent for developing a great story populated by strong, believable characters.

Highly recommended.

[Kirstie Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, what a fantastic book.
Literally could not put it down and couldn't wait to continue and read more.
So many twists and turns, and this is the first book that physically made me cringe at the description of the murders - (I have a bit of a thing about eyes 😷).
I guessed the murderer but only slightly before it was actually revealed.
Great book - highly recommended

[Richard Thomas · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not for me

I tried hard with it but I couldn’t summon up enough interest or curiosity to persist with reading. I didn’t find the characters particularly sympathetic and eventually I skipped to the end.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an extremely good book, it's not a rollercoaster it feels more like being shot into orbit, great characters which hold you from the start as the plot builds until it explodes, I'm hoping that there is a follow on book, this definitely deserves a 10.

[Andrea Hawkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good overall thriller maybe a little bit predictable, but still held my interest to the last page ..,would be interesting to know if there is a sequel as I think the main character has a lot of depth that wasnt explored..

[Miss J Dorrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

. If you love a good thrillers then this is the book for you

Great read. You really get drawn into the characters. Right from the start it gets you hooked.Really enjoyed the book. Gripping story. If you love a good thrillers then this is the book for you

[Maria · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐️

I figured out who the killer was on page 8, in my opinion it was too obvious that it was that particular person but it wasn’t a bad book so I kept reading but this book was too long and the ending was disappointing

[Veronica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this one while on vacations and was entertaining enough, but not a very good book, lots of cliches and could have been shorter.

[Barbara Baglee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite a good read but it didn't keep me glued to my seat.

[Marina.Downing · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a good read but the ending was a bit weak so 4 srars

[Abigail Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book. Quite long winded but a huge twist at the end which I didn't see coming until too late!

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good enough read, but the killer was predictable and the last half of the book went too far into the realms of madness.

[Anne M. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Definitely not one of my favourite books!
None of the characters in this book were either believable or likeable.
The lead detective obviously has anger management problems and has only recently moved to this town due to problems in his previous post. Although he assaults someone he is allowed to carry on with the case.
Bodies are piling up gruesomely murdered with some kind of torture device.
Our detective meanwhile spends time chasing after his mother who keeps wandering from the home she shares with him and his family. His daughter is causing problems at home, his wife is finding it difficult to cope with her a new baby and mother-in-law who appears to be suffering from some form of dementia.
It is obvious from the beginning that he is somehow involved with the murderer, but how even he does not know.
At the end of the book we still are not sure, it is so involved, maybe there is going to be another story to tell us all, but if so I will not be reading it.

[Siddhant Lazar]

Most books start slow and then slowly build up the suspense and pick up the pace. Jim Gallows starts slow and then BANG!! he picks up the pace after the first 10 pages and then slows down again and then the cycle repeats. By doing that, Gallows has got the reader's attention and now they are hooked and in for the long run. The Christmas Killer keeps you hooked with the way Gallow writes. The way he gives you information at exactly the right moment and the way he slowly builds up to the killer, midway through the book we all have our ideas on who the killer is but the way he takes us down the road itself is worth the ride. Like a cocktail, with the spirit at the bottom, this novel gets stronger and stronger as it nears the end. The final chapters are so compulsive that I found it impossible to put down until I had finished! A great first book..

[Laurence · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first I was rather disappointed with this novel as the blurb suggested much more than the early portion of the novel provided. The first half of the novel is limited with characters that couldn't be engaged, such as Jake/ Bruce who has serious anger issues and is rather difficult to engage. At times in the first half I was just reading to attempt to finish so that I could move n to something different. The story became gripping in the second half and became difficult to put down as the pace of the story line picked up and there were some unexpected twists (I had worked out several of the plotlines early on) that did add to the novel. Overall I rated the book three stars as the second half was as good as the first half was poor which equates to an average read.

[Bookish_predator · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Well that was exciting. Gotta love a good come novel filled with blood at Christmas time!

I really enjoyed this, I needed to get my last book from my currently reading shelf read by the end of this year and thought it was gonna be a struggle to finish it but I couldn't put it down! Should've gone to bed a couple of hours ago but that went right out the window.

The reason i haven't given this a 5 star rating was because I needed more information at the end, more of the backstory, more loose ends tied up. I like things tied up if it's a stand alone so I'd like either another book that explores the backstory or even a novella.

[Ann Marie Henderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

If your in the mood for a good thriller, this is the book for you. I could not put this book down. The killer was not who I expected and the book keeps it a secret till very close to the end so you have no idea until after the mother goes ramping the second last time. I was not bored reading any part of this book and I like how the chapters are short. The end of each chapters makes you want to read on which is very clever. So ya it was a great thriller. Not for those with weak stomachs.