John Parker is a Graduate-qualified English/Spanish Teacher, owner and director of CHAT ENGLISH, an English Language Centre in Avilés on the north coast of Spain . A voracious reader, he has particularly loved horror fiction for many years.
Susi Holliday’s latest book is a suitably chilling tale of murder in which a serial killer sends a special advent calendar to the local police.
Behind every door is a murder. Is it somebody’s idea of a joke? DC Becky Greene and DS Eddie Carmine begin to investigate and discover that the perpetrator is someone who’s been killing for twenty years. One of the photos is from an unsolved murder and another is from an ongoing investigation. The question is simple; why now? And why has the calendar been sent to this particular police station? Everyone is gearing up for Christmas so it’s a race against time to find the killer. There are only 4 doors left and four murders will fill them unless the murderer is caught.
Holliday’s book is a great read for the holiday season. When I picked it up, I was expecting an Agatha Christie-type story akin to And Then There Were None but it is much more than that. The story centres on the killer (known as “The Photographer” until the big reveal), Becky Greene, Eddie Carmine and the enigmatic Carly. Holliday builds up the tension nicely, never giving too much away until necessary and keeping the reader hooked. It is written in the present tense which is a style I am always wary of but the author makes it work and it does not distract. I recommend picking this up and maybe buying a copy or two for your friends at Christmas. It’s a great read.
