What do you think?
Rate this book
DI Bethany Smith #6.5
The Secret Santa Killer
THE MOST DEPRAVED KILLERS. THE MOST DETERMINED DETECTIVE. MEET DI BETHANY SMITH IN THIS CHILLING CHRISTMAS CRIME THRILLER.
Please note this is a brilliant novella, not a full-length story.
It’s beginning to look a lot like . . . murder!
Shamara stares down at the gift she’s been given by Martha Granger, the office manager. An ornamental teacup. While her colleagues ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’, Shamara tries to conceal her bubbling rage.
If they like it so much, they can have it, broken in half, the sharp edges rammed into their beady little eyeballs.
The ‘black hole of annoyance’, as Shamara calls it, slowly opens wider until she can’t ignore the urges any longer.
To kill is to feel alive.
And Shamara should know. This isn’t the first time she’s let her urges get the better of her . . .Meanwhile, Detective Inspector Bethany Smith is on her way to Mike’s mother’s house for Christmas when she receives a call.
There’s a body near Shadwell Hill. The victim is Martha Granger, thirty-one, lives at sixty St James’ Terrace.
Looks like Christmas is cancelled . . .
An exhilarating crime thriller with a shocking ending you won’t see coming. Perfect for fans of Helen H. Durrant, Charlie Gallagher, Rachel McLean, J.D. Kirk, Steve Parker and J.M. Dalgliesh.Please note this is a revised edition of Santa and the Secret.
Please note this is a brilliant novella, not a full-length story.
It’s beginning to look a lot like . . . murder!
Shamara stares down at the gift she’s been given by Martha Granger, the office manager. An ornamental teacup. While her colleagues ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’, Shamara tries to conceal her bubbling rage.
If they like it so much, they can have it, broken in half, the sharp edges rammed into their beady little eyeballs.
The ‘black hole of annoyance’, as Shamara calls it, slowly opens wider until she can’t ignore the urges any longer.
To kill is to feel alive.
And Shamara should know. This isn’t the first time she’s let her urges get the better of her . . .Meanwhile, Detective Inspector Bethany Smith is on her way to Mike’s mother’s house for Christmas when she receives a call.
There’s a body near Shadwell Hill. The victim is Martha Granger, thirty-one, lives at sixty St James’ Terrace.
Looks like Christmas is cancelled . . .
An exhilarating crime thriller with a shocking ending you won’t see coming. Perfect for fans of Helen H. Durrant, Charlie Gallagher, Rachel McLean, J.D. Kirk, Steve Parker and J.M. Dalgliesh.Please note this is a revised edition of Santa and the Secret.
83 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 29, 2023
97 people are currently reading
78 people want to read
About the author
Emmy Ellis
130 books113 followersAuthor of these series:
• DI Tracy Collier
• DI Carol Wren
• DI Bethany Smith
• DI Helena Stratton
• The Cardigan Estate
• DI Morgan Yeoman
• Detective Anna James
• DI Tracy Collier
• DI Carol Wren
• DI Bethany Smith
• DI Helena Stratton
• The Cardigan Estate
• DI Morgan Yeoman
• Detective Anna James
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 24, 2024
This is a 3.5 🌟 read rounded ⬆️ to 4 🌟.
December 25, 2023
The Secret Santa Killer is a dark Christmas novella that I enjoyed. It ended rather abruptly but held my interest. 3.5 Stars.
December 20, 2023
Well that was quick and fairly painless.
Turned out that this one was just a short story. Annoyingly enough, when I was searching through my Kindle for other titles by Emmy Ellis, it turned out that I'd previously downloaded (although not read) all 10 titles in this 'DI Bethany Smith' series already. But because they've subsequently been re-released under different titles when 'Joffe Books' added them to their catalogue, I didn't get anything from Kindle/Amazon saying these were duplicate titles when I picked them up via Kindle Unlimited.
The only point to me saying any of this is that the original version has this short story down as being #7 out of 10, but the recently re-released version has it listed as number #6.5. It seems quite common for authors to do this now (release a short story with a "point five" numerical identifier, rather than assign a full while number to it like the full-length titles) and it makes sense if that's how the series is ordered from the get-go. But this change has been applied posthumously. And these newly re-released incarnations only go up to #8 on Kindle, whereas the original series had 10.
So I'm now a bit lost wondering how all these numbers work. I need to go look over Amazon and Goodreads to see what comes next and what, if anything, I'm missing. I might not be loving this challenge but I'm certainly not going to leave it incomplete.
Anyway, this story? Meh. Even with Ellis always showing the killer and explaining their motives right at the start - and not having an ounce of suspense in her stories - at least the full-length ones give the reader a bit of time to get settled in with the characters/plot. Fast reads like this one might actually be a more realistic representation of how most killers are sloppy, and apprehended very quickly in today's world full of CCTV and digital footprints. But it doesn't make for much of a crime fiction novel. It's all very "wham, bam, thank you ma'am".
Mercifully it didn't take long to read, but it was still an eminently forgettable waste of time. Back down to being a 2 star from me I'm afraid.
⭐⭐
Turned out that this one was just a short story. Annoyingly enough, when I was searching through my Kindle for other titles by Emmy Ellis, it turned out that I'd previously downloaded (although not read) all 10 titles in this 'DI Bethany Smith' series already. But because they've subsequently been re-released under different titles when 'Joffe Books' added them to their catalogue, I didn't get anything from Kindle/Amazon saying these were duplicate titles when I picked them up via Kindle Unlimited.
The only point to me saying any of this is that the original version has this short story down as being #7 out of 10, but the recently re-released version has it listed as number #6.5. It seems quite common for authors to do this now (release a short story with a "point five" numerical identifier, rather than assign a full while number to it like the full-length titles) and it makes sense if that's how the series is ordered from the get-go. But this change has been applied posthumously. And these newly re-released incarnations only go up to #8 on Kindle, whereas the original series had 10.
So I'm now a bit lost wondering how all these numbers work. I need to go look over Amazon and Goodreads to see what comes next and what, if anything, I'm missing. I might not be loving this challenge but I'm certainly not going to leave it incomplete.
Anyway, this story? Meh. Even with Ellis always showing the killer and explaining their motives right at the start - and not having an ounce of suspense in her stories - at least the full-length ones give the reader a bit of time to get settled in with the characters/plot. Fast reads like this one might actually be a more realistic representation of how most killers are sloppy, and apprehended very quickly in today's world full of CCTV and digital footprints. But it doesn't make for much of a crime fiction novel. It's all very "wham, bam, thank you ma'am".
Mercifully it didn't take long to read, but it was still an eminently forgettable waste of time. Back down to being a 2 star from me I'm afraid.
⭐⭐
December 2, 2023
What a waste of time reading this story was. Perhaps the most ridiculous main character of all time ever, everyone else was one-dimensional and bland too, no tension, no excitement, no twists, nothing.
Frankly the one-star minimum rating I can give is more than it deserves....
Frankly the one-star minimum rating I can give is more than it deserves....
December 6, 2023
good story, but short
It had a great premise and I really enjoyed the writing. But it could have been longer and more drawn out. It felt like everything happened really quickly. Which isn’t a bad thing, but it ended too soon!
It had a great premise and I really enjoyed the writing. But it could have been longer and more drawn out. It felt like everything happened really quickly. Which isn’t a bad thing, but it ended too soon!
December 8, 2023
This is a dark Christmas story, with a very unlikable main character. A quick read with a good premise, but the writing felt a bit abrupt and clunky (perhaps due to the short length of the book).
This is an okay book, if you're looking for some bah humbug to go with your Christmas.
This is an okay book, if you're looking for some bah humbug to go with your Christmas.
December 30, 2023
Tedious Tale
Dull, badly-written tale of a psychotic young woman who kills people because she has a chip on her shoulder and because she enjoys it.
It reads as if it was written by a teenager. It isn't thrilling or stunning, despite what the blurb says.
Dull, badly-written tale of a psychotic young woman who kills people because she has a chip on her shoulder and because she enjoys it.
It reads as if it was written by a teenager. It isn't thrilling or stunning, despite what the blurb says.
December 9, 2023
It Was Okay
My fault, I hadn't noticed it was a novella, the book was good but came to an abrupt end. Wouldn't mind reading other books in the series as long as they are full length books.
My fault, I hadn't noticed it was a novella, the book was good but came to an abrupt end. Wouldn't mind reading other books in the series as long as they are full length books.
March 12, 2025
Wow didn't see it coming, i just wanted more.
July 3, 2025
Loved this short story. A fab read, fast paced and easy to read. I’m definitely going to download some more of this series.
December 28, 2025
Ja dit was niet best, maar wel snel uit haha
January 14, 2024
Brilliant book, really enjoyed it, it is a dark Christmas novella that I enjoyed. It ended rather abruptly but held my interest.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews