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Detective George Beaumont #20
The Twelve Deaths of Christmas: An Advent Calendar Novel
When a 150-year-old time capsule is unveiled at Leeds City Museum, no one takes the Victorian detective's prophecies seriously. But DCI George Beaumont can't ignore the chilling predictions when they start coming true with devastating accuracy.
Twelve murders. Twenty-five days. Each death meticulously staged. And at the heart of it all, a final a blond detective's death on Christmas Day.
As bodies begin to fall exactly as foretold, George turns to museum curator Dr Kit Ainsworth, whose knowledge might be the key to preventing the next death. Together, they race to decipher cryptic warnings written 150 years ago.
But as Christmas approaches and the body count rises, George faces a terrifying Are they dealing with a copycat killer using a Victorian detective's journal as inspiration, or did Detective Edmund Blackwood truly see these murders across time - including George's own death?
25 days, 25 chapters. One chapter per day until Christmas. Do you dare to keep pace with a killer?
The Twelve Deaths of Christmas is the twentieth book in the Detective George Beaumont thriller series.
Order of reading
Book 1: THE MISS MURDERER
Book 2: THE BONE SAW RIPPER
Book 3: THE BLONDE DELILAH
Book 4: THE CROSS FLATTS SNATCHER
Book 5: THE MIDDLETON WOODS STALKER
Book 6: THE NAUGHTY LIST - a completely new version of The Naughty List, entirely re-written with a new plot!
Book 7: THE FOOTBALLER AND THE WIFE
Book 8: THE NEW FOREST VILLAGE BOOK CLUB
Novella 1: MICHELLE CROMACK
Book 9: THE KILLER IN THE FAMILY
Book 10: THE STOURTON STONE CIRCLE
Novella 2: A HALLOWEEN TO THE LEEDS VAMPIRE
Novella 3: ECHOES OF THE THE LONG SHADOW
Book 11: THE WEST YORKSHIRE RIPPER
Book 12: THE SHADOWS OF YULETIDE
Book 13: THE SHADOWS OF THE PAST
Book 14: THE ECHOES OF SILENCE
Book 15: BENEATH THE SURFACE
Book 16: THE STALKER'S TWISTED GAME
Book 17: THE VIGILANTE’S VERDICT
Book 18: A HARVEST OF SORROW
Book 19: THE ANGEL OF DEATH
Book 20: THE TWELVE DEATHS OF CHRISTMAS
Twelve murders. Twenty-five days. Each death meticulously staged. And at the heart of it all, a final a blond detective's death on Christmas Day.
As bodies begin to fall exactly as foretold, George turns to museum curator Dr Kit Ainsworth, whose knowledge might be the key to preventing the next death. Together, they race to decipher cryptic warnings written 150 years ago.
But as Christmas approaches and the body count rises, George faces a terrifying Are they dealing with a copycat killer using a Victorian detective's journal as inspiration, or did Detective Edmund Blackwood truly see these murders across time - including George's own death?
25 days, 25 chapters. One chapter per day until Christmas. Do you dare to keep pace with a killer?
The Twelve Deaths of Christmas is the twentieth book in the Detective George Beaumont thriller series.
Order of reading
Book 1: THE MISS MURDERER
Book 2: THE BONE SAW RIPPER
Book 3: THE BLONDE DELILAH
Book 4: THE CROSS FLATTS SNATCHER
Book 5: THE MIDDLETON WOODS STALKER
Book 6: THE NAUGHTY LIST - a completely new version of The Naughty List, entirely re-written with a new plot!
Book 7: THE FOOTBALLER AND THE WIFE
Book 8: THE NEW FOREST VILLAGE BOOK CLUB
Novella 1: MICHELLE CROMACK
Book 9: THE KILLER IN THE FAMILY
Book 10: THE STOURTON STONE CIRCLE
Novella 2: A HALLOWEEN TO THE LEEDS VAMPIRE
Novella 3: ECHOES OF THE THE LONG SHADOW
Book 11: THE WEST YORKSHIRE RIPPER
Book 12: THE SHADOWS OF YULETIDE
Book 13: THE SHADOWS OF THE PAST
Book 14: THE ECHOES OF SILENCE
Book 15: BENEATH THE SURFACE
Book 16: THE STALKER'S TWISTED GAME
Book 17: THE VIGILANTE’S VERDICT
Book 18: A HARVEST OF SORROW
Book 19: THE ANGEL OF DEATH
Book 20: THE TWELVE DEATHS OF CHRISTMAS
- GenresChristmas
388 pages, Paperback
First published November 27, 2024
24 people are currently reading
39 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 24, 2025
The book was alright, but I had a good time. The killer felt predictable, George wasn’t particularly likeable, and the author relies on repetitive descriptions for people but the fact I got to enjoy a buddy read with my best friend as an advent calendar made the experience really fun!
December 27, 2025
The Twelve Deaths of Christmas has a genuinely good storyline and I was very eager to read it during Advent, but the execution made it hard for me to fully enjoy. While the central mystery was interesting, the writing itself became increasingly irritating as the book went on.
Certain things are repeated to the point of distraction—Tashan’s tall frame is mentioned constantly, characters are forever saying “But…” or “You need to see this,” and the same phrases crop up again and again, like “Something flickered across [someone’s] face—too quick to identify” and “felt pieces shifting.” Add in an overuse of pauses ( . . . ), and the prose starts to feel cluttered and repetitive rather than atmospheric.
I also struggled with the Victorian setting. While that may work better for other readers, I found it confusing here, and I often didn’t fully understand what was happening. I’m not sure if that’s specific to this book or the series as a whole, but it kept me from getting truly invested.
And the final two chapters just completely ruined the book for me. They were so frustrating to read through and something just didn't feel right in the execution of it. Those two chapters alone would have made me give it a 1-star.
Overall, while the story itself had potential, the writing choices and confusing execution made this a 2-star read for me. I wouldn’t reread it, and despite the solid premise, it just wasn’t for me.
Certain things are repeated to the point of distraction—Tashan’s tall frame is mentioned constantly, characters are forever saying “But…” or “You need to see this,” and the same phrases crop up again and again, like “Something flickered across [someone’s] face—too quick to identify” and “felt pieces shifting.” Add in an overuse of pauses ( . . . ), and the prose starts to feel cluttered and repetitive rather than atmospheric.
I also struggled with the Victorian setting. While that may work better for other readers, I found it confusing here, and I often didn’t fully understand what was happening. I’m not sure if that’s specific to this book or the series as a whole, but it kept me from getting truly invested.
And the final two chapters just completely ruined the book for me. They were so frustrating to read through and something just didn't feel right in the execution of it. Those two chapters alone would have made me give it a 1-star.
Overall, while the story itself had potential, the writing choices and confusing execution made this a 2-star read for me. I wouldn’t reread it, and despite the solid premise, it just wasn’t for me.
December 28, 2025
I discovered Christmas advent books last year (2024), and I don't think I'll ever skip a December going forward. The concept is so fun that I have a lot of grace for the execution (as long as it's not AI garbage, which this book is certainly not.) This book features detective George Beaumont in a battle of wits against a murderous Victorian prophesy and its perpetrator/s. The author is in dire need of an editor and I felt like my kindle edition was missing a final chapter because the ending left some unanswered questions. That said, it was a solid entry to the frothy subgenera that I don't expect too much from. I had a good time with genuine suspense and pathos at the end.
December 25, 2025
This book really needed to have an editor tighten it up again. I'm all for reading self-published books, and did enjoy the mystery aspect of the novel... but there were spots in this book that needed someone to flag issues. One expects orphaned words, for instance, but one should never see an orphaned character. When the closing quotation marks end up on the following line, especially when they're the only character there, it's a bit jarring to the reader.
Other than needing a final editing, this book was a good read.
Other than needing a final editing, this book was a good read.
December 13, 2024
This had me gripped and on the edge of my seat right from the beginning. In places you could feel the tension coming from the team. But halfway through the story I realised who the murderer was but the accomplice did surprise me, I never saw that one coming. The ending brought tears to my eyes but these were happy ones as well as sad ones. Very highly recommended but make sure you're strapped in to your seat for the end.
December 24, 2025
3.5: My advent calendar. A chapter a day for 25 days. I enjoyed this “catch the killer before the clock runs out” story.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews