King of Christmas: A Choose Your Own Path Psychological Thriller

by J.E. Rowney

Not every path leads to the truth. But every one brings you closer to him.

Eight missing children. One urban legend. A town that stopped asking questions.

They call him the King of Christmas—a red-cloaked figure said to haunt Pine Hollow, taking children who’ve done wrong. Always on Christmas Eve. Always leaving behind a trail of footprints in the snow… and a single silver bell for every home that's lost a child.

Jenny Matthews, now a Boston journalist, returns to the snowbound town she fled decades ago to investigate the disappearances.
Officially, she’s here to write about the legend.
Unofficially, she’s chasing something much closer to home.

The police won’t help. The town won’t talk. And this year a new family will receive a silver bell.

In this unique psychological thriller book, you decide what Jenny does next.

Will she uncover the truth—or become the next to vanish?
Will she expose the legend—or step straight into it?
Will she find redemption—or lose everything trying?

KING OF CHRISTMAS is a uniquely immersive Choose Your Own Path psychological thriller where your decisions shape the story. Every choice matters. Some truths are buried deep. Some paths lead to justice. Others to regret.

Choose carefully. The King of Christmas is watching.

Genres: Christmas, Thriller, Holiday, Mystery, Psychological Thriller

500 pages, Paperback

Published November 21, 2025

About the author

Writer.

Visit my website for previews, further information.

http://www.jerowney.com/

"I always dreamed of being a writer, until I realised that I was. Then I started to write."

Reviews

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wowzers! I’ve never read a book like this where you pick your path and ultimately choose your ending. This was a very intriguing read that set the tone for a mysterious & dark holiday thriller read. As kids disappear all around the same time of one year, this small town dreads the Christmas season. They have no idea if the king of Christmas was strike this year, or leave them horrifically in emotional turmoil as try to keep their children safe. I have already read through this book twice to get the effect of both endings, but I plan on going through it again and choosing a different path. Once I discovered how to consume this story, I couldn’t put it down. This is one I’m going to need on my shelf. Thank you BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

Publication 🗓️ : 11.21.25

[Laura Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

KING OF CHRISTMAS BY J E ROWNEY.
Release date set for the 21st of November 2025.
5 ✨ ✨ ✨ ✨ ✨s.
I absolutely loved this book.
This is the first book I've read where you choose your own path while reading the story.
I wasn't so sure if I wanted to read a book like that but let me tell you it was absolutely banging and just wanted to keep reading and choosing the path I took kept me on my toes and kept me hooked throughout.
I also want to say I appreciate how much time and effort J E ROWNEY put into this book because it must of been so hard and tricky to do but she nailed it 👏.
This is such a fun and addictive way of reading and I am all here for it.
Brilliant.... just brilliant.

[Marilou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Le premier Passepeur où je meurs pas

4🌟 pour l'expérience!

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I had to go through the book at least 5 different times because my character kept not making it out alive. Interesting concept

[Rachel Browning · Rating 5 out of 5]

“King of Christmas” by J. E. Rowney is a darkly fun and suspenseful choose-your-own-path story that completely pulled me in. With multiple possible endings—some far from happy—it kept me guessing and wanting more. I loved the eerie atmosphere and the thrill of seeing how each choice changed the outcome. I couldn’t put it down and ended up reading every pathway in a single day! I highly recommend for readers who enjoy interactive stories with a sinister twist.

[Brittney Lou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okayyy. Creepy, small-town vibes with just the right amount of “what’s really going on here?” I kept thinking I’d figured it out, and then nope. Totally hooked start to finish—and the fact that you get to choose your own path just makes it even cooler.

[Marie-pier Roy · Rating 2 out of 5]

2🌟 This was fun… I died…. multiple times. Lecture rapido, pas la plus intéressante mais j’étais définitivement curieuse!

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author managed to shame me for trying to do something she then said was totally fine and acceptable the next day. Now all of a sudden showing up without a phone call is okay?? But one day earlier it was childish and inconsiderate? Yeah that doesn’t make sense. There were many additional inconsistencies. She first said it wasn’t fear keeping the character from going home and then in the next chapter said it was. She also made a point to say the MC had not set up her sister yet, just planned to and then later says the MC feels really guilty for setting up her sister. These are just a couple of the glaring examples. There were so many errors in grammar and typos. The author also chose to write the book in 2nd person and that was… a choice. There was also SO much telling and not much showing. The book needed better editing. The author also does not seem to understand small town dynamics. She claimed the bar would not be open at 10am. It absolutely would have been. Also, the MC had completely random people she didn’t know give her trouble for leaving town… that is insane. No one would care! I grew up in a small town, people just say welcome back. No one gives you hell for going to school and getting a job in a different town. I was so incredibly disappointed by this book. I was excited to read a choose your own adventure and instead the author was rude to the reader and was just simply a bad writer.

[Nadia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had a chose your own path plot so I read it through a couple of times to find different endings. Quick paced / short book. I finished in one afternoon.

First read -
I was excited by the idea of this book, however, on my first read it didn’t land for me. The book was slow initially and picked up when the Sheriff paid Jenny’s family a visit on Christmas Eve. Who put the silver bell outside? Surely the Sheriff is in on it? I picked to go to the ski resort with Bill and they uncovered that someone had been living there. It was eerie, creepy vibes and I did feel so on edge while they uncovered rooms in the lodge. This is when it got a bit silly and went from 0 to 100 very quickly. Van Vleet (the father of the child who was first ‘taken’) appears and we find out that it was him who has been stealing children all because his child died in an accident. He also killed his wife? And everyone in the town (pretty much) is in on it and willing to sacrifice other people’s children to protect their own?!! Seems far fetched and then it gets worse and Bill strangles Van Vleet to death. Conveniently Jenny recorded Van Vleets confession…so her and her family decide to leave town immediately and not report anything they heard because it will implicate Billy in the murder of Van Vleet. Super short and a little implausible for me.

Second time -
I did the bell stakeout at Katie’s and then she drugged me and I died. It was all over a bit quick!

Third times a charm right? I died with the whole family in a car chase with the Sheriff. Sheriff coming out of nowhere and chased the families car down, causing an accident where we died :(

I tried for a fourth and got killed by the King of Christmas.

Without going through all the plots I found the ending where Van Vleet admits everything and throws himself into a 20ft pit (I still don’t really get his motivation? My kid died so yours have to as well? And also I killed my wife because she wouldn’t stay quiet? He’s honestly mad?). The people of the town all got turned in and put in prison. This ending was the best out of all I read and felt less far fetched. Although a whole community covering up murders because of fear is a bit crazy…surely one of them could have got the FBI involved.

I wanted to love this book based on the blurb and the idea of it all but the main plot was too implausible for me. However, even after the first read being a bit out there, I did pick the book right back up and wanted to know some of the other possible endings. There were a few continuity problems but I was entertained by this books madness. I think I would have preferred it as one single timeline from beginning to end, which I know the author has shared! Thank you net galley for this advanced copy.

[Aurora Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

𝗤𝗨𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗣𝗟𝗢𝗧 𝗣𝗘𝗘𝗞
Jenny Matthews, now a Boston journalist, returns to her home town of Pine Hollow to investigate the urban legend of the “King of Christmas,” responsible for 8 missing children including her kid sister.

𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬 𝗧𝗔𝗞𝗘
It’s my first Christmas story this season and it totally got me in the spirit!

Being interactive was a blast and honestly a bit addictive, but what really makes it work is the strong writing, the well-developed characters, and a story that actually kept me hooked. I went in just ready to have fun with the choices and was happily surprised by all the depth.

I loved how quickly it kicks off, the balance between creepy atmosphere and character backstory, and the way the townsfolk are all super weird!

From what I’ve seen, there are a bunch of different endings. My route was a “success,” but I did find it a little implausible - guess I’ll have to go through it again and see what happens!

𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗛 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗?
This is a fantastic Christmas whodunnit - fun, entertaining, and totally re-readable. Once you finish, you’ll want to jump back in and try a different path!

Thank you BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for this #gifted ARC.

🎧 No Audiobook
📖 Publishes 11•21•25 | 524 pages

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

King of Christmas is the first book with a pick your own path that I have read. It took a little longer than I expected to finish because I took two wrong paths and with all the jumping around, you really have no idea exactly when the book will end. It was really fun clicking on the various links to pick what I wanted to happen next. I think that was probably more exciting than the overall content. The story felt lite, but I suppose that was necessary since each short chapter was setting you up for a choice to the next short chapter. It definitely fit the creepy vibe. There was a kidnapper/serial killer who only struck on Christmas Eve and only took children. It was small town with weird untrustworthy townsfolk. It was also dark due to the children being kidnapped and murdered. Nothing happened on page though. The spookiness was more from the wondering of what really happened while the main character tried to determine who was responsible. I borrowed this book from kindle unlimited. I might read it again to try out all of the other paths, but that will be for another day. Overall, I am giving this book 4 stars. That is likely just from the novelty of the pick your path and it being something fun to do. The content itself was just okay.

[Brea · Rating 5 out of 5]

King of Christmas is a chaotic little gift that reminded me why Choose Your Own Adventure books were fun—right up until I realized grown-up me apparently makes terrible survival decisions.

Jenny Matthews returns to Pine Hollow to investigate a red-cloaked creep who leaves silver bells and missing children in his wake… and I swear this town is allergic to telling the truth. Small-town secrets? Check. Police who are about as useful as a wet paper bag? Double check. Snowy “someone is definitely stalking you” atmosphere? Absolutely.

The second-person POV took a minute to adjust to, but once it clicked, I was gone. Fully immersed. Fully stressed. Fully yelling at myself as I picked the option that got me killed again. I have never felt so personally attacked by a book’s choices.

Some endings lead to justice. Some lead to emotional damage. Some lead to your untimely demise in a stranger’s living room.
It’s festive! It’s terrifying! It’s basically Whack-a-Mole but you’re the mole!

The branching paths are incredibly well done—honestly, the author deserves a medal, a nap, and maybe a therapist after mapping all this out. And even when the plot leaned a little wild, I was having too much fun choosing chaos to care.

This book is haunting, clever, and straight-up unhinged in the best way.
Dark holiday mystery? Check. Nostalgic chaos? Check. A humbling amount of accidental deaths? BIG check.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC—sorry to Jenny for making so many questionable decisions on her behalf.

[Leah Toole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most unique way to read a book.
although sometimes my texts didnt add up (telling me something that happened even though I hadnt chosen that path previously) it still made sense and I thoroughly enjoyed it. the end came a bit too quick for me, however. but very enjoyable read.
King of Christmas seems suspiciously similar to The Yeti in All That Life though .... just sayin

[Chessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were quite a few inconsistencies that pulled me out of the story but I was still intrigued and wanted to keep reading. The path I picked wrapped up faster than I wanted so I’ll definitely replay and see what else I can uncover.

Update: definitely enjoyed my second read more as it lasted longer and there was some resolution. I’m interested in seeing what other endings there are.

[Britney Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun quick read! It looks long but it’s not! Loved the aspect of choosing which way the story was going to go!

[Oriana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve read it twice so far & hooked because I’m not happy with the endings I’ve gotten. I’ll continue to read this until I’m satisfied. It’s such an interesting way to write a book. Super creative & fun for the reader.

[Bianca Denis Diotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️
Pas la meilleur histoire, mais vraiment le fun de faire les choix. J’AI SURVÉCU ET DÉCOUVERT LA VÉRITÉ 🕵🏻‍♀️

[Natalie McDowell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun to experience a choose your own path for adults. A quick read and an interesting premise.

[Brandee Schnuelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

dumb ways to die 🎶 so many dumb ways to die 🥲

[Stacy Fazenbaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

The King of Christmas is a choose your own path thriller. I read this book on Kindle, and it was really neat how you could click to get to the next section, depending on what path you chose. This book was recommended to me by a friend, and we read it at the same time.

The King of Christmas is an urban legend, and he steals a "naughty" child every few years. The main character Jenny comes home after being gone for years. Jenny is a journalist and she is doing an article on the King of Christmas. Jenny is also close to the case because her sister was taken as a child. Jenny is determined to find out who the King of Christmas is, and unravel all of the secrets that the town is keeping.

Overall I thought this book had a fun concept and it was interesting. I did fail twice before I actually made it to the end of the book. My early demise had me going backwards and choosing a different path. The book is written in a first person POV, like you are Jenny making decisions. I thought this was a neat idea as well. I gave this one four stars, I would be willing to read more like it!

[Susie G · Rating 4 out of 5]

clever idea pick ur path. first time i read it i died trying to solve it. second time managed to esape. ill take that.

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fun… although I learned that I have the survival skills of a potato and kept dying.

[Olga Miret · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thank NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for providing me with an ARC copy of this book, which I freely chose to review.
I remember discovering the Choose Your Own Path books when I was a teenager thanks to one of my younger cousins, and I read a few of them at the time. The idea of the books is that the reader becomes the protagonist of the adventure (they usually were adventure-type children’s books) narrated in the book, and he or she has to decide between several options at certain points of the story. One book can turn up very differently depending on who reads it, and you can read the same book several time choosing different paths and discover different stories.
I hadn’t though about these books in years, until I saw this novel, a psychological thriller, described as an old-fashioned Choose Your Own Path story, but this time for adults. Not only that, but the crime involved the disappearances of young children that had happening in a small town for over forty years. To make matters worse, the children had gone missing on Christmas Eve, and the parents who had lost children would also receive a memento of their loss every Christmas Eve after that: a silver bell.
I read a lot of thrillers, and I could not resist the idea of trying this one. The story sounded interesting, it was also appropriately seasonal, and dark. And I was curious about how the formula would work for an adult book.
As you can imagine, it is not easy to talk about this genre of books without revealing any spoilers, and that is even more the case here. There is also the issue that the reading experience can vary a lot depending on the choices one makes. I had to follow different paths and go back and forth a few times to get to some semblance of an explanation, although I am not sure the path I followed is the one the author originally chose for the story. (In her afterword she explains that readers can access her version of the story on her website, but I haven’t checked it yet).
I was impressed by how easily one gets dragged into the story and carries on reading, wanting to know what is going to happen if one follows a particular path. It is a bit like watching a horror movie and shouting at the screen for characters to not enter a room or not to hide somewhere, only in this case, the reader has become the person choosing (rightly or wrongly) what to do. Although the reader takes on a character, a writer who is the sister of one of the missing girls, we are only given some background information, the rest is up to us. The book is written in the second person and addresses the reader directly something not common in fiction books, and that makes for a quite peculiar reading experience.
I was also impressed by how well the continuity of the story works. It must have been hard to work everything out, because it is like writing several stories, chopping them and mixing them all, and making sure that the details fit. That is something pretty important in this genre, and in this case, it becomes multiplied many times, as there are many different options. Some of the paths share many similarities, but the order in which one does things can change the outcome, and I didn’t spot any inconsistencies on the parts I read.
The style of writing is easy to read, flows well, and although, as per genre, a degree of suspension of disbelief is required (pretty large here), the story works quite well within its own parameters. This is not a police procedural or a story where the fine details of the investigation, the methodology and talent of the investigator win the day, and it all fits in nicely. The fullest version I read (which I suspect is probably pretty close to the one the author intended) put me in mind of some horror books and movies that take place in small towns, rather than standard psychological thrillers, but I won’t mention any examples to avoid unduly influencing those who are interested in trying it for themselves.
In sum, this is a clever idea, an interesting and gripping story, and a nostalgic and fun trip down memory lane for those of us who experienced this book format in our childhood. I especially recommend it for those who prefer their Christmas stories to be dark rather than sweet. Oh, and do not worry about the format of the book: I read an e-book copy and the format and the transitions work perfectly well.
A side note: if you decide to read it, in case you want to go back to the previous point in the story, I recommend bookmarking the place where you choose to go down a path or the other, although you might prefer to start the story from the very beginning and try a completely different approach.

[Daniella · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had me at Choose Your Own Adventure. As a 80s kid raised on these twisty, turny reading games, I was ridiculously excited to jump into a holiday-themed psychological thriller that let me call the shots. Do I open the suspicious door? Run toward the creepy bells? Get murdered by gingerbread logic? Yes please. I was ready.

The structure is where this book shines. It’s interactive, it’s fun, and it definitely scratches that “what-if” itch. The nostalgia alone earned it some solid brownie points.

But the actual story? Ehh. We’ve got Jenny, a reporter investigating the disappearance of her younger sister, Sara, who went missing decades ago. Also, other kids in town have vanished. For fifty years. And the families get a festive little trauma bell outside their house every Christmas.

Naturally, this town has apparently done absolutely nothing to solve it. No police task force, no true crime podcast, no nosy neighbor with a murder board in their garage. Just… bells. And vibes.

By the time we got to the big reveal, I was hoping for something chilling. Instead, I got a killer whose motive felt like it had been scribbled in crayon on the back of a fruitcake. It didn’t hit.

Still, the format was worth the ride. If you love the experience of reading more than the logic of what’s on the page, this might be worth a look. Especially if you’re craving something different and have a high tolerance for suspension of disbelief and baffling small-town silence

[Brittney Wertman · Rating 4 out of 5]

(I tried to write this review without spoilers but i couldn’t)

Let me first start by saying that this was not really a book for me, rather a game, but definitely a fun game!

If i was rating this book as a story, i would give it 3 stars, but as a game i would say 4.5. I like the plot of the journalist coming back to her eerie hometown to try and solve a mystery so close to her.
The book really emphasizes how small towns can seem like their own world, which can be very true in reality. The entire towns people were so scared of this person(who most people knew was just a man) they were willing to sacrifice others to keep themselves safe. It took an outsider who was deeply impacted by the tragedies to come back to finally have the courage to DO something about the disappearances.
The king of christmas just being a regular man, a cheap shitty dad actually, is far worse than being a creature or mythical person of sorts (which very well could have been from the eeriness of the whole story). But What made it so interesting with the multiple endings was that you slowly figured out that you couldn’t trust anyone but your family. It really showed whenever you tried to go to people for help, they would be against you or would just kill you to keep you quiet. I had multiple towns people kill me for keeping their secrets.
I just wish there was a back button because I had to die and go back MANY times to find the “best” ending (which i think was when the entire town was brought to justice)

In conclusion this book was so fun to read but definitely a commitment. You couldn’t just die once and be over with it. You HAVE to find out who the king of christmas or else honestly whats the point!

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I LOVE choose-your-own-ending stories. I was definitely the kid who tried to find all ways a story could go.
Rowney had fun with the concept. She gives us false choices. You think you have options but they it all leads to the same place. Other times, it’s the difference between life and death. You never know which choice is high stakes (like life) and you get a mulligan when you learn the hard way (unlike life). I’d make a bad choice just to see what happened.
I found a true-ish version after dying a lot. I’m not sure the truth behind the King of Christmas was fully believable but getting there was fun.
If you’re more creepmas than Hallmark, this is fun. 3.75/5

[Hannah Dasinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars!!
This was SUCH a fun time and I can honestly say I’ve never read anything like this before. It only took me about an hour from start to finish. This book is not even really about the story but the experience. I loved being able to pick my own choices. Even though it left me dead a few times and I had to start over 😤 it just made it more fun. I truly think everyone needs to read this at some point because it is such a unique experience. I definitely recommend reading it on Kindle because it was so easy to just click the links instead of flipping back and forth through the book.

[Rosie Walling · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the “pick your adventure” side of this book. It was exciting and different I feel that’s why it has such a high rating from me. The ending was disappointing and the reasoning unrelatable / stupid and the decisions made by people in this book seemed silly and questionable.
But I still rated highly because of the journey of it all.

[Juliana Powers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure what this says about me but the path I chose for this book had me killed within 90 min of reading. Was a fun interesting concept of a book- and to get a new path you need to start over 👎
If you read this don’t pick the obvious path I guess. 🤷‍♀️

[Jen Varhalla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cool book! I really liked how you made the decision on what comes next. I wouldn’t consider this a thriller though, more of a mystery as you read your way through what happened. Loved the different perspectives and ways you can finish the story.