The Present

by D.S. Devlin

This book can also be read with The Present by Charlotte Phillips. Two books, one unforgettable Christmas…

12 deadly gifts, one killer on a Christmas countdown…On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me… this is one deadly Christmas that you can’t forget.

The police are baffled by the ‘Santa’ killer, who sends his intended victims gruesome presents based on the twelve days of Christmas. When a young journalist receives a mutilated bird in the post, it’s a race against time to find the killer…

Genres: Christmas, Crime, Mystery, Fiction

400 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2017

Reviews

[Stephanie ((Strazzybooks)) · Rating 3 out of 5]

“On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me ... butchered human remains.”

3.5/5

A dark Christmas read that features a Santa killer. I liked the characters and writing. It was a holiday thriller that read quickly. A nice distraction during the season, it kept my attention at a time when most books could not.

[Mandy White (mandylovestoread) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow.. I will never hear the 12 Days of Christmas the same way again! I read this book in one sitting, it absolutely sucked me in. It is gruesome and very clever with an ending you won't see coming.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for a copy of this book to read and review. Merry Christmas to you all!

[Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

With thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins for this ARC in exchange for an open and honest review.

My friends will know that I enjoy books with a Christmas theme, especially ones with an edge

First of all I was drawn to the artwork on this book, a beautifully wrapped present with a splatter of blood. I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover but it was calling my name.

The Present starts with the serial killer called Santa breaking into a young couples home. Santa kills the man in particularly grisly manner and kidnaps the wife.

For the last few years the Santa Killer has been breaking into young couples home, killing the man but kidnapping the woman. The police have found no trace of the woman until she is found murdered on Christmas Eve. Investigative journalist Anna Vaughan decides she will track down Santa. When Anna is sent a present at home from Santa containing a human liver, she worries she has got to close to the killer. Anna and ex colleague Miles resolve to find Santa before he kills again.

The Present revolved around the twelve days of Christmas. After reading this book the song will definitely sent a chill down my spine. This was a fast paced story with red herrings galore. I suspected two possible people to be the killer and I constantly changed my mind as the story progressed. This was the author's debut novel, I look forward to their next book.

[Donna Maguire · Rating 5 out of 5]

https://donnasbookblog.wordpress.com/...

I started reading this book as soon as I saw it was available - I sent it straight to my Kindle and got stuck in. The blurb and the cover sold it to me, a present with blood drops on it - as a massive crime fiction fan it was always going to be one I would want to read and I was genuinely looking forward to diving in to the story!

Well I absolutely loved it, I flew through it in a few hours and did not want to put it down.  There were plenty of twists and turns and I thought I guessed who Santa was, then changed my mind, changed it back again and even then was still wrong in the end! 

It is an explosive finish to the story and I thought it was really well thought through and planned - 5 stars from me, what a cracking read for this festive season!!

Only downside - I found myself singing the 12 days of Christmas as I was reading it and after at random times - oh well I can cope with that! 

[Rosie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Present opens with a really nice (and by nice, I mean bloody) perspective from our killer, unfortunately named 'the Santa killer'; the killer's name was somewhat disarming and probably contributed to why I didn't feel the appropriate chill while reading this. He is alternatively referred the as the 'Christmas killer' at random points throughout the book, which I was better. The story itself was good, but it was definitely missing that special something that makes a good story truly chilling and I think that thing was POV chapters by the killer; I get that the author was probably trying to keep the identity of our killer a secret, but a good writer can give the reader some epic murder scenes while keeping the killer's identity a secret. There was a good-ish twist at the end but I feel like there was a lack of build up, or perhaps it was the writing style that took the shock factor away from the 'reveal'. The 12 days of Christmas countdown to the victims death was a clever idea, but a little disappointing. I liked Anna because she wasn't your typical 'jump in ass first' type of journalist as many books depict. The final thing that stopped this book going higher than 3* was the random scored out text that appeared a couple of times towards the end of the book. Why? Just don't include the text! Not a bad book and it's fun that there's a matching romance novel for people who are into that sort of thing, but a bit of a mixed bag overall!

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy moly this one is a rollercoaster!

The Present starts with an undeniably scary prologue, but at first I wasn't sure about the setup - everything felt a bit unrealistic and I thought it would be 'just an ok read'. However, once I got more into the story I was totally hooked!

The story is completely gripping and utterly terrifying. Many of the scenes are so tense that I could barely breathe and I was rigid with fear and there are some stomach-churningly gruesome descriptions. The Twelve Days of Christmas song was used in a very creepy way and I'll never be able to hear it again without thinking about this book (although I've never really liked it since I had to be a maid-a-milking in a school show once when I wanted to be a lady-dancing...)

The shocking climax was absolutely riveting and the ending makes sense, although I still had a couple of questions I wanted answering after I'd finished. I'd be very happy (albeit petrified) to read more from Anna and DS Devlin.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction for the ARC of The Present. 4.5/5 stars.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is tentatively based on the 12 Days of Christmas and involves Anna a journalist who gets involved in searching for the serial killer who kills a victim each Christmas whilst sending clues to the Police. Before he kills her
The beginning is quick paced and sets a good introduction to the story,it then is quite clever in lulling you into a false sense of security as to who the killer is,however pretty quickly I realised this red herring and guessed who the real killer was,this did not spoil the rest of the book though,in some ways it enhanced it
Anna was a good character and Milles was very likeabke
Be Warned......It is gruesome in its detail of the killers actions!!!!
An enjoyabke read,full of action and no wasted chapters on irrelevance to the atory
If you are looking for a story leading up to Christmas to scare you and draw you in this book is for you

[Angie F · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book certainly isn't one for the faint hearted. It's a great story, I wasn't sure who the killer was right up until the end. However,, it is seriously gory, gratuitously so in my opinion. So if you tend to be squeamish I'm not sure that this is the book for you.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

[Bridget · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic crime novel that ties in very well with the twelve days of Christmas theme. I thought the author, DS Devlin's concept of the countdown and the delivering of presents coinciding with the twelve days of Christmas was a quality idea.

The Present was a hugely enjoyable read without the complexity and twists and turns of many other mysteries and thrillers but it still kept me questioning and guessing until the end and there were plenty of red herrings to lead me astray.

It becomes apparent later in the book why the Santa Killer chose to abduct and kill his victims around the Christmas period each year.

The story moved along at a comfortable pace and for me, this was a brilliant crime thriller/murder mystery read. I highly recommend The Present to anyone who favours this genre.

With gratitude to HarperCollins and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review a copy of this novel.

[Lynn P · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reviewing the "other" book called The Present a few days ago I've now read the one I intend to. My review for the chicklit version has gone up on the page for this crime novel though!

I'm not one for true crime and gory details and so those aspects of this book did not appeal to me, but it is written in such a homely way that it actually didn't seem as if those things were too real. This enabled me to just carry on reading and enjoy the whodunnit aspect of the novel.

It's only taken me a couple of readings to get through, as once I was hooked and I was so sure of who the "Santa" killer was I had to know I was right! At some point I did think no one would write a plot this obvious and so changed my mind, changed it back again and finally I had no idea!

Just to make it clear this is not someone murdering Santas', but someone using the Christmas song of 12 days of Christmas as clues to taunt the police each year, before eventually murdering a victim. As it takes place during Christmas he is dubbed the "Santa" killer.

You do need to suspend some disbelief that Anna the journalist would put herself in so much danger and be prepared to meet the "Santa" killer one on one. She does come out of it as one gutsy lady despite being petrified, and I was swept along with her descriptive exploits.

If this sounds like your sort of thing and you are not looking for the next big crime writer then it's a good read.

I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Netgalley for a copy of the book for review.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's not all romance and happy couples at this time of year, sometimes we need a bit of extra thriller bite to add to our Christmas reading list and what better way than with a thriller based around the popular twelve days of Christmas song.

I was really looking forward to this novel as from the blurb I liked the idea of the killer using the song and the 'santa killer' persona to frighten his victims. I can't imagine what it would have been like to receive one of this santa's gifts in the run up to the holiday season!

From the first chapter or so of the novel I was a little unsure of this one, but once I got into the story the flow of the novel picked up well and it definitely kept up the pace throughout. I found some of the details of the santa killers crimes really had me gritting my teeth, very well written and they had me on the edge of my seat at stages. If you're a sensitive soul, brace yourself for a little bit of gruesome detail, but t's fully within the context of the story.

I was a bit worried when halfway through the novel I thought the author might have slipped me too much of a clue to the killer's identity and spent the next few chapters trying to figure out if I was right. Thankfully for my enjoyment of the story I was wrong, and I like the cleverly veiled trick of the writing that made me almost think I had it figured out. I have to say the twist in the story that provides us with the identity of the true Santa Killer was one I didn't see coming, and I think it's reveal was interesting.

Whilst it didn't spoil my enjoyment of this novel, I didn't enjoy the ending. It somehow felt a little rushed, and there was also something about the killer that didn't quite hit the nail on the head for the crime thriller fan in me. All the same, I don't think I will hear the twelve days of Christmas song in quite the same way again, and if you are looking for a book to add some creepy to your Christmas then take a chance and open The Present.

3.5 stars.

Thank you to Harper Collins Uk & NetGalley for providing me this copy for an honest review.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, I couldn’t put this book down.

This story follows the case of ‘Santa’, a serial killer. Santa has been murdering husbands and kidnapping their wives for twelve years and is yet to be caught. Fast forward to the present day and he commits the crime again, only This time he leaves clues. These clues relate to the Christmas song ‘12 days of Christmas’. Not only is the police involved, but a local journalist ‘Anna’ also tries and sinks her teeth in to this case but becomes more involved then she expected.

I loved this book! The beginning was a little slow and dragged on slightly but once I started getting into it, I really couldn’t put it down. The descriptions of some of the scenes are so realistic, especially the way Delvin describes the murder scenes. (The head falling off had me go ‘urgh’ haha)

I did not expect the ending it gave, normally I can guess who the killer is but I definitely couldn’t in this one.

This book was amazing and I would definitely read again

[Karschtl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the idea of the story. The Santa killer who apparently likes the song "Twelve days of Christmas" and plants presents and/or hints every day in the run up til Christmas. Journalist Anna is determined to catch the killer before all the days have run out.
I also liked how the story develops, with the first clues leading to others. With Annas search. (Although I found her a bit too self-confident when she says already at the very beginning that she will find him this year, she will be smarter than all the cops and she will catch him before he kills his next victim. How can she be so sure of herself with not even one clue yet?) I even found the big showdown quite good, although not heartstopping despite the surprise effects.

It's only that I found the writing style not always fitting for a crime novel. All these rhetorical questions Anna is asking herself (and sometimes answering, too) were annoying for example.

But overall it was an enjoyable read.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really chilling read about a journalist being called in to help the police investigation into the Santa killer- who has been killing a couple every year. The killer sends a horrific gift wrapped present to her home and she begins to wonder how much danger she is in and who she should fear.
The book keeps you on the edge of the seat hoping to keep her safe whilst solving the mystery.
I will be really keen to read more by this author and don't think I will ever listen to 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' in the same way ever again!

[Ali Wolpern · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 🌟
This was a VERY fast read!! Great suspenseful plot with a lot of twists...Just remember you can never trust anyone in this book!!

Highly recommend.

The main reason this book was not a 5 🌟 rating for me was because there were a lot of misspelled words, grammar errors, and ACTUAL words crosses out even though this is suppose to be an edited book!

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read that had me interested and hooked from the very beginning. Had you guessing who "Santa" could be and made you think once or twice if you were wrong. Loved the twists in the book that kept you guessing and doubting if you even ha it figured out at all. Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

[Umut · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings for this book, so I decided to give 3 stars and will list what I liked and what I didn't like. I think it's very difficult to write a really good crime mystery, because it requires very good plot, you need to build the characters very well and make the reader to think and preferably not guess the end:)
In this book, there were not so many characters and possible endings, so I must say it was easy to guess the criminal. The plot was not complicated and actually I really disliked the end. I didn't find the murderer's analysis satisfactory. I won't say more not to reveal anything.
Probably what I liked most was it was gripping from the first page and the pace was good. I didn't get bored, I read it in one day easily.
I would say not the best of the crime stories, but easy to read and thrilling.

[Danni · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Present is a fast-paced thriller following investigative journalist Anna as she tries to identify the serial killer nicknamed “Santa” who has managed to evade capture by CID for 12 straight years.

Anna is relentless and will do anything to get the real story. In her last high profile story, she solved a case that CID had failed to and made enemies with them in the process. But when a whistleblower within CID gives her the scoop on the latest developments within the “Santa” case, Anna goes on the attack, determined to show everyone the inadequacies and failures of the CID. Anna is astonished to find that she’s actually been set up and has been secretly drafted in to assist CID with their investigation.

Miles is Anna’s quirky friend; a former investigative journalist who gave up his career when an investigation took him too far into the criminal underworld and caused a mental breakdown. Miles hasn’t told Anna or anyone else what happened to him and is now an almost recluse who struggles to sleep or socialise with friends and work colleagues. He lives alone in a house left to him by his mum who died years before.

Anna turns to Miles to see if he has any names or suspects from his years dealing with criminals and finds that he’s kept files upon files of information, police reports, statements and notes that he dubs the “Miles Files”.

Anna works with Miles and CID to try and uncover links to the “Santa” killer before it’s too late. In a race against the clock, she has 12 days to save Santa’s latest victim.

The Present is an easy read; some of the clues and links were a little weak and too easily reaolved. There’s no real mystery in this book. While the crimes are horrific and brutal, there’s not much to really pull the reader in and have them fully absorbed. The suspects in this book are few and really there are only 3 main characters in the story which makes it easy for the reader to decide who the culprit is. While there was a twist in the book, I think it was fairly obvious given the few characters within the book and plenty of readers would have figured this out before the climactic ending.

The Present was an enjoyable, easy read without the complexity and twists and turns of some of the more popular mystery/thrillers out there these days, but will still keep you questioning and guessing until the end.

Thanks to D S Devlin, NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Elaine Tomasso · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would like to thank Netgalley and HarperCollins Uk for a review copy of The Present, a serial killer novel set in London featuring journalist Anna Vaughan.

The Santa killer has been operating for 12 years without being caught. Every two years in December he kills a husband and abducts the wife who is held captive until Christmas Day when she is killed. This year he has abducted Sharon Steiner and journalist Anna Vaughan, fresh from her success in finding missing child Josh Underwood, is determined to find her. Unfortunately "Santa" finds her first and involves her in his game by sending her gruesome messages.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Present which is a high octane, violent but addictive read. It is cleverly plotted with the killer several steps ahead of both Anna and the police and well paced as she gradually makes sense of the grisly clues. It is a hard novel to put down as there seems to be something new on each page to keep your interest going. I must admit that my inkling of the perpetrator solidified as the novel went on but it didn't spoil my enjoyment as I wasn't sure and kept living every moment with Anna. Is it realistic? Definitely not but it's great escapism well done.

Anna is the woman we'd all like to be - smart, loyal and brave to the point of foolhardiness. She is a great protagonist with her need to do the right thing and find Sharon alive. She's ideal for this kind of novel.

The only thing I feel let the novel down is the ending, not the action but the PC need to understand the killer and his motivations and then make excuses for his behaviour. What a load of tosh. Most forensic psychologists make the point that most people with his background do not become serial killers and those that do are bad, no excuses. This aside The Present is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

[Bucks, Books & Beyond · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ll admit, the whole concept of the ‘Santa Killer’ was a little bit cheesy. But it does tie in nicely with the theme of the 12 days of Christmas and it does become apparent later in the book why the Santa Killer chooses to abduct and kill his victims around the Christmas period each year.

I thought the concept of the countdown and the delivering of presents coinciding with the 12 days of Christmas was clever. There were plenty of red herrings in this book that kept me guessing all the way to the end. Just when I would think I had it figured out who the killer was another curve ball would be thrown in. I can honestly say I didn’t see the twist at the end coming!

I read this book in two sittings as I was completely hooked by the twists and turns the storyline took. The pace of the book moved well with more clues and presents being delivered to Anna.

Overall, in my opinion this is a brilliant crime thriller/murder mystery read. It was well written with good twists and one I would recommend to anyone who likes this genre. The only downside is I now have the 12 days of Christmas song stuck in my head and it’s only August!

[Gaynor Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Christmas thriller about the search for Santa - but this is not the jovial man in red so beloved by children everywhere, this is a serial killer who strikes every Christmas and leaves clues which relate to the song Twelve Days of Christmas. Anna is a journalist who has been drawn into the investigation and who finds herself in terrible danger as she battles to solve the clues before the twelve days run out...
This sounded like a very interesting story, but I'm afraid that I didn't really enjoy it. There was a lack of subtlety in the plot. On the whole, in crime fiction it is better to have tiny hints which you only see were clues when you look back, not to be told every few pages what you ought to be thinking. Also the idea of the "game" that the killer was playing didn't really hold up for me and I found the whole thing hard to believe. Having said that, the premise was good and I did want to know how it ended.
Thank you to the publishers for letting me have a copy via Netgalley, in return for an honest review.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

The central premise of this one is great. A serial killer who utilises a popular Christmas song to unleash hell on his victims, ruining lives year after year. Anna, a plucky journalist, is enlisted to help stop him after

Rating this one 3.5 out of 5 for Goodreads, as the ending was a bit of a disappointment. The ramping up of the twelve days of Christmas was impressive, with Santa's house of horrors leaving me flying through the pages, but it felt like there was something missing towards the end.

The ending felt a little too focused on the identity of Santa rather than on stopping him, on the killer rather than his innocent victim. There was even a mention of the killer as a "victim" - despite the fact that he murdered multiple people over many years in extremely violent ways.

Anna's happy ending at the end of the novel was a great touch, making this novel's Christmas notes more than simply the violence of a creepy Santa.

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins and D S Devlin for the opportunity to read The Present.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

This murder mystery is loosely based on the 12 Days of Christmas.
Anna Vaughan is an investigative journalist, who becomes involved in the case of the Santa killer, who attacks just before every Christmas, and has managed to avoid being caught so far.
She is drawn in when a mysterious parcel with gory contents appears on her doorstep, and is helped by her colleague, Miles, who had had a breakdown following a traumatic investigation.
The book kept me guessing until the very end, with lots of red herrings, and clues relating to the song, along the way.
In the end though, I was disappointed, the motivation of the killer was too cleverly explained, and he didn’t ring true. Also, the “Twelve Days” were rather forced, as if the had been grafted onto another story.

Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction for the opportunity to read this book.

[Michelle B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought that this book, The Present by DS Devlin, was an excellent read. At first I was a bit reluctant as to how a journalist would be able to investigate a murder, and thought it may be a duff book. But I pleased I did not let my preconceived idea put me off and continued with the book as it was brilliant.
Like most good police/ crime thrillers it has a number of twists and turns and takes the reader in a lot of different ways.
It is quite gory in places so may not be for those of a delicate disposition (but I have read a lot worse!)
Due to the nature of the twelve days of Christmas connection it is a perfect read for this time of year, but could equally be read outside of the season.
The only downside is you will be hearing the song like an earworm by the end of the book!
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Dr. B · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a Christmas thriller, quite easy to read but lacks the mystery component!

The story starts off with a good premise but…

I tend to like stories that are peppered with thought-provoking twists and turns and this story, unfortunately, has none; guessing the culprit was basically a walk in the park.

If you’re looking for an easy ready, revolving around some incredibly gruesome crimes and you’re not bothered by the lack of mystery then you should definitely give this book a read.

I would like to thank the Publishers, NetGalley, and the Author for sending me a copy of this book.

You can check out my reviews on my blog❣️.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast-paced thriller

Anna, an investigative reporter, is disgusted by the police’s inability to catch a sadistic killer who kidnaps women every December, leaving clues and gifting the police with the tortured remains of his victim on Christmas morning. After challenging the police this year, though, Anna is invited to join their investigation, since they too are frustrated. She finds that they aren’t as inept as she’d thought, and she learns that the killer is both insane and very intelligent.
This was a fast read, a bit gruesome, and would hav benefited from a little more editorial polish, but on the whole an entertaining way to while away the time during a big Nor’easter.

[Melanie Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A graphic story of a serial killer's 12 year spree. No detail is spared and D S Devlin obviously has an understanding of most people's greatest fear. I bought into Anna as a character, and her relationship with her friend, former, fellow journalist, Miles, provided light relief in an otherwise terrifying book. In all honesty I had twigged the identity of the murderer before the denouement, but that didn't in any way detract from my enjoyment. A well written tale, which moves along at a brisk pace. Pleased to recommend The Present, but must point out it's not for the faint hearted!

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read with The Present by Charlotte Phillips, two books with the same title but two very different storylines.
Charlotte Phillips gave us a beautiful story of love, D S Devlin gives us a story of death!
As much as I love the the other book of the two, this one is hands down my favourite.
Do you give your xmas gifts a little shake trying to figure out what is inside before you get to open it? This might have you being a bit dubious in the unwrapping!
A killer Christmas read that has a present for everyone!

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will never think about the song, The Twelve Days of Christmas, the same way again. This was an intense murder mystery. You will find yourself sitting on the edge of your seat chewing your nails. And because the murders have been going on for 12 years, there is a history and the criminal investigators are getting exasperated because they've not been able to catch the murderer.

There are lots of twists and turns that continue to make you gasp. I was convinced one person was the culprit, but then I decided it has to be another person. And when you turn the page and discover who the real murderer is, you will be shocked!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.