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did enjoy this book even though the premise of the story in the beginning was rather unbelievable, The book is split into what happened and then the investigation into this, Moves fast, keep me turning the pages and will read more of this author, This was okay. I can't say much on it without spoiling it, The premise was awesome, and it started our to be so promising, and then it went off the rails, Everything that happened was so unlikely, and this book was way too long for the actual content, The plot twists were not surprising, and there were too many attempts to match another popular crime novel, I kept hoping I would enjoy it more, and then another absurd thing would be tacked onto the plot, After finishing Dying For Christmas my jaw is still hanging around my chest area, mouth wide open and eyes wide with shock, This book had more twists than a corkscrew, . . literally. The storyline was completely original brought out the best in this psychological suspense, There were more than a few surprises and thats always a great thing for a bookworm like myself,
Jessica Gold is such an interestingly weird person, While Dominic Lacey is wickedly bipolar, Detective Constable Kim has the weight of the world on her shoulder, Everyone played their part in making this astar rating,

A copy of this book was provided by NetGalley and the publisher for my honest opinion, Jessica Gold has been doing some Christmas shopping when she meets a stranger, . the very charming Dominic Lacey, She agrees to go with him to his apartment, Why you might ask. Jessica's livein boyfriend and she are not getting along well, He's spending more and more time away and she, . well, she just wants something different,

And different is something she gets in spades! Dominic holds her hostage, forcing her to sleep in a dog crate, wear his missing wife's clothes, and eat lots of disgusting food.
He wants to spend the Christmas holiday with her, . . alldays of Christmas.

Each and every one of those days, he gifts her with a wrapped present, It's always an item from his past, . . a box of his baby teeth, his dead sister's favorite toy, Each day the gifts get worse, accompanied by his telling her of his childhood and beyond,

She finally gets the message, . he is never going to let her go,

Part One of this book is all about Jessica's abduction and the time she is held captive, Part Two of the book deals with the aftermath,

Part One just blew me away, . just when you think Dominic couldn't get any more evil or manipulative, he'd pull a rabbit out of his hat and do something so vile, it would make you want to put the book down.
. . but like looking at an accident on the side of the road, you have to keep reading,

There are so many twists and turns and surprises, . . much like the Energizer Bunny, they just keep coming and coming and coming,

This had so much potential to be an outstanding book, . . and it was for the most part, There was one glaring fault but I remain silent so I don't give anything away, Reading through many reviews, I do not see this mentioned anywhere, So I will leave it for other readers to see if they can see what I did,

Except for this one area, it was wellwritten, I can't say I liked any of the characters at all, from the victim, to her boyfriend, to her abductor, to her family, to the cops who were investigating.


Many thanks to the author / Pegasus Books / Netgalley, The opinion expressed here is unbiased and entirely my own,
There was something about the blurb for this book that grabbed my attention, Maybe it was that I had never read a Christmas thriller before or it could be that it sounded so intriguing, Either way, it turns out, it wasnt exactly what I had hoped for,

The opening was strong, I was captivated. Excited. Curious. What could possibly make a woman go home with a man she just met especially when she has a boyfriend at home Granted the man resembled Bradley Cooper and made the requisite declaration “Im not some crazed axemurder, I promise.
” but still. What did she think was going to happen when she agreed to go back to his place for a drink I guess maybe there was a teeny tiny part of me that could accept this odd duck hunting for a little excitement in her life.
Even in the face of stranger danger,

“What I was after was an experience, a memory I could store in tissue paper and take out every now and then in years to come when no one was around.
”

What she ended up with was way more than a glass of wine, but wasnt that kind of obvious Or was it What appears to be a captive woman, forced to spend twelve days of Christmas with a crazed stranger, morphs into something else entirely.
Its an unexpected twist Ill give the author that, but my attention had kind of waned by that point, I just wasnt feeling it, if Im being honest,

Somewhere among the gift giving and the pseudo psycho pillow talk, I got lost, Lost in the monotony and humdrum tone of the story, It was flat and kind of unexciting my mind was wandering and the page countdown had begun, I struggled to find a connection with any of the characters Jessica, Dominic or even Kim,

While I wont say this was horrible or totally unenjoyable, I cant say that it was spectacular either, It was somewhere smack in the middle for me,

Thank you to Pegasus Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review, I have a feeling thatwill be a good year for the psychological thriller category, I have already read some real winners so far, Let's toss this one into that box of goodies, This is the Christmas you don't want to have unless you are really messed up or lunch with your MotherInLaw is a worse option.


I am missing, Held captive by a blueeyed stranger, To mark the twelve days of Christmas, he gives me a gift every day, each more horrible than the last, The twelfth day is getting closer, After that, there'll be no more Christmas cheer for me, No mince pies, no carols, No way out.

But I have a secret, Noone has guessed it. Will you

Indeed, will you

Meet Jessica Gold, Out Christmas shopping alone one day, Festive atmosphere all around. Decides to stop to warm up with a coffee in a coffee shop, Talks to a handsome man called Dominic, Accepts an invite to go back to his place, Big, big mistake.

Dominic and Jessica play a game, a dark game, Dominic gives Jessica a gift for each of the twelve days of Christmas, but these are not nice presents and the whole first half of the book messes with your head.


The pace is super, the plot is tight and really very interesting, Dominic is manipulative and evil, he has no remorse and Jessica is trapped in his apartment caught in his web, But why

The second half of the book has a whole different focus and I am not going to share what it is at it will honestly spoil the fun for you.
I have to admit the twists and turns were so many and so sharp in the latter half of the book that my brain started to need breaks, to process what had just happened.
It's very clever twisting and turning, I wanted to love the last half of the book but have to say personally I preferred the focus of the first,

By the end you realise you have been caught up in one hell of a journey and Tammy Cohen has taken you on a roller coaster ride filled with magic mirrors, false walls and a maze or two until you are spat out the other end.
Read it whilst fully alert,stars.

I received an ARC of this book thanks to the publisher in exchange for an honest review, many thanks.
Words: Christmas, kidnap, deceit, revenge, torture,

Wow. This book.

Talk about an unreliable narrator!

I loved Jessica, I loved how when I got to the end of part one, I could have happily put the book down, But that second half It blew my mind,

Now, I love Christmas, And I love crime. But I've never really read a good mix of the two, despite a yearonyear search, That was until I picked up this gem, Honestly I didn't even read the blurb, If I had though, I would still have picked it up, because this book is right up my street, I only picked it up because of the mix of genres and the stunning cover,

This is a book that makes you stop and think, It messes with your head, As much as Dominic messes with Jessica in the first half of the book, sitelinkTammy Cohen messes with yours all through the second half.
And it's brilliant.

I'd love to read more about Kim she might not have been the main character, but I love, love, LOVED her story and really want to know how it all ended for her.


This isn't a book about the warm, fuzzy Christmas feels, But it is still a book about family and relationships and how they are particularly poignant and tense during the festive season, This deserves more thanfrom me, I just kept reading, reading and reading,

In my own words, you get this young girl whose been Christmas shopping, she gets talking to this guy or should I say, this guy gets talking to her.


The only downside that I couldn't fathom out was why she allowed herself to go back to his apartment as she seemed like a young lady that had her head screwed on right.
. .
that later unravels, so don't be put off by that bit,


This story gets inside your head, the trauma this that Jessica goes through whilst captive in his home is so well written you find yourself taking every step of the way with her, at least, I did.


I don't want to give anything away, so I am trying not to allow myself a long review on this one.
. .

This book really messes with your mind because, after all the discoveries she makes leading up to thedays of Christmas is awesome.
Horrible awesome at times!

I can't really say anymore without giving the game away, but the book is not how it looks because the BIG HUGE GIGANTIC turnaround at the end of the book leaves your staggering off your seat.
I tell you, I didn't see that coming, and if you do, then you are a better person than me because for me, this author Tammy Cohen has done a remarkable job on this one and kept me glued to the pages for hours.


I challenge you not to like something about this book,


I would love to thank the publishers Random House UK, Transworld Publishers who I have free access to for allowing me to read and review this via Net Galley.
stars
Goodness, when I started this book I never expected it to have more little twists than a corkscrew! There are some twisted characters as well, but I can't really say much without spoiling the story.

The blurb on the front says "Misery meets Gone Girl, " I'm okay with that description,
A creepy, twisted little tale that takes place during the Christmas season, This is a dark psychological thriller,

It is written in two main parts, The first covers Jessica's traumatic ordeal at the hands of a very creepy and disturbed Dominic, This part feels very claustrophobic, but is also very interesting as you learn about Dominics awful past through the daily gifts he gives to Jessica.


Heres a little insight into the way Dominics mind works:

“In the end it came down to this, What is worth more,

the pain of losing someone I loved, or the pleasure of inflicting pain on the people I hated”

As part one comes to a close, you're left feeling that the story could almost end there.
However, the author has other ideas, and would rather play with your mind in part two, Just when you think youve got the story straight, something else happens to throw you completely off course,

This is a very cleverly put together plot, that has so many twists and turns you wont remember what direction youre going in.
I did predict a couple of the outcomes in advance, but it still had me guessing at other times, and generally not trusting my own predictions.


As for the very last lines of the story, I don't know what to say or think, I think I may have been hallucinating by that stage, and imagined them.
Please tell me I imagined them,

On a lighter note, I did love Jessicas fear of buttons, I sell novelty buttons for a living, so reading “The small ones are scarier” did make me giggle,

Im very impressed by this novel, and would definitely consider reading more by this author,

I would like to thank the publisher, Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for allowing me a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

.