'Twas a Scary Christmas Night

A novella

Mary is leaving Bradley. She's done. But before she skips town, she attends a private Christmas party hosted by her friend's office. The game of the night: Yankee Swap. Only this game has a twist — some of the presents might kill you. As the attendees play the game, they're slowly killed off. Will Mary and her friends survive this horrific night? You'll enjoy this book that is "The Invitation" meets "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."

Ironically, this book may have been written by AI

If I had to describe 'Twas a Scary Christmas Night, it is in the vein of movies like The Invitation, Ready or Not, or Get Out. Mary does not know what she is going to do on Christmas. On all days, her boyfriend is called out of town at the last minute for a business trip. She thinks she might drown her sorrows in a night in front of the television, when she gets an invitation from her best friend to attend a company Christmas party. It is not long into the party when Mary realizes that the party's host has planned a most unusual and deadly White Elephant gift exchange.

Let's talk about the pros of this novella. One, 'Twas a Scary Christmas Night is chock full of Christmas atmosphere, from the decorations, to the Christmas music playing in the background, to the host's festive sweater. This is definitely a Christmas thriller that eventually leans into horror. Because it is a novella, 'Twas a Scary Christmas Night hits the ground running and maintains a quick pace. The novella never hits a lull. The stakes are high. This is a last man/last woman standing scenario.

Now, let's talk about the cons. Because this is a novella, obviously you don't get time to care about these characters, so their deaths don't have any emotional impact. Also, there are some odd grammatical errors that suggest that the author did not hire a professional editor to look over his work before he published it, or he used AI to write this novella or to, at least, complete an unfinished script, which is ironic, given what this story is really about.

That said, I still had a fun time with 'Twas a Scary Christmas Night. It delivers on its premise. It maintains a quick and tense pace. The body count is high, and the author does throw in some twists and turns to keep things interesting. If you are looking for a Christmas thriller that is horror adjacent and loaded with Christmas-y atmosphere, give 'Twas a Scary Christmas Night a try. Just read it on Kindle because virtual voices suck-again, especially given what this story is really about.