The Christmas Present

An absolutely addictive psychological thriller full of shocking twists

By: Lorna Dounaeva

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

There will be no escape this Christmas...

They’re out there again.

My heart pounds as I look out of the kitchen window.

For weeks now, they’ve been harassing us, vandalising our property and intimidating our children. It’s been relentless.

The police don’t take them seriously because they’re teenagers. But they don’t know what it’s like to live like this. Those girls are running rings around us, and it’s got to the point where they're there every time we leave the house, mocking us. Following wherever we go.

We’ve had as much as we can take.

So in the middle of the night, my husband Howard and I pack our family into the car, and set off for a secluded cottage in the snowy wilderness of the Scottish Highlands.

As Christmas morning dawns, the children are excited to begin the festivities. Our eldest daughter, Taylor reaches for her stocking, her eyes sparkling with excitement. But as she peers inside, her joyful expression morphs into one of sheer terror. Time freezes as we all stare in disbelief at the ominous object that falls from the wrapping paper and we realise that there’s no escape.

What do they want from us, and what will it take to make them stop?

AI ruined this book

I couldn’t feel any emotion from listening to
This god awful fake reader. No way of building up suspense or feeling anything. I really hope they get rid of this AI reading the books. This is the second time I’ve hated trying to get through a book with it.

Did not have this ending on my bingo card

If you like unpredictable and unsettling endings, this one is for you. The character development and story keeps you listening, though I am not a fan of the computer generated narration. It was hard to get past while listening, because it pauses in the wrong places. Overall entertaining, but left me quite surprised, and not in a good way.

missing

The transition between ch8 and ch9 doesnt flow well. its start out with mentioning a "he" and doesn't clarify who he is. Otherwise it's a good book and does have a sense of suspense to it.

Whole family psycho

It’s so difficult to see the “victim” fam in a good light. Not so fond of voices

Terrible!

The themes and family dynamics in this book were cringe. The characters in their relationships were unlikable. And the AI narration missed the mark completely.