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A review by paulabrandon
Killer Christmas by John Hall
3.0
John Hall wrote a bunch of decent if unremarkable YA thrillers in the 90s - Homecoming Queen for the almighty Point imprint, and Dear Sister and The Cheerleaders for another publisher. Killer Christmas has a copyright date of 2017, but I am pretty certain this was written 20 years ago, ready to be published, probably right around the time the 90s teen horror craze practically died overnight, and unfortunately had to be stuck back in the bottom drawer of the desk.
The plot has Hope Novak fending off the attentions of ex-boyfriend Shane Culver, who she unknowingly started dating while he was still dating her best friend, Deirdre. Deirdre now hates her. Shane simply won't take no for an answer, displaying behaviour that would easily earn him a restraining order, but Hope simply shrugs her shoulders in frustration and keeps telling him to bugger off. But then Hope starts receiving threats, with Santa telling her she's a naughty girl for stealing boyfriends, and she's going to be punished...
This was fun, because it was set around the Christmas period, with the author at least trying to make the book feel as if it was set at Christmas (a lot of authors can't even get that bit right.) Also fun was the fact it indeed felt just like reading a 90s YA horror tale and its associated silliness and outdatedness. The girls talk about Shane all the time, and have bitchy attitudes towards girls they don't like. The mentions of iPods and DVDs were already out-of-date by 2017, and there's not an iPhone in sight. There's no way a girl today wouldn't get a restraining order pronto against Shane.
However, there's a fun sequence where Hope is chased by a Santa carrying an axe, and it builds to a terrifically cheesily entertaining climax, one of the better ones you'll see in this genre. Some quick light horror entertainment for Christmas Day, before all the relatives arrive and you're too full to move!
The plot has Hope Novak fending off the attentions of ex-boyfriend Shane Culver, who she unknowingly started dating while he was still dating her best friend, Deirdre. Deirdre now hates her. Shane simply won't take no for an answer, displaying behaviour that would easily earn him a restraining order, but Hope simply shrugs her shoulders in frustration and keeps telling him to bugger off. But then Hope starts receiving threats, with Santa telling her she's a naughty girl for stealing boyfriends, and she's going to be punished...
This was fun, because it was set around the Christmas period, with the author at least trying to make the book feel as if it was set at Christmas (a lot of authors can't even get that bit right.) Also fun was the fact it indeed felt just like reading a 90s YA horror tale and its associated silliness and outdatedness. The girls talk about Shane all the time, and have bitchy attitudes towards girls they don't like. The mentions of iPods and DVDs were already out-of-date by 2017, and there's not an iPhone in sight. There's no way a girl today wouldn't get a restraining order pronto against Shane.
However, there's a fun sequence where Hope is chased by a Santa carrying an axe, and it builds to a terrifically cheesily entertaining climax, one of the better ones you'll see in this genre. Some quick light horror entertainment for Christmas Day, before all the relatives arrive and you're too full to move!