Alex PineThe Night Before Christmas: The brand new and most chilling book yet in the bestselling British detective crime fiction series (DI James Walker series) (Book 4)

Another fine tale in the holiday murders by Pine, although I found it easier to suss out who the murderer was this time. Still a good, enjoyable read with plenty of suspects to eliminate.

This was my first Alex Pine book and I really enjoyed it. This is book four in the DI James Walker series. You don’t have to read the others to read this one. I have not read the other three and did not feel that I missed out or was confused by anything. The author does a good job recapping and making sure the reader understands the gist of what came before this book and that they reader has a firm grasp of the characters and story.This book starts off on Christmas Eve when DI Walker gets a call about four missing hunters and here starts a twisty mystery where everyone you meet is a suspect and you don’t know who to believe. DI Walker and his team are trying to unravel this mystery and race the clock on the blizzard weather.All in all this was a good whodunit with no shortage of suspects and motives. I was fully invested to see which one was going to win out. I did finally figure it out before the big reveal and I was right! The author did do a good job sprinkling in a few clues that you would pick up if you were paying attention to the little minute details.I did really enjoy this mystery and want to go back and read the first three in the series.Thank you to the publisher and author for this books and this review is my own honest opinion.

Alex Pine has another great read in his series of Christmas crimes. This one seemed a tad long but was still excellent reading. He is at the top of my list for crime writers.

Love me some Alex Pine. Sadly, this storyline was a debacle and repetitve. I got it, some anti fox hunters. First 3 books way better

Detective James Walker and his team are called upon to find 4 missing men that set off on a hike on Christmas Eve, with a blizzard fast approaching. Fast-paced, intriguing thriller. You won't want to put it down. A must read.

DCI James Walker is back! I look forward to this series each year. They are set at Christmas time but are not overly Christmas themed.On Christmas Eve, A worried wife contacts the police because her husband and three friends have failed to return from a trail hike. Upon arriving to the house the men left from the police find it has been vandalized significantly.Much of the book centers around the dispute between hunters and those who appose it. This isn't a subject that particularly interests me, at least not to the extremes that both sides took in this story. For that reason I liked this installment a little less than the previous three in the series. It was still a good story and kept me guessing as to who the culprit was until the end.I like the main characters and getting to know the co workers a little more with each book. I will look forward to the next Christmas time story from Alex Pine.

DCI James Walker just can't have a quiet Christmas with his wife and daughter! In this latest installment in the series (each one of which will be fine as a standalone), he's called out because four men have gone missing in the snow in Cumbria. They were supposed to be on a hike but it turns out there was something else going on. Now there's a creepy house, a lot of snow and the DCI and his team have a puzzle on their hands. I like this series for the genial Walker and for how Pine adds in the atmospherics of the region. And, of course for the mysteries. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. The setup for this might be a bit trope-y but it's a very good read.

Having read A Killer in the Snow, this one was a bit of a let down. Perhaps I could not get into the fox hunting debate but I felt as if a lot of time was spent on this angle. Not a bad read, just preferred his other books.

This is another in the series and carries the protagonist forward

I am a fan of this series of books and I’ve no idea how I missed that there was a fourth one, but I got there eventually!In the same way as the others, this is nicely written, not overly complicated, and it’s a comfortable read, so it will stand grabbing a few pages here and there, or sitting down and reading for a couple of uninterrupted hours. The scene is quickly set, filling in the developments since the end of book 3, and there’s a familiar believable quality, which is one of the reasons why I like these books so much. The plot is a good one and it does move along at a reasonable pace. For me, the descriptive writing is perfect, as you can picture the scenes without a mass of unnecessary graphic imagery that is only used for the shock aspect. There are a few twists and turns to keep you on your toes, and although I did work out the majority of the plot, I wasn’t 100% right in every aspect, and that does add to the overall enjoyment.I really hope that this series of books continues for a good while yet. Looking forward to the next DI James Walker outing.

Another gripping Christmas crime story from Alex Pine. DI Walker and his team are back, relentless, sleepless & exhausted as ever. It's a terrific read that keeps you guessing.

I have read all of these books and really enjoyed them. Yes it was very guessable but that didn't bother me too much. Irks, although small, heavily repeated words/phrases. Pool car, "presser", acid and various other horrible things in throats, chills/cold/adrenaline variously pumping/running etc up spines and down dales.I do like the snowy, feezing cold, bleak scenario. I do appreciate that it's a bit of a cliche but I really like it. I'm hoping there will be more but who knows?

This is the 4th year now I've had a wonderful Christmas murder to read. It's become a tradition for me to read a DI James Walker mystery in November and weirdly it helps me get in the festive spirit haha.This book was great again, another unique storyline and whilst I did work out bits of the whodunit I didn't quite work it out entirely and I enjoyed the journey of discovery. Plus a couple of red herrings caught me out too haha.