I’ve really only picked up thrillers this year, but Mikayla Davids is definitely becoming an auto buy author in the genre for me. Holiday reading, but not your Momma’s Hallmark movies.

About the Book

Buy Now or Read for Free on KindleUnlimited

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3SmiBIj
Amazon UK: https://amzn.eu/d/gZOkFDf
Goodreads: goodreads.com/book/show/63401729-the-christmas-holiday
Author Site: https://mikayladavids.wixsite.com/mikayladavidsbooks

The perfect holiday… or the perfect murder…

Alicia Silver is spending her first Christmas holiday with her handsome new husband Jack and his family in their remote, luxurious lodge in the snowy Irish mountains.

The Silver family are wealthy and beautiful, and Alicia is determined to live up to their high expectations for her marriage. But with the festivities in full swing, Alicia quickly discovers that behind their perfect image, her new in-laws are hiding plenty of secrets…

The gorgeous husband

The jealous sister-in-law

The glamorous step-mother

The controlling father-in-law

Before the holiday is over one of them will be dead.

Who would kill to protect their secret? And will Alicia survive this Christmas?

My Thoughts

This is almost like a cozy mystery in that there is a whole murder situation going on against the backdrop of an atmospheric, Christmas season. It’s like if you flipped on the Hallmark Mystery channel during the holidays and it wasn’t just more Christmas movies, but actual Christmas mysteries. But it wasn’t cozy. The Silver family was too dark and dysfunctional for that.

Davids ability to present that, bit by bit, is one of her many talents. She presents these beautiful, Rockefeller families, then slowly pulls back the layers to reveal secrets and horrors in every direction. Almost no one is innocent in her stories, even whoever has been murdered. She really pushes the edges of the idea of thrillers and murder mysteries, making you question your values. Because we don’t want to sympathize with killers, but their humanity is abundantly clear in her stories.

She writes great, distinct characters, who stand out. As she peels back those layers, the twists pile up. She’s one who frequently surprises me, which is exciting. I also really appreciate how she uses flashback scenes and multiple points of view. Both of these can create a rich storytelling experience when done correctly, and she has done this here.

I am so grateful to the author and Love Books Tours for including me in this tour, and I can’t wait to read more!

Who’s It For?

If you love a good, psychological family thriller filled with drama, this is a fantastic read for you. It’s full of lies, secrets, and twists. It will keep you guessing, and keep you turning pages well into the night!

Content Warning: Drug Abuse, Alcohol Abuse, Murder, Violence, Lying, Animal Cruelty, Dysfunctional Family, Controlling Spouse, and More.

About the Author

(From the Author)

I’ll let you into a little secret… Mikayla Davids isn’t my real name, it’s just the pen name I write under. I could be the person sitting opposite you on the train, furiously tapping away at a laptop, or the woman scribbling in a notebook on the table beside you in Starbucks. Everyone has their secrets. And this is mine.

But I will tell you I’ve lived and breathed fictional worlds all my life. I’ve been the child who spent hours in the library, the teenager who stayed up turning pages way into the night, the editor who poured every working hour into helping authors achieve their dreams of being published. Now I’m the secret writer.

I write psychological thrillers about family dramas, complicated relationships and ordinary moments that can suddenly turn into nightmares.

I hope you’ve been gripped and entertained by my novels.

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Published by Amorina Carlton. Award-winning American author, Amorina Carlton, is currently working on her first novel. You can find more about her published work and works in progress on the home page. She also serves as the PR/Marketing Lead for Ravens and Roses Publishing, and reviews books, mostly by other indie authors, here and on Bookstagram

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