In the shadow of the Angel of the North, as Christmas approaches, a dead body is awaiting DI Tom Stonem, posed with a child’s Christmas list in his pocket with the first item crossed off. Stonem has just been transferred to the area, but has to hit the ground running due to the victim being a local politician. And then a second victim is found, stabbed while wearing the second item on the list, a red party dress.

With a list of five items on the list, the killer clearly has three more victims in their sights – but soon it becomes clear that this is no simple serial killer…

Oops, running really short of time, so this’ll have to be a quick review. It’s the first book by Chris Frost, although Chris McDonald has written quite a few and they seem to be very similar people… No idea why the assumption of a pseudonym, but no reason why not, I guess.

It’s the first book featuring Stonem, and I was a little disappointed with the character. He starts off being incredibly normal with an incredibly normal team… and I really liked that. So many lead characters have major personality flaws, it made a really pleasant change. And then the cracks start to appear… it does work in the service of the book, but I was enjoying the “normal” vibe.

So, it’s a serial killer novel with decent characters, a slightly odd theme for the killer which does have a sensible reason behind it, but this is a police procedural, not a clued mystery. There’s a lot of telling – the killer is cornered when they strike, not because they’ve been deduced – but that’s the nature of the style of book. There’s a couple of decent twists, but the main one I felt was a little too telegraphed – but do bear in mind apparently I tend to spot these things… you might not.

Unfortunately, my main disappointment with the book wasn’t the book’s (or the author’s) fault. The ending reminded me of one of my favourite thrillers – and it made me want to read that book instead.

All in all, if you like police procedurals and serial killer books, this is worth checking out.

The Killer’s Christmas List is out now on ebook and paperback.