A Reader's Guide to Books and Reviews

Title: Secret Santa

Author: Andrew Shaffer

Genre: Horror, Humor, Holiday, Christmas, Paranormal, Folklore, German Culture, Novella, Mystery, Thriller, Fantasy, Adult

Date Started: December 6th, 2022

Date Finished: December 7th, 2022

Status: Finished

Rating: 4/5

Sypnosis: The Office meets Stephen King, dressed up in holiday tinsel, in this fun, festive, and frightening horror-comedy set during the horror publishing boom of the ’80s, by New York Times best-selling satirist Andrew Shaffer.

Out of work for months, Lussi Meyer is desperate to work anywhere in publishing. Prestigious Blackwood-Patterson isn’t the perfect fit, but a bizarre set of circumstances leads to her hire and a firm mandate: Lussi must find the next horror superstar to compete with Stephen King, Anne Rice, and Peter Straub. It’s the ’80s, after all, and horror is the hottest genre.

But as soon as she arrives, Lussi finds herself the target of her co-workers' mean-spirited pranks. The hazing reaches its peak during the company’s annual Secret Santa gift exchange, when Lussi receives a demonic-looking object that she recognizes but doesn't understand. Suddenly, her coworkers begin falling victim to a series of horrific accidents akin to a George Romero movie, and Lussi suspects that her gift is involved. With the help of her former author, the flamboyant Fabien Nightingale, Lussi must track down her anonymous Secret Santa and figure out the true meaning of the cursed object in her possession before it destroys the company—and her soul.

Review: Usually, it takes me a day or so to finish a novel, but I devoured this one in a few short hours. I was surprisingly enthralled by the story and loved the notion of an evil doll being somewhat behind all of it.

We meet Lussi, who is out of work and desperate to find her next big publishing company to be part of. The moment she arrived at Blackwood-Patterson, a prestigious publishing company she feels like there is something weird about the building. Even worse, when she meets Xavier Blackwood, he has already decided on taking someone else and shoos her away. But something changes and Xavier passes away. His son, Digby, now becomes the owner and hires Lussi to find the next big horror writer.

But strange things begin to happen. People start getting hurt by mere words and there is something really weird about the weird Santa gift she received.

I really enjoyed this book immensely. I haven't dipped my toes in horror since I was a teen but I wanted to try something different - a holiday horror that went along with the spirit of Yulemas. This book was a fun and easy read. There were moments of laughter and then there were moments of trying to figure out exactly why this was happening. It was a really fun ride and an enjoyable quick read for me.

By the way, I really don't see this book as really a horror novel but more of a mystery thriller. There are moments of horror but nothing that will make you squeamish. Otherwise, just enjoy it as it is - a holiday mystery/thriller that will keep you turning the page until the very end of the novel.