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Book Review: How to Slay at Christmas by Sarah Bonner @sarahbonner101 @theboldbookclub

How to Slay at Christmas
by Sarah Bonner

She’s making a list, she’s checking it twice…

Jessica Williams loves the food, the drink, the fairy lights, the opportunities to take out all the miserable people who ruin the festive season for others. And what better cover for her murderous intentions than taking a job as Mrs Claus at the Ellsbury Christmas Market grotto? After all, who would possibly think Mrs Claus could stab a man through the eye with a Phillips-head screwdriver?

Fearne Dixon hates Christmas. As the long-suffering wife of the Ellsbury Christmas Market’s manager, she’s sick to the back teeth of it and it’s still only November. But then the bodies start piling up, an old rival arrives back in her life, and Fearne reaches breaking point.

When the lives of the two women collide, who will end up on the Naughty List?

A brilliantly subversive, darkly funny crime thriller that fans of Katy Brent, CJ Skuse and Bella Mackie will devour.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Wow. Well that really does go to prove you can’t judge a book by its cover. She looks so prim and proper and then BAM! It’s all fairy porn and werewolf harems.

Not that I don’t like what I do. But it’s not exactly a respectable pastime is it? When people ask what you do for fun, it would be far easier if you could say you like reading or building Lego or whatever, rather than killing scrooges.

Spoiler alert: I’m still convinced I’m in my twenties and that fate is just playing some kind of cruel stunt on me by making me look like I’m mid-forties.

‘I don’t use TikTok.’ It was set up a few years ago when I was having a crisis of confidence about my writing career and thought I needed to do more myself. I vowed to post to TikTok every single day for three months to see what happened. I lasted four days before I ran out of content and lost the will to live. Sometimes I get an urge to try again and then I remind myself just how painful it was and have a large glass of wine instead.

I read something last year about how the average person consumes over six thousand calories on Christmas Day. I’m treating that as a challenge that I fully intend to beat.

My Review:

The name Sarah Bonner has become synonymous with the idea of smirk-worthy good fun to me. The little pea in my brain leaps for joy whenever I pick up one of her cleverly penned missives. I revel in her witty snark, wry humor, and snappy inner musings. I adored this tale; it kept me gleefully engaged from start to finish.

 

About the Author

Sarah grew up in Salisbury, dreaming of a career as a writer and performer. Instead, she became an accountant! After a fifteen-year career, she decided to answer her original calling and completed her first novel which was published in 2022.

Sarah lives in Devon with her husband and very spoiled rescue dog.