The Winter Killer: The new and most chilling book yet in the gripping British detective crime fiction series you have to read this Christmas: Book 3 (DI James Walker series)

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As Christmas day arrives a photograph is received of the body of one of the four and the race is on to try and find this body and prevent the murder of the three other men. As in all good thrillers there are many suspects and twists to the plot and I enjoyed this book however it did not grip me as much as others that I have read in this genre. It will be interesting to see if DCI Walker takes up his new job offer and moves to pastures new. I will be reading the next book wherever he finds himself. I was desperate to get into this … I was not one bit disappointed. It was fast paced and exciting. I found it hard to put it down.’ Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

What I love most about Alex Pines books is that 1 I am always drawn in right from the start and 2 I never know what direction they will take me in. I had my suspicions throughout the book over who the murderer could be then right at the end there was a massive twist that through a grenade in my theory and I was completely stunned by this. This is book four in the DI James Walker series. The author starts off the book by introducing DI Walker and his team for those readers that may not be familiar with the previous books. Since DI Walker has moved to Cumbria there has been a murder every Christmas for him and his team to solve. This Christmas Eve is no different when he receives a call from Maria Payne that her husband Dylan and 3 friends have not returned from a hike they went on earlier that morning. She is not able to reach him and fears that he may be in trouble. The men have been friends for years.Thank you NetGalley and AVON/HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. for a copy of "The Night Before Christmas" in exchange for my honest review. In this chilling Christmas thriller set in the fells of Cumbria, the usual hunters become the hunted. On Christmas Eve, four trail hunters mysteriously vanish, prompting a frantic race against time to locate them before nightfall, when the plummeting temperatures could prove fatal. The search efforts yield a grim discovery: the first body is not merely frozen in the snow but brutally murdered, signaling that a sinister hunt has begun. As a snowstorm descends, the lives of three individuals hang precariously in the balance. The pressing question remains: can the killer be apprehended before the trail goes cold?

The Winter Killer is the 3rd in the DI James Walker series. At a New Year's Eve wedding the sister of the bride has gone missing and all available police are called to search the grounds of the hotel, the scene of the wedding. When her body is discovered, it is up to the team to find out how, why and who killed her.DI James Walker is looking forward to seeing in the New year with his wife and baby daughter, when he gets a call from DC Jessica Abbott who is attending a wedding at ‘The Fells’ a prestigious Hotel in Cumbria with her fiancé. The owner of the chain of hotels is getting married to Libby Elliot. Her Maid of honour, her sister Rachel has gone missing, when the investigate they find evidence of foul play on the pier. They have a pretty good idea that they will find her body in the Lake. DI Walker heads the investigation to find Rachel’s killer. She was not liked much by others. So, who disliked her that much to killer her and what is the motive for her death?

This novel is a marvellous read – the pacing is comfortable, it is well-plotted and the story is intriguing. This marks the fourth installment in the series, I missed out on the third book but I have read all of the other ones. I didn't feel like I missed anything by not reading the third book though. A digital ARC of this book was provided to me by NetGalley and Avon Book UK. The opinions are my own and freely given.I needed more. The story was often repetitive with the reader constantly reminded of the progression of events. And several of the twists, including the final reveal, were quite predictable. I also didn't see the point of the detective being so uncharacteristically worrying as it served no real purpose in the story. Let this trait hinder or compromise his investigation or, better yet, let it be an asset in solving the case. But were they just hiking? They have a history of fox hunting and it appears they take no notice of the legal ban. A very touchy subject the author is not shy at exploring. When four trail hunters go missing in the fells of Cumbria on Christmas Eve, the race is on to find them before nightfall – when the temperature plummets.