Twice on Christmas

I selected Twice on Christmas for the Monthly Key Word Reading Challenge. It is a psychological thriller by McGarvey Black and it was published in 2023. This is the second book of his that I have read and he is now one of my favorite authors.

The publisher's summary:

After choir practice for midnight mass, college sophomore Rose Grandon takes a short-cut through Harbor Park. Grabbed from behind, she is violently assaulted, beaten and left for dead. The last thing she hears is a tenor voice singing Silent Night. Several hours later, the police find Rose lying in a ditch. Badly beaten - but alive. As she recovers in hospital, Rose is told she's pregnant. She has a terrible choice to make. She decides to keep the baby. Nine months later, she gives birth to a beautiful baby girl. She names her Mary. Rose lives quietly in her small Connecticut hometown raising her daughter - the one good thing to come out of her horrible ordeal. She begins to get her old self back. But her evil attacker has never been caught. He strikes twice a year. Once on Christmas Eve, once on Christmas Day. And until he's behind bars, Rose and her baby can never be safe. But now he's found out he has a daughter. And that changes everything . . .

This story was incredibly fast paced. Each chapter ended with sky-high suspense that kept me reading from page 1 until the end in one sitting. The ending was shocking and I am still thinking about it several days after finishing my read.

The police investigation took place over fifteen years. There weren't a lot of clues to follow up on as the perpetrator only killed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. He also did not kill in the same state twice so local law enforcement initially did not connect the crimes. A FBI Agent figured out the connection but, still, there were not enough clues to determine the identity of the perp. For the first half of the book, the time period of the chapters was one year after the last chapter. The reader sees a new assault and murder in every chapter and this ratcheted up the suspense.

Rose stopped dating men after her attack. She began to have coffee dates with male family friends and two priests who served at her church after about 12 or 13 years. They all made her feel uncomfortable so she always stopped these casual dates. Her daughter had behavior issues but not with her new 3rd grade teacher, David Zeliga and a new priest in her parish, Thomas Villane. Mary was prone to hitting other children at school and drew horrifying pictures of stick figures attacking people with knives. The reader gets the feeling that these new folks in Rose's life could be the perp. The aha moment in law enforcement resolution of the crimes came toward the very end. I won't tell you what it is but I must admit that the author came up with a brilliant connection between the crimes.

Twice on Christmas is a scary story that sticks with you for days. I am rating it way over 5 out of 5 stars. You simply must read this book.