Deck The Halls With Bodies
Deck the Halls with Bodies offers a countdown you won't forget. The season turns deadly when two bodies are discovered in a local nativity scene, kicking off a series of ritualized killings mirroring the story of redemption itself.
DI Maia Powell and Detective Rourke must decode the killer’s twisted logic before the holidays are over. With exactly 25 chapters, you can read one a day alongside your chocolate calendar—if your nerves can handle it—or devour the whole mystery at once.
- Maia Powell - Detective Inspector
- Rourke - Detective, Maia’s partner
- Paul - Deceased man
- Penny - Deceased woman
- Oakley - Paul and Penny’s son, 10
- Clint Donovan - Oakley’s social worker
- Stephen Bridges - Volunteer at Haven Recovery Center and Church of the Holy Shepard
- Lucy Bray - Clint’s protégé
- Maia finds two bodies placed in the town manger in place of Mary and Joseph.
- A silver rattle engraved with ‘forgiveness’ is found in the manger.
- Paul and Penny were former drug addicts who had been clean for six months, and recently regained custody of Oakley.
- The police immediately attempt to locate Oakley but are unsuccessful.
- A neighbor reports seeing someone near Paul and Penny’s flat at 2am, dressed as Santa Claus.
- Penny liked talking to Stephen when she and Paul were at the recovery center.
- Police find and question Stephen, then place him on a psychiatric hold for paranoid delusions.
- The next morning Powell and Rourke are called to a supermarket where there is a table set with a Christmas feast but instead of food, it’s body parts.
- On the table is a card that says ‘Feast of the forgiven’.
- Forensics identify the remains as Jason, Joanne, and Donald - three people recently released from prison for sexual offenses against minors
- The police check Stephen's communication logs since the police put him on a psych hold and see that Clint and Stephen had exchanged several phone calls.
- Powell and Rourke visit another scene, a Christmas tree in the woods decorated with body parts instead of ornaments and a head at the top of the tree.
- Police identify the bodies as Rodney and Christine, a married couple who lived 200 miles away.
- Rodney and Christine had an estranged son, Thomas, who left home at 18.
- Police learn that Thomas changed his name and is now Clint Donovan, Oakley’s case worker.
- Clint is arrest and Oakley is located in Clint's basement in a staged Christmas scene.
- Oakley says Clint came down dressed as Santa every morning, pretending it was Christmas.
- Police find a storage unit Clint was renting, containing a replica of the room where Oakley was held.
- They return to the station and learn that Clint killed himself.
- In the storage unit was a video where Clint talks about how he was ignored and unloved as a child so he became a social worker to help children but that the system is broken and doesn’t do enough to help children.
- A woman named Lucy steps into frame, and Clint says she will finish what he started.
- The police quickly locate Lucy attempting to perform a rebirth ceremony and take her into custody.
- Police find correspondence indicating that Stephen inspired Clint to do all this.
- Lucy was one of Clint’s first cases as a social worker.
- Maia is afraid that there are more protégés out there and that this isn’t over.
- On Boxing Day a man sets up a simple nativity scene in town with a card reading, ‘The light returns.’
Deck the Halls with Bodies by Danielle Fear is a great addition to the recent trend of advent-style books where you read one chapter a day to count down to Christmas. This book adds a layer of suspense to the season, blending thriller and horror elements in a way that feels fresh but still festive in a twisted sort of way.
At 157 pages with short chapters, it flies by, making it perfect for a quick daily read or a binge-read if you can’t wait to get to the end. This book was fast paced, yet I felt there was still decent character development which you usually don’t get in such a short book.
Overall, this is a great addition if you want something murdery for your holiday season. It’s fast, creepy, and satisfyingly grim. Highly recommend grabbing this if you want to spice up your December reading list with something that keeps you on the edge of your seat.
- Suicide
- Kidnapping
- Death
- Dismemberment
Publisher: Independently Published
ASIN: B0FYZCV5MR
Publication Date: November 25, 2025
Note: Details are for the original edition. Other formats, editions, and audiobook versions may be available.
