Thriller

Review: I Saw Mummy Killing Santa Claus by Jessica Huntley

November 7, 2026

Synopsis:

Nick Winter hates Christmas. No, he doesn’t just hate it. He loathes it. Despises it. And all because he saw his mummy killing Santa Claus on Christmas Eve thirty years ago. Oh, and it was his dad dressed as Santa …

December is the worst time of year, but as a postman, Nick is forced to endure a mind-numbing amount of joy and festivities year in and year out. He sulks around, drinks too much, shouts at anyone who wishes him a ‘Merry Christmas!’ and don’t you dare offer him a mince pie or expect him to wear a Christmas jumper …

John, his best friend of twenty-odd years, has had enough. He’s a trained therapist, but Nick has refused his help every single year. But not this year. This year is going to be different.

John creates a 25 day advent countdown for Nick; a list of Christmas events, traditions and activities for him to complete to help him come to terms with his childhood trauma and finally enjoy the Christmas season. Maybe he’ll even find love and be happy for once …

As Nick struggles through each activity, ranging from decorating a Christmas tree to wearing a Santa hat, he learns a thing or two along the way, but it’s not always that simple to recover from such a violent past, is it?

Will Nick’s heart allow him to learn the true meaning of Christmas, or will he be forced to remain a Grinch for the rest of his life?

Review:

When Jessica announced this novella, I was eagerly waiting to hold it in my hands. Her self-published titles always feel a little darker, more morbid, and more unhinged to me, and I couldn’t have asked for a better example of that. This one felt so unique, different, and absolutely hilarious, and I cannot remember the last time I laughed this much throughout a book.

Nick is traumatised after witnessing his mother kill his father (who was dressed in a Santa costume) on Christmas Day. He avoids anything cheerful and even remotely related to the holiday season like the plague. His job, however, puts him right in the middle of it all, and the way he deals with it deserves a standing ovation. This is a man with a dislike of my liking, and his sarcasm resonated with me on a different level. When a friend tries one more time to help Nick overcome his trauma, it ends up becoming a story about dealing with the past and maybe not hating the season with quite so much passion anymore.
In between, we get glimpses of the horrible event that impacted Nick so deeply. It wouldn’t be one of Jessica’s books if she didn’t add a sprinkle of thrilling murder.

I did not expect to love this as much as I did, and if you love having a bit of a Grinch in your life, go pick this one up and enjoy the journey. I cannot fault a single thing about it. The trigger warnings by itself deserve an honorary mention. This was perfection 🙂

🌙 Recension: I Saw Mummy Killing Santa Claus by Jessica Huntley
📚 Genre: Christmas Thriller
📅 Release Date: November 29, 2026
📗 available in various formats – included in Kindle+
📱 Read as: Kindle
💸 I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
🗣️ Language: English
📆 Pages: 221
⭐️ 5/5