I was asked by NetGalley to review this

My first thought was families and Christmas - I know only too well the temptation luckily I have all of December off so family is a bit part.

Anyway this is really interesting whodunit and even although I read it on one of the hottest days in the summer - it was really entertaining with some really vile characters- each one makes this story really work.

Well written and due for publication October 9 2025

Olivia Weiss just has to get through one more Christmas holiday with her husband's obnoxious, but wealthy, family. Her dream of relocating to Australia is only weeks away - until family members start turning up dead.

With the tag line "Perfect for fans of The White Lotus, Knives Out and anyone who's ever wanted to strangle someone over Christmas lunch," I jumped at the chance to read 12 Ways To Kill Your Family At Christmas by Natasha Bache. This really is a cross between a murder mystery and an old-fashioned British comedy.

Olivia has married into a wealthy family, one who are filled with Christmas traditions. Olivia is hoping that this will be the final time she has to suffer them, along with her husband and teenage children, as the family is moving to Australia. She knows that the family looks down on her; she's spent the past eighteen years biting her tongue whenever they've had a dig at her, she only has to get through two more weeks of their constant sneering.

The setting has all the hallmarks of a traditional murder mystery: a large collection of nasty characters, a sprawling mansion, an inheritance, and a relative about to be released from prison. When one accidental death is quickly followed by another, I'd have been hightailing it out of the area, but a storm results in them being snowed in. As the body count continues to mount, it's obvious someone has murder on their mind, and the list of suspects is diminishing.

Eccentricity rules within the family; there is no likeable character among them. However, I did find Uncle Fergus hilarious; loud, crude, and drunk by breakfast time. With such an unpleasant group of people, you really don't have any sympathy for their demise; the big question is, who will be next? As the group is whittled down, I began to hazard a guess as to who the murderer might be, only for that person to become a victim! I was without a clue until the big reveal in this fun, festive read.

Perfect holiday book! Murder!! We all have these stressful times where we would like to see the back of our families. Finally someone wrote about it and did fantastic job. How festive and twisted. A must read for Christmas.

Who doesn’t love to laugh? I certainly do, and I can always appreciate a good dose of sarcasm and dark humor. That’s exactly why this book immediately caught my attention. The cover, the title, and the blurb all looked promising — and whether my expectations were met, you’ll find out right now. :)

Celebrating Christmas has never been one of my favorite activities, especially not with the in-laws. So I can definitely understand how Olivia feels, although I must admit mine were a lot kinder than hers. ;)

Not long after receiving as cold a welcome as the temperature outside, the first victim falls. Given the circumstances, it wouldn’t be unthinkable to classify it as an accident. But is it really?

One thing is certain: if you were a funeral director in this town, you’d be doing excellent business — because this wasn’t the last body that would need collecting…

What I particularly enjoyed about this book was that after each murder, the author gave the reader a glimpse into the killer’s thoughts, allowing us to see how everything had happened.

I must absolutely congratulate the author for keeping me in suspense almost until the very last page — I truly had no idea who was behind it all.

For me, this was a fantastic story that more than once put a smile on my face. I once heard that writing humor is one of the hardest things to do, which only proves the great talent of this author. 5 stars without a doubt.

Thank you.

a twist on the cosy festive books i usually read at this time of year. and one that im not regretting a second of going outside my norm for.
this book can be read at any time of year and had the same amount of fun with.
Olivia is only able to handle this Christmas with her husbands family because she knows this will be their last before the leave for Australia. little did she know how much other meanings that sentence or wish would have. because now she is stuck with them all and it seems someone is picking them off one by one. a toxic family and murder with lots to survive for and perhaps lots to kill for...
this was fun and entertaining and perfect fit for this genre.the characters are fantastic in your often dislike for them or how they behave and that is part of the delicious fun in reading about them and what they might get up to or what might happen amongst them. the mother in-law character!! oh my...
this book in crazy in the best way. its also clever and full of tension and suspense. the wit is dry and gorgeous and not sure what it says about me but i was smiling and laughing out louding way more than once.
how does a book titled this give me all the Christmas cheer or all kinds of cheer i need. but it does. its does it does it does. love it.
this was brilliant.
everyone needs to read this book. right now i think it could cheer up so many people. its just the escape we need from the real life madness of the world to the madness in this book.
give me more of this type and from this author any time.

4.5 stars

This review contains spoilers

This is one of the best murder mystery books I've read in ages, and the best Christmas murder mystery book I've ever read.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book from the very first page and couldn't put it down. I never knew what was going to happen next, and my guesses of who the killer was were always incorrect. It was so well written and well paced, a certified Christmas murder classic in the making
I also loved the red herring of the prologue not actually being the main character, Olivia. I spent the whole book on the edge of my seat, wondering who would want to frame her, and I never guessed who it actually was.

The only thing I didn't particularly like, which pushed this down to a 4.5 rather than a full 5 stars, is that I didn't find the reason behind all the murders entirely convincing; it felt a bit too far-fetched and anticlimactic after what was a brilliant twist.

This was so stupid. I kind of loved it. There wasn't really anything special about this book, but it was a fun time. Everyone was a terrible person, which is what I expected from the husband's snobby family. But the main character and her family also weren't great for the most part. Especially her son. Her daughter was probably the only decent one. I'd recommend this if you want a fun, ridiculous Christmas book.

Tongue in cheek hilarity, face paced and ironic the murders pile up as someone leaves comments throughout the book on how clever they're being getting away with it. Farcical and funny

12 Ways to Kill Your Family at Christmas by Natasha Bache is a darkly funny, clever, and delightfully twisted holiday thriller. I loved the sharp humor, suspenseful twists, and chaotic family dynamics that made the story both entertaining and unpredictable. I truly enjoyed this book and rated it five stars.

I have mixed feelings about this book. It is very well written and has you hooked from the beginning. I thoroughly enjoyed it - up to a point. Exactly until the killer is revealed. I think the character of the killer goes against not only the moral standards, but the rules of classical dramaturgy as well. So, I was disappointed with the end, to be honest.

Where do I even begin...?

I want to start off by saying that I went completely blind for this book. I had requested this arc a while ago, I didn't really remember what it was actually about when I picked it up, just that I was intrigued by the cover and title. And how nice of a surprise it was!

This book reminds me of And Then There Were None by the one and only Agatha Christie (it even references the book once). It has the same vibes -- people dying one after another, confined space (for the most part). It's mysterious, dark (there's dark humour in it, which I don't usually appreciate, but this time I found myself laughing so hard), funny and incredibly well-written.

I honestly couldn't put it down. I was so excited to leave work so I could finally continue reading. 😂 It really did keep me hung on it.

The prologue and the epilogue are the best parts. I can't say much without spoiling it for you, but the author did and amazing job (in the whole book, but mostly in these chapters).

(I'm always thinking about gifting this one to a friend on Christmas. 👀)

Rating: 4,25/5 stars.

This was more fun than I was expecting! Very much a Christmassy whodunnit murder mystery (think Knives Out) but the main narrator is snowed-in with her despicable in-laws!

I’m usually quite good at spotting clues, the anonymous confessions/journal entries slotted into the chapter beginnings were great at keeping me guessing and I thought I had pinpointed who was the culprit, but as the family members kept getting picked off I had to reevaluate things!

A cozy mystery filled with quirky characters, rustic country charm, and the twinkling magic of Christmas spirit. What a delight. Though things may not be as they appear. Get ready for a major change in direction.
Thankyou to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for the ARC. My review is given voluntarily
Olivia is the main protagonist and narrator of the book. She is not above entertaining murderous thoughts about her difficult in-laws. Is she the serial killer? What a deliciously original twist that would be.
Very quickly everyone, it seems, is an equally likely suspect. The son who has been disinherited, the wife who has been cheated on the evil twin granddaughters the grandson who has a dark side.
It could be any of them. The Weiss family are a dreadful bunch, but Olivia's sharp and irreverent commentary on them delivers the humour. The corpses pile up more and more quickly. Olivia's jokes becoming darker and darker.
I thought I had seen everything this genre had to offer but this was truly original. A great read.

12 Ways to Kill Your Family at Christmas is a darkly funny, twisty holiday thriller where chaos, secrets, and deadly intentions collide. Hilarious, shocking, and utterly addictive, it’s a Christmas read with a wicked twist.

"12 Ways to Kill Your Family at Christmas" by Natasha Bache is genuinely a gloriously entertaining and funny read. The victims are all members of the ghastly Weiss family. And I must confess that I cackled out loud at the various colourful murders.
Olivia, her husband and teenagers are enduring one final Christmas with her challenging in-laws. But strangely, there is a series of bizarre accidents. Well, the first deaths seems like accidents, but after three deaths, surely something else is going on? There's a murderer on the loose but just who that is, becomes a fun mystery to solve.
The perfect read at any time of the yet, but especially at Christmas.

12 Ways to Kill Your Family at Christmas
by Natasha Bache
Pub Date: Oct. 9, 2025
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
This was a short, enjoyable read for me. It kept me guessing. I will be looking for more books by Bache.
All Olivia wanted was one last miserable Christmas with her husband’s awful family before moving to Australia. She didn’t expect a murder.

Now the snow has cut them off and she’s stuck in a stately country house, with her increasingly deranged relatives and the rising suspicion that someone is picking them off one by one.

As the bodies pile up and the festive façade starts to crack, Olivia must survive the season, or, at the very least, get through lunch without anyone else choking on a sprout.

Sharp, smart and deliciously twisted, this is Christmas with all the trimmings: cold cuts, warm lies and at least one suspicious pudding.

A really enjoyable book. An easy, quick read that is fun. Bache plays with the reader giving what appear to be clues to the murderer then killing them off in the next chapter. As it was a quick read, less than 5 hours, I enjoyed over a couple of days so kept the momentum of the story. An ideal book to read on a long journey. I will definitely look out for more books by this author.

12 Ways to Kill your Family at Christmas is a delightful read that keeps you saying just one more chapter.

Delightful sounds strange when members of the family are dying one by one: murdered in fact.

Olivia and Miles and their two children have arrived at the country mansion to spend what will be their last family Christmas with extended family before they move to Australia.

If only they had know what would await them and how right they would be.

The atmosphere is perfect: heavy snowstorm, they are housebound and no help can arrive when the first victim has dies.

Natasha Bache does a great job of keeping you guessing, laughing when you really shouldn't and wondering who will be the next victim.

12 Ways to Kill Your Family at Christmas is a combination of Knives Out, Agatha Christie and so much more.

I highly recommend you grab your copy and be prepared to binge read the entire book in one sitting.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK\One More Chapter for the opportunity to read and review this delightful book.

We follow Olivia and her family as she prepares to spend one more Christmas with her in-laws before moving to Australia.

There are definite knives out vibes in this book so if you enjoyed the movie I think you’ll like this book. With some real Christmassy vibes made better with a good murder mystery, of not one or two characters but ten characters throughout the book.

The storyline is more humorous than dark and made for quite a fun read with a crew of unlikeable characters so you didn’t feel too bad when they were killed off.

I did feel like the ending was a little rushed though and there were a couple of sub-plots that could have been tied up better ( ghostwriter plot could have maybe had more substance?). But all in all it was a good Christmassy murder mystery with enough twists to keep you engaged.

This book is perfect for fans of cozy mysteries during the Christmas season. A family mansion and the members of the family being killed off one by one. Overall, the book is not bad, but for me, it was a bit predictable