About this series
This Christmas, the hunters become the hunted…
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.
After hours of searching, the first body is found… Not frozen in the snow, but brutally murdered and bearing a warning: the real hunt has begun.
As a snowstorm descends, three lives hang in the balance. But can the killer be caught before the trail goes cold?
From the master of Christmas crime comes a thriller that will chill you to the bone this Winter, perfect for fans of James Patterson, Clare Mackintosh and anyone who prefers their mince pies with a side of murder.
Readers are gripped by The Night Before Christmas:‘This is by far the best book I've read all year. Top marks for storyline, pace and setting. Alex Pine always delivers a cracking Christmas treat. As far as I'm concerned the festive season would no longer be the same without a dose of Christmas crime in Cumbria!’ Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Such a breath of wintery fresh air to the thriller genre.’ Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘This is the kind of book where you say just one more chapter, and before you know it, you have finished it.’ Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘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 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘I raced through it this weekend. Such a smart idea: twisty, warped, credible, brilliantly plotted and compelling. Deserves to be such a hit.’ Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Loved this festive crime thriller. Gorgeous Lake District setting but with a very dark storyline. Excellent characters and fast paced.’ Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘A fast paced storyline with plenty of red herrings to keep you guessing how it will all come together.’ Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Definitely worth reading on a cold night, maybe as the snow falls outside.’ Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Titles in the series (4)
- The Christmas Killer
1
The most chilling read of the Christmas season. As the snow begins to fall, the body count begins to climb… DI James Walker is ready for a quiet family Christmas in the sleepy village of Kirkby Abbey. But when he opens an early Christmas present left on his doorstep, he soon realises it is no gift. Inside is a gruesome surprise, and a promise – twelve days, twelve murders. Not long after, the first body is found, half frozen in the snow. As the blizzards descend, panic spreads through the remote Cumbrian village – there’s a killer amongst them, and with eleven more victims to go, anyone could be next…. Can James stop the killer before they strike again? The first in a new series, Alex Pine has written a dark, atmospheric crime novel, set in a snowed-in Cumbrian village, for fans of Val McDermid, Ross Greenwood and LJ Ross.
- The Killer in the Snow
2
The first fall of snow can be fatal… A year has passed since DI James Walker cracked his biggest case yet, and he’s hoping for peace and quiet this festive season. But across the fells, a local farmer returns home on Christmas Eve to find footsteps in the fresh snow that lead down to his unused basement – and no footsteps leading away. Days later, his body is found, alongside those of his wife and daughter. Without a neighbour for miles, there are no witnesses and little evidence. And the crime scene has strange echoes of another terrible murder committed at the farmhouse, twenty years earlier… James knows that to catch this killer, he needs to solve a case that has long since gone cold… Perfect for fans of smash-hit TV series Whitehouse Farm, Simon McCleave’s The Snowdonia Killings and Catherine Cooper’s The Chalet. Readers love The Killer in the Snow: ‘I loved this book! It is dark, gritty and thrilling … It is fast-paced and has you hooked from the first few pages. I devoured this book in two sittings.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Dang! Now this was one heck of a story! If you want suspense, thrills and chills, then this is your book!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A chilling page turner’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘WOW! This book had me hooked from the first page, I didn’t want to put it down and this was one of the twistiest and most complicated murder cases I’ve ever read about.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Another fantastic book from Alex Pine!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I loved this book and enjoyed every minute of it. There were so many twists, turns and surprises on just about every page.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘DI James Walker is fast becoming a favourite of mine along with Alex Pine being one of my top authors.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- The Winter Killer
3
‘HELP! I am addicted to this series! Unputdownable’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Alex Pine has done it again! Another excellent crime thriller… I was hooked from the first page. Read it – you won’t be disappointed’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Absolutely gripping… I was on the edge of my seat’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Christmas has arrived in Cumbria, and wedding bells are ringing. But an ice-cold killer is waiting in the fells… As the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, DI James Walker receives a phone call that puts paid to his Christmas break. During the wedding of the year at a lakeside hotel, the bride’s sister has vanished. When Rachel left the wedding breakfast before her speech, newly-wed Libby was furious. But as the night went on with no sign of her maid-of-honour, Libby started to realise something was very, very wrong… Before the wedding night is out, the lake is being searched for a body. Something old, something new. One guest is a killer. The question is: who? The most chilling crime thriller you’ll read this winter, perfect for fans of Catherine Cooper’s The Chalet and Simon McCleave’s The Snowdonia Killings – and anyone who prefers their mince pies with a side of murder. Readers love DI James Walker: ‘A real page turner… I am now a firm follower of DI James Walker’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A fast-paced gripping read with plenty of twists and turns. This series just gets better and better!’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I loved every paragraph, every sentence and every word of this masterpiece! I was totally hooked’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Impossible to put down’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- The Night Before Christmas
4
This Christmas, the hunters become the hunted… 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. After hours of searching, the first body is found… Not frozen in the snow, but brutally murdered and bearing a warning: the real hunt has begun. As a snowstorm descends, three lives hang in the balance. But can the killer be caught before the trail goes cold? From the master of Christmas crime comes a thriller that will chill you to the bone this Winter, perfect for fans of James Patterson, Clare Mackintosh and anyone who prefers their mince pies with a side of murder. Readers are gripped by The Night Before Christmas: ‘This is by far the best book I've read all year. Top marks for storyline, pace and setting. Alex Pine always delivers a cracking Christmas treat. As far as I'm concerned the festive season would no longer be the same without a dose of Christmas crime in Cumbria!’ Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Such a breath of wintery fresh air to the thriller genre.’ Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘This is the kind of book where you say just one more chapter, and before you know it, you have finished it.’ Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘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 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I raced through it this weekend. Such a smart idea: twisty, warped, credible, brilliantly plotted and compelling. Deserves to be such a hit.’ Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Loved this festive crime thriller. Gorgeous Lake District setting but with a very dark storyline. Excellent characters and fast paced.’ Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A fast paced storyline with plenty of red herrings to keep you guessing how it will all come together.’ Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Definitely worth reading on a cold night, maybe as the snow falls outside.’ Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Alex Pine
Alex Pine was born and raised on a council estate in South London and left school at sixteen. Before long, he embarked on a career in journalism, which took him all over the world – many of the stories he covered were crime-related. Among his favourite hobbies are hiking and water-based activities, so he and his family have spent lots of holidays in the Lake District. He now lives with his wife on a marina close to the New Forest on the South Coast – providing him with the best of both worlds!
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Reviews for DI James Walker series
453 ratings1 review
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/53.75* Stars - This was a good book, it had an interesting plot and kept me entertained. The story had plenty of twists and turns, some of which were shocking and chilling. I did not want to put it down once I had started reading and finished it in two days.
However, the writing in certain places was not as finessed as it could be and there were some plot points that were a bit predictable. The big confrontation that was building up since book one ended up being pretty lacklustre and left me feeling a bit disappointed.
Aside from that, I had a fun time with this book and would be happy for more sequels.