Happy Bloody Christmas was one of the most pleasant surprises I had in all of 2024. I was asked if I’d like to receive this book by the publisher and accepted as Christmas was coming up at the time and I thought it would be nice to have something festive to read. Little did I know I was going to read one of the most enjoyable books I’d read all year!
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Happy Bloody Christmas tells the story of Anna Johnson who wakes up after a Christmas party with a hangover and a dead Santa in her pantry. A massive inconvenience, she needs to get the body and the mess out of the house before the in-laws turn up in less than 24 hours. The whole book takes place over the span of one day and is one of the funniest books I’ve ever read.
Happy Bloody Christmas plot – 4.25/5
The plot of Happy Bloody Christmas is fairly simple – there’s a body in Anna’s house and she needs to tell enough people so she can get help but not too many that she’s considered the killer. When the bumbling police come round, Anna realises she’s going to have to do the real detective work and thus begins to work with her husband and hilarious best friend to find out who the killer could be.
Set over the span of just one day, this is one of the most festive and funny books I’ve ever read. It’s filled with typical British dark humour and typical British Christmas traditions. You’ve got wise-cracks about the dead body whilst the kids watch Chicken Run on the television. You’ve got the eldest son having a small beer whilst the best friend gets excited about the prospect of possibly being involved in a True Crime podcast or documentary – those sort of things.
The plot speeds along and I felt incredibly immersed the whole way through. Most of it takes place in or around the family home and this brings with it another load of festive-feels – along with the baking, the cold weather, the hot drinks and the board games that all signify it’s that time of the year. I loved it.
It’s not going to blow your mind and the actual “crime/thriller” aspect of the story isn’t all that good but when it’s all wrapped up in this hilarious, human package, it didn’t seem to matter at all.
Happy Bloody Christmas characters – 4.75/5
However, the standout thing for me in Happy Bloody Christmas were the characters. Our main character Anna, and many of the others around her too, all seem to have a relatively blaze response to the body in their pantry. Yes, there’s some initial shock and panic but this is quickly replaced by enjoyment from the best friend and excitement from the husband. The rise of the True Crime documentary and podcasts make this feel like a game to them which adds to the enjoyment.
I think I’ve mentioned a couple of times how I found this book funny. You can tell from the outset that Middleton has a good sense of humour and this feeds through to her characters. The dynamic between the three of them (Anna, her husband and the best friend) often had me physically chuckling to myself in the car as I listened to the audiobook – something I’ve very rarely done.
The warmth of the children and the dynamic between them and the parents gave me a very British family vibe and brought the whole ensemble together too.
And don’t get me started on the almost slap-stick police officers who reminded me of something out of Hot Fuzz in their clear and almost unbelievable unprofessionalness.
Happy Bloody Christmas final rating – 4.5/5
Happy Bloody Christmas was my shock read of the year. I received it hoping to simply read something a little festive and finished it wanting to desperately stay with this hilarious family and be involved in all of their future dramas. There were laugh-out-loud moments, a plot that’s engaging enough not to deter you and some of the best characters I’ve read in a crime/thriller book where nothing all that serious ever happens. I know Christmas is over now so you may want to wait until November or December to read it, but if you’re not bothered by that, I could not recommend Happy Bloody Christmas enough. Everybody I know who’s read this has also echoed my sentiment of its hilarity and enjoyment.
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