Like homemade eggnog with a bite of something stronger, this Christmas-themed thriller by William Bernhardt (best known for his legal thrillers set in Oklahoma City) introduces several thoroughly miserable characters destined to run afoul on Christmas Eve. Carl, an alcoholic ex-cop and ex-husband, rages against his former wife Bonnie and threatens to kill his 7-year-old son Tommy. The police still regard Carl as one of their own, and they won't listen to Bonnie's complaints of violence. Meanwhile, Megan McGee, a lawyer and ex-Episcopalian priest, is delivering Christmas cookies to the elderly, accompanied only by her unwanted roommate, a smelly and drooling bulldog named Jasper. By the time Bonnie catches up with Megan to get a restraining order on Carl, he has abducted Tommy and disappeared. Now, it's up to Megan to track Tommy down before Carl's bloody rantings become reality. The characters reveal more depth than anticipated from a holiday novel, and the chase is especially disturbing set against the backdrop of a quiet city celebrating peace on earth. For those who enjoy seasonal fiction, this fast-paced dose of Christmas thrills will provide a delicious escape after a busy shopping frenzy.


From Publishers Weekly
In a new twist in holiday fare, Bernhardt, better known for his Oklahoma-set courtroom thrillers (Blind Justice; Deadly Justice), fashions a suspenseful tale of domestic violence with a plot-worn spin on the usual villains. On Christmas Eve, Megan McGee, formerly a priest and now a lawyer (since the death of her mother in the Oklahoma City bombing) is handed what seems an open-and-shut case of spousal abuse. A hysterical woman applies for an emergency restraining order against her menacing, drunken ex-husband. Except that Carl, the ex, is a cop, and Bonnie, the attractive wife, is not as victimized as she seems. In a desperate measure, Carl kidnaps their boy, Tommy, and the threats and recriminations roll one after the other. Though Megan, with her ungainly English pug, Jasper, in tow, is an appealing character, Carl and Bonnie, by turns described as hopelessly evil or duped by each other, come off as one-dimensional caricatures of feuding ex-spouses. In fact, it's difficult to believe that folks in a holiday mood will want to read this sour tale of evil manipulation and forced uplift. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Kirkus Reviews
Midnight?it's the Black Voidthough Christmas is notorious for family rages. Here, Bernhardt, who usually writes legal thrillers about Oklahoma-based attorney Ben Kincaid (Naked Justice, 1997, etc.), focuses on Oklahoma City's own Carl Thomas, a big, violent, alcoholic cop suspended from active duty who's been divorced by his wife, Bonnie, and banned from seeing his son, Tommy. But on Christmas Eve a drunken Carl beats up Bonnie's new boyfriend, Frankie, splinters her front door, and slams his fist through its window. So Bonnie jams his fist upward, ``impaling it on a jagged piece of broken window glass. Pain coursed through Carl's arm, then his body, like the ripple of sheet lightning . . . .'' When Carl vows that he'll kill seven-year-old Tommy, rather than be parted from him, Bonnie goes to see lawyer Megan McGee for an emergency restraining order. So Carl picks Tommy up from school and takes him to Toys ``R'' Us for a Mighty Movin' Dino-Fighter before removing him from his mother's grasp. Bonnie really is evil, however, and has inveigled Frank into shooting Carl, who has a big trust fund coming to him at 40 and has willed it all to her. But, gosh, somebody has tried to kill Tommy with rat poison in his Chinese dinner. . . . Jolly Christmas fiction for the whole family. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Review
"IN A NEW TWIST IN HOLIDAY FARE, BERNHARDT . . . FASHIONS A SUSPENSEFUL TALE."
--Publishers Weekly


Review
"IN A NEW TWIST IN HOLIDAY FARE, BERNHARDT . . . FASHIONS A SUSPENSEFUL TALE."
--Publishers Weekly

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Thirtysomething lawyer Megan McGee is facing a quiet Christmas with her bulldog when Bonnie Cantrell, a battered wife, comes looking for legal protection from her violent ex-cop husband, Carl. In a recent bout of rage, Carl vowed to kill their seven-year-old son, Tommy, rather than be separated from the boy. It's no idle threat, either—as Bonnie assures Megan: "He's tried before."

And when Tommy's school unwittingly allows him to leave with his father, Carl gets his chance to try again. Now, with the town all but shut down for the holiday, Megan races against time—and terror—to keep Carl's Christmas Eve jaunt from turning into a slay ride.

FROM THE CRITICS

Toby Bromberg - Romantic Times