Don't Be Home for Christmas

By: Richard Wickliffe

Narrated by: Jesse Fister

Kyle Colbert just wants to go home for Christmas. So, why does everyone suddenly want to kill him? Kyle savors his train commute from a hectic Manhattan job to his idyllic, small town. But as he arrives on Christmas Eve, his family tries to kill him. His neighbors and the entire community suddenly want him dead. He can’t flee to the authorities because even the FBI is in a deadly pursuit.

With a $1,000,000 reward for his “death or whereabouts”, he must stay alive long enough to solve the mystery and stop an even-greater tragedy.

The author's last thriller was optioned by 20th Century Fox. This action-thriller with humor is a short, fun listen.

©2019 Richard Wickliffe (P)2019 Richard Wickliffe

Very poor narration

The story line seems well thought out and entertaining, but the narration is difficult to get past. The narrators attempt to annunciate every word precisely make the reading very choppy and difficult to tolerate. It is like listening to a child who has just begun reading. If it weren’t for the poor narration, this might have been a good listen but unfortunately it turned into something else.

Decent story, narration was horrible!

The story/plot was good—pretty suspenseful. Highly recommend reading in paperback or on kindle because the narration was horrible.

Leave the holiday thrills to Wickliffe

Frank Sinatra’s “I’ll Be Home For Christmas (If Only in My Dreams)” is written from the perspective of a soldier off at war. The things he wishes for, the feelings he misses, he sings from the aching heart a beautiful song that has come to be synonymous with the season. Conversely, Bruce Willis’ “Die Hard” movie sparks debate about whether it is truly a Christmas movie or not (it is, by the way). So, combining the two, author Richard Wickliffe leaves us no doubts in his newest Christmas thriller. Giving readers a “Die Hard” – esque, suspenseful read, full of war on domestic terror, as this man just dreams of making it home for Christmas.

Wickliffe’s “Don’t Be Home For Christmas” is oddly intriguing as readers remain in the dark as to why Kyle is being hunted on Christmas Eve. Yet Wickliffe’s writing draws you in as the mundane, average characters are pulled into the action by the one-million-dollar reward. The chase is on as friends turn to enemies and strangers become ever more dangerous.

“The Purge” meets “Die Hard” in this Christmas thriller. A story where the stakes are high, and the masses are on the hunt. If saving New York means killing one man and receiving one million dollars then this Christmas season just got a whole lot merrier and brighter. Capitalizing on the magical time of year, Wickliffe portrays the poor souls working through the season, embracing the holiday pay, and struggling to make ends meet. As each new stranger is introduced, readers gain an understanding of their motivations and the lengths they will go to rid the world of perceived evil.

This ingenious plot brings a whole new meaning to dropping the ball as Kyle outruns those who hunt him. Leave the holiday thrills in Wickliffe’s hands, as a new Christmas classic has come to town.

Narration

The story wasn’t bad but the narrator kept it from being good. He was very stilted and I had a hard time getting past the pronunciation of certain words, such as wisemen for Wise Men.
The Wise Men scenario didn’t fit really well in the story when everything else was so technical

Surprisingly Good

Great little thriller right here, would’ve passed it by if it wasn’t for a recommendation of a friend. Really worth the listen. Some audiobooks have a *terrible* reader but this one was good. A+

Not a good story

I did not like this book at all. I am going to return it. It was not worth my time.

Disappointing

Even for a fun and silly action story, there were several plot points which stretched credulity to the point of distraction. Although the narrator was decent overall, there were several fairly common words that he did not seem to know how to pronounce, which was just odd.