
The Christmas Guest
A Novella
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Narrated by:
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Esther Wane
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By:
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Peter Swanson
About this listen
“Delicious…I defy you to stop reading The Christmas Guest once you begin.”—New York Times Book Review
New York Times bestselling author Peter Swanson pens a spectacularly spine-chilling novella in which an American art student in London is invited to join a classmate for the holidays at Starvewood Hall, her family’s Cotswold manor house. But behind the holly and pine boughs, secrets are about to unravel, revealing this seemingly charming English village’s grim history.
Ashley Smith, an American art student in London for her junior year, was planning on spending Christmas alone, but a last-minute invitation from fellow student Emma Chapman brings her to Starvewood Hall, country residence of the Chapman family. The Cotswold manor house, festooned in pine boughs and crammed with guests for Christmas week, is a dream come true for Ashley. She is mesmerized by the cozy, firelit house, the large family, and the charming village of Clevemoor, but also by Adam Chapman, Emma’s aloof and handsome brother.
But Adam is being investigated by the local police over the recent brutal slaying of a girl from the village, and there is a mysterious stranger who haunts the woodland path between Starvewood Hall and the local pub. Ashley begins to wonder what kind of story she is actually inhabiting. Is she in a grand romance? A gothic tale? Or has she wandered into something far more sinister and terrifying than she’d ever imagined?
Over thirty years later the events of that horrific week are revisited, along with a diary from that time. What began in a small English village in 1989 reaches its ghostly conclusion in modern-day New York, many Christmas seasons later.
©2023 Peter Swanson (P)2023 HarperCollins PublishersListeners also enjoyed...
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Story
On an ordinary Friday evening at his favorite Boston tavern, George Foss's comfortable, predictable life is shattered when a beautiful woman sits down at the bar, a woman who vanished without a trace twenty years ago. Liana Dector isn't just an ex-girlfriend, the first love George couldn't quite forget. She's also a dangerous enigma and quite possibly a cold-blooded killer wanted by the police. Suddenly, she's back - and she needs George's help. Ruthless men believe she stole some money…and they will do whatever it takes to get it back.
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Can't get past the narration
- By S on 04-19-15
By: Peter Swanson
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The Twelve Days of Murder
- By: Andreina Cordani
- Narrated by: Ella Lynch
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Twelve years ago, eight friends ran an exclusive group at university: the Masquerade Murder Society. The mysteries they solved may have been grisly, and brilliantly staged, but they were always fictional—until their final Christmas Masquerade, when one of the group disappeared, never to be seen again. Now our privileged young cast of old university friends are summoned to the depths of Scotland for a Christmas-themed masquerade party. But all are hiding something deep below the surface that could make or break their careers.
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Whodunnit Holiday
- By LadyGray on 11-14-23
By: Andreina Cordani
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Her Every Fear
- A Novel
- By: Peter Swanson
- Narrated by: Eva Kaminsky
- Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Growing up, Kate Priddy was always a bit neurotic, experiencing momentary bouts of anxiety that exploded into full-blown panic attacks after an ex-boyfriend kidnapped her and nearly ended her life. When Corbin Dell, a distant cousin in Boston, suggests the two temporarily swap apartments, Kate, an art student in London, agrees, hoping that time away in a new place will help her overcome the recent wreckage of her life. But soon after her arrival at Corbin's grand apartment on Beacon Hill, Kate makes a shocking discovery.
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Sometimes the Narrator Elevates the Story
- By Bette on 01-27-17
By: Peter Swanson
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Murder on the Christmas Express
- By: Alexandra Benedict
- Narrated by: Mhairi Morrison
- Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Recently retired Met Detective Roz Parker boards the Christmas Eve sleeper to head home for the holidays, anxious and dreading her new role as grandmother upon arrival. Violently thrown from her thoughts when the train derails, Roz finds herself stranded on the snowy tracks, where she finds a fellow passenger suspiciously murdered in a locked cabin. With the train stuck in snow in the middle of nowhere, a killer stalks its carriages, picking off passengers one by one.
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Not as advertised
- By wisconsinclark on 12-10-23
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A Christmas Murder
- By: Mary Grand
- Narrated by: Karen Cass
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Susan didn’t plan on being an amateur sleuth and, after two successful investigations, she’s looking forward to a quiet Christmas. So, when local businesswoman Meera is in desperate need of help, Susan agrees rather reluctantly. The task should be easy enough. The infamous press mogul Duncan Fern is coming back to the Isle of Wight, the scene of his family’s childhood holidays, to celebrate Christmas with his grown-up children and their partners, his new glamorous wife Kirsten who is forever dripping with diamonds, and the spikey editor of his paper the Morning Flame, Antoine.
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It was ok
- By wisconsinclark on 11-30-24
By: Mary Grand
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Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone
- A Novel
- By: Benjamin Stevenson
- Narrated by: Barton Welch
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Everyone in my family has killed someone. Some of us, the high achievers, have killed more than once. I’m not trying to be dramatic, but it is the truth. Some of us are good, others are bad, and some just unfortunate. I’m Ernest Cunningham. Call me Ern or Ernie. I wish I’d killed whoever decided our family reunion should be at a ski resort, but it’s a little more complicated than that.
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Good book
- By Wowhite on 09-05-23
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Last Christmas
- By: Maria Frankland
- Narrated by: Shayna Armond
- Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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As I walk into the pine-scented air of my seaside childhood home, gripping my husband Neil’s hand tight, I have a brief moment of hope. Maybe this Christmas will be different — for once my family might get on fueled by mulled wine and festive cheer. But the sound of happy carols are replaced by my older sister Christy’s over-loud laugh and slurred words. Rebecca, my younger sister, stalks out of the room as soon as I enter, as though I’m the Grinch here to steal Christmas. And their husbands, brash and arrogant, slap Neil’s back in a way that promises torment rather than welcome.
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Page turner
- By Jodi Reau on 12-24-24
By: Maria Frankland
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Twice on Christmas
- By: McGarvey Black
- Narrated by: Emily Sutton-Smith
- Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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A nail-biting psychological thriller with one of the biggest twists you'll hear this year. After choir practice for midnight mass, college sophomore Rose Grandon takes a shortcut through Harbor Park. Grabbed from behind, she is violently assaulted, beaten, and left for dead. The last thing she hears is someone singing Silent Night. Several hours later, the police find Rose lying in a ditch. Badly beaten—but alive. As she recovers in hospital, Rose is told she's pregnant. She has a terrible choice to make. She decides to keep the baby.
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Will not be on my Christmas list!
- By MA Reviewer on 08-29-24
By: McGarvey Black
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The Christmas Party
- The Bailey Family Psychological Thrillers Series, Book 1
- By: Mikayla Davids
- Narrated by: Esther Wane, Rachael Beresford, Stewart Crank
- Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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On a dark and stormy December night, my family are gathered at an isolated hotel in the English countryside. We're reuniting for the first time since the accident that shattered our lives ten years ago. It's a time for love and forgiveness. But more than one guest has an ulterior motive. As the clock strikes midnight, one member of our party is found dead at the foot of the grand marble staircase. Everyone is a suspect. But which one of us is a killer?
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Took a while to get into!
- By Mandy Riddle on 01-07-25
By: Mikayla Davids
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Murder After Christmas
- By: Rupert Latimer
- Narrated by: Kris Dyer
- Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Uncle Willie has come to stay with the Redpaths for the holidays. It is just their luck for him to be found dead the morning after Christmas day, dressed in his Santa Claus costume, seemingly poisoned by his favourite chocolates. Or was there something sinister in the mince pies? If so, was it the ones stashed in his room or those sent to him mysteriously by post? More importantly, since his will was recently redrafted, who stands to gain by this unseasonable crime?
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Clever and Twisty
- By Carissa B on 01-25-22
By: Rupert Latimer
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Nine Lives
- A Novel
- By: Peter Swanson
- Narrated by: Jacques Roy, Mark Bramhall
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Nine strangers receive a list with their names on it in the mail. Nothing else, just a list of names on a single sheet of paper. None of the nine people know or have ever met the others on the list. They dismiss it as junk mail, a fluke—until very, very bad things begin happening to people on the list. First, a well-liked old man is drowned on a beach in the small town of Kennewick, Maine. Then, a father is shot in the back while running through his quiet neighborhood in suburban Massachusetts. A frightening pattern is emerging, but what do these nine people have in common?
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Very Very Good!!!!
- By shelley on 03-16-22
By: Peter Swanson
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Before She Knew Him
- A Novel
- By: Peter Swanson
- Narrated by: Sophie Amoss, Graham Halstead
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Hen and her husband, Lloyd, have settled into a quiet life in a new house outside of Boston, Massachusetts. Hen (short for Henrietta) is an illustrator and works out of a studio nearby and has found the right meds to control her bipolar disorder. Finally, she’s found some stability and peace. But when they meet the neighbors next door, that calm begins to erode as she spots a familiar object displayed on the husband’s office shelf. The sports trophy looks exactly like one that went missing from the home of a young man who was killed two years ago.
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Very Dark Psychological Thriller...
- By shelley on 03-09-19
By: Peter Swanson
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The Christmas Killer
- DI James Walker, Book 1
- By: Alex Pine
- Narrated by: Neet Mohan
- Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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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 - 12 days, 12 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 11 more victims to go, anyone could be next.... Can James stop the killer before they strike again?
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Not bad, not great
- By StL Reader on 03-19-21
By: Alex Pine
What listeners say about The Christmas Guest
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- ptr
- 10-24-23
Really Great
I love all of Peter Swanson's books. But this was a particularly juicy one. It's written in an old school style but with a little bit of the Peter Swanson vicious spin. Also a great narration.
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- Amazon Customer
- 12-11-23
Loved
I love a twisted Christmas story. Very fun and entertaining. It’s a quick one, but packs a lot in. Great performance.
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- Carol Goodman
- 11-04-23
Haunting Christmas Ghost Story
On the tradition of Christmas ghost stories, this is a haunting mystery with a satisfying twist!
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- ktauatl
- 10-19-23
Swanson does it again
I love his twists and his insight into the darkest onslaughts of the human psyche.
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- Val Benson
- 07-06-24
Odd, unexpected short read, still some good Swanson in there
Not my favorite. Pretty out of left field for my favorite author. Definitely not his best. But still gotta love his writing style, the plot twists, and his characters. I was happy to read it.
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- Katie Smith
- 11-30-23
Mediocre
The twist in this was interesting but that was about it. The writing felt like a man who does not understand young women. It contained so many stereotypes. The actual storyline made up 1/3 of the book and left out key details, while also adding in too many unnecessary details.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Shopper Mom
- 12-14-23
Great story; perfect length.
Peter Swanson has done it again; one of the best authors I’ve ever read!! Great plot!!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Greeny
- 10-18-23
My love for all things Christmas
Peter Swanson you are my favorite. Brilliant novella- I almost longed for it to be longer! Twists I didn’t see coming. I needed more of the story. Narration is top notch.
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- vjetrich
- 12-14-24
Eyjoyable
This was an enjoyable novella with a surprising twist. I would listen to another one written by this author.
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- K. G. Bates
- 12-23-23
Decent story, annoying performance
If I’d wanted to listen to pages being turned—over and over—I could have read the physical book. The constant turning and shuffling took this listener out of what could have been an engaging story. Did no one at Audible vet this before offering to us?
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4 people found this helpful