The Gift: A Christmas Thriller Novelette
- Downloads：4044
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-12-06 08:21:36
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Freida McFadden
- ISBN：B0BNZZLKKX
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
It’s Christmas Eve and Stella Hansen is broke。
She is so broke that despite working two jobs， she can’t even afford a present for her husband on their first Christmas as man and wife。 But then a mysterious storekeeper at a pawn shop offers Stella an intriguing trade。
Stella wants more than anything to buy her husband the Christmas gift of his dreams。 But will it come at a terrible price？
She is so broke that despite working two jobs， she can’t even afford a present for her husband on their first Christmas as man and wife。 But then a mysterious storekeeper at a pawn shop offers Stella an intriguing trade。
Stella wants more than anything to buy her husband the Christmas gift of his dreams。 But will it come at a terrible price？
Reviews
Kim Z
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I enjoyed this short story！ There was one thing that annoyed me。 Was it their first Christmas as a married couple？ :::::sarcasm::::::: It was only repeated about 20 times。
Callie Andrews
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The GiftA short read， only took me about half an hour。 I enjoyed it for what it was but it would be better as a movie
Melissa
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Good quick readLove a good quick read that makes you say " YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME！" Freida NEVER disappoints！ Good quick readLove a good quick read that makes you say " YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME！" Freida NEVER disappoints！ 。。。more
SabiReads
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Short and sweet， that’s how I like it。 I still have no clue what a novelette is， but oh well。 Stella is in search of a perfect present for her husband…。 Well， things are not as they seem and she might get a different Christmas than she thinks she would。 Freida can write whatever she wants， I’ll read it。 This novelette is only 47 pages long， so I finished it in record time and it was worth it， I had fun！
Judy Collins
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Get into the festive spirit with a witty and wicked Christmas romcom thriller with a murderous twist—THE GIFT: A Christmas Thriller Novella。 Who better than Freida McFadden to spin a delicious domestic suspense novella？It is Christmas Eve， and Stella works at a diner， Stevies， in the Bronx。 She has worked double shifts and is ready to go home。She works two jobs （teacher and waitress） to make ends meet。 Her law student husband， Justin， left his job to concentrate on his studies。 She is the bread Get into the festive spirit with a witty and wicked Christmas romcom thriller with a murderous twist—THE GIFT: A Christmas Thriller Novella。 Who better than Freida McFadden to spin a delicious domestic suspense novella？It is Christmas Eve， and Stella works at a diner， Stevies， in the Bronx。 She has worked double shifts and is ready to go home。She works two jobs （teacher and waitress） to make ends meet。 Her law student husband， Justin， left his job to concentrate on his studies。 She is the breadwinner。 They have tons of student loans and no money for Christmas gifts。 This is their first Christmas as a married couple， and Stella wants it to be special and memorable。 Even though they have no money and barely keep the heat on and rent paid。 Justin texted to say he has something special for her， and they would open at midnight when she gets home。She purchased other gifts for her family at the dollar store， but she wanted something special for Justin， and now the time has run out。It is around 11 pm at the diner on Christmas Eve， cold and snowy。 It is time to close when she notices this creepy old lady in a booth。 No one has waited on her， and she looks dead。 The old lady overheard Stella and a co-worker's conversation about wanting a gift for her husband。 She hands her a business card and says to come by the shop， Helga's Attic。 She will find a present for her hubby。 Stella tells her she has no money， but Helga says they can work out a trade， perhaps。BTW: Stella has beautiful long blonde hair， and her best feature。It is snowing outside， and Stella walks to the shop on her way home， which is approaching midnight。 The shop is creepy， and the necklace from her aunt and uncle she was going to trade for a nice silver chain to go with Justin's pocket watch turns out to be worthless。Helga says there is one thing she can sacrifice for her husband for this special gift。Stella is unsure about this but then thinks Justin will appreciate the huge sacrifice she has made for him。 It can be something they can remember years later。 This is very personal。However， after the trade is made with the devil and she arrives home filled with anticipation knowing Justin will love the gift and excitement of what he got her。However， things turn out differently than she planned。 A nightmare！ Justin did not have the gift she expected， and his reaction to her gift was not what Stella had planned。 The night turns DEADLY。 After Christmas， Stella goes back to Helga with something else to trade。 Helga realizes then she has made a big mistake。 You must read to get all the layered juicy details。 The twist at the end is so good！ If all you want for Christmas is a little suspense， you got it。 With homemade cookies in the oven and hot chocolate in your mug， plenty goes on beneath the surface in this twisty， comic， short Christmas mystery novella。 If you love cozy holiday dark stories， you can be assured Frieda will make your Christmas an entertaining one。 Blog Review posted @ www。JudithDCollins。com @JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooksMy Rating: 5 Stars 🎁Pub Date: Dec 4， 2022 Dec 2022 Must-Read Books 。。。more
Siana Godwin
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It was OKAY， at first it was giving me The Gift of the Magi vibes… then there was the twist at the end。 It just wasn’t hands down great。
Christine L。 McLallen
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And who would've thought FM would give us a little Christmas Surprise？If you enjoy Freida McFadden's novels， you won't be disappointed with this novelette。 The story is familiar and you think you know what is going to happen， but in true Freida fashion there is a twist you can't see coming。 And who would've thought FM would give us a little Christmas Surprise？If you enjoy Freida McFadden's novels， you won't be disappointed with this novelette。 The story is familiar and you think you know what is going to happen， but in true Freida fashion there is a twist you can't see coming。 。。。more
Krista （Mrs K Book Reviews）
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Well this was a very Christmasy suspenseful story。 A definite must read。 I do feel bad for the main character though
Tasha Wood
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Managed to finish this book in less than 30 minutes， it was so easy to read。 It had a shocking twist right at the end。
Christina || ThrilledToRead ✨
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This was a super quick read with less than 50 pages。 Freida’s novelette gives you a short Christmas thriller， and though I’ve enjoyed the majority of what I’ve read by McFadden， this didn’t wow me。 Considering it only has a few pages， there wasn’t much room for crazy plot twists。
raven hall
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FantasticAs always Freida McFadden delivers a fantastic story with a twist！ I loved this short story！！！ And all McFadden fans will as well！！！ loved that it was a Christmas theme just in time for the up coming holidays！！！
Urvi
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4。5 stars
iris muller
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This book was quick but I loved every part of it。 I was not expecting the ending wow ！！
Sylvie Rochon
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The master of unexpected twists！ A short novella that will leave you stunned！ Stella is a newly married woman， working hard to make ends meet。 It's Christmas eve and she needs a present for her new husband。 She's broke！ What will she do？？？ Read this if you want to know！！！ The master of unexpected twists！ A short novella that will leave you stunned！ Stella is a newly married woman， working hard to make ends meet。 It's Christmas eve and she needs a present for her new husband。 She's broke！ What will she do？？？ Read this if you want to know！！！ 。。。more
Aaron Allen
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I need a whole stack of these short stories！ Such a great short story！！ I was unsure howFrieda was going to pull off a thriller in only 6 chapters。 But yet again， I was WRONG！ It was just as good as all of her other books！ Still just as compelling， page turning and throughly thought out as all the others。
Chelsey DiBacco
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Ironically， brilliant。
Lacey Wolfleg
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OMG。 Allllll the spooky holiday feels。 It’s giving desperation， it’s giving betrayal。 Such a fun quick read！ Loved this。 5/5 ❤️📚👏
Jay Thompson
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I'd just boarded a plane， and was scrolling around my phone one last time when I came across a posting from Frieda McFadden announced she'd just released a "novelette。"Perfect timing！ I downloaded an aptly named， The Gift， and started reading。As is typical with Freida McFadden's writing， I was immediately immersed in the story。 We meet the protagonist， newlywed server in a dinner， struggling financially， about to get off a late Christmas Eve shift。She meets a mysterious customer， who says she ca I'd just boarded a plane， and was scrolling around my phone one last time when I came across a posting from Frieda McFadden announced she'd just released a "novelette。"Perfect timing！ I downloaded an aptly named， The Gift， and started reading。As is typical with Freida McFadden's writing， I was immediately immersed in the story。 We meet the protagonist， newlywed server in a dinner， struggling financially， about to get off a late Christmas Eve shift。She meets a mysterious customer， who says she can help Stella find the perfect gift for her husband。 Basically broke， Stella negotiates an。。。 interesting。。。 trade。She knows her husband will be thrilled with the thoughtful gift。Of course he will。 Right？Maybe。 Maybe not。 With Frieda's books you just never know what will happen。-----This is a "novelette" or a "novella。" Whatever that means。 More than a short story， less than a novel。 I don't read many of these because they don't seem to get deep into a character or a plot。 The Gift， however， manages to do both。It's a quick read， I banged it on a one hour flight。 While the story most definitely has a beginning， middle， and a satisfying （dark and disturbing） end I sure wouldn't mind a follow up about what might happen the next day， and the next。。。I'm a McFan。 If you've ever read Freida's work， you've probably already bought/downloaded this。 If you haven't， buckle up， enjoy， and be prepared to binge a new author。 。。。more
Jo-Di
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crazy！！！This was a short story， that still managed to have a twist you don’t seem coming。 Frieda does it again。
Michele Anderson
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A nice modern twist on the short story the necklace。
Emily Nesdore
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Short， dark， and twisty！In true Freida fashion you don't expect the outcome of this novelette。 It's short， sweet， and unsettling。 The Gift checks all the boxes for love， lies， sacrifice， betrayal， and ulterior motive。 Freida has done it again！！ Short， dark， and twisty！In true Freida fashion you don't expect the outcome of this novelette。 It's short， sweet， and unsettling。 The Gift checks all the boxes for love， lies， sacrifice， betrayal， and ulterior motive。 Freida has done it again！！ 。。。more
Amy Lauren
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Not a huge fan of this one。 No real unexpected twist and a lot of repetition about Stella not having heat and wanting a great gift for her husband。 Everything was painstakingly over-explained in the epilogue and nothing was left to the reader to figure out or feel that disturbed， unsettled feeling you get when you figure out what’s really going on。 I love the rest of Freida McFadden’s books but this one just felt rushed。
Elya
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The perfect book for Christmas。 It has spooky and crime。 Another great book by Freida。
Erica Tosh
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