New Book Alert: A Kelly Society Christmas (The Kelly Society Book 2) by S.K. Andrews; Frightening Darkly Funny Horror Adventure for the Holidays
By Julie Sara Porter
Bookworm Reviews
Spoilers: S.K. Andrews' A Kelly Society Christmas is the type of holidays book for that person who foregoes Hallmark Rom Coms and classics like It's A Wonderful Life and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and goes straight for the Serial Killer Santa films (and might watch Die Hard or Gremlins but that's as far as Christmas cheer goes). Come on, you know who you are. It's just not the holiday season unless some supernatural demon from the pits of Hell terrorizes bad kids on Christmas Eve or an escaped convict dressed in a moth eaten Santa suit and carrying an ax threatens a family in a far off cabin. Weird but some people like that, I guess.
Anyway, A Kelly Society Christmas puts in the spotlight that cuddly adorable creature of Christmas tradition: Krampus.
Psychic and Paranormal Investigator, Vivien Kelly and her boyfriend, Neal, are resting from the events from the previous novel where Vivien defeated Dagda. They also discovered that they were Boudicca, the British Queen of the Iceni and the Roman general, Gaius Marcus Antonius, enemies turned lovers, in a shared former life. They are trying to celebrate Christmas and getting used to their reincarnated past when they are put into another supernatural mystery.
Their friends, young surfer dudes, Josh and Brian are pursued by Krampus from Central and Eastern Alpine folklore. Krampus is a horned dark spirit who accompanies Santa Claus or Saint Nicholas on December 5. While St. Nick delivers presents to good children, Krampus punishes bad children by putting them in a bag, beating them, and dragging them off to Hell.
In A Kelly Society Christmas, Krampus is present beyond his assigned day of December 5 and taking the concept of "bad children" a bit too far. So, Vivien and Neal are called to face another demon before they can actually have a good holiday.
A Kelly Society Christmas is a frightening book but at times there is a dark comic tone that keeps it from being too horrifying or graphic. Krampus' first arrival when he bursts through a cliff and scares the daylights out of Josh, Brian, and other beach goers is a bit of a shock. Also, the moments when the creepy Christmas demon possesses a usually good natured friend of Vivien and Neal's also carries a lot of subtle disturbing moments.
Unfortunately, Krampus wears out his welcome and becomes too much to take seriously. He is like a cartoon character and less of an actual threat especially when Vivien uses not magic, but a logical loophole to defeat him.
Much more intimidating is Krampus' mother Hel, the Teutonic goddess of the underworld. She is a much more intelligent presence who manipulates those around her. She claims that she is misunderstood and is actually a nice goddess. She even takes control over Krampus. Still she seems to have some dark undercurrents to her personality and her interactions with Vivien suggest more than she is saying.
There are some humorous moments that keep this from being too dark. Josh and Brian act like a comedy team even when they are chased by the Christmas heart of darkness. Many times, Vivien and her friends have to fight Krampus in public. Their claims that the fights are part of a show make for some humorous moments such as when gullible witnesses line up to watch "this dope" show and record it on their smartphones. While Krampus' defeat is kind of hokey, it is rather humorous to see this demonic figure getting dressed down by his irritated mother.
Vivien and Neal are the typical heroes that you find in these types of books, strong in magical powers, an ancient history, and plenty of chemistry. They have some cute moments especially when trying to maintain a sweet romantic Christmas together between end of the world threats.
A Kelly Society Christmas is a fun holiday novel if you want a good scary laugh.
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