Sierra Dean – Secret Santa

A Secret McQueen Novella, book 2,5 Published November 2011.



’Tis the season for ho-ho-homicide.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. The season for mistletoe, Christmas lights…and a killing spree. When Secret’s friend, Detective Mercedes Castilla, asks for help to solve a series of murders longer than a string of lights, Secret resigns herself to the fact her holidays will be anything but peaceful.
It seems someone is killing New Yorkers in an unusually gruesome way, and as the bodies pile up faster than presents under the tree, the police are no closer to finding the killer than Secret is to finding the perfect present for one of her boyfriends, Lucas.
Tracking down a monster in Manhattan the week before Christmas is almost as difficult as shopping for her ever-expanding collection of loved ones. When tragedy strikes close to home, Secret must do everything in her power to put an end to the horror in time for Santa to come down the chimney.

Warning: Contains a less than merry McQueen with a sword and a reason to use it; a festive new use for mistletoe; and a promise that will haunt Secret like the Ghost of Christmas Future.


Her new position in the Vampire Council is still uneasy for Secret McQueen. She is not allowed to hunt rogue vampires anymore, and frankly, she is bored and afraid of losing her skills. Even sparring with Holden is frowned upon.
In the boyfriend department, things are not going very smoothly either. Yes, she is happy with her boyfriend Desmond, who has moved in with her, and is supposed to be her bodyguard. Yes, supposed, as he is never around when she could need one. And he is never angry with her for leaving him behind, hmm. Does not really sound very alpha. Her other werewolf boyfriend, Lucas, the Wolf King, still has not gotten her in his bed. Secret is still uneasy with having multiple men in her life, even though the three of them are soulbonded. Secret is half vampire, and half werewolf, thanks to an unique occurrence to her pregnant mother. And then there is Holden, who used to be her boss/handler, and her friend. He wants more from her too, and there is this attraction between them, but Secret does not want to admit it. Vampires and werewolves usually don’t mix well, and her boyfriends and friends are no exception to that rule.

Luckily for her, her friend Mercedes, who is a Detective at the NYPD, asks for her help in solving a serial killer case. Some being is abducting and killing teens, leaving the grizly remnants in public places and at newspaper offices, and even the police station itself, creating a panic. Asking every source she has, Secret and Holden still have no clues who or what is killing those teens. And then, while Secret is visiting for the very first time with Desmond and his family (meeting his mother! What could be more horrible!) Desmond’s little sister goes missing. Luckily, at that moment, Nolan has finally found a connection between all the victims, and a clue what the creature could be. And so Holden and Secret set out on their own to find the missing teens before they have all been murdered.


A great story. And I can sympathize with Secret for not wanting multiple boyfriends to sleep with, and I admire her for that. But the choice of Desmond, he still comes over as weak when not at home together. No appearance of Lucas in this story, but Holden is there. I also missed the Oracle, she is a great character, and I am looking forward to learning more about her.

A little warning if you have a weak stomach: Sierra Dean certainly does not spare the grizzly details, and the atmosphere is sometimes really scary. And I am not a big fan of scary and spooky. Like in the previous book, I was asking myself if I wanted to read on, but I am happy I did finish the story.

This is a series I could reread.

9 stars.