Humbug by Luciano Marano is a modern-day horror retelling of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. The story takes place on the mean streets of Seattle, Washington. A serial killer called Humbug has killed an entire family on Christmas for five years in a row. Stewart Caine is the detective on the case, nicknamed Scrooge because of his bad attitude toward the press on Christmas. This Christmas is going to be worse with Marley, his partner, dying on Christmas of last year. But don’t worry, he will see her again, along with 3 ghosts of serial killers past. This story is closest to the Bill Murray comedy Scrooged. They both take place in modern day, they both reference Charles Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol, and Danny Elfman’s dark score would fit for both. Humbug brings the horror with the ghosts. Ghosts are tortured souls that resemble an amalgamation of Clive Barker and Guillermo del Toro creatures. The serial killers all match Humbug as the case has remained unsolved, and he frequently taunts the press and the police. The descriptions of these killers that live in the shadows are very effective. Every glimpse brings a new horror. Marano has a way of describing and dialogue. The horror is Splatterpunk, where it lingers a little too long on the gore. Marano does have a way of describing the gore by only using one to two sentences. The Humbug killings are the worst. What he uses to wrap the gifts made me say “Awesome!” and “Gross!” Simultaneously. I did like the ending when Scrooge, the moody hard-boiled detective, wants to live again. It was funny to see those around him react to his change. The book is 70% horror and 30% mystery. The horror is great, while the mystery I felt was lacking. Who the killer turns out to be was okay, but the character is a little forgettable. But the mystery was over before it began. In a mystery, I like to think about what I’m seeing and come to a conclusion or take a guess. In Humbug, before I could think about anything, Scrooge solved it. Marano is not a mystery writer but a heck of a horror writer. Humbug by Luciano Marano was first published on December 2, 2025, by Crystal Lake Publishing.

Why did I read Humbug by Luciano Marano? The premise got me. Scrooge as a detective with Marley as his dead partner. Scrooge is visited by serial killers to stop a Christmas serial killer. This is my first ARC since joining the Crystal Lake Publishing Street Team. I love the show of support they are showing for their products and reviewers, too.

Plot Summary: Stewart Caine’s nickname is Scrooge because he hates Christmas so much. He misses his old partner, Marley, and his new partner, Bobby, gets on his nerves. He is also dreading Christmas because of Humbug, the serial killer, who kills an entire family every Christmas. And Scrooge still has no clue who the killer is. But his old partner, Marley, is going to send 3 ghosts to talk about the past, present, and future. These ghosts are scary, haunted, and all former unidentified serial killers. They will show him true terror to stop the Humbug killer.

What I Liked: The language of the story is very good. The metaphors were eerie but fit the story well. My favorite metaphor is: “The faint evidence of dawn could be seen backlighting the distant mountains beyond the city, like a thin red slash cut across the world.” The dialogue was good. The idea of merging A Christmas Carol with a serial killer story was great. The design of the haunted ghosts. Every one of the three ghosts had an aspect that I liked. My favorite was the Zodiac killer wrapped in newsprint from his headlines. I like what Marano did with the established characters like Bobby, for Bob Cratchett, the over-eager junior detective Scrooge treats like crap. And Tiny Tim, who is super skinny due to drugs. I did like the character of Belle, who has a good background, but I felt her character in the end was wasted. The gender swap on Marley was a good choice. The book length is the same as A Christmas Carol. Great cover art.

What I Disliked: The mystery aspect. I felt cheated out of a good mystery because the Killer does one thing, and Scrooge is like, That’s the killer, no doubt. As a reader, I want a chance to solve it. The way it was written felt like someone who had already read the story and knew the ending, and was going to wait for this one moment to be right. I felt cheated. The names were a bit much. I can feel Marano having fun with the names. Stewart Caine was named after two actors who have played Scrooge, and there is another character named Murray. If he had stopped there, I might have been fine. But there is a character named Drood named after Dickens’s last work. Plus, all of the characters from A Christmas Carol are taking on different names. I was left very distracted.

Recommendation: Humbug is a killer idea that is backed up by horrific images. Humbug reminded me of the film What A Wonderful Knife that retold What A Wonderful Life as a slasher. Marano is a fairly new author with a lot of promise. I think this story will scare the Dickens out of you. If you have Kindle Unlimited, Humbug is free, and if you do not, it is $3.99. I recommend my followers check Humbug out.

Rating: Humbug by Luciano Marano. I rated 3.5 out of 5 stars.