Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson Narrator: Barton Welch
Series: Ernest Cunningham #3
Published by Harper Audio on October 22, 2024
Source: Purchased
Genres: Mystery
Length: 5 hrs 2 mins
Pages: 175
Format: Audiobook
Purchase at Bookshop.org or Audible
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Benjamin Stevenson returns with a Christmas addition to his bestselling, “deviously good fun” (Nita Prose), Ernest Cunningham mysteries. Unwrap all the Christmas staples: presents, family, an impossible murder or two, and a deadly advent calendar of clues. If Knives Out and The Thursday Murder Club kissed under the mistletoe.
My name’s Ernest Cunningham. I used to be a fan of reading Golden Age murder mysteries, until I found myself with a haphazard career getting stuck in the middle of real-life ones. I’d hoped, this Christmas, that any self-respecting murderer would kick their feet up and take it easy over the holidays. I was wrong.
So here I am, backstage at the show of world-famous magician Rylan Blaze, whose benefactor has just been murdered. My suspects are all professional tricksters: masters of the art of misdirection.
THE MAGICIAN
THE ASSISTANT
THE EXECUTIVE
THE HYPNOTIST
THE IDENTICAL TWIN
THE COUNSELLOR
THE TECHMy clues are even more abstract: A suspect covered in blood, without a memory of how it got there. A murder committed without setting foot inside the room where it happens. And an advent calendar. Because, you know, it’s Christmas.
If I can see through the illusions, I know I can solve it.
After all, a good murder is just like a magic trick, isn’t it?
In this Christmas novella, which is the third book in the series, Ern once again finds himself on the case of a murder. This time the victim is the current partner of his ex-wife Erin. And of course Erin’s been arrested. Ern doesn’t think she’s guilty, but can he prove it?
I don’t usually like meta-fiction, but this series is an exception, mainly because it’s fun and funny and knows exactly how hard it’s trying. I listened to the audiobook which is the perfect way for me to read it. The story is told in the first person, which works super well for audiobooks. It’s like Ern, who is likable as always, is telling us how events unfolded and it even has some minor nods to the listener. The set-up goes along with the season – and the story- 24 chapters, one for each day leading up to Christmas, one for each door in an advent calendar.
The murders are clever and Ern makes sure you realize he’s following the rules, both of a mystery and of a Christmas special. They plot is complicated, in a good way, and the characters are well-developed even though this is a relatively shorter read. The plot moves along quickly and the reveal is tv worthy.
Overall, Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret is just a lot of fun. It does refer back to events in previous books, so I’m not sure if it would as a stand alone or not.
About Benjamin Stevenson
Benjamin Stevenson is an award-winning stand-up comedian and USA Today best-selling author. He is the author of the globally popular ‘Ernest Cunningham Mysteries’, including Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone, which is currently being adapted into a major HBO TV series, and Everyone on This Train is a Suspect. His books have sold over 750,000 copies in twenty-nine territories and have been nominated for eight ‘Book of the Year’ awards.
His latest mystery is Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret, which was released in October 2024.
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