Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret - (Ernest Cunningham Mysteries) by Benjamin Stevenson (Hardcover)

About the Book

"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. ... My 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"--

Book Synopsis

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 TECH

My 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?

A cozy holiday read Perfect for fans of winter mysteriesA delightful Christmas gift

Review Quotes

"Sparkling with wit and witticisms about the world of writers and writing, Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect offers a tip of the hat to the great Agatha Christie novel while at the same time being a modern reinvention of it. Leave it to Stevenson to make high-jinx and murder deviously good fun." - Nita Prose, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Maid and The Mystery Guest
"Fun and diverting, with a plethora of red herrings." - New York Times Book Review on Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect
"Another clever spoof of the mystery genre." - Washington Post on Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect
"Witty...Readers should find the ride on the Ghan well worth the price of the ticket." - Wall Street Journal on Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect
"An outstanding and exceptional mystery from start to finish . . . everything fans would hope for. It's a spectacular sequel, every twist and turn as fun and fiendish as the first novel." - Jane Harper on Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect
"Clever Christmas fun...a perfect stocking stuffer." - Anniston Star
"Ingenious...As usual, Stevenson hits the sweet spot between self-awareness and sincerity, never allowing the regular fourth-wall breaks to curdle into snark, and the resolution is hugely gratifying. Stevenson's hot streak shows no signs of cooling." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"The Cunningham meta-mysteries are absolutely delightful." - Booklist