A fabulously written story that was a pleasure to read. I would absolutely recommend this book, it was brilliant

I can't say I fully understand the trend of getting popular mystery writers to produce Christmas special novella (even when they've published a full-length novel that same year) where they manage to get out a good whodunnit, but with less of the bells and whistles. 'Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret' once again takes us to a remote location and sets it mystery in a theatre, where two deaths, seemingly unconnected, must be knotted together. Ernest Cunningham returns with a suitably festive story - though, it's an Australian Christmas, so I didn't feel quite as bad about reading it in September.

The mystery was interesting. I felt the explanation went on for a far too long - there was literally an entire page of just Ernest explaining the mystery, which whilst was necessary because of the situation, you're literally the writer, you can fix that way quicker - but I enjoyed the reading process. I do think a mystery like this needs the expanse of a full novel to be really enjoyable, but it'll be a nice addition to this growing sub-genre, especially for fans of the author.

Ernest Cunningham is back with another great detective story.
This time he wants to help his ex to clear her name after she woke to find herself covered in blood, and her partner dead downstairs.
She is the obvious suspect, but Ernest knows that she doesn't have it in her nature to do such an awful act.

I love the way this series of books is written, and I find the style of writing flows well.
I look forward to Ernest's next adventure!

I didn’t realise this was part of a series when I started reading it. I didn’t let it put me off though…
A clever, atmospheric quick and quirky read. It would have been nice to have had some of the backstory first (my own fault for not doing my research after being invited to read it!) but it was enjoyable and clever. I will be reading the others in the series now!

Unfortunately whilst I knew this author had written other books I didn't realise this was actually the third in the series. Therefore it did have quite a few plot points and spoilers linking to the previous book. Whilst I still understood the jist of most of them they did make it feel like this couldn't really be read as a standalone.

For a Christmas "holiday special" it felt very light on the festive elements, although the formatting with the advent calendar doors did help a little with that.

Having not read the previous two installments I wasn't sure how I felt about the main character breaking the 4th wall. At times it came across as a bit smug and childish.

I did however enjoy the bare bones of the plot. I liked the involvement of one of the characters being a magician and how some of the mysteries were solved and tied up. I also found some points very creative and fresh.

Overall this was a short and sweet mystery that had a great plot. I just wasn't a fan of the character work or writing style and am unsure if this "holiday special" has spurred me on to read other works by this author.

Another fun book from Benjamin Stevenson with all the usual fourth wall breaking we've come to expect. A good quick read which will make a great Christmas present.

This time there is magic in the air - well, conjuring tricks anyway - and naturally enough things don't go smoothly.. Ernest has a personal interest in this one as his ex-wife is involved. Is she innocent? Can he prove she's innocent? He can certainly find out whodunnit.

Excellent.

I wasn't sure about the writing style to start with. Once the first chapter was down though, I soon found the groove.

It is an excellent thriller. The novel maps out the 'whodunnit' clues against the countdown to Christmas. Often very funny, the writer paints a picture without overwhelming the storyline with excessive descriptions.

I would recommend this book to anyone at any time. A murder mystery is not just for Christmas.

A fun Christmas addition to this series of murder mysteries.

I really like the style of narration and Ernest as a detective/writer. The mix of poking fun at the genre whilst also adhering to it is really clever.

Absolutely loved the first in this series. Just think this genre isn’t really for me as a whole.

For people who love crime novels and murder mysteries I think these are great books. I just get a little bored with the similar format. It’s just not a genre I connect with, so I probably won’t read anymore of this series (if there are more). However, they’re definitely books I’d recommend to those who love this type of story!

Benjamin Stevenson strikes again with a witty Cluedo obsessed writing style. I love how old school the mystery aspect is with the “who done it” and I loved the theme around Christmas and magicians! I can’t say too much about this book but if you enjoyed the first 2 you will absolutely love this.
I wonder how it would be for people who haven’t read any of Ernest’s escapades so far?

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book!

I'll be honest. If Benjamin Stevenson wrote Ernest Cunningham's shopping list, I would read it.

I love the way this is structured, so if you were someone who had self-control (not me), you could read a chapter a day like an advent calendar.

This is a fairly short but twisty and fast-paced festive interlude. If you loved the first two books, you will definitely enjoy this.

This is the 3rd in a series of novels featuring Ernest Cunningham, a narrator who is aware of his audience. In this episode, Ern must find the culprit after his ex=wife is falsely accused of killing her boyfriend. ,It was the first Ern story I have read but I quickly got into the style of writing and enjoyed the well=plotted storyline which culminated in a thrilling denouement in a cable car amidst the Blue Mountains - very Christmassy! The story unfold like an advent calendar with each of 24 chapters containing a clue which makes it ideal Christmas reading, shorter than the previous two books but the lack of length was made up for by the quality of the writing.

I loved this book. I loved the way it was written. Although it has Christmas in the title it wasn’t Christmassy, it just happened at Christmas. It had the right amount of humour and has left me wanting to read more from this author.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Brilliant, was such a good book. Really liked the characters and the storyline. This is the third in a series by Benjamin Stevenson, a one off festive special however it is not in your face christmas so it is perfect to read at anytime of the year.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC

My name is Ernest Cunningham.

I’m not a detective. I just happen to have a knack for what makes mysteries – and murderers – tick. I’d hoped, this Christmas, that any killers out there might be willing to take a break for the holidays.

I was wrong.

So here I am, backstage at the Christmas show of world-famous magician Rylan Blaze, whose benefactor has just been murdered. From the magician’s assistant to the hypnotist, my suspects are all professional tricksters. Masters in the art of misdirection.

My clues are even more of a mystery:

A suspect covered in blood, with no 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.

Solving the murder is the only gift I want this year. But can I catch a killer, and make it home for Christmas alive?

I did enjoy reading this Christmas special, although reading it in August was a bit offputting. A good strong twisty storyline with a satisfying ending. Reading the real book would be much better than the e version as the format would be better.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I love a Christmas special and I think this was my favourite Ernest Cunningham book so far.

Unfortunately for me Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret had two of my pet irritations. Firstly a book about Christmas which barely mentions it and secondly, a humourous writing style when I wasn't expecting that. In fairness, I did get invited to read a galley of this book and I should have done more due diligence when I would have realised that the author is also a stand up comedian and a Christmas book set in the Blue Mountains of Australia is never going to be heavy on scenes with masses of snow and mulled wine.

The book is short and the third in the series by author Benjamin Stevenson about his wannabe detective, Ernest Cunningham. Ernest has been texted by his ex, Erin, who is in police custody for the apparent murder of her new man. Her hands are covered in blood but she has no recollection of why. Ernest was able to know this as Erin texted him before calling the police or checking if the deceased was actually dead or not. This was just one of many parts where I had to suspend belief as to the sanity of the characters within.

The character, Ernest, breaks the fourth wall by addressing the reader directly on many occasions. Another pet hate of mine as it removes me from the work of fiction and brings me back to reality. This really wasn’t a book for me but I can appreciate that it will appeal to a lot of people.With thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This holiday chapter of Benjamin Stevenson's mystery series is a lot of fun! I appreciate how it's designed so you can read it like an Advent calendar, opening one chapter each day until you have enough clues to solve the mystery. This is an absolute must-read for every mystery enthusiast or anyone who loves Christmas.

Thanks to NetGalley for an E-ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Everyone this Christmas has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson is the third in the series and, first off, it's really important to have read the first two I now realise. I hadn't read the first two so a lot of the character development and call backs were completely lost on me. I enjoyed it, it was a well thought out mystery with a satisfyingly twisty ending that I didn't see coming. I liked the humourous tone and the breaking of the fourth wall by talking directly to the reader. I especially enjoyed the character of Earnest our detective and I'd definitely read the previous books to get his full story. The story revolved around opening doors on an advent calendar so I think you should read it as a countdown to Christmas and I do think this would be most successful as a physical book rather than an eBook.
Overall, an enjoyable book but undoubtedly more enjoyable if you'd read the previous outings!

Thanks to NetGalley for an early copy of this book. I haven’t read any of the others in the series but it was a really good read. A romp of a murder and beyond the usual whodunnit. Nice Christmas special for the murder lover in your home!

Posting this review in August does feel a little like committing the cardinal sin of mentioning Christmas too early (a crime usually perpetrated by chain stores who start selling advent calendars and Christmas cards in the summer). However, in a feeble attempt to mitigate this, Stevenson’s book does come out on the 24th October and I know some readers like to organise their Christmas themed mysteries ahead of December.

This is my third read by Benjamin Stevenson and I would definitely recommend reading the first two books in the series: Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone (2022) and Everyone on this Train is a Suspect (2023)

Synopsis

‘My name is Ernest Cunningham. I’m not a detective. I just happen to have a knack for what makes mysteries – and murderers – tick. I’d hoped, this Christmas, that any killers out there might be willing to take a break for the holidays. I was wrong. So here I am, backstage at the Christmas show of world-famous magician Rylan Blaze, whose benefactor has just been murdered. From the magician’s assistant to the hypnotist, my suspects are all professional tricksters. Masters in the art of misdirection. My clues are even more of a mystery: A suspect covered in blood, with no 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. Solving the murder is the only gift I want this year. But can I catch a killer, and make it home for Christmas alive?’

Overall Thoughts

The opening quotes for the books in this series invariably have a link to older crime fiction. For example, in one of them Ronald Knox’s Decalogue is elliptically quoted, and in this latest story, the author went for a quote from Arthur Conan Doyle talking about Katoomba in Australia:
‘It is a very real danger to the young or to those who have no sense of direction, for many people have wandered off and never come back alive.’
I hadn’t realised Arthur Conan Doyle had travelled to Australia, so a little Googling ensued, and it turns out he went to Australia during 1920 and 1921, as part of a speaking tour he did, on spiritualism.

Since the second book in the series, the author seems to be more interested in utilising different forms of typography and in this, the third book, it become more structurally integral to the plot and the mystery. At the start of the novel a page (shown below) displays different shaped window/door panels with numbers on, mimicking an advent calendar. There are 24 chapters in this book and 23 key clues pointing towards the killer, so in theory you could read a chapter a day this December, but as the author writes: ‘Many people like to eat all the chocolates at once.’ At the end of each chapter one of the doors on the calendar is opened, with the key clue written inside. I thought this was a neat idea.

This series is not afraid to acknowledge its own artificiality, with the narrator, Ernest Cunningham, openly discussing the genre he is part of, and how his life embodies it:

‘I used to be a fan of reading Golden Age mysteries, until I found myself with a haphazard career getting stuck in the middle of real-life ones. I'm not a private investigator. I just happen to have a knack for understanding how mysteries tick, provided they follow the rules set out by the classics, of course.’

I enjoy this aspect of the series’ style, and I like how this story openly has fun with genre tropes and conventions. For example, in the prologue Ernest says:

‘If murder mysteries have rules, so too do Holiday Specials, which the universe has kindly obliged here. You'll find ahead Santa-fied clues aplenty, and don't rule out characters having to dress up in silly costumes for some tangentially related plot reason, which I will satisfy in a minor turn as Rudolph. And of course, by the end of these things, the detective has to learn the true meaning of the word Christmas.’

This last component is creatively explored in the story which follows, as the first victim writes the dying message of ‘Christmas’, using their own blood. The ultimate significance of this is very clever and unexpected.

In addition, Ernest also makes this comment on the rise of the Christmas mystery in current publishing:

‘I'll remind the cynics out there that the favourites aren't immune to a little yuletide cash grab. Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle both caved to the whims of the popular desire for holiday murders, though Sherlock Holmes only picked up his single festive case on 27 December.’

In recent years Christmas mysteries have been published more prolifically, with some authors writing series which are set exclusively at Christmas. Alexandra Benedict springs to mind. I am not a huge fan of modern examples of the Christmas mystery. The ones I have tried so far have been disappointing from a plotting and cluing perspective. Stevenson's novel though is the exception to this rule and is my favourite modern Christmas mystery read.

In true classic crime fashion, Stevenson limits himself to six suspects for his Christmas crimes and their introduction into the narrative is staggered, with their entry heralded by one of these tags. These are a nice touch and I liked how a secret Santa is made part of the plot too.

The story proper begins on a more domestic note, as Ernest and his fiancée Juliette discuss their anxiety over Ernest's uncle having been put in charge of the entertainment for their wedding day entertainment. It seems he might have booked a magician. Although in fairness this is no ordinary magician, but Rylan Blaze, who plays to packed audiences and performs dangerous illusions. Nevertheless, Ernest plans to see his Christmas show to see what his act is like. But us readers will not be surprised to learn that Ernest has an ulterior motive. This turns out to involve high stakes. Not only is Ernest going to see his ex-wife, Erin, but his former spouse is currently under arrest for the murder of her current partner. Ernest justifies not revealing his full intentions to Juliette: ‘The literary detective's pact of honesty is with the reader, not unfortunately, with other characters in the story.’ The circumstantial evidence against Erin is particularly damning, as she claims to have woken up to find herself covered in her partner’s blood, yet his dead body is downstairs in the kitchen.

Ernest takes Erin’s story seriously but is fully prepared to pull it apart and examine it, to look for clues or discrepancies, even to the extent of working out what time she must have woken up to go to the toilet earlier in the night, based on her pre-bed fluid intake habits. Yet Ernest does not act like the mysterious Great Detective who just happens to randomly know all kinds of obscure facts. He admits to googling the information, ‘I'm not a practised enough detective to spout such obscure facts.’ He further adds that:

‘Besides, this is my third murder case: it isn't enough to do the grand showdown reveal at the end anymore. When you're in a series, the detective has to prove their worth early on with a little bit of inspecting razzle-dazzle.’

This is a feature I have always loved about Stevenson’s books, is that they drip feed the clues and case progress consistently throughout the narrative. I much prefer this to novels which give you a famine or a feast, with clues and solution information clumped into big blocks, with long gaps in between.

In keeping with the other two books in the series, armchair detection is encouraged from readers, with Ernest flagging up potential clues or alerting the reader to the fact there is a clue in a room. For instance, before describing a room Ernest says:

‘Pearse's office contained one very significant clue, and the omission of another. At first glance, though, the meaning of both what was and what wasn't there went over my head.’

I found this helped me to be more engaged in the novel, as usually I find scene descriptions less interesting. Moreover, I was pleased that whilst a photograph is used in the plot, Ernest does go on to describe it: ‘Obviously photographs in mystery novels are important. I'll be honest and tell you that, of course, there is a murderer in this image. So let's unpack it.’

However, although this mystery is packed with clues, it is not without heart. For example, this story picks up on the fact that Erin has been struggling with events from Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone, with her PTSD leading to sleepwalking and nightmares. This is a puzzle mystery, but it is also one which acknowledges the negative kickback from witnessing and experiencing murder investigations.

A new source of conflict and tension is introduced into the series, with this latest case, namely a newspaper reporter called Josh Felman who reports on Ernest’s sleuthing. He tends to pop up at inconvenient moments and to then write less than flattering columns such as: ‘The Slapdash Sleuth’. We are told that he works alone, so he must carry all his kit around. I liked this description of him: ‘He looked like a cross between a paratrooper and a one-man marching band.’ Felman has more than one purpose in the story. The first is to introduce the idea of Ernest gaining a nemesis: ‘A nemesis isn't about matching wits or being equal. It's about making the detective less. Will I be different by the end of this telling? Well, I'll have been shot in the chest. If that counts.’ In addition, Felman is also able to provide useful information regarding the case, including live footage of the second murder.

Speaking of the second murder, I thought it was well revealed and executed, directly in front of the reader, as well as Ernest himself. False alarm is toyed with wonderfully here. It is perhaps not fully surprising, but I felt it reminded us of Ernest’s fallibility and I liked how it leaned into the secondary theme of the mystery, magic.

The reveal scene is unusually set. It is the kind of setting which offers certain narrative opportunities, but it is also a highly dangerous and foolhardy choice on Ernest’s part. Part of the reason for choosing the more perilous option is because Ernest needs the killer to confess in some way:

‘Still, it was only theories I was spouting. Correct, ones, I assure you, but legally, in order to exonerate _______, I needed _____ to confess. Or shoot me. I had a distinct preference.’ [Character names removed to avoid spoilers]

The endings of the three Ernest Cunningham books kind of give off a John Mcclane (of Die Hard fan) vibe, with their hard boiled tendency to have their protagonist get badly injured on a regular basis.

Given that Ernest’s case involves a lot of theory, deductions and guess work, I don’t feel bad for not coming remotely close to solving this case. The interconnected crimes are convoluted, but not painfully so. However, it is a case with a lot of moving parts, so it can be hard to hold them all in your head simultaneously. I would describe this book as an intense cluing experience. There were some clues that I particularly liked, such as a variation on one found in Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot’s Christmas and there is another which is so sneaky, yet despite it being well-established earlier in the story, it is still one you are liable to miss.

So all in all this was a great read.

Rating: 4.5/5