It's the Most Murderous Time of the Year: "Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret" Review

Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson

(Ernest Cunningham, Book 3 (really, like, 2.5))

Pages: 171 Genre: mystery, Christmas!

Rating: 5 Stars

Ernest Cunningham, against all odds, finds himself involved in another murder plot: but this time, it's the Christmas special! He finds himself backstage at magician Rylan Blaze's show after his benefactor has just been killed, and everyone on the team is a suspect.

Despite being an avid fan of Stevenson's Ernest Cunningham books, I had no idea this existed until a few weeks ago. When I first saw it, I couldn't believe my eyes. But I'm so glad this book exists, and I had a really great time reading it.

I continue to find Ernest to be a delightful narrator. As we move forward in this series, the whole concept gets more absurd. How many murder plots can one man happen upon before it gets ridiculous? I'm not sure, but his increasing self awareness about murder mysteries, his own investigative process, and his own role in this things only gets funnier. But despite that, there's still an undercurrent of seriousness that keeps the book grounded.

As an avid mystery reader, I particularly enjoy these books because of how explicit they are. In this case, Ernest is giving us an advent calendar of clues. (Fun fact, this actually works as a true advent calendar for this year, 2024, as the season of advent did begin on December 1). I didn't solve the mystery — although I got some key points — but I enjoy feeling like an active participant. Sure, you can just read along if that's your thing. But if you're like me, you can really have a fighting chance of figuring things out. It doesn't make it too easy, but everything is laid out for you.

Honestly, I think more series should get Christmas specials. The idea of a festive murder mystery fits so well into the Ernest Cunningham canon, even if the idea isn't an entirely original one. If you want a quick, seasonally-appropriate read that is still a little more gruesome than you expect it to be, I would definitely recommend picking this one up.

But do yourself a favor and read the other books first. Not because you have to (I'm pretty sure this one doesn't spoil the other two, although I wasn't looking for anything specifically), but because you'll get to meet your new favorite literary detective.