Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret
A Festive Mystery
Benjamin Stevenson
192 Pages
On-Sale Date: 22/10/2024
ISBN: 9780063412866
Trim Size: 5.800in x 8.550in x 0.900in
Benjamin Stevenson returns with a Christmas addition to his bestselling, “deviously good fun” (Nita Prose), Ernest Cunningham mysteries. Unwrap all the staples of a classic cozy mystery: 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 in this funny mystery. 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 baffling locked room mystery 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 mysteries
- A delightful Christmas gift
“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)
“Clever Christmas fun…a perfect stocking stuffer.” — Anniston Star
“The Cunningham meta-mysteries are absolutely delightful.” — Booklist
“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
