Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret

Ernest (Ernie) Cunningham is back for the third time in this Christmas themed special, Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret by Benjamin Stevenson. Ernie re-introduces himself to the reader, serving as a reminder for fans and a perfect - yet brief - introduction for new readers picking this up as a standalone.

In the Prologue, Ernie promises to follow the rules of crime writing in another fair play murder mystery that won't include unreliable narrators or hidden clues. Instead, he'll be delivering this Christmas crime special in the form of a twenty-four chapter advent calender with seven gifts wrapped under a tree and six suspects to consider. By the end of the Prologue I was back on board the Cunningham express and keen to open my show more presents.

Set in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Ernie attends Katoomba police station in the opening pages to speak with a person charged with murder. After hearing their story, he readily agrees to take on the case. Cleverly written with periodic nods to the classics, Stevenson draws on his comedic talent and the laughs are never far away:

"Jeez, Ern. You really are some kind of detective these days. How'd you know that?" "I googled it while you were crying." Page 22

Ernie regularly breaks the fourth wall to address the reader and foreshadow events - even disclosing when he'll solve the case - heightening the tension as he investigates the murder. Stevenson has kept track of all the Yuletide threads in this tightly plotted mystery and I think Ern is getting better with each investigation. I love the unique writing style and the clever way the author uses particular writing techniques to entertain the reader.

The author also manages to include interesting character observations and everyday interactions in a way that made me stop and take notice in recognition:

"I nodded. She had a thick Irish accent that was taking me a few minutes to jump into the skipping rope of." Page 56

This is such a perfectly relatable description presented in a way that's flattering to the character and adds dimension and depth to this light-hearted mystery. The 7 Commandments of Holiday Specials was the perfect touch to wrap up this festive Christmas novella full of holiday cheer with just a touch of magic.

Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret by Australian author Benjamin Stevenson is the third installation in a series that is entering rare territory for me in that every book has been a 5 star read!

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Everyone on this Train is a Suspect ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Highly recommended and the perfect Christmas gift!

* Copy courtesy of Penguin Random House * show less

The third volume in Stevenson's series about mystery writer/amateur detective Earnest Cunningham is a novella rather than a full-length novel. In his usual meta-commentary way, Earnest describes it as a "holiday special," and adds to his usual list of rules that must be followed in a fair-play mystery a few supplemental holiday rules ("The detective must, at some point, learn the true meaning of the word Christmas.").

And once again, Earnest's own friends and family are involved in the case. This time, it's his ex-wife Erin, who is the prime suspect when she wakes up covered with blood to find her fiance's body on the floor. He's an ex-actor turned philanthropist, and the crime-solving centers on his staff as they put on his annual show more holiday fund-raising event.

In shortening the story from a novel -- and there's certainly enough material here that this could have been a novel -- Stevenson has mostly condensed Earnest's investigation into a series of one-on-one interrogations. Those scenes are nicely written, but I miss the interactions among the cast of suspects that are one of Stevenson's strengths.

But I do enjoy the meta-ness of this series, with Earnest frequently commenting on the rules of the genre and telling us things like "that was an important clue." He's not above bending his own rules, but is scrupulous in telling us when he's doing so; in this volume, that most conspicuously involves a pair of identical twin suspects. And those rules play out in delightful and unexpected ways; the "true meaning of Christmas" is especially clever.

If this sometimes feels like a rush job, something quickly cranked out to cash in on the holiday, well, to some extent that's part of the "holiday special" genre, isn't it? Stevenson's charm and skill were enough to carry me through, despite the patchiness, but I do hope he'll return to novel length for Earnest's next adventure. show less

This was a fun quick read for the beginning of the holiday season. Ernie is up front about his "holiday special" and relays that it could be read as an advent calendar with 24 chapters. Inventive, but I barreled right through it because it was so entertaining. He sense of fair play is on display as always, as he heads to help his ex-wife Erin clear her name of her long time partner's death. Lyle ran a successful non-profit to help rehabilitate drug users. The story is full of quirky characters and a reveal worthy of a Columbo episode.

Just in time for the holidays, a fair play Christmas mystery.

This is a novella, and even though it’s short, it’s a very cleverly plotted story with plenty of clues to allow the reader to figure out whodunit along with the main character. Our erstwhile detective, Ernest Cunningham, finds another mystery soon after solving two very public murder cases. He is headed to Katoomba and a Christmas show after his ex-wife, Erin, calls him from jail there after her boyfriend is found murdered in their house.

Clever, funny and tongue-in-cheek, this is told in first person point of view with Ernest explaining and talking about things with the reader. It’s a great choice of writing style for this type of story and it works very well. show more Definitely, Ernest is smarter than he looks and though he’s no real detective, he’s definitely coming into the role. Lots of fun. Can’t wait for the next installment.

I listened to the audiobook while also following in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. The narrator, Barton Welch delivers a great performance with his Australian accent and dramatic flair. It definitely enhanced my enjoyment of the book. show less

First sentence: There are quite a few differences between an Australian Christmas and the stereotypical Northern Hemisphere fare seen in most books and movies. For one thing, we don't get snow down under. What we do get, in my specific experience, is more murders. But before the killing starts (or the recounting of the killings, to be more precise), allow me to introduce myself. My name's Ernest Cunningham.

Premise/plot: Ernest Cunningham narrates his third misadventure. He is an author-detective of sorts. He's lived a CRAZY life and has had plenty of opportunities to live out golden-age mysteries. The previous books include: Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone and Everyone on This Train is a Suspect.

In this third adventure, Ernest show more has gone to help his ex-wife who has been arrested for murdering her boyfriend. He is unofficially-officially-unofficially on the case to find out what really happened. And as it turns out, there's more than one dead body...but is there one killer or more?

It is set during the holidays. Most chapters are an "advent door" to open to reveal clues.

My thoughts: I definitely enjoyed this one. I love the narrative style. I've enjoyed all three books. I would love to reread all three books again--close together--to see if it changes my thoughts. It was a fun Christmas-y read. Definitely think you need to read at least book one before reading this one. (Of course to read all three would be ideal.) show less

The first book in this series hit all the right notes. In the third entry, the gimmick has lost some of its effectiveness. Like the others, the plot is insanely complicated and the characters numerous. Some of the action stretches belief. Any reader who can pay attention to all the details and draw the same conclusions as the main character has my undying respect.

"Isn't that how all your mysteries work? Everyone's got a motive? Everyone's got a secret?"

Another great mystery from [a:Benjamin Stevenson|22375951|Benjamin Stevenson|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]! This one is a holiday mystery - set up in 24 chapters so you can read it like an advent calendar and read 1 per day until the lead up mystery reveal in the end!

And what a fun mystery! Even though this is nice and short for our busy holidays, the mystery is still solid. It kept me guessing as I kept my flipping my guesses and my accusations. I loved the twists, the little nods to other famous authors and, as always, the perfect humor and wit. These are just the best little mysteries, show more I can't wait for the next one.

Even though this one will stand well on its own, I highly recommend starting with book 1 in this series - [b:Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone|60879779|Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone|Benjamin Stevenson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1663127884l/60879779._SY75_.jpg|94183542]. All of the stories in this series have been wonderful! I highly recommend!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book. show less