Book Review: Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson

Right off the heels of the success of Everyone on this Train is a Suspect, Benjamin Stevenson has done it again. This time, however, with some holiday flair. Stevenson’s newest installment of the Ernest Cunningham series is “a festive mystery” titled Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret. With a clue for every day in December, the reader has until Christmas to solve the crime right along with Cunningham. 

“With all that in mind, this whole thing’s best treated as an advent calendar. Twenty-four chapters hold twenty-four clues and various bits and bobs that help me with the case.”

Our mystery kicks off with Cunningham traveling to Katoomba, a mountain town in New South Wales, Australia. Under the guise of attending a magic show, he is really there to help solve a crime. This one hits close to home, as the woman suspected of murder is his own ex-wife. As she sits in a prison holding cell, we learn that her now-deceased fiancé, Lyle Pearse, is the prominent owner of the theater where the magic show is being held that evening. She stands firm that she could not have committed this crime, although the evidence is stacked against her. 

“I could see why Erin hadn’t bothered with CPR. One arm was extended out from his side. His fingertip was red, and at the end of the arm, written in blood on the floor, was a single word: Christmas.

 

I blinked twice. I know this is a Holiday Special, but I was hardly expecting the victim’s final word to be festive.” 

While there are a variety of holiday puns woven in throughout, it is well executed and very in line with the tone of Ernest Cunningham that fans have grown to know and love. In the deep heat of Australia, the callbacks to Christmas are also a reminder that the holiday season looks different everywhere. With each chapter opening a new door of the advent calendar and providing one more clue to catch the killer, Stevenson builds a storyline that is both suspenseful and fun to follow.  

If you’re a fan of the Ernest Cunningham series, then you will not be surprised to find out that everyone he encounters in Katoomba becomes a suspect. The [magic] show must go on, and with that Cunningham finds himself in a room full of potential murderers. Everyone in the closed circle of suspects had a reason to love Pearse, but it becomes apparent they each had reasons to want him dead as well. Putting himself in the line of danger yet again, Cunningham brings the reader on a journey to find the killer, crack a few sarcastic jokes, and culminate in a classic big reveal.    

“You have all twenty-three pieces to find out what’s behind door number twenty-four. You should have everything you need to, excuse the pun, take a stab at it.

 

So here we are. The final door.”

This was a quick read, both because it is a shorter “Holiday Special” and because it’s a page-turner that you won’t want to put down. Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret marries the mystery of a whodunnit with the dry humor of a witty protagonist to deliver a fun and clever read. Whether you’re a fan of the Ernest Cunningham series, a cozy mystery enthusiast or just looking for a great Christmas gift – this book should be on your list.