4 ⭐️
Closed Door Romance

I love love loved this cozy mystery rom-com! The characters were wonderful and the mystery was fun and kept me on my toes until the end.

Maggie, sweet Maggie. Learning her backstory throughout the book made me so sad for her but also so happy for her growth throughout. And Ethan!!!!! How could someone not love him!!!! When we learn the reason he called her the wrong name (mostly in the beginning of the book), my heart broke but I also had tears in my eyes. They are so wonderful together and deserve each other so much!!!

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC!

Thank you to the author, publisher and @NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I LOVED this mash-up! It was both a locked door (secluded mansion), Agatha Christie type mystery and a romance at the same time and it was a perfect melding of the two! The only bad part for you my friends, is that this doesn’t publish till September! But please go pre-order!

And Ally Carter herself bills this as Knives Out plus kissing and I have to say I concur your honor!

I absolutely loved this one. It had the perfect mix of mystery and romance. Ethan and Maggie were so cute together. It was nice to see how much they cared about each other. I already want to reread this book!



Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Stuck in an English mansion during a blizzard, 2 mystery writers must solve the puzzle of their missing host before anyone (else) gets hurt. 'The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year' is a sizzling romance, with a heavy dose of mystery, and Christmas festivity. The spice was actually a bit too much for my taste, but the emotional depth between Maggie and Ethan was amazing!

If you enjoy reading romance novels where the main characters overcome their traumatic pasts and are forced to face life-or-death situations as their relationship blossoms, then I recommend this book to you!

Special thanks to the Publisher, Avon and Harper Voyager, and Net Galley for a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is one of the BEST books of 2024! The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year tells the story of two mystery writers, Maggie and Ethan, who are summoned by their favorite fan to spend Christmas in an English castle. Soon after their arrival, their host disappears and Maggie and Ethan spend the rest of the story using their knowledge to unravel this mystery.
Throughout the story, Maggie learns to trust herself and Ethan learns to be open about his history.

I'm pretty sure I've loved everything that I've read by Ally Carter and this book is no different. This book is very Knives Out coded but lets add holiday cheer and an enemies-ish to lovers romance. I ATE IT UP and binged the heck out of it. The dual POV truly made this book - I loved being able to see inside Ethan's head in the latter half of the book. I was surprised by the who-dun-it aspect (which truly should be no surprise because I am the WORST sleuth). I can't wait for everyone to get their hands on this story!

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to be an early reader. All thoughts are my own.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC! This was delightful. Enemies/ rival authors to lovers? Count me in. Ally Carter had me by the throat with Heist Society a decade ago and she still has me by the throat with this. Her writing just makes me happy.

Oh my goodness this book was so fun and fast paced! The romance was wonderfully written as well as the mystery aspect. I really enjoyed my time with this book and I'm so glad to have read it. It will be a great holiday read!

A fun read that kept me engaged and was exciting! Suspenseful in all the best ways, too! Worth the read and definitely recommending to friends. There were some parts that seemed kind of cringey and repetitive but the book was great nonetheless.

I had such a wonderful time with this book. The banter was fun and lively, the characters had surprising depth, the mystery was pretty solvable but it served as a good backdrop to the growing relationship. Ultimately a fun twist on a holiday romance!

This was a lot of fun! Not too serious, but a cozy, mysterious romcom. I liked the blend of different genres. I haven't read a romance book like this, or a mystery book like this before. I really enjoyed the two main characters; they felt fully developed. Both were flawed and working through their past traumas, and finding common ground when thrown into the novel's main plot events. If you're looking for a cozy mystery mixed with romance, I definitely recommend!

Oh what fun! Loved this newest adult mystery/romance book by Ally Carter. ABSOLUTE PERFECT use of "Who did this to you?"
A fabulous locked room setting with flashbacks to previous Christmas times. The mystery and the romance were both so layered and clever and they had me turning the pages as fast as I could. The Blonde Identity was great but I adored The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year even more.
Can't recommend this one enough to fans of Knives Out, the guy falling hard for the girl and pining for years, and creative cozy mystery writers who don't like peopling.

This book blends just about everything I love reading all into one book and I couldn't put it down. Maggie and Ethan are rival authors and enemies (or so Maggie thinks) and she's coming off the worst year of her life and has been invited to the house of "one of her biggest fans" for Christmas, but what she doesn't know is that 1. Ethan is coming too. 2. She's the biggest fan of her biggest fan. 3. There will be a mystery to solve.
Ethan and Maggie must work together to uncover the truth of what is happening in the house and who is the real suspect. As they do, they begin to get closer than she could have ever imagined and he starts to reveal that he has not ever hated her.. even a little bit.. even at all.
You can see how much Ethan cares for her and takes care of her right from the start, but when we got some of his POV my heart ENTIRELY melted. I am a sucker for books like this and I couldn't stop reading because I had to know whodunit and what the outcome would be.
Thank you to Avon, Netgalley and Ally Carter for this early copy!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter in exchange for an honest review.

Set in England during Christmas, The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year reads like a classic whodunit and is filled with humor, cleverness, wit, and surprising emotional depth. There are plenty of twists and turns that keep you guessing until the very end, making it an absolute joy to read.

The first half of the book is told solely from Maggie's point of view. Maggie (or is it Marcie? 😉) is a mystery writer who is recently divorced from her very toxic, cheating ex-husband, Colin. She is sad and lonely and harbors a deep hatred for Ethan, a rival mystery writer.

About halfway through, the narrative shifts from single POV to dual POV. This shift allows us to see Ethan's private and mysterious side. Initially, I found it hard to like Ethan, but once his perspective was introduced, I was completely swept away.

The banter between the Maggie and Ethan was absolute perfection. The pacing of the plot, exposing of the twists, and details was absolutely on point.

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year is beautifully written with real, relatable characters, witty banter, and a plot that keeps you guessing. It's an engaging holiday mystery that I highly recommend.

5 stars ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I LOVED this book, holiday vibes, cozy murder mystery, rival mystery writers, like watching a live action game of Clue, a whodunnit with banter. I smirked and giggled on more than one occasion. This book was everything I wanted in a Christmas Murder mystery and more. I cannot explain to you how much I loved Maggie and Ethan. I will more than likely be reading this again a time or two before Christmas on vibes alone. Please do yourself a favor and pick up a copy.

Thanks to NetGalley, Ally Carter and Avon and Harper Voyager for providing me with an ARC in exchang

I read Ally Carter religiously as a teenager and am so happy that she is back and writing in the adult space. Last year's Blonde Identity was a blast, and The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year is equally fun. The book is a successful blend of my favorite genres--romance and mystery. It follows two enemy mystery writers, Maggie and Ethan, from the same publisher who are summoned to their biggest fan's estate in England for Christmas. Their biggest fan is Eleanor Ashley, the most important and successful mystery author, who disappears without a trace two days before Christmas, leaving our two protagonists to find her, while trapped in the estate with a wild cast of characters. The chemistry and banter between Maggie and Ethan was great. Highly recommend this book for your holiday reading list, its like drinking a great cup of hot chocolate in front of a roaring fire.

Mystery, romance and set at Christmas, yes please!!

Maggie Chase and Ethan Wyatt are rival mystery authors who are invited to the estate of legendary author Eleanor Ashley. When Eleanor vanishes from a locked room, Maggie & Ethan have to work together to solve the mystery.

I really enjoyed the story line and loved the banter between Maggie and Ethan. It was a great mix of romance and mystery that kept me guessing the whole time.

Thanks to NetGalley, Harper Collins and Killer Crime Club for the chance to read an ARC of The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year

This was such a fun read! If you’re a fan of cozy mysteries, books about authors, and Knives Out you NEED to check this book out.

I’ve loved Ally’s writing since I was in middle school reading the Gallagher Girls series, and I still love it now! I read this book in a day—it was fast-paced and I loved it!

We’ve got a mansion owned by a famous mystery writer, rival authors (to lovers?!), attempted murder, and within all of that we have a main character that’s learning to trust herself after a divorce from her scummy ex-husband.

This book was a riot & I definitely recommend you putting it on your holiday list!

Maggie and Ethan are both mystery writers who write for the same publishing company. They both get invited to the mysterious Christmas party that their publisher encourages them to attend. Soon after they arrive, the host goes missing. Maggie and Ethan find themselves in the middle of a real mystery that needs to be solved.

This book was so much fun. I think mystery rom-coms are going to be one of my new favorite sub-genres. I loved the evolution of Maggie and Ethan's relationship as it developed from rivals to partners to something more. The bickering and bantering at the beginning was top-notch. I love that Ethan recognized that Maggie had been hurt in the past. He wants to help her move forward. Maggie recognizes the same in Ethan and wants the same for him.

Although there are some tension-filled moments, the romance is pretty much fade-to-black. Although, I never felt like the mystery was super high-stakes. The combination of the romance and mystery made for a fun, holiday read that I will be recommending.

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year is a fun, easy to read, layered Christmas mystery and love story. It’s like if Knives Out and Gosford Park had a baby who loved love.

The first half of the book was a little confusing with the cast of characters and how everyone fit together. Plus, I just had so many questions! Then we got Ethan’s POV for the first time and the book really hit it’s stride. The character and relationship development really hits. That leads to a great balance between the moments of relationship growth between Maggie and Ethan and their working together to solve the mystery.

Moments I loved:
When Maggie finally says “Yes” to the question Ethan keeps asking!
When we find out what happened in Tucson.
And of course the scene in which we find out how everything fits together. Well, almost everything.

This book finishes in a strong satisfying way and all the questions I had at the beginning are answered. Do I want more? Always!

I would absolutely recommend this book! Especially to those who love fun mysteries, the Christmas season, romance, Hallmark or any mix of those.