Wow! I loved this book so much! I felt swept up in the mysteries and “who-done-it” crime scene was so fun with the investigation report between chapters and the flash backs! I loved our main characters Maggie and Ethan, they really came through on page as not only believable as a true rivals to lovers trope but as season mystery writers themselves. I loved all the clues and banter as well! If you enjoyed the movie Knives Out and love a fade to black romance, this book is it! I also loved the Christmas elements in it, I felt like I was snowed in at this mansion with these characters! I don’t want to give too much away, but all the twists and turns, just when I thought I knew what was happening, I was blown away at how wrong I had been the whole time. If you love a cute romance but also love a good murder mystery, this book is for you!

I didn't expect to love this book as much as I did. I love mystery/thrillers but books like "Clue" always seem confusing to me and I loose interest. This book kept me engaged and I loved the side love story development. Would make a great Christmas movie!
Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for the ARC

I am not a huge fan of Christmas, but I am a huge fan of Ally Carter.. so when she FINALLY announced the secret project she teased us about last year at Book People I knew I was going to read it (yes even though it was set at Christmas). Maggie Chase and Ethan Wyatt are two writers that hate each other. (or do they?) almost as much as Maggie hates Christmas (I like Maggie).

The two are invited to the englisheh estate of a fan, the fan happens to be best selling author Eleanor Ashley. Maggie and Chase maybe her biggest fans. Elenanor disapears from a locked room and Maggie and Chases have to learn to work together to solve the mystery.

The banter is great, the dual view points are great…everything about this including the clues to solve what happened to Eleanor. I’m going to be reading this again!

Thank you NetGalley and Avon for an advanced copy!

Wow! This book was so much fun! I went into this not knowing what to expect, and came out finding one of my favorite books of this year.



Maggie Chase is an author of mystery books. Newly divorced and over the holiday season, she receives the opportunity of a lifetime: an all expenses paid trip to England for Christmas on behalf of a mysterious benefactor. The problem? Her rival and fellow author, Ethan Wyatt, was also invited on this trip. When the two arrive at a mansion in the countryside, they find that their mysterious host is none other than Eleanor Ashley, acclaimed mystery writer, and Maggie’s favorite author. Maggie, Ethan, and a cache of Eleanor’s invited guests and family soon find themselves thrust into a mystery straight out of an Eleanor Ashley novel when Eleanor herself goes missing. With everyone a suspect, Ethan and Maggie soon pair up to solve the mystery and find Eleanor, unraveling a lot more about their fellow guests (and themselves) than they thought.



I could not stop reading this book! I don’t know what Ally Carter put in this but I HAD to know what happened next! The twists were done so well I didn’t see half of them coming.



I really enjoyed the flashback chapters to Maggie’s and Ethan’s pasts. I felt like these really added depth to the story and helped me understand their relationship and decisions. Ethan was such a fun character and I loved his banter with Maggie! From the beginning I was rooting for the two of them, despite all odds.



I want Ally Carter to write at least a dozen more of these books! If you enjoyed Knives Out (the movie), The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, and Clue (both the game and the movie), this is the book for you!



Thank you to Netgalley and Avon for the ARC!

A f**king brilliant read!

Not everything is what it seems …

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this Ally Carter read, but the synopsis drew me in and I had to know more!

I could not put the book down! The storyline is complex, suspenseful, and teases just enough to keep you up late at night, turning pages to find out what happens next!

The characters are intricately crafted, the mystery is dynamic and thrilling, and the storyline is executed flawlessly!

Maggie and Ethan are amazing together! Their rivalry is complicated which makes the crazy chemistry generated between the two that much more intense and palpable. I absolutely LOVE them!

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year is an exciting thriller that will leave your jaw-dropping!

Hands down one of the very best books I’ve read all year!

Highly recommend it!

I had such a good time with this book! It was a very quick read, and I’ll probably end up re-reading it closer to the holiday season! Ally Carter has done a great job, yet again, of mixing an interesting mystery with a great romance. Ethan Wyatt is great as a love interest: hot, mysterious, overprotective, charming, and generally hilarious. He was definitely the sunshine to Maggie’s grumpy.

This one was dual POV, though we were much more frequently in Maggie’s POV. I’d say it was primarily a romance, but with a strong mystery element. It was advertised as a holiday Knives Out with romance, and it definitely fit the description! A rich and charismatic elderly author, relatives that don’t get along but desperately want to inherit money, outsiders brought in to solve the crime, and lots of humor throughout.

I would highly recommend this romance/mystery. It was a super fun holiday read!

This is the best book I’ve read this year. THE. BEST. I was laughing out loud (the banter!), getting choked up (the MCs backstories!), and cringing in my seat (the mystery! aka how are they going to get out of THIS one?). I was graciously given an ARC copy, but I’m pretty sure I’m going to have to pre-order my physical copy, like, right now.

This was another delightfully fun romp from Ally Carter.

Coming off last year's The Blonde Identity, Carter proves her foray into adult romance isn't just a fluke with this second excellent novel. Authors Maggie Chase and Ethan Wyatt both receive a mysterious invitation to spend Christmas at a remote English estate, and they're both surprised when they arrive to find their host is none other than Eleanor Ashley, the powerhouse mystery author. But a cozy Christmas is not to be, when the weather turns bad, the phones and the bridge leading to the property are out, and Eleanor herself disappears. Is this vanishing act a test for the author's true mystery fans or is something more sinister afoot? Despite the fact that Maggie hates Ethan's guts, the two must team up to solve the (possible) crime.

I absolutely loved this! The writing was fantastic, full of tongue in cheek humor and witty banter. There was a good balance between the mystery and the romance plots, which I appreciated. The mystery was well-plotted and characters were well-written. The romance felt a little quick, with Maggie's feelings for Ethan changing a little too unrealistically quickly, but that didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book. This was just a very fun and playful read overall, light and entertaining, but still some emotional depth to it at points. The spicy scenes were fade to black. Definitely recommend if you enjoy her other books or are looking for a quick, light read for the holidays.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars. Overall, this one was cute locked-room cozy mystery. I enjoy Carter's writing, but this one was just not my favorite. The pacing was off - for a locked room mystery I never felt invested in trying to figure out who the bad guy was....and then at the very end all of the pieces tie up into a neat bow that the reader could never have guessed. I also found the dialogue of the main couple very repetitive at times. This is a cute holiday mystery, but it just didn't wow me.

Title: The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year
Author: Ally Carter
Genre: mystery, romance
Format: eARC
Pub day: September 24, 2024
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Premise: Maggie, a down on her luck mystery writer gets a mysterious invitation to spend Christmas with her “biggest fan.” For obvious reasons, she’s skeptical, but her boss assures her it is the opportunity of a life time. An unexpected guest accompanies her, and even more unexpected, is the reveal of the identity of the sender of the invitation. There Maggie spends Christmas investigating a potential murder, and finds herself along the way.

Thoughts: I LOVED this book so much! It had everything I want in a story: mystery, romance, suspense, comedy, an array of different characters, and holiday vibes. It felt like Knives Out, crossed with Clue, mixed with Christmas. I adored Maggie the FMC, and the MMC is perfection.
One of my favorite scenes was when Maggie realized whose house she was invited to, I was like ahhhhh !!!
There’s just something about a good old fashioned “almost” murder mystery in an old humongous mansion. It felt classic and I had so much fun reading about them following the clues. You suspected everyone as the potential culprit!
This was such a good time, and was honestly perfect all around!

Recommend?: YES!!! Absolutely yes!

Thank you NetGalley and Avon for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was so fun!

It’s a murder mystery rom-com between two rival authors who are mysteriously invited to an English country estate at Christmas when (gasp!) their hostess goes missing. They have to work together to solve what happened which leads them right into danger (and, perhaps, into each other’s arms).

It was twisty and turny and really just a lot of fun! The blurb mentions Knives Out, which I haven’t actually seen, but I definitely got modern Agatha Christie vibes, but set in a closed door rom-com.

It was honestly just thoroughly entertaining, it was very quickly paced and I raced through to find out what happened. The MMC is a charming golden retriever who was very easy to fall for, the FMC is more of a black cat but her walls are up for good reason and I just really loved how their relationship unfolded.

Definitely recommend it if you're looking for something fun & light & easy reading in the best way!

I hope every reader one day gets the distinct pleasure of reading a book that feels like their favorite author wrote just for them.

I Loved Knives Out, with a capital L. I watched it twice in theaters, bought it on DVD the week it came out, and I've dissected the screenplay a handful of times. When Ally Carter said she was writing Knives out but with kissing, I was all in. Somehow, she delivered a book that exceeded my expectations. The character growth, the mystery, the puns and subtle nods to previous works...this book has it all. I highlighted more passages in this book than I have all year.

As someone who deals with anxiety and second guessing herself, I was happy to see Ally articulate the experience and discuss how a victim of gaslighting might process her experiences. I appreciated how the love interest supports her in the journey to trust herself again.

I will be recommending this book to everyone. I recommended it to my mom before I even finished writing this review!

I received this eARC from NetGalley and the publisher in return for an honest review.

This book worked better than Ally Carter’s last one, The Blonde Identity. The comic bits worked better, the male and female characters were on a more equal footing, the pacing of reveals and twists was better done. I found the characters smart and likable; the mystery and rom-com tropes were abundant but the book was having fun with them. The suspense and danger amped up in the second half of the book–the first half felt more rom-com and the second half more mystery-solving with a dash of the rom-com. All in all, it was fun: I laughed, I liked learning about the characters, the mystery was engaging with not just interesting suspects, but trying to understand what actually happened to the missing person.

I just adore Ally Carter books. Give me all of them. I loved this closed door mystery. Maggie was sweet and complicated and funny. Ethan was everything. And when you find out why he keeps called her the wrong names??? My heart. I loved their romance so much.

Romance, mystery, and Christmas? What more could a girl ask for in a book? Maggie flies to England at the request of her favorite author/hero, Eleanor Ashley, to spend Christmas at her estate. Also her nemesis Ethan will be there as well.

There’s a whole cast of characters as well as Eleanor suddenly disappears. It’s up to Maggie and Ethan to figure out what happened. The couple had really good chemistry and I enjoyed the flashbacks we got of them as well.

Thanks as always to NetGalley for the ARC.

I unfortunately did not love this one. My biggest complaint was that it felt like the mystery elements and rom com elements were fighting each other. The mystery itself was fair but the romance felt forced and rushed. (This story took place over 4 days.) Also some of the dialogue was cringey at times. I loved the Gallagher Girls series and was hoping to love this one too, however I just don’t think the adult fiction from this author is my cup of tea.

4.5 stars

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter is a delightful murder mystery rom-com!!

Maggie and Ethan are rival authors who are both invited to spend Christmas with the famous author of almost 100 books - Eleanor Ashley!! Maggie is recovering from a divorce - being betrayed by her husband and best friend. Maggie has never been fond of Ethan, seeing him as more of a persona versus an actual person. These rivals turn into lovers in the most satisfying way!!

This book is fast paced - you can’t skim or skip even a paragraph or you’ll miss some important details. It was so fun to try to solve the mystery along with Maggie and Ethan. This book pokes fun at romance tropes and will have you laughing out loud.

Be sure to grab a copy of this one on September 24, 2024. Thank you so much to Avon and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review - I highly recommend this to murder mystery lovers looking for a fun romantic read. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

I had such a great time reading this! it was the perfect combination of a whodoneit plus rom com.

Maggie and Ethan are authors of the same publishing house and were invited to attend Christmas at a strangers home in England. When they arrive a chain of events begin to take place - beginning with a disappearance and ending with a murder (?). I loved going along this journey with Maggie and Ethan trying to figure out who the 'murder' was and what was happening in the mansion/castle.

Even more, i loved the banter and dynamic between Maggie and Ethan themselves. Maggie has had a hard year, and an even harder life so she's slow to trust anyone. However, Ethan and his golden retriever energy show her how to trust herself again.

This book made me have so many feels!! i would absolutely recommend anyone to read this book - especially around Christmas time.

perfect for fans of: Agatha Christie, Clue, Contemporary Romance and a good old fashion mystery

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter is a most wonderful story that I really enjoyed reading.

This story checked all the boxes for me, Locked room murder mystery, Christmas, romance, mystery and rivals to lovers.

Highly recommend this cozy fun romantic mystery!

I don't normally read mystery romance -- they tend to be too cozy for me. However, this book is freaking amazing and left me on the edge of my seat to see what was going to happen next.

I literally read this book in less than 12 hours and could not put it down!

It's quick paced, funny, and throws twists and turns at you with secret passage ways and misunderstanding woven into the mystery. The writing is so good (the ARC had a few misspelling in the beginning like "may" instead of "maybe" - but it was not enough to detract from the story). The love between the characters builds but you feel the attraction from the beginning.

I loved how Ethan didn't try to steal Maggie's thunder but was a supportive MMC who honestly fell first.

Read this book - It will leave you wondering who is the murderer and where Eleanor Ashley went.