This was a truly enjoyable read, beautifully blending elements of Agatha Christie with a touch of romance, all set against the delightful backdrop of the holiday season. It created a warm and inviting atmosphere that kept it from feeling too dark. I really appreciated the two protagonists and the shifts in viewpoints, which enriched the experience by providing a broader perspective on the mystery, riddles, and supporting characters. However, I did find myself wishing for a bit more background on Ethan, as he complemented Maggie so well. This book stands out as a comforting choice for anyone looking to solve a mystery without the weight of violence, and the hint of romance adds a lovely touch to its overall warmth.

This was such a wonderful (pun intended) book and I loved it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

I enjoyed the holiday murder mystery in an English estate, and all the nods to Agatha Christie.

The biggest drawback, and it was a rather large one, was Ethan. Our leading man was not doing it for me. All these things about him that were supposed to be hot (???) just came off as weird or toxic or annoying. I'm not sure how he believed the whole time that the Marcie thing was an inside joke, given that she got all annoyed by it every time. He was always asking if she wanted to make out, even waaaaay before they had established any sort of mutual liking. He's cocky, to the point of annoyance. And then when he softens a little bit and is seeming to be a nice overly protective guy, he calls her "sweetheart" too much and he just seems sorta fake. I didn't like him. Everything about him is overhyped and overplayed. Maybe if we wouldn't have focused on how hot he was, and how enticing, but aggravating he was, I would have liked him more.

Enemies to lovers can be a real hard one to manage well, because you have to understand why they are enemies. Hate them along with the love interest. And then somehow manage to 180 this in a believable manner. This is even harder to swallow when the Enemy has been in Insta-love since Day One.

I hate to say it, but I don't think Ally's transition to adult books is working for me personally. Her writing is still so much the same (and she reusues tropes and cliches like they're going out of style), and even though I know these are just meant to be fun and fluffy and not meant to be overthought, I just think her style seems to jive more with that middle YA crowd more.

This enemies to lovers mystery set during the Christmas season was a delight. Maggie Chase and Ethan Wyatt are both successful authors...and sworn enemies. Both are very competitive and suspicious of each other when they are both invited to spend the Christmas holiday at the home of Eleanor Ashley, the Duchess of Death (an Agatha Christie styled character). Both believe that Eleanor is about to retire and that this is an 'interview' of sorts to determine which of them will inherit the title.
Instead, Eleanor disappears and they are left to solve the mystery of her whereabouts. They must join forces in their attempt to save Eleanor. Throw in a blizzard that isolates the houseguests, an unidentified shooter, and an unexplained fire and you have the makings of a delightful mystery.

This was my first book by Ally Carter, so I will definitely be going back and reading her previous novels.

When Maggie Chase gets the opportunity to go spend Christmas with her idol, the famous writer, Elanor Ashley, she decides to jump on it. What she doesn’t expect is for the man who can’t even get her name right, to be there. Ethan Wyatt is everything Maggie can’t stand. Now she is stuck with him for the holiday and to top it off, their host goes missing. Shortly after, there is a near death, shots fired and a mystery to solve.

This book is the perfect blend of romance and mystery. I love the banter back and forth between Ethan and Maggie. This does feel very insta-loveish… but that is what happens in Christmas books. I really enjoyed the supporting characters in an odd way, they were snooty but really added to the story. I am also losing my edge since I also did not expect this ending.

4.5 ⭐

I had so much fun reading this book, I always love a good murder mystery. I really enjoyed Maggie & Ethan's story and how everything played out.

Like the description says, it did feel a bit like "Knives Out", but it also felt original and separate from that universe.

If you are thinking of reading this book, I definitely recommend it!

Thank you to the author & publisher for the arc!

This book was so cute! I loved the rival to lovers trope and the MMC was just delicious. This was a good mix of romance with "who dunnit" vibes. I really enjoyed reading this book and it had me laughing until the end.

Well, this is a delight. Warm, romantic, genuinely thrilling and blessed with a romance you can root for, The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year is a stellar example of a cozy romantic mystery.

Cozy mystery writer Maggie Chase hasn’t been having the best time of it when she encounters bad boy of the thriller world, Ethan Wyatt, at their publisher’s Christmas party. Christmas has long been a bad-luck holiday for her, and with both her parents gone and her best friend having run off with her ex-husband, is it any wonder she prefers huddling home alone during the holidays, writing books about cats that can solve crimes by smelling poison?

Ethan and Maggie share a past that’s integral to the general plot and won’t be spoiled in this review, but suffice to say they do NOT get along. Maggie thinks Ethan is a spoiled bad boy, Ethan thinks Maggie is a stuffed shirt, and he loves annoying her. Yet when they’re thrown together by an unexpected all-expenses paid trip to meet Eleanor Ashley, doyenne of the mystery world, there’s no doubting the sparks flying between them.

As Ethan and Maggie converge on Eleanor’s home, bickering all the way, they’re confronted by a real-life chiller. They and the rest of the party are cut off from the outside world by a snowstorm, and then Eleanor simply disappears. Now Ethan and Maggie have a real-life mystery to figure out and a houseload of suspects to sift through, all while trying to ignore their attraction to one another. And there’s only three more days left until Christmas. Is it murder? True love? Or just an entertainment Eleanor has planned for the weekend?

A damn fine mystery, a great romance, good character portraits, a wicked sense of humor – there’s nothing this book doesn’t do well. The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year keeps you hopping when it comes to the suspect list, it invests you in Maggie and Ethan (especially poor Maggie, who really has suffered a lot). I can’t tell you a lot about Ethan due to his mysterious shared background with Maggie, but I can tell you that they are fun together.

I seriously, deeply enjoyed Maggie in this book. Her slow acceptance of love, her realistic reactions, her relatable background – all excellent. While Ethan might come off as initially too bratty for some, uncovering his layers is a wonderful experience.

This a novel that’s wise about the writing world, knows a good caper, and isn’t afraid to get its hands dirty – among other things. It’s funny, scary and trenchant, and was a knockout punch of a book for me. The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year is the best romantic mystery I’ve read all year, and is the best book I’ve read in 2024 so far.

I enjoyed this one way more than I expected, and I already had high expectations!
I loved the premise of this book: the holiday spirit (or lack thereof, in some cases), the adored author, the mysterious and annoying author, and the locked-room disappearance.

I also enjoyed the different characters that move through this book. I could see it all in my mind just like a movie. I hope they make it into a movie someday. It would be awesome.

The only thing I didn’t like was the constant use of the word “sweetheart” and the permanent attitude of protecting Maggie because she is so broken. It felt like an old concept or romance which honestly felt too cheesy and false.

But honestly that was the only thing I didn’t like.
I loved everything else, and I didn’t want to stop reading.
I was so sorry when it ended because I did not want to say goodbye to these characters. I hope Ally Carter writes a sequel!

4 stars!!

Ally Carter always hits no matter the genre. Her Gallagher Girls series had me hooked through middle and high school and if this book is any indication her newer adult novels are going to have me hooked throughout my life. This book was FUN. I read a lot of mystery mostly because I have to for my job, but I'm really a romance girlie so I love that the two are combined here! And throw in a wintery, holiday setting we've got it all.

I am obsessed with Ethan - he is the perfect MMC. He's strong, supportive, talented af and gives our girl what she needs when she needs it. He's so understanding of what she's gone through and ready to help her believe in herself again and regain her confidence. And I felt for Maggie - her traumas are many and she's really struggling to work through them all to see what's right in front of her and to trust herself and others again. Also, two mystery/thriller writers solving the greatest mystery of all - the disappearance of THE mystery writing legend - sooo twisty and fun. And who better to solve the mystery than them? The banter is fantastic and the chemistry is obvious from the start even when Maggie thinks they hate each other. I love a good enemies/rivals to lovers and was certainly not disappointed here. And who wouldn't want to read a love story taking place during a locked-room mystery where you really can't trust anyone. The tension!!

5 stars, highly recommend. It's a quick, fun, twisty read that will have you hooked within the first few chapters. Thank you Ally Carter for continuing to bless us with engaging mysteries with lots of chemistry and romance!

Big thanks to Avon for the DRC via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. It's never too early for a Christmas mystery, so go check this one out!!

4.5/5 stars

This was such a fun story! The perfect mix of rom-com and cozy mystery with a holiday setting. Honestly the only reason it took so long for me to read was because of life circumstances, otherwise I would have flown through this pretty quickly! Ally Carter always manages to hook me with her writing, and I’m really enjoying her stepping into adult romance. Add this to your Christmas-y books to read this season!

TW: parent death, cheating, attempted murder, panic attacks

As someone who stays away from super scary and gruesome stories, this cozy mystery with a dash of holiday cheer was right up my alley! Having the cast snowed in at this sprawling, remote estate was such a perfect setting for this cozy mystery and I love how it heightened the tension, especially since there was no way out for our characters and the wintry weather made it impossible for them to have contact with the outside world.

I really enjoyed the integration of the interview transcripts - I love when mixed media is included, it’s such a fun detail. The bit of romance was also quite delightful and it balanced the heavier moments with lightness and hope.

If you’re looking for a mystery to dive into over the holidays, this is a fun story to pick up!

As an avid cozy mystery reader who also loves (well-written) holiday romances and Ally Carter, this was the perfect book for me. Because I've read Carter's spy books, I initially thought this was going to a spy thriller set at Christmas. Instead, it's a cozy mystery + romance set during Christmas at a manor in the English countryside. The two MCs are a cozy mystery author and a spy thriller (I think?) author, and we get POVs from both. It's an enemies-to-lovers trope, although I don't really know why they were enemies to begin with (because he calls her the wrong name?). There's a character who is probably based on Agatha Christie, but M.C. Beaton's cozies got me into the cozy mystery genre, so I imagined that the character was based on her. If you enjoy cozy holiday romance mysteries (and who doesn't?), this is a great choice.

Thanks for the opportunity to read this advanced copy! I loved this book! It gives Agatha Christie vibes but with a modern take. I loved how the mystery unfolded with some romance kicked in. Highly recommend!

This is a masterfully written mystery novel that takes place in the mansion of a world-renowned mystery writer during the days leading up to Christmas. It follows Maggie and Ethan as they try to solve a disappearance and attempted murders, all connected to fictional works they know and love.

I loved the relationship and backstory of Maggie and Ethan. I really enjoyed how fast-paced the novel was (I read almost all of the book (31% on) in one sitting. I could not put it down and the book kept me guessing.

I recommend this book to people who love authors as main characters and people who enjoy cozy mysteries, especially holiday ones.

I have been a fan of Ally Carter’s since I devoured her Gallagher Girls series and was excited to finally pick up one of her adult novels. Overall, I thought it was a spectacular book, and I can’t wait to read even more books by her.

Thank you to Harper Collins Canada and NetGalley for the ARC of the #Themostwonderfulcrimeoftheyear

This book, it took a while to get into, but it was not the book, it was me.. I enjoyed the relationship between Maggie and Ethan. This is the perfect cozy Christmas murder mystery for this holiday season!

Thank you once again Harper Collins, Killer Crime Club and NetGalley for this book

3.75⭐, 1🌶️


Who doesn’t always love a seasonal murder (?) mystery?!And adding on the dash of romance? Yes please! Now I wouldn't characterize this book as a romance - there was no open door spice and the characters kind of fall together more than fall in love together, if that makes any sense. I really enjoyed the mystery with Eleanor, ad while I didn't try to predict the ending, I wasn't like super blown away with the reveal (but that may just be a me problem?)

I think this could be a super fun book club December pick - mystery, excitement, a little love. I wasn't overwhelmed and impressed with this book but i wasn't super disappointed either.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon & Harper Voyager for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

A great cozy mystery for the most wonderful time of the year.
This book had me hooked from the very beginning. It's such a cute, cozy, romantic mystery with great humor. The plot will keep you wanting more and more. I loved how it played out like a game of clue and the ending was chef's kiss. I can't get over just how good this book was. It's a book I feel like reading again it's that good. If you can't read this right now add it to your tbr for November and December.

This was a very cozy mystery. I felt like the relationship of the two main felt a little rushed and I didn't totally love their chemistry or lack thereof. The mystery itself was very far fetched overall. It was a decent read but not my favorite.

This was such a fun book!

It takes place over a Christmas party, but isn’t overly Christmassy.
It’s got awesome murder mystery vibes.
The characters have good chemistry and even better banter!
This plot was really fun!