Thank you Mariner Books for the gifted copy!

I absolutely *love* the Ernest Cunningham series. They are so funny and witty and expertly twisty. I never guess the big reveals even though the clues are revealed throughout the book. I love how Ernest is speaking directly to us, the reader, and we are invited to solve the murder mysteries right alongside him.

I can't wait to see what's next for my favorite author turned amateur detective. This "Christmas special" is short but packs a punch!

Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret will be on US bookshelves October 22!

I am delighted to be reviewing this book for this holiday season!

I was hooked from the prologue - I love how Stevenson makes note of the previous “Christmas Specials” that reference back to Conan Doyle and Christie, but with his own take. The book reads like an advent calendar with 24 chapters and then a conclusion. You can read it day by day, or all at once, like myself.
It’s so unique and fun, and I feel like people will love it this holiday season!!

This was SO anticipated by me - I love this author’s previous books and I have given Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone as a Christmas gift last year, so this was just incredibly fun for me!

Keep ‘em coming, Mr. Stevenson.

Thank you to the author (omg such a fan), NetGalley, and the publisher for the ARC!!


I also posted an insta story with the book cover and added to my highlights

Ernest visits Erin in jail. She wants him to figure out if she really did kill her partner, Lyle, because all she knows is she woke up with his blood on her hands. While doing his amateur detective work at the foundation where Lyle works, a magician ends up dead and now he must figure out who is behind everything in order to exonerate his ex-wife.

An enjoyable Christmas-themed murder mystery I read quickly.

This was a great Christmas mystery to read if you enjoy humor mixed in with murder. Ernest Cunningham is the narrator of Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone and Everyone on This Train is a Suspect. And he's back at it again stumbling upon another murder he must solve. He is self-deprecating and often breaks the fourth wall to give the reader insight into his thoughts.

You don't need to read the others to understand the story, but you should because they are delightful. Even though it's a series, I don't feel like the author is using the same twists and motives to make it too similar.

I was worried that there wouldn't be enough time to introduce characters and get a meaningful backstory and move the plot along since it's so short. But I was wrong!

Is it weird to read a Christmas special in August? The setting of this book is Australia during Christmastime, which is in the middle of summer for them, so the author often describes how blasted hot it is in this book. It is actually fitting with the current weather.

This was another great Ernest mystery. Sad it was only a novella but the plot didn’t feel rushed in anyway or cheap in the way some holiday books do. Can’t wait to read more from this series

3.5 stars

Ernest Cunningham is back, our amateur mystery solver and fan of Golden Age mystery protocol. This is the third Ernest I have read. I enjoy his snark and sense of humor. I admit at times his format feels gimmicky and the plotting ridiculously complex.

Ernest receives a panic text from his ex-wife. He shows up to find her under arrest after she is found covered in her fiance's blood from his stabbed body. And the hows of her being bloodied with no recollection are ingenious when Ernest unveils them at the end.

The fiance ran a philanthropic drug rehab program and all the suspects credit him with saving their lives from addiction. But that doesn't mean they don't all have a motive. This is a short novel set at Christmas season and moves quickly. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Ernest is back with his “Christmas Special.” With each new book, I wonder if it will hit or miss the mark. I’ve yet to be disappointed. This was a short, quick read. Once again all the clues are presented directly to the reader and I was kept guessing.

I had not read any books by Benjamin Stevenson even though I was aware of the two previous books in this series. When this one came available, I thought I would give it a try. I am so glad that I did. It was great. It isn't often that I thoroughly enjoy a book this much. I will now have to go back and read the first two books. Even though Ernest says that you can solve the murder at the same time, I just wanted to go along for the ride. I was enjoying seeing where it would go next.

I haven't read anything by Benjamin Stevenson before, but after reading this book, I need to go back and read his other books. This was a very interesting and fun read for me and it's not necessarily something I'd read outside of my comfort reading zone, but I'm glad I did. I am now a Stevenson fan and will definitely recommend this book to my patrons!

while i was worried that benjamin stevenson's ernest cunningham series would have diminishing returns, i'm glad to see that it doesn't, at least no worse than classic mystery writers of yore. a christmas book is a helluva third swing. and it's still a lot of fun

I can just see him facepalm himself when he gets the text of I need you and thinking WhatNow! (in his Shrek voice)- Oh the fun he must have writing this series, I must admit with this had me stumped in a lot of areas and it was so much fun to read. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC #EveryoneThisChristmasHasASecret #BenjaminStevenson #NetGalley

Such a fun, witty contribution to the Ernest Cunningham series.

I absolutely love Ernest as a character and narrator. He is hilarious and much cleverer than I. While I'm not as apt at piecing clues together, Ernests' humor is very similar to my own. There were many times he said/called out my exact thoughts. He has such a similar personality to Nathan Drake from the Uncharted games, which is probably why I love him so much. Clever, witty, but slow when it comes to some social stuff (like how to treat/trust your girlfriend/fiancé), all with a dramatic flair. I'm still dumb as hell when it comes to piecing together the clues that he lays out blatantly for the readers, but maybe one day I'll piece it together as he does.

As for the story, it is such an Ernest situation for him to get himself into. The Christmas theme was fun, especially since it takes place in Australia. I'm American and have cold Christmases so it was interesting to read about a sweltering hot Christmas (even though the weather was mentioned way too many times throughout the story). The incorporation of advent calendar clues was such a fun concept, and I can't wait to see how it looks in the physical copy of the book.

Although this was a shorter installation to the Ernest Cunningham series, it was a great contribution. It was fun, the characters were interesting, the mysteries had me trying to piece the clues together the whole time, and the Aussie Blue Mountains setting was unique as an American reader. I've visited the Blue Mountains in Australia once in my life, so it was cool to read about a couple of the landmarks that I have visited.

I absolutely adore this series and I can't wait for the next installment!

Thank you NetGalley, Mariner Books, and Benjamin Stevenson for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ernest Cunningham is back! This time around he’s trying to clear his ex-wife after she’s caught “red handed” and charged with murdering her boyfriend right before his charity’s big Christmas performance.

This was such a fun read and I couldn’t put it down. All the elements that have made me love this series are present but this is more of a novella, or Christmas Special as Ernest called it, and comes in just under 200 pages.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

Ernest Cunningham is back!!! I have totally fallen in love with this series.
While this latest book is shorter than the previous two, it didn't feel lacking. The fantastic humor that has me laughing out loud, is on point. The mystery had me guessing until the end, and I felt it was both unique and creatively done. I've become a big fan of Benjamin Stevenson's work. If you enjoy a hilarious main character, engaging writing style and keep you guessing til the end mysteries, this book may be for you. 4.75 rounded up to 5 stars.
Thank you Netgalley, Mariner books and Benjamin Stevenson for making this ARC available!

Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret - Benjamin Stevenson
Pub Date: Oct 22, 2024
Rating: 4/5

Thoughts: Thank you to Netgalley and Mariner Books for this advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest feedback. I absolutely LOVE this cozy mystery series and knew I had to get my hands on it. This third part of the Ernest Cunningham mystery series does not disappoint! This time, Ernest's ex-wife is accused of murdering her boyfriend, Lyle, who is the owner of a charitable company that provides second chances to addicts. Ernest, of course, gets himself wrapped up in this murder, witnesses another murder, and gathers everyone at the end to solve the mystery in the most cliché detective fashion.

Such a great book! Such great characters, some satire that made me laugh out loud, and great plot which was easy to follow. I wasn't able to guess the ending especially with the play on words. I loved the way everything related to Christmas and the holidays, while still tying it the murder and suspects. Beautifully written! Cannot wait for more from this author and hope this becomes a tv show/movie in the future!

Reading this book as an arc means of course not reading it in December, but it also means all my friends now know they need to read this book in December. The whole series so far has been cute and funny, but this one may be the funniest so far. This book pokes fun at all those Christmas specials that pop up in any franchise or series anymore, while also making a great 3rd book in this series. I look forward to the next book. Do I have some strong guesses about book 4 after reading this book? Yes, I think I do. :)
My only 'criticism' on this book- I don't think I could pace this book out to read it as a chapter-a-day advent calendar as the narrator suggests.

First, thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for the ARC of this book! I’ve been a big Benjamin Stevenson fan since I first read Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone. This books stays in line with the Ernest Cunningham series of books but is a “holiday special” so it’s a little shorter. Since the series is set in Australia it’s summer during the Christmas season, which made this a perfect Christmas in July read here in the US. One thing I’ve loved about all of the Cunningham books is the wit of the main character and how he speaks directly to the audience — this continued in Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret. I also really enjoyed the structure of this book. Staying with the holiday theme, each chapter offered a new “clue” to who the murderer was and the clues were structured as an advent calendar. Overall, a very fun read and I can’t wait to listen to the audiobook once the book is officially released in October!

I devoured this book in one day, it was that good. It also helps that this is Novella sized, just under 200 pages. But still, I honestly didn’t want to put it down.

Once again Stevenson knocks it out of the park in my opinion. This third story is such an excellent addition into his Ernest Cunningham series. It’s just as fun and quirky as the first two stories. The murders and their mystery are so well laid out. I was keeping notes alongside Ernest trying to solve it along with him. This story is so smart with how it lays out its information and clues. I love the moments of the fourth wall breaks where Ernest addresses the reader. I think Stevenson is doing something right with his writing, because I am not tired of this character, or watching him solve murders. I can’t get enough.

The only crime this book committed was being too easy to read in one day. Other than that, it was such a fun experience. I cannot get enough of these novels.

Once again, I highly recommend it if you're a fan of this genre, and or of these books.

I normally am not a fan of novellas but Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret was the perfect length.

I have read the authors other two in series and this has the same format of the main character talking to us the reader and laying down the rules for a holiday special.

I did enjoy the involvement of Erin’s ex wife and trying yo figure out the who did it.
I didn’t enjoy though the reasoning for one of the murders. Just made me go… really?!?! I wish could go into more but would be big time spoiler.

May not be the best in series but was a fun hop into the series for the holidays.

Thank you to Net Galley, Mariner books and Benjamin Stevenson for the eARC in exchange for my honest review .

Ernest Hemingway returns in a Christmas Special novella - "Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret". Now an automatic read for me, Benjamin Stevenson returns with witty writing, quirky characters, and a whole new set of writing rules. I absolutely loved the added advent calendar of clues.