I love every book this author writes. This was a fun read as always, and loved the holiday theme. Ernest is witty and hilarious as a narrator. I would read anything the author writes!

I really enjoy this series. It is very clever. This time Ernest has been contacted by his ex wife Erin. She is sitting in a cell accused of murdering her current boyfriend. Ernest assures her that he knows she would never murder anyone let alone someone that she loves. Ernest agrees to try and free her from the cell and prove her innocence. Christmas Down Under falls during the summer and this summer the heat is incredible. As Ernest runs around trying to prove Erin's innocence he hopes to find place with AC. Juliette who is Ernest's current partner insists he help Erin because she considers her "family." Ernest says no problem that he already investigating.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my e galley copy.

I’ll read the hell outta anything Stevenson writes. This was another delight. Looking forward to the next longer installment.

Everyone this Christmas has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson
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A Christmas novella following our favorite amateur detective: Ernest Cunningham.
The book opens with Ernest’s ex-wife asking his help to solve a murder that she is being detained for. This leads Ernest to a magic show where the escape trick goes terribly wrong.
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I always enjoy listening to Ernest tell a story. This book was shorter than the others, being a novella, and so it felt a little rushed.
The mystery was a good one. I kind of had no idea what was going on. I really enjoyed Ernest big reveal of how the crime happened at the end.
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4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ It was good but not as much fun as the two full length stories.

The Ernest Cunningham series does it again! This book was just as enjoyable as the others. I find myself gravitating towards a cozy murder mystery around the holidays - what does that say about me? I don't know, but I am who I am!

Our narrator and main character, Ernest finds himself helping his ex-wife prove her innocence in the murder of her romantic partner. All eyes are on the magicians and supporting tech team when it comes to finding the killer. Stevenson's storytelling is both formulaic comforting - he moves you through the story and a conversational pace while making you feel like you're in the scenes.

This story was fun! I never thought I would find myself reading about the inner-workings of magicians, but I can't complain. Ernest always finds himself in some of the most compromising situations. This story was the perfect dose to hold me over until the next in the series!

“A woman covered in blood who doesn’t remember how it got on her. And a man decapitated… by a piece of paper.”


Earlier this year I read Stevenson’s book Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone and really enjoyed the ‘Golden Age’ fair play whodunnit mystery. It was clever and funny and I enjoyed his writing.

This Christmas mystery is the third book in the series— I’ll have to go back and read the one on the train next year— and was the same good experience.


It definitely had the Christmas vibes. Stevenson even cleverly organized the clues like an advent calendar.

“If you start on December first and take a chapter a day, you’ll have it all solved by Christmas Eve.”

I didn’t want to keep myself to only one chapter a day, but I could see how that could be a fun way to read it as well.


“Tinsel-draped as the corpses may be, this is still a fair play mystery. You’ll find no hidden clues or unreliable narrators here. My job is to relay to you everything you need to reach the same ‘lightbulb’ moment as I did.”

In this book we have the same first-person narrator— Ernest— who has at this time now solved a couple mysteries and has made a little name for himself.

He is brought into this case by his ex-wife Erin who has been accused of murdering her partner Lyle. After all, she was caught, literally, red-handed. With his blood. And no recollection of doing anything.

“She wouldn’t be the first member of my family to have killed someone.”

Lyle ran a theater run by recovering addicts whose headliner right now is a magician. This is the backdrop to Ernest’s investigation when a second murder occurs.

“There are quite a few differences between an Australian Christmas and the stereotypical Northern Hemisphere fare seen in most books and movies. For one thing, we don’t get snow down under. What we do get, in my specific experience, is more murders.”



There are 23 clues and I think I figured out most of it by just one of those clues and fairly early on in the book. But obviously I didn’t know if my hunch was correct until the end. And there were some aspects of the solving that I missed so I’m glad it was more complex than I thought.

And I was questioning this claim that Ernest makes at the beginning until I realized… he really did do this.

“And of course, by the end of these things, the detective has to learn the true meaning of the word Christmas.”


Lastly, a quote that is fitting for New Year’s as well:

“Confessions are like morning gym sessions: you have a finite window to commit to one and it gets harder to summon the courage once you miss it.”



More lastly than that, here are couple Australian terms I learned:

punters: gamblers; one might argue that being a football punter in America is a gamble in itself

scream blue murder: not to be confused with ‘screaming bloody murder’ though it means the exact same thing, but in this case the hypothetical murder isn’t bloody, it’s more just sad I guess



Recommendation

There’s not a lot to cover in a book like this. It’s pretty straightforward, clean cut, and enjoyable. Nothing that shocks the pants off ya, but definitely not a snooze fest either.

And if a mystery can incorporate Comic Sans into the plot, it’s basically genius.

I would definitely recommend this unless you refuse to read books without a sadistic psychopath and blood everywhere. Although there is blood… I mean a man was DECAPITATED!

Just an enjoyable read and I’ll say it again: I enjoyed it. You probably will too. Especially at Christmas time.

If you are looking for another Christmas thriller also try Christmas Presents by Lisa Unger.


[Content Advisory: 1 f-word, 7 s-words; no sexual content]

This was a cute story but fell short for me. I just wanted more from this murder mystery.

I do like how Stevenson used the whole group to hide who the killer was from the reader. The storyline for me could have been smoother and not all over the place. At times, I had a hard time keeping up with who was who.

Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret (Ernest Cunningham, #3) by Benjamin Stevenson opens with the main character traveling to a magic show prove his ex-wife's innocence in a murder. It involves ruling out the different people in the show. Will Ernest prove that his ex-wife is innocent without ruining things with his fiance?

First and foremost, a big thank you to NetGalley for approving me to read this book. I received a copy for free in exchange for my honest review. The approval for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) came after the book was already published and being busy with the holidays both contributed to the delay of me reading and reviewing the book.

The synopsis intrigued me, and I wasn't sure what to expect from this author as I haven't read anything by him before. However, it feels like Benjamin Stevenson is following a step by step guide provided to him in a writing class because the main character keeps mentioning how things should go according to "the norm". I find it quite annoying and invasive to the actual story. The actual motive to the murder was plausible, but the execution of how it was done was a bit far fetched to me. Additionally, I didn't particularly care for any of the characters.

The story had the ability to be fantastic but was lackluster. I am going to give the author another chance, but Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret (Ernest Cunningham, #3) by Benjamin Stevenson wasn't really for me. With that being said, it might be right up your alley. Three out of five stars.

This author is killing it, but not literally. Book three has been my favorite so far in the Ernest Cunningham series. The use of the Advent Calendar was top notch and creative.
Benjamin never disappoints!
Thank you NetGalley.

This one was such a fun read! I was immediately interested and couldn’t turn the page fast enough. I will be checking out more from this author in the immediate future now!

This series is a real delight! I've thoroughly enjoyed each book, and I'm gradually learning more about Ernest with every installment. This particular story is structured around the 12 days of Christmas, and while I wish I could have read along day by day, my schedule didn’t quite allow for it. I love the humor throughout the story, especially Ernest's witty remarks to the reader. It really adds a fun and personal touch to the experience.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was so much fun! I love how committed Ernest is to the rules of mystery writing. I’m always interested to see what clever punctuation or some such that leads to the mystery being solved. The cast of characters were interesting, and kept me invested. I can’t imagine living somewhere where there is a heatwave during the Christmas season, it’s always interesting learning about the weather patterns in other parts of the world. It was fun when I caught on to a few things before the reveal, and there were some great twists I did not see coming. As always, I cannot wait for the next one!

I didn't hate it, but there were a lot of characters introduced (which, of course makes sense. How can we be unsure of the killer if we don't have a large pool to choose from?) I don't do well with a lot of characters introduced without detailed descriptions of them and their appearance. I can't keep them straight without that information. So, because of that, I felt lost and as though I was playing catch up for most of the book.

The writing style was fine. The storyline was cliche, but not terrible. The murder mystery was fun (since I don't read many murder mystery books). The chapters flowed, left a few good cliffhangers, kept you interested; so all-in-all I enjoyed it and would read another one of his books.

This was a lot of fun and just the right length to enjoy during the holiday season. I loved to play on an advent calendar as well! It gets a little OTT at the end, but I honestly loved it. Can’t wait for more!

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the free ARC eBook.

Ernest is back for another exciting adventure and mystery. "Unwrap all the Christmas staples: presents, family, an impossible murder or two, and a deadly advent calendar of clues." It has been described as a mixture of Knives Out and The Thursday Murder club and I think it's a perfect description.

Ernest finds himself, once again, on the case of a murder - this time the current partner of his ex-wife Erin. The story follows an advent calendar and a Secret Santa as it reveals the events through each chapter. It was so much fun! I love this series!

I have loved every one of Benjamin Stevenson's books, and this is no exception! He has the best way of writing, making the reader feel like you're right there in the middle of the story. The murder is gruesome, the murderer is questionable, and the cast of characters are, of course, over the top in the best way. I absolutely cannot wait to read whatever Benjamin writes next!

This was a fun quick holiday novella, although it was more graphic than I thought it would be. I wouldn't call it a "cozy mystery". This is my first introduction to Ernest, but "Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone" has been on my TBR for quite awhile. I liked the Australian setting and the warm weather Christmas theme! This was a quick whodunit. Thanks to NetGalley and Mariner Books for this ARC. I'd recommend!

This delightful holiday novella is the third installment in a mystery series that continues to impress with its clever twists and witty protagonist, Ernest Cunningham. This time, Ern finds himself investigating the death of his ex-wife’s new partner, a case that brings new challenges—and new suspects—his way. What I really appreciated about this entry was how grounded the mystery felt, even amidst the sleight of hand and misdirection. The characters are crafted with unexpected empathy, and while the plot keeps you guessing, I never found myself rooting for anyone to be guilty. It’s a tricky balancing act, but Stevenson pulls it off with style.

The novella’s structure, which cleverly mimics an Advent calendar, adds an extra layer of charm to the already engaging mystery. Each chapter unfolds like a new door to open, offering both clues and surprises along the way. I loved the humor, too, which lightened the mood without detracting from the suspense. As usual, Ern’s first-person narration invites readers into the heart of the story, breaking the fourth wall and making it feel like we’re right there beside him, unraveling the mystery. The final twist was particularly satisfying, delivering an Agatha Christie-esque moment that left me grinning. If you're after a festive, fast-paced read with just the right amount of cozy mystery fun, this one’s a must-read.

I love the wit and humor Stevenson threads through his novels. The walk through of the old school murder story rules are a great addition. I loved the story and it wrapped up so perfectly, never a loose end! The ingenious in how Ern comes to solve the mystery left my jaw on the floor. I brain gets a little thrown around when there are so many important minor characters but I would definitely recommend this to anyone who like a great Agatha style mystery!

I loved the set up of this mystery with a chapter for each day of the advent calender and a clue in each chapter. It would even be fun to read a chapter a day up until Christmas if you could be that patient. I didn’t enjoy this as much as his other two books but it was a good story in his typical, creative style. I also can say that it wasn’t cheapened by being a holiday story it was written to his normal caliber. Good solid story, creatively done