Ernest Cunningham is back! “I just happen to have a knack for understanding how mysteries tick…”. Ern, an amateur sleuth investigates, his third foray after solving two murder sprees. The accused is his ex-wife Erin. Presented as an advent calendar, 24 chapters hold 24 clues in this special Christmas caper!

Ern, soon to be remarried, has bent the truth. He sets out for the Blue Mountains near Katoomba to view a magic show as potential entertainment for his upcoming wedding to Juliette. Truth be told, his ex-wife had been arrested for the murder of her partner, Lyle Pearse. Lyle’s Foundation, staffed with down on their luck recovering addicts, was producing Rylan Blaze’s Magic Show.

Why was Erin in a holding cell in Katoomba?

-"I rubbed my eyes…my hands, the sheets: they were covered in blood. I screamed…I saw a knife at the top of the stairs”.
-Lyle, stabbed multiple times, lay on the kitchen floor, blood on his right fingertip pointed to a cryptic message.
-"There is nothing in your recounting to refute the bizarre conclusion that you violently murdered your boyfriend and then went back to bed.”

It is December 21, 4 days before Christmas and the police want “a fast wrap-up.” The staff of Lyle’s Theatre are “Secret Santi-fied”. Speaking of wrapping, seven presents lie under the Christmas tree. One is a big blue box. Seven gifts…six suspects! How strange that Lyle reported his own upcoming murder. “All professional tricksters are masters of the art of misdirection…a good murder is just like a magic trick, isn’t it?”

Author Benjamin Stevenson’s likable sleuth is determined to “solve a jigsaw puzzle with only half the pieces” and shine a spotlight on the culprit. An aerial unmasking…finality presented with a nice touch! Delightful read!

Thank you Mariner Books and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Benjamin Stevenson's "Everyone" series is just plain fun. Do I wish that this installment was longer? Sure, but if you read this series, you know it has to follow the rules, and the rules dictate that Christmas specials are shorter! The holiday elements are incorporated well into the mystery and I love Christmas stories set in Australia because the idea of a scorching hot Christmas holiday is so odd to me. Stevenson also has a knack for being completely upfront about what's going to happen and then somehow making you forget he said it by the time it actually happens. Can't wait for the next one!

I was absolutely hooked! This is one of my absolute favorite cozy murder mystery series and this one does not disappoint! I love that when you’re reading it you feel like Ernest is a good friend retelling the story to you.

A few points to make:

-This is a short book, under 200 pages, but it does not take away or make the story feel rushed in anyway. There was still a lot to the story to unravel!

-Even though it is a Christmas story it is not overly Christmas. It’s more of a murder that happens to be during Christmas time rather than a Christmas filled murder.

If you’ve enjoyed the first two books then you will love this one as well. It’s filled with everything you’d expect from the first two books. As always, Ernest weaves you through the story giving you what you’ll later realize are pretty obvious clues along the way but they won’t come together until the big reveal at the end. If you haven’t tried this series out yet, I would highly recommend it!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for the opportunity to read this book! All opinions are my own.

I don’t like mysteries very much and I struggle to commit to series, but by god I will read every Ernest Cunningham book Benjamin Stevenson writes. Thanks to Netgalley and Mariner Books for the advanced copy! I was so ecstatic to see there was gonna be a holiday special of Ernest Cunningham and I felt so lucky to get a copy not long after reading Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect. I have read each book in one sitting, and this third installment was no different.

Ernest is such a charming and funny character, and I enjoy his breaking the fourth wall throughout the book. I will say the beginning felt a little clunky and rushed, but I’m not sure if my opinion would change if I had listened to this book. I was a little confused about how Erin (who is back!) met her boyfriend Lyle, they just seemed like such a random and unlikely couple. I also felt like the tension between Juliette and Ernest wasn’t properly worked through or resolved like it was in the second book of the series.

Those are pretty minor gripes. I really liked the way the book was set up with christmas-y clues for each chapter, the new cast of interesting characters, and setting the reader as Watson. I still haven’t been able to work out any of the whodunits Stevenson has presented, but watching Ernest tease it all out is so much fun. I’m so excited for any new installments of this series.

Stevenson’s acknowledgments to booksellers actually made me tear up (all of his acknowledgments at the end of his books have lol). I was that bookseller! Stevenson is convincing me the mystery genre can be hilarious :)

Where my Ernie Cunningham girlies at??

Ernest Cunningham is BACK with his third installment of “how very strange, there just so happens to be some murder happening around me!” lore. This time in a Christmas special.

Trademark to Ernie’s mysteries is how he “breaks the fourth wall” and speaks to the reader about how murder mysteries are written. He gives blatant clues that will STILL keep you guessing. Like all of our favorite fictional detectives, he stays just a half step ahead of you. Ernie is so likable and charming, witty and nerdy. So very Australian.

Every great Sherlock has his Watson, a literary device that allows the reader’s questions to be asked and then answered by the great detective. With Ernie Cunningham, the internal monologue acts as a conversation with the reader. In these mysteries, the READER becomes Watson.

Ernie’s ex-wife Erin is the obvious suspect in the brutal holiday murder of her boyfriend Lyle. Juliette is on the fringes, a “cameo” which means she can appear in the next one as a major character.

Absolutely brilliant as usual. My favorite current detective series.

Thanks to NetGalley and Mariner Books for the ARC!