This is the third (and final!) holiday novella I read this month, and it was my favorite. 

It wasn't as Christmas-y as other holiday stories I've read this year, but the mystery was sharp and clever, and I was highly entertained. 

I will definitely be continuing this series!

The Ernest Cunningham series is one of my favorite mystery series in recent years. I love the narrative structure and the breaking of the fourth wall. I love the coziness of it all, so I was excited to enter the crime fighting author's Christmas Era." Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret did not disappoint, and I liked this mystery more than the mystery presented in Everyone On This Train is a Suspect. It was over-the-top and quirky, but it added to the festiveness of the holiday. You'll likely find this entry enjoyable if you liked the first two in the series.

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

Ernest Cunningham solves it again! I have to say that I absolutely LOVED the idea of an "advent" book! Each day a new chapter is such a brilliant concept. With the story being a novella it was a quick read. It took me a bit to figure out all the characters but I really enjoyed the plot! I'm super excited for the next mystery!

Love it. Just like all the others. I love how these pieces for together and how he explains it at the end. It's always a fun read

I’ve really had fun with Benjamin Stevenson’s Ernest Cunningham mysteries, so I wasn’t going to miss this little Christmas-edition entry in the series. Ernest, a mystery writer, references the mysteries he’s personally been involved with (the previous two books, Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone and Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect) and the generally accepted rules of writing mysteries.

Here, Ernest shares all the tidbits about the generally accepted ways holiday editions are crafted, such as that not all the regular cast are present and what happens in the holiday mysteries doesn’t have an impact on the lore. (You could choose not to read the holiday story and you won’t miss anything important.) I guess I have read at least a couple holiday mysteries in series, such as the Flavia de Luce Christmas installment, I Am Half-Sick of Shadows.

Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret is a short book, just a quick and easy read to get in in between shopping, cooking, wrapping, etc. A tasty tidbit. Heartwarming? No. A bit bloody? Yes. Made me chuckle? Yes again.

Ernest here is planning his wedding, but he gets a call and text from his ex-wife that he feels he must heed. Erin is in dire need of his help, as it turns out: she’s been charged with murder in the death of her boyfriend. So Ernest makes a quick trip up to the mountains where she lives and where the late boyfriend’s charity foundation is about to put on a big fundraiser.

Big-time magician Rylan Blaze is the headliner at the event, and Ernest gets to not just meet him and see his show but explore behind the scenes beforehand. He knows (pretty much?) that Erin has to be innocent, but it’s taking some time to figure out how to prove it.

The book has a number of Christmas references and each chapter is crafted as a “door” of an advent calendar.

If you already have read other Ernest Cunningham books, I recommend Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret. Otherwise, start with the first.

This was another fun installment in the Earnest Cunningham series! While this wasn't my favorite book of the series, it was a fun Christmassy mystery. I will say this series isn't for everyone due to Stevenson's writing style of first-person and fourth-wall-breaking, but I think it's unique and is one of the reasons I enjoy this series. These books are always fun who-dun-its that have you solving the mystery alongside Earnest and this book was no different! I'm looking forward to the next book in the series!

I had not read the previous books in the series before I read this one. So I didn’t know much about the characters going in. It still worked for me. I was given a copy of this book as an ARC. About halfway through reading it, though my hold came up on Libby so I switched to the audiobook. I enjoyed this book but was hoping for more Christmas flavor. The Australian setting prohibited a lot of the snowy atmosphere that I associate with Christmas. So it has nothing to do with the writing or the storyline.. It was just the locale for the setting of the book.

I loved the narrator’s snarky comments.… I smiled a lot during his narrative. This is not a cozy mystery… It’s fun, it’s snarky, it’s even tongue in cheek at times. Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

It's almost Christmas, and Ernest Cunningham had hoped to have a quiet holiday with no murders to solve. But then his ex-wife calls after waking up covered in blood, her boyfriend dead beside her, and the joy leaves Ernest's world. Ernest's investigation gets even bloodier when he attends a magic show where a trick goes fatally awry...on purpose. Can Ernest solve these murders in time to be home for Christmas? He's bringing us along for the (sleigh) ride, of course, and dropping lots of clues, if we pay close enough attention to catch them.

Three books into this series, and I remain in awe of Benjamin Stevenson's ability to construct clever, complex metafictional mysteries. He truly does give readers all of the information we need to solve each mystery ourselves, but he does it so brilliantly that it's still nearly impossible to guess the whodunnit. Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret presents the clues like a fun holiday Advent calendar and, like the books before it, has a long list of viable suspects. And like the books before it, I was clueless despite having all the clues. I had a lot of fun with this one, and setting the story in the world of magicians added an extra zing that I enjoyed.

As outlined in Ernest Cunningham's 7 Commandments of Holiday Specials, which appear at the end of this novella, a holiday special is not required reading, so no series-long plot arcs may be introduced or resolved. Because this Christmas novella is pretty lean and mean, I think it would be a good introduction to the series for a reader who isn't sure if this particular flavor of mystery is for them; it offers just enough of a taste to let you decide.

I definitely missed the character development and nuanced investigations featured in Ernest's full-length novel adventures, but Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret was still a fun festive foray back into Ernest's world. Thank you to Mariner Books for the complimentary reading opportunity. 3.5 stars rounded up.

3.75⭐
Breezy modern take on a golden age mystery. The level of snarkiness and breaking of the fourth wall was a tad over the top for me. Clues in the mystery were fair though.

Third, in the Ernest Cunningham series, we find Ernest Cunningham investigating, not one but two murders. This story is set at the holidays, and Ernest's ex-wife has been arrested for the murder of her new partner. She calls Ernest for his help in finding out what really happened.

I read number one in the series but hadn't yet read number two. I decided to skip for now so that I could read the Christmas one, and you definitely don't need to have read number two first. Although, I think you'd need to have read number one at least.

I enjoyed this one, but I wasn't as invested in it as number one. It was a short one at less than 200 pages, which was a perfect length for this story. Anything more would have dragged.

The mystery was interesting. It involved an illusionist, which added an interesting element to the case. I didn't guess the twists or who the perpetrator was. The story was told in that same style, where Ernest was talking to us the reader directly, which I find unique. It kept the story interesting.

I really enjoy Benjamin Stevenson's Ernest books. They're quick witted. I enjoy how Ernest breaks the fourth wall and talks directly to the reader. The books always have an Agatha Christie twist and the resolution is satisfying to me.

Since this was a novella I thought it was insightful that Stevenson kept the number of suspects down to about 6 people. Keeping track of 10-12 suspects in such a short amount of pages would've been awful. The book also had a cool set up where the reader could read one chapter per day throughout the month of December with the resolution coming on December 25th. An advent book read anyone? There weren't a ton of Christmas foods, decorations or caroling references but I didn't care. This isn't a Christmas cozy. It's a full on Christmas mystery. I thought it was also interesting to hear December being described as being incredibly hot. (They're in Australia.)

A well written who-done-it. I highly recommend this as a holiday Christmas read.

Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret was such a fun and enjoyable little Christmas novella that was a great time from start to finish! This entire series is such a great murder mystery series and this novella was no different. If you’re looking for a quick little Christmas themed novella to read for the holiday season, definitely consider picking this one up!

Thank you to Mariner Books and NetGalley for a copy of this book!

I ended up DNFing this book. I couldn't connect with the narrator and the way he told the story.

I think if you have read other books with this character it would be a great addition to that. It just wasn't for me.

This novella is a short Christmas themed murder mystery and the third book set in the Ernest Cunningham series.
As it was a novella, I did not have too many takeaways other than that I enjoyed it and that the writing was as good as his other novels as well.
Due to the nature of Australian Christmas being the peak of their Summer season, it wasn't necessarily as festive as I would have wanted, but the secret santa aspect of the mystery was fun nonetheless.
I always enjoy the Ernest Cunningham novels and this was no different.

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

The story begins with the murder already committed and Ernest’s journey begins expecting to solve a mystery instead of it being a disruption to family reunion or crime writing festival as in the first two novels. The mystery and clues are clever–the cleverness adapted to an advent calendar–and Ernest’s voice remains quirky and self-deprecating, just as in the first books. On the other hand, the shorter length provides less opportunity to get to know the suspects. With the faster pace, it all in all worked.

My rating 3.5 ⭐️
A fun addition to the series, this novella takes place at Christmas time and Ernest is at it again , this time trying to solve his ex-wife’s bf’s murder . The book is pretty short but the perfect length for the story . I do wish we saw more of Ernest’s family dynamics in this story than we did

Thank you for the opportunity to read Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson in exchange for an honest review. I loved this installment in the Ernest Cunningham series and loved spending a bit of my Christmas season in the Southern Hemisphere (Australia) solving murders along with Ernest. As always, Ernest gives you everything you need to solve the mystery in this "fairplay mystery." If you haven't started with the series, of course, go back to the beginning and read books 1 and 2, but this is the perfect short novel to grab during a busy time. I don't even think you'd necessarily need to read it at Christmastime. I look forward to whatever Benjamin Stevenson writes next in the Ernest Cunningham universe!

Everyone may have a secret this Christmas, but it is no secret of mine that Ernest Cunningham is my new favorite sleuth. This time around, his ex-wife is accused of murdering her new husband and there is a whole new host of quirky suspects to interrogate as Ernest is fairly certain the real killer is still at large.

Artfully crafted into 24 chapters like an advent calendar, this novella/Christmas special is a treat for fans who are already familiar with our Australian detective. It could feasibly work as a standalone, but I would highly recommending reading at least one of the first two books in the series so the reader is well acquainted with Ernest, how he goes about solving murders, and knowing that he really does give the reader all the information he has. What I absolutely love about these books is that anyone can solve them with the right ingenuity. I especially love a mystery that has all the clues and still leaves me stumped until the big reveal and I must admit, this one finally left me pleasantly surprised!

Perfect for a single sitting mystery and a welcome addition to the series that is not to be skipped.

Thank you to NetGalley, Benjamin Stevenson, and Mariner Books for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

I haven’t read this series but this novella works well enough as a standalone, I was looking for some quick holiday reads and this fit the bill. a fun, quick time but not anything super special and some of the reveals were a little too ridiculous

Benjamin Stevenson has a really great formula that he's created and follows. His main character, Ernest Cunningham, is a delightful man who seems to continuously find himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's a good thing he has the gift of gab and a keen sense of how to solve a crime. He fits in beautifully with Holmes, Poirot, and Marple. This fun take on the Christmas-themed episode is a perfect place to jump on the train, but I'd probably suggest to go back to the beginning of the series and enjoy those books first. You'll be handsomely rewarded.