Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret is the third book in Benjamin Stevenson’s mystery series featuring Ernest Cunningham. When Ernie’s ex-wife, Erin, is accused of murdering her boyfriend, he’s the first person she calls. Convinced she’s innocent even though the evidence says otherwise, Ernie plunges into an investigation.

This is an entertaining book and a great addition to the series (which I recommend should be read in the order written for full enjoyment). There’s a variety of characters, with plenty of clues (as promised) sprinkled along the way. The ending is brilliant and well-done, with everything neatly tied up like a holiday package.

This book isn’t very long (192 pages) but it’s a satisfying mystery. It’s length makes it an ideal book to read during the holidays, when time isn’t always plentiful. Now, I’m already looking forward to Mr Stevenson’s next book. NetGalley provided an advance reader copy.

Just in time for the holidays, a fair play Christmas mystery.

This is a novella, and even though it’s short, it’s a very cleverly plotted story with plenty of clues to allow the reader to figure out whodunit along with the main character. Our erstwhile detective, Ernest Cunningham, finds another mystery soon after solving two very public murder cases. He is headed to Katoomba and a Christmas show after his ex-wife, Erin, calls him from jail there after her boyfriend is found murdered in their house.

Clever, funny and tongue-in-cheek, this is told in first person point of view with Ernest explaining and talking about things with the reader. It’s a great choice of writing style for this type of story and it works very well. Definitely, Ernest is smarter than he looks and though he’s no real detective, he’s definitely coming into the role. Lots of fun. Can’t wait for the next installment.

I listened to the audiobook while also following in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. The narrator, Barton Welch delivers a great performance with his Australian accent and dramatic flair. It definitely enhanced my enjoyment of the book.

I love all of the Ernest Cunningham books and a holiday special one was something I didn’t even know I needed. The story had just the right amount of festive touches and the mystery was solved in Ernest’s classic way. This was a great mystery to start off the holiday season

This series has quickly become one of my favorites this this Christmas novella was the perfect escape read. It was fun seeing Ernest back in action trying to clear his ex-wife’s name. In typical Stevenson fashion, he details what can and cannot happen in a holiday special with wit and charm. He keeps it tight with a small cast, but one that is full of suspects. I can’t wait to see where this series heads next!

tl;dr
Although billed tongue-in-cheek as "the holiday episode," still retains the same tight plotting and fun meta commentary of the rest of the series.

Thoughts
Even though this is a Christmas book, you should probably grab it before December if you want to read it "as intended." In theory it should be read one chapter a day, like an advent calendar. In practice? Yeah... I finished this a lot quicker. It's a much shorter installment than the prior two books in the series, clocking in at 175 pages. Our self-aware author Ernest explains to the readers that this is because it's a Christmas special, and like every Christmas special, it's should be fast-paced, and easy to skip. That being said, if you're a fan of the series, don't skip this!

Like the rest of the series, it's a tightly-plotted fair play mystery with plenty of drama and some really fun twists. There's also a brand new character introduced who I really hope will be a regular in the series, because he's terrible and hilarious. At this point in time, you know if this series is for you (unless this is your first encounter with Ernest Cunningham, in which case I heartily recommend starting at the beginning). This book features the usual meta commentary, self-effacing humor, and dry macabre sensibilities of the previous books, with the writing now honed even sharper than before.

Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret
by Benjamin Stevenson
#onehundredandfirstbookof2024 #arc #bookthree #christmasmurder

CW: death, murder, magic/illusionist shows

This is the third installment of the Ernest Cunningham series. Ern’s ex-wife wakes up a few days before Christmas covered in her partner’s blood and he is summoned to clear her name, but then a man close to the victim also turns up dead during his investigation and now he has two murders to solve.

This was a cute little mystery, actually more of a novella, and Ern himself likens it to the Christmas episode of a longstanding tv show, compete with rules of how the episode works. I love the meta aspect of this series, where Ern talks to the reader, dropping hints of what is coming and how he’ll get there. I enjoy how he plays with the tried and true mystery tropes and engages the reader during his thoughts. The Christmas advent calendar aspect was a cute way to incorporate the holiday into the story. I had a suspicion about who the culprit was but never guessed how it would get there, and it was a fun ending. I enjoyed this one very much.

Thank you to @marinerbooks and @netgalley for the advance copy. (Available now, pub date was 10/22/24)

Thank you to the publisher for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Benjamin Stevenson does it again. Some of you may be wondering if you need to read the first two books in order to understand this Christmas special. The answer is yes. In theory you would understand the basic mystery plot but the extension of the characters and their underlying dynamics can’t be fully appreciated without that added knowledge. You will also majorly spoil yourself for the first two books if you don’t read them before this.

For those of you who are familiar with the series we get the standard witty banter, clever upfront writing and a satisfying ending. I love this series a lot and I really hope the next one is at a wedding or honeymoon most of you will know why. In this episode our main character has begun to advance in his detective skills and has an arch nemesis as all good detectives need.

Can’t recommend this series enough. This is an easy one sitting read that’s great for the holiday season but really anytime of year. It’s told in 24 chapters set up like an advent calendar and has a secret Santa exchange. So glad I got to read this. What a fun time.

Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Mariner Books
Pub Date: 10-22-24

Thank you @netgalley and @marinerbooks for this eARC.

". . . this is my third murder case: it isn’t enough to do the grand showdown reveal at the end anymore. When you’re in a series, the detective has to prove their worth early on with a little bit of inspecting razzle -dazzle."

Ernest Cunningham is back in this fun "Holiday Special" of a murder mystery.

When his ex-wife is arrested for the murder of her boyfriend, Ernest is on the case. There are multiple bodies and multiple suspects, of course, along with an advent calendar and a Secret Santa gift swap to help solve these murders.

A fun, seasonal mystery while readers wait for the next installment in this series.

#everyonethischristmashasasecret #benjaminstevenson #marinerbooks #netgalley

As the main character points out in the book, a Christmas novel should always stand alone. That's one of the great things about this story. I've read the other two books related to this character, so I was excited to see where his story went for the holidays, but anyone could read it and understand what was going on. It's also a good length, as many of us have less time to read the Christmas stories we love. The advent calendar "chapter a day" format was a lot of fun, though I read the whole thing in one evening.
It was a very clever murder mystery that stands in it's own even without the holiday theme. There were some real "lightbulb" moments that I had that I really liked. Looking forward to more books from this author.

A murder mystery set up as an advent calendar? Yes please! Summer Christmas? As it should be. An intriguing setup with twists I genuinely didn’t see coming (but I thought I did)? A must read. So witty. So funny. So good.

Earnest Cunningham has found himself yet again at the centre of a murder mystery. This time at Christmas. The suspect looks guilty, but his gut says otherwise. In trying to find the real killer, he ends up deeply involved in the world of professional magicians.

This was my first exposure to the series, and I enjoyed it! Ernest Cunningham likes to solve mysteries, and he’s good at it, according to just about everyone. 24 chapters to lead up to Christmas, and then the prize of chocolate (maybe) at the end. His former wife Erin is the one accused of murder, and he was her first call since she knows how good he is at this! It’s a different type of mystery, but I enjoyed it, and I definitely didn’t figure it out before Ernest revealed the culprit.

Four stars! I recommend it!

I am a HUGE Benjamin Stevenson fan. I have loved all of the Ernest Cunningham books so far and this one was no exception. I love Ernest, I love his family, the characters are amazing. I love the way he writes, the story just flows along. I couldn't put it down!

Ernest Cunningham and some of his favorite co-characters have returned just in time for the 2024 Holiday Season! And when I say, just in time, I mean, there is another murder that only Ernest can solve, and Christmas is just days away. Put aside your idyllic images of snow-capped mountains and frosted windowpanes, because the Earnest Cunningham series takes place in Australia, where the Christmas season is actually in the summer. Nevertheless, Benjamin Stevenson, carefully places some festive and seasonal breadcrumbs around the crime scene for all of us armchair sleuths to puzzle through.

What I loved most about this particular Cunningham mystery was the structure. Stevenson creatively arranges his chapters to mimic an Advent calendar. Our fearless detective even suggests outright, that some readers may want to approach this story as one would opening one door per day of an Advent calendar, starting on December 1, completing a chapter a day, and solving the mystery on Christmas Eve. A mystery book Advent calendar if you will. However, if you are anything like me, you will want to devour this holiday treat in one or two bites.

Although you don’t have to read the two previous Earnest Cunningham books prior to Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret, readers will get more out of the mystery if they are acquainted with the other mysteries and characters in the series. For those of you who are looking for a cozy mystery to read fireside or while away on holiday, you will likely enjoy this entertaining and short whodunit.

3.75 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for the ARC of Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret by Benjamin Stevenson.

Stevenson has yet to recapture the magic of his first novel - Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, and adding tinsel and mistletoe to this one didn't really help with his dilemma.

With his ex-wife caught red-handed, and charged with murder, it's up to amatuer sleuth Ernest Cunningham to keep her out of jail. Following the commandments of the mystery lovers' "Holiday Special" books, he cleverly deduces who the REAL killer is in an expectedly dramatic fashion. This was an okay story, with so many characters that I had trouble keeping them straight, and, indeed, when the murderer was finally revealed, I was left muttering, "Who the heck is this guy again?"

This is a slight, but frequently entertaining book. If you've read and enjoyed the first two novels in the series, you won't want to give this one a miss.

"Isn't that how all your mysteries work? Everyone's got a motive? Everyone's got a secret?"

Another great mystery from Benjamin Stevenson! This one is a holiday mystery - set up in 24 chapters so you can read it like an advent calendar and read 1 per day until the lead up mystery reveal in the end!

And what a fun mystery! Even though this is nice and short for our busy holidays, the mystery is still solid. It kept me guessing as I kept my flipping my guesses and my accusations. I loved the twists, the little nods to other famous authors and, as always, the perfect humor and wit. These are just the best little mysteries, I can't wait for the next one.

Even though this one will stand well on its own, I highly recommend starting with book 1 in this series - Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone. All of the stories in this series have been wonderful! I highly recommend!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson is another installment in a mystery series whose new releases are becoming greatly anticipated for me! In this iteration, Ernest is drawn into yet another murder mystery when his ex-wife Erin calls and informs him that she's been accused of murder. In order to help Erin, Ernest must seek answers at a benefit magic show, steeped in Christmas spirit.

Much like the previous two books in this series, I had a great deal of fun with Everyone This Christmas has a Secret. I loved the cheeky style of this book and the way Ernest speaks directly to the reader about classic mystery cliches and foreshadowing what's to come in the plot. I also thought that the advent calendar was a really neat way to unravel each clue and put them together!

I do feel that things came together a little too quickly by the end of the book. While I enjoyed the quick pace, it ultimately felt like the conclusion took my by surprise because it came too soon.

However, I enjoyed the book overall and will definitely be excited to pick up the rest of the series!

In Benjamin Stevenson’s trademark style, Ernest Cunningham is at it again. This time in his “Christmas special”, Ernest must solve a mystery that has his ex-wife as the prime suspect. With his usual “break the fourth wall” instances and hints at when clues are important, Stevenson kept me rooting for Ernest and pulled me along with the story. If you liked the first two books in the series, Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone and Everyone on This Train is a Suspect, this book will keep you entertained. A must-read for Ernest Cunningham fans!

Thank you to the publishers for letting me read this novella. B. Stevenson is a talented writer and comedian. In my opinion this book is WAY better than the second one. This time the main character was on a real mission to solve this crime. He had no time for tomfoolery. My only dislike was it having too many characters, because of the word count i barely remember the killer in the book or knew them at all. However, this will make a wonderful gifts for mysery lovers.

If there is one thing about the Ernest Cunningham series, it’s that you can tell the author has a blast writing his character. This makes reading them fun. I can’t help but smile to myself the entire time, because they’re witty, cozy and they make you plot and think along with our “very public” detective.

Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret was a cute interlude to hopefully a third Ernest mystery. I love being in his quirky world, questioning all of the murderous characters he surrounds himself with. I especially enjoyed this holiday special.

I highly recommend you give this series a try if you haven’t already! And top the first two off with a quick Christmas read just in time for the holiday season.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My Selling Pitch:
A murder mystery designed to be read as an advent calendar. Holiday camp.

Pre-reading:
I am rabid for this series. Truly have had the best time reading this series. I LOVE CAMP. The Canadian cover of this book is fucking iconic, and I think it’s outrageous that the other countries don’t also have a working advent calendar as their cover. I can’t stop smiling going into this.

(obviously potential spoilers from here on)
Thick of it:
If Andy’s not in this book, we riot.

I literally thought about doing this book as an advent calendar. I think that would be so fun, but I got it for review, and I’m already behind because it’s out now, but I wanted to wait for the audiobook because I’ve loved the audiobooks so much!

I love that it knows what media you're reading!

I'm fuckin giddy. What do they say on the Aussie Bachelorette, I’m buzzin?

Murder number two is definitely gonna be someone cropped out of a photo. (Wrong!)

ANDY

If he’s going to see a magician, maybe it’s also a hypnotist, and they’re hypnotized to not remember how they got blood on them? (Wrong. But also, I was trying to guess before I had even heard about the murder.)

Why do we keep going on about the temperature? (Atmosphere?)

Are we not bringing up how her boyfriend is dead again? (We’ll get there.)

Could the tap water be blood somehow? (Nearly!)

Her story sucks because she said she went to bed scrolling on her phone and then she was looking in the kitchen for her phone. Is that it? (Nope.)

Without lifting a hand to murder, does he eat a cookie that he’s allergic to and die or that protein bar? (Nope.)

Wow, poor Ernie. He gets hurt every single case!

A Sam!
And with a sister Theresa, which is so funny because that’s also my sister‘s name.

If he has to earn it, does he maybe have to get the password from the newspaper guy and the password is the message that he wrote in his blood before he died? (Nope.)

I assume the twins are going to switch to finish a degree. (You assume wrong.)

My dumb American brain keeps hearing Roomba when they say the town name.

Prop master with the gun feels very Rust if he dies.

Chris + Sam? is the message and they’re maybe a murder couple? (I am so smart.)

((For those that don’t know all the Sam lore, my birthday is Christmas and my name is a bad dad joke because my initials are also Sam. When you initial a document, they put a little X where you're supposed to sign, so it becomes Samx which backwards is Xmas.)) (I do wonder if I would've caught the killer so immediately if my name wasn't literally this joke.)

They switched the guillotine blades? (Yup.)

I say it every time, but these books are so well-paced!

Well, didn’t you point out that if it wasn’t attached to a rope it would’ve gone right through the floor, so what if both the paper and the real blade were up there and the real one is now below the floor? (Yup.)

Wouldn’t they record these phone calls? Wouldn’t that be pretty damming for court?

The only clue I can think of is it means he didn’t think he was going to die or leave on a trip very soon if he was getting perishables.

Or, the clue is that he had to get home after she had already made her hot chocolate for bed to notice that they were out of milk.

But did they have blood on them after the bathroom? Methinks yes. (Methinks right.)

See, I know the password works because mystery rules, but there’s no way a man who makes this much money is allowed such a basic password.

Is it that it’s not a t that it’s a + because I’ve already solved it.

Interestingly, the book points out that it kept the font, but it’s not in the Kindle edition because the Kindle corrects it to the font you’ve chosen.

Did he ask her if he was dyslexic? Because that explains how he struggled in school and why Sam‘s name is backwards. (Nailed it!)

Is the needle prick from a blood draw, and then they use the blood to spatter Erin?

I’m not sure why the lightbulb would be missing, but I would assume the glass in the house is from the missing lightbulb. (Yup.)

Also, Chris mentioned that he’s familiar with the guest room, and Erin going to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

You know, I know Theresa has limited names, but it is funny that I also call my little sister T.

The way I fucking nailed the Christmas note.

Dude, I'm so smart. (These books always fool me into thinking I’m so intelligent, and I’m like Samantha, they’re literally designed to be solved.)

Post-reading:
God, I love these. They're always so fun and bouncy. They're so quick-paced. The book wants you to play along, and that makes for the best reading experience. This one’s a little too short to get that invested in, but it's a holiday special. It’s kinda like a novella where it's hard to fault it for not going into the depth that a full-length novel would, but by that notion, it also can't be as good as the rest of the series. It’s still super enjoyable though.

Designing it to be read as an advent calendar makes for such a sweet holiday activity. I feel like you could easily read this series to older kids too.

If you like the series, it's definitely worth picking up, and I’ll be eagerly awaiting the next installment.

Who should read this:
Campy mystery fans

Ideal reading time:
December as an advent calendar.

Do I want to reread this:
No, I think it's pretty memorable.

Would I buy this:
Yup. Definitely a series I want to have on my shelves.

Similar books:
* The Last Word by Taylor Adams-campy thriller satire, makes fun of the genre and lets you play detective
* Kill Joy by Holly Jackson-the series in general, but especially this one because it’s a murder mystery dinner party
* Hairpin Bridge by Taylor Adams-CAMP revenge thriller
* No Exit by Taylor Adama-I think this is the perfect thriller, and I will die on this hill, lets you play detective
* Five Survive by Holly Jackson-YA thriller, lets you play detective
* The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman-classic twist on the mystery genre
* The Guest List by Lucy Foley-classic locked room mystery, revenge thriller
* The Christmas Party by Mikayla Davids-holiday thriller
* Anxious People by Fredrik Backman-heist, bouncy narrative voice, ensemble cast, plays on your assumptions