This book was a fun quick read. Perfect between heavier books. I love the authors tone finding the balance of mystery and comedy.

I’ve been stalking—I mean following—this author since his debut novel, the first in this series. Stevenson’s first book? Chef’s kiss. A solid 5 stars, which is a rarity for me. His second? Eh, it didn’t quite hit the same way, but this one? Oh, honey, I’m back on the bandwagon!

What really hooked me was how it gave off the cozy vibes of a short Christmas TV special—festive, fun, but still packing a punch. As usual, Stevenson had me playing detective like it was my job, only to slap me with the big reveal when I least expected it. (Honestly, the audacity.)

Lately, Whodunnits have been either painfully predictable or sloppier than my holiday wrapping, but this series? A masterclass. Keep 'em coming, Stevenson—you’ve got a fan in me, and I’m already marking my calendar for the next one! Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for granting me this ARC. 4 stars!

I was already a huge fan of the first two books in this series, so I was thrilled to receive an ARC of Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret! Benjamin Stevenson does it again, delivering a clever, hilarious, and wildly entertaining murder mystery perfect for the holiday season.

What I love most is Ernest Cunningham’s narration. Not only does he craft a sharp, engaging story, but his asides to the reader add so much personality and humor. It’s like he’s solving the murder with you, dropping meta-commentary that makes the experience even more fun.

While this is the third installment, it can easily be read as a standalone, so new readers won’t feel lost. The premise is uniquely Australian, with a Christmas setting full of sunshine, chaos, and, of course, murder. The structure—23 clues like an advent calendar leading up to the big reveal—was so creative, and every twist kept me guessing.

If you enjoy witty, smart mysteries with a narrator who feels like a quirky friend, you won’t want to miss this. Stevenson has solidified himself as a must-read author for me, and I can’t wait to see what’s next. Highly recommend!

Benjamin Stevenson offers his fans a Christmas mystery. Favorite characters are back and the pages turn.

This time, Ernest’s ex-wife has been accused of murder. Ernest lies to his current partner Juliet in order to help Erin whose explanation for what occurred does not sound all that believable.

A magician becomes central to the case. Interestingly, a relative mentioned him to Ernest as a kind of wedding entertainer. Said magician also will get Ernest ever more deeply involved when Ernest attends his show.

There is murder along with a wry narrator in this very enjoyable entry in the series. Interestingly it is set up like an advent calendar which adds to the fun.

Recommended for mystery lovers and those who enjoy holiday themed stories.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Mariner Books for this title. All opinions are my own.

3.5 stars - This was my first time reading a book by Benjamin Stevenson so I'm not familiar with the characters from this series, but I thought this was a fun little Christmas mystery. I was in the mood for a short holiday novella, and I liked how the story was set up as an advent calendar. Though I had a hard time getting into the book the first time around because of the narrating style. Overall an entertaining read but I don't think it will be very memorable in the long run.

Thank you to the publisher for providing an e-ARC through NetGalley.

This was such a fun read! I love how the author broke the fourth wall and said things along the lines of "I am hoping you will figure out who did it". I love the Christmas theme and the addition of the advent calendar. Such a fun mystery!

This was a fun holiday special. I love the twists and "Agatha-esque" feel of the of the evidence and outcome. I look forward to another Ernie murder mystery adventure!

I really enjoyed "Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone", but this just didn't work for me. It felt incredibly slow and I kept waiting for it to get better, but sadly, it did not deliver. I do enjoy these mysteries with Ernest, but this “holiday special” novella just wasn’t as strong as his others for me. Perhaps it was the whole “advent calendar” style? It was fun to read about the holiday season, but the story just didn't hold my attention and the ending was a let down.

This is another great installment in the Ernest Cunningham series, though it’s of course less involved than the others because it’s a novella. It’s got the same cheeky, endearing sense of humor and winks at the fourth wall as the previous two books, as well as the same narrative style of claiming transparency and giving tantalizing glimpses of what’s to come and while also cleverly misleading the reader in order to keep them guessing. It’s not overly Christmassy for a “Christmas Special,” as Ern calls it, but that didn’t bother me. The story is fast paced and engaging, and there were enough twists to make it an entertaining mystery. Four stars.

A quick Christmas novella from Benjamin Stevenson that was a lot like his other books except this time with the backdrop of Christmas. Lots of fun author asides. Sarcasm abounds. A clever whodunit!

I will read every book in this series. I love a good mystery and Benjamin Stevenson might be the best writer of them at the moment. This got me in the Christmas spirit. I absolutely loved it.

*4.5 stars rounded up*

Perfect time of year to read this!

Ernest is back, & this time he’s starring in a short & sweet advent calendar mystery. We get more of that trademark Cunningham commentary complete with special new holiday rules that maintain the fair play mystery while simultaneously keeping things twisty & hard to predict (at least for me!). The magician aspect of the story was perfect & all of the Christmas-themed details kept things festive; I also enjoyed the mentions of several characters from the first & second books in the series. Can’t wait for another installment!

Thank you to NetGalley & Mariner for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I find this series to be a lot of fun- I love that the narrator talks directly to the reader and that he "plays fair" the whole time. I was a bit disappointed that this wasn't as Christmasy as I'd hoped. Other than the mention of an advent calendar and secret Santa. But over all it was a fun fast read- though the ending confrontation was absolutely absurd. Why would you do that? WHY?!

#BOOKREVIEW 📚
Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret (Ernest Cunningham, Book 3) by Benjamin Stephenson
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Pages: 192 / Genre: Christmas Mystery
Audiobook Narrator: Barton Welch
Duration: 5 hours 2 minutes
Release Date: October 22, 2024

This cozy Christmas mystery has our accidental detective Ernest Cunningham trying to prove his ex-wife’s innocence after being framed for murdering her boyfriend. The fun is in how it’s laid out—like an advent calendar with 24 chapters filled with clues and suspects. And, like the other books in this series, the writing is lighthearted and engaging as we follow Ernest’s unique way of solving mysteries.

I listened to the audiobook on this one because I absolutely love Australian accents and narrator Barton Welch does an excellent job.

Thank you, @StevensonExperience, @MarinerBooks, and @NetGalley for my free copy.

"𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘰𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘮: 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴."


First and foremost... I need to call out that this is now the third time I have pulled this knife out of my knife block to promote and review a book from this series 🤣

That being said, a huge thank you to @marinerbooks for continuing to allow me advanced copies of these books in exchange for the review!

I don't think I will ever NOT love one of these Benjamin Stevenson books. I'm obsessed with the unique way they're written - where the narrator is essentially breaking the 4th wall in order to retell the story directly to the reader.

And honestly, I never find myself bored with them, which is sometimes a struggle with mystery novels LOL
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A short Christmas mystery novella to off throw all the romance Christmas was a fresh! Stevenson definitely knows how to keep you guessing and pointing the finger at everyone up till the end! I read the first book and plan to read the second but this could very well be read without the knowledge from the others and not giving away their endings, I like that about the book. I listened to the audio and liked it a lot, the advent aspect of it-reading one advent day till Christmas was a cool thought but me personally after 24 days would not recall all those little details from the start and throughout as just reading it straight through! But like I said it was a cool aspect, also if you have enough restrain to only read a few pages a day! Overall another good book from Stevenson. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the advance read in turn for my honest opinion.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year and you know what that means...holiday murder mysteries. And let me tell you, Benjamin Stevenson is back and better than ever with his latest book. I've been a fan of his previous works and when I got approved for this one on Netgalley, I couldn't contain my excitement. If you're a lover of cozy holiday mysteries, then you need to add this one to your TBR ASAP. It's the perfect blend of Christmas cheer and gripping mystery. I can't wait to see what twists and turns Stevenson has in store for us this time.

A great festive addition to an amazing mystery series! This is only 3 stars because even though it's a novella, I still felt like the characters and story could have been flushed out better, and while the twist was good, it wasn't jawdropping. I still enjoyed it though and can't wait for more from this author!

Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this one in exchange for an honest review!

This book is a Christmas novella in the Ernest Cunningham mystery series. Ernest is a "detective" who finds himself in a Christmas special trying to solve the murder of his ex-wife's new boyfriend. He finds himself in the middle of a magic show production and someone is the killer.

I love these books. Ernest as a narrator talks to the audience a lot and there are a lot of funny moments. I love when a book makes fun of itself and talks to the audience. I also like when a narrator is writing about past events and they know that they're writing to an audience. (hopefully that makes sense).

I also like how this one was set up as an advent calendar. I liked the mystery and how everything wrapped up in the end. I also liked following all of the different characters and trying to solve the case myself.

I do wish this was a bit more Christmasy though. I also felt like it was just a bit slow in the middle. Overall, I would recommend this one!

I was super intrigued by a holiday novel that wasn't a romcom like 99% of the other available holiday novels. Being shorter at 175 pages, it felt a bit like a rushed afterthought to me. Though the story was kind of fun, as the author/MMC started to pull the pieces together, he didn't really explain how which left the reader feeling like they missed something.