A review by chaptersofchase
Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson

funny mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I can think of no better pairing than Christmas and a mystery 🎄🕵🏽‍♀️ 
Thank you, Mariner Books,  for the gifted copy of Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret{partner} 
 
Genre: Mystery 
Format: 🎧📖 
Pub Date:  10.22.2024 
Pages: 175 
Star Rating: ☆☆☆☆ 
 
“Ernest Cunningham, a detective reluctantly drawn into a festive murder mystery when his ex-wife is accused of killing her boyfriend, forcing him to unravel a web of secrets and lies amongst a cast of suspicious characters, all while navigating the chaos of the Christmas season,” 
 
I recently read (and loved) Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone, so naturally, I skipped the second book of the series and went straight for this super fun and cozy Christmas novella. But don’t worry, I’ll be returning to the second book in the series soon! 
 
One of my favorite things about these books is that Ernest Cunningham always breaks the fourth wall and speaks directly to his audience. Something about this formatting draws me right in and keeps my attention. He often gives away an upcoming event, which keeps me reading because I want to know how we get to that point; the author, Benjamin Stevenson, knows how to hold his reader's attention. 
 
For 175 pages, Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret was expertly plotted and left zero room for any funny business. The only thing that irritated me a bit was the Advent Calendar countdown - and this could be a problem because I missed the point of it at the beginning of the book. But I loved the locked room (literally) trope to this book and couldn’t figure out what happened until the end (naturally, when all was revealed). 
 
Read if you enjoy: 
🤭 Humor 
🔍  Expertly plotted mystery 
💁🏽‍♂️ Single narrator 
👀 Breaking the fourth wall 
 
I recommend adding Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret to your holiday reading list. If you don’t get around to it, don’t worry—it will translate just fine during the other months of the year. 

 
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