Everyone this Christmas has a Secret
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4.3 • 9 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
If Knives Out and The Thursday Murder Club kissed under the mistletoe...
My name’s Ernest Cunningham. I used to be a fan of reading Golden Age murder mysteries, until I found myself with a haphazard career getting stuck in the middle of real-life ones. I’d hoped, this Christmas, that any self-respecting murderer would kick their feet up and take it easy over the holidays. I was wrong.
So here I am, backstage at the show of world-famous magician Rylan Blaze, whose benefactor has just been murdered. My suspects are all professional tricksters: masters of the art of misdirection.
THE MAGICIAN
THE ASSISTANT
THE EXECUTIVE
THE HYPNOTIST
THE TWIN
THE COUNSELLOR
THE STAGEHAND
My clues are even more abstract: A suspect covered in blood, without a memory of how it got there; A murder committed without setting foot inside the room where it happens; And an advent calendar. Because, you know, it's Christmas.
If I can see through the illusions, I know I can solve it.
After all, a good murder is just like a magic trick, isn’t it?
'Ernest Cunningham is back! From a magic show to soaring above a valley in Australia’s beautiful Blue Mountains, the mystery is as ingenious and delightful as ever. Strap yourself in for Christmas hijinks, done the way only Benjamin Stevenson can.' Hayley Scrivenor
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Though slimmer than its predecessors, Stevenson's third meta-whodunit featuring Australian golden age mystery expert Ernest Cunningham (after Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect) is every bit as ingenious. Shortly before Ernest's upcoming wedding, his ex-wife, Erin, is locked up for the murder of her philanthropist partner, Lyle Pearse, after he's found stabbed to death in their home in the Blue Mountains. Given Ernest's previous successes solving the murder of a famous writer and the crimes of a serial killer, Erin calls and begs him to help clear her name. After speaking to Erin and poking around Lyle's offices, Ernest identifies six main suspects, including magician Rylan Blaze; Lyle's old assistant, Flick; and a pair of teenage twins who attended the rehab program he directed. The clues are doled out in the form of an Advent calendar, with one fair-play puzzle piece revealed at the end of each chapter. As usual, Stevenson hits the sweet spot between self-awareness and sincerity, never allowing the regular fourth-wall breaks to curdle into snark, and the resolution is hugely gratifying. Stevenson's hot streak shows no signs of cooling.
