Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret
From the internationally bestselling author of Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone
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- Pre-Order
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- Expected 24 Oct 2024
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- £5.99
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- Pre-Order
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- £5.99
Publisher Description
24 advent calendar doors. 23 clues. And 1 killer to catch before Christmas . . . a deviously clever, classic murder mystery for the festive season
For fans of Janie Hallett and Peter Swanson’s The Christmas Guest
'Fun and diverting, with a plethora of red herrings' New York Times
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My name is Ernest Cunningham.
I’m not a detective. I just happen to have a knack for what makes mysteries – and murderers – tick. I’d hoped, this Christmas, that any killers out there might be willing to take a break for the holidays.
I was wrong.
So here I am, backstage at the Christmas show of world-famous magician Rylan Blaze, whose benefactor has just been murdered. From the magician’s assistant to the hypnotist, my suspects are all professional tricksters. Masters in the art of misdirection.
My clues are even more of a mystery:
A suspect covered in blood, with no 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.
Solving the murder is the only gift I want this year.
But can I catch a killer, and make it home for Christmas alive?
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Praise for Benjamin Stevenson
'Leave it to Stevenson to make high-jinx and murder deviously good fun' Nita Prose
'This crackles on the page. Such an original voice' Jane Fallon
'It's Knives Out meets Richard Osman' A.J. Finn
'Deliciously dark, funny and intriguing' Alex Pavesi
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.
