I read Ally Carter religiously as a teenager and am so happy that she is back and writing in the adult space. Last year's Blonde Identity was a blast, and The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year is equally fun. The book is a successful blend of my favorite genres--romance and mystery. It follows two enemy mystery writers, Maggie and Ethan, from the same publisher who are summoned to their biggest fan's estate in England for Christmas. Their biggest fan is Eleanor Ashley, the most important and successful mystery author, who disappears without a trace two days before Christmas, leaving our two protagonists to find her, while trapped in the estate with a wild cast of characters. The chemistry and banter between Maggie and Ethan was great. Highly recommend this book for your holiday reading list, its like drinking a great cup of hot chocolate in front of a roaring fire.

Mystery, romance and set at Christmas, yes please!!

Maggie Chase and Ethan Wyatt are rival mystery authors who are invited to the estate of legendary author Eleanor Ashley. When Eleanor vanishes from a locked room, Maggie & Ethan have to work together to solve the mystery.

I really enjoyed the story line and loved the banter between Maggie and Ethan. It was a great mix of romance and mystery that kept me guessing the whole time.

Thanks to NetGalley, Harper Collins and Killer Crime Club for the chance to read an ARC of The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year

This was such a fun read! If you’re a fan of cozy mysteries, books about authors, and Knives Out you NEED to check this book out.

I’ve loved Ally’s writing since I was in middle school reading the Gallagher Girls series, and I still love it now! I read this book in a day—it was fast-paced and I loved it!

We’ve got a mansion owned by a famous mystery writer, rival authors (to lovers?!), attempted murder, and within all of that we have a main character that’s learning to trust herself after a divorce from her scummy ex-husband.

This book was a riot & I definitely recommend you putting it on your holiday list!

Maggie and Ethan are both mystery writers who write for the same publishing company. They both get invited to the mysterious Christmas party that their publisher encourages them to attend. Soon after they arrive, the host goes missing. Maggie and Ethan find themselves in the middle of a real mystery that needs to be solved.

This book was so much fun. I think mystery rom-coms are going to be one of my new favorite sub-genres. I loved the evolution of Maggie and Ethan's relationship as it developed from rivals to partners to something more. The bickering and bantering at the beginning was top-notch. I love that Ethan recognized that Maggie had been hurt in the past. He wants to help her move forward. Maggie recognizes the same in Ethan and wants the same for him.

Although there are some tension-filled moments, the romance is pretty much fade-to-black. Although, I never felt like the mystery was super high-stakes. The combination of the romance and mystery made for a fun, holiday read that I will be recommending.

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year is a fun, easy to read, layered Christmas mystery and love story. It’s like if Knives Out and Gosford Park had a baby who loved love.

The first half of the book was a little confusing with the cast of characters and how everyone fit together. Plus, I just had so many questions! Then we got Ethan’s POV for the first time and the book really hit it’s stride. The character and relationship development really hits. That leads to a great balance between the moments of relationship growth between Maggie and Ethan and their working together to solve the mystery.

Moments I loved:
When Maggie finally says “Yes” to the question Ethan keeps asking!
When we find out what happened in Tucson.
And of course the scene in which we find out how everything fits together. Well, almost everything.

This book finishes in a strong satisfying way and all the questions I had at the beginning are answered. Do I want more? Always!

I would absolutely recommend this book! Especially to those who love fun mysteries, the Christmas season, romance, Hallmark or any mix of those.

i had so much fun reading this book! the meta-ness of mystery authors solving a mystery was excellent, i'm not normally a mystery fan, but throw a romance in it, and i'm all in. the knives out with kissing marketing is absolutely spot on. i'd recommend this to any contemporary romance fan!

Ally Carter is an auto-buy for me and this book is no exception. What a fun Christmas mystery set in the UK with some romance mixed in! Highly recommend!

This mystery from Ally Carter was Clue meets Agatha Christie and they fall in love and have a romance baby. I ADORE this book. Maggie and Ethan are authors with the same publishing house - Ethan is the golden boy, while he never seems to remember Maggie's name and she trucks along to reassemble her life around her. After a missing invitation to a Christmas party (hello, Clue!) they need to set aside their differences to solve the disappearance of a legendary author.

I am in love with Ethan Wyatt. The end.

That could honestly be my review. He is a boy obsessed and I'm here for it.

But seriously - a 5 star read that's going to be perfect for the 'bers. The social commentary on gaslighting, believeing in oneself, and surviving his incredible. What seems like a low-stakes locked door mystery is a charming and poignant exploration into gaslighting and how you can write your own story and be supported through every step of the way. I'm still just in giggles over how much fun this was to read and I can't wait to get my hands on the physical copy.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the chance to read this book. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

I've never read Ally Carter before, but now I am a Fan. I can't wait to read more. I wish I could give this book 10 Stars. It's absolutely perfect. I will be recommending it to everyone this year.

Maggie is done with Christmas. She doesn't want to do anything but stay home and sulk until her Publisher hands her a Christmas Invitation. The Invitation ends up being from her favorite Author, the woman she aspires to be. The downfall is that she is traveling with someone she hates. Cue the Enemies to Lovers Trope. Done Beautifully.

Until her idol disappears from a locked room, everyone is now a suspect. Let the Mystery and Romance begin.

Thank You to Net Galley, Ally Carter, and Avon Publishin

I loved this book so much! If I could give it more than five stars, I would. It has everything I love but didn’t know I needed jam-packed into one delightfully fun story. There's a locked room mystery set in an English manor that's full of intriguing characters, hilarious situations that had me literally laughing out loud, and a swoony rivals-to-lovers romance. Yep, I was sold. What's not to love? I’ve been a big fan of Ally Carter since her Gallagher Girl books, and, I’ve gotta say, this is my new favorite.

Maggie and Ethan were so fun together. Their banter was hilarious. There was a definite spark between them, which had me rooting so hard for them. Maggie had a bit of a hard edge about her, but the more I learned about her and the more I discovered about her past, I understood her and was cheering her on. Ethan was a bit of a mystery himself. Very little was known about him, but I loved the slow reveal of getting to know him. I don't want to say too much, but, wow, what a swoony guy!

This story wasn't all laughs, though. I appreciated the fact that important and sometimes heavy topics were addressed.

I thought the mystery was excellent. I never knew who or what to trust. The ending was such a brilliant twist!

I need more books like this. I need more funny, mysterious, and suspenseful rom-coms. This was absolutely delightful, and I can't recommend it highly enough.

NOTE: There was a little bit of language, and while there was heavily implied intimacy, it remained behind a closed door.

I received a copy of this book and voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and comments are my honest opinion.

I received an arc copy of my first Ally Carter book and I am absolutely planning to read more of her books now. This book had great banter and was well written that I didn’t want to put it down. I was hooked on this story of Maggie and Ethan and the mystery they needed to solve.

I really enjoyed reading this so thank you for this arc copy!

I loved this. A Christmas mystery/romance is something I didn’t know I needed. The story with the mystery was great and i loved getting to watch an enemies to lovers romance blossom.

Accidentally stayed up way too late completely bingeing this book, and I loved it!! It very much has Agatha Christie// Clue type vibes, and I ate it up. Ethan and Maggie were so much fun and I loved their banter! For some reason, Maggie has hated Ethan. Can’t stand him. When they both end up invited to the same mysterious Christmas celebration, they’re forced to spend time together and we start to learn why Maggie has hated him. Ethan himself turned out to be such a big surprise, and I absolutely love that man. I really don’t want to spoil anything, so I’ll just leave it at the fact that there is so much more to him than most people realize, and between his backstory and everything between him and Maggie…my heart. But that’s just the two of them! The mystery itself was SO GOOD! Twists I didn’t expect, so many hidden clues, secret passages, the laughs and banter, someone trying to take out Maggie…*chef’s kiss* I loved it. It was everything I was hoping for after I read the description! Definitely recommend if you’re looking for a holiday rom-com/ mystery!

[ARC fromNetGalley//Avon and Harper Voyager in exchange for an honest review]

This !!!! That prologue wow. This is such a great book, funny , entertaining and definitely different. I like both characters they are hilarious together. The whole set was really good and well the mystery so good . Definitely recommending

This was a lot of fun! I feel like that’s going to be the most said thing about this book, but it’s true. Maggie is a writer that’s been more or less a recluse for the past year. So when her publisher insists she goes to England for Christmas, she reluctantly accepts. She when the flight takes off, her archenemy, Ethan, appears. He’s also a writer and is going to the same house party. Starts off with great banter between, and the whole enemies to lovers vibe was spot on. Throw in some unsavory characters, a missing beloved writer, some killing attempts, and a little mistletoe……you have yourself a fun Christmas romp.

I love a good murder mystery. This reminded just of CLUE, and I love CLUE. I really enjoyed the romance thrown at me and the fact that it was during Christmas makes it even better. I love how the couple talked about their traumas and opened up before just jumping into a relationship, their past and how they got to the place they are in.

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter is an absolute holiday gem! Picture Knives Out with a dash of festive cheer, and you’ve got this perfectly blended rom-com mystery. Maggie Chase and Ethan Wyatt’s rivals-to-lovers banter is razor-sharp and hilarious, making every page crackle with tension and wit. The locked-room mystery involving the world’s most famous mystery author adds an irresistible twist, keeping you guessing until the very end. The snowbound mansion, quirky characters, and holiday vibes create the perfect setting for romance and intrigue. It’s clever, charming, and a must-read for fans of cozy mysteries and holiday romances.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest review.

This was such an incredible, fast paced holiday read with twist after twist. While it has yet to be said whether this book will have a sequel, Ally Carter has the opportunity to pull a J.D. Robb with her romantic mystery series. I would absolutely love for Maggie and Ethan’s mystery-solving adventures to continue. I adored this book and can’t think of a better read to usher in the holidays.

J.D. Robb was my Eleanor Ashley growing up, but I consider Ally Carter my next as she continues the spark from her YA reads into the adult fiction space.

This was possibly the most fun read this year!
Huge thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for this
ARC.
This book is like ifScooby Doo, Clue, Agatha Christie, and Knives out had a baby. Throw in a dash of romance and a pinch of a "who did this to you" MMC and baby you got a stew goin. So fun, so so cute. I was gasping. I was giggling.
It was all too good.

This was such a good time!
I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley and I’m so glad I applied for it.
Maggie Chase writes cozy mysteries and Ethan Wyatt writes thrillers, (I love books about books) they’re invited to a fan’s home for Christmas and the mystery begins.
The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year is a cozy little whodunnit with one of the best pining MMCs I’ve read in a long time. I think I fell in love with Ethan while reading this.
If you’re wanting a mystery but nothing too deep and serious around Christmas this is the book for you!