This is the best book I’ve read this year. THE. BEST. I was laughing out loud (the banter!), getting choked up (the MCs backstories!), and cringing in my seat (the mystery! aka how are they going to get out of THIS one?). I was graciously given an ARC copy, but I’m pretty sure I’m going to have to pre-order my physical copy, like, right now.

This was another delightfully fun romp from Ally Carter.

Coming off last year's The Blonde Identity, Carter proves her foray into adult romance isn't just a fluke with this second excellent novel. Authors Maggie Chase and Ethan Wyatt both receive a mysterious invitation to spend Christmas at a remote English estate, and they're both surprised when they arrive to find their host is none other than Eleanor Ashley, the powerhouse mystery author. But a cozy Christmas is not to be, when the weather turns bad, the phones and the bridge leading to the property are out, and Eleanor herself disappears. Is this vanishing act a test for the author's true mystery fans or is something more sinister afoot? Despite the fact that Maggie hates Ethan's guts, the two must team up to solve the (possible) crime.

I absolutely loved this! The writing was fantastic, full of tongue in cheek humor and witty banter. There was a good balance between the mystery and the romance plots, which I appreciated. The mystery was well-plotted and characters were well-written. The romance felt a little quick, with Maggie's feelings for Ethan changing a little too unrealistically quickly, but that didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book. This was just a very fun and playful read overall, light and entertaining, but still some emotional depth to it at points. The spicy scenes were fade to black. Definitely recommend if you enjoy her other books or are looking for a quick, light read for the holidays.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars. Overall, this one was cute locked-room cozy mystery. I enjoy Carter's writing, but this one was just not my favorite. The pacing was off - for a locked room mystery I never felt invested in trying to figure out who the bad guy was....and then at the very end all of the pieces tie up into a neat bow that the reader could never have guessed. I also found the dialogue of the main couple very repetitive at times. This is a cute holiday mystery, but it just didn't wow me.

Title: The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year
Author: Ally Carter
Genre: mystery, romance
Format: eARC
Pub day: September 24, 2024
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Premise: Maggie, a down on her luck mystery writer gets a mysterious invitation to spend Christmas with her “biggest fan.” For obvious reasons, she’s skeptical, but her boss assures her it is the opportunity of a life time. An unexpected guest accompanies her, and even more unexpected, is the reveal of the identity of the sender of the invitation. There Maggie spends Christmas investigating a potential murder, and finds herself along the way.

Thoughts: I LOVED this book so much! It had everything I want in a story: mystery, romance, suspense, comedy, an array of different characters, and holiday vibes. It felt like Knives Out, crossed with Clue, mixed with Christmas. I adored Maggie the FMC, and the MMC is perfection.
One of my favorite scenes was when Maggie realized whose house she was invited to, I was like ahhhhh !!!
There’s just something about a good old fashioned “almost” murder mystery in an old humongous mansion. It felt classic and I had so much fun reading about them following the clues. You suspected everyone as the potential culprit!
This was such a good time, and was honestly perfect all around!

Recommend?: YES!!! Absolutely yes!

Thank you NetGalley and Avon for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was so fun!

It’s a murder mystery rom-com between two rival authors who are mysteriously invited to an English country estate at Christmas when (gasp!) their hostess goes missing. They have to work together to solve what happened which leads them right into danger (and, perhaps, into each other’s arms).

It was twisty and turny and really just a lot of fun! The blurb mentions Knives Out, which I haven’t actually seen, but I definitely got modern Agatha Christie vibes, but set in a closed door rom-com.

It was honestly just thoroughly entertaining, it was very quickly paced and I raced through to find out what happened. The MMC is a charming golden retriever who was very easy to fall for, the FMC is more of a black cat but her walls are up for good reason and I just really loved how their relationship unfolded.

Definitely recommend it if you're looking for something fun & light & easy reading in the best way!

I hope every reader one day gets the distinct pleasure of reading a book that feels like their favorite author wrote just for them.

I Loved Knives Out, with a capital L. I watched it twice in theaters, bought it on DVD the week it came out, and I've dissected the screenplay a handful of times. When Ally Carter said she was writing Knives out but with kissing, I was all in. Somehow, she delivered a book that exceeded my expectations. The character growth, the mystery, the puns and subtle nods to previous works...this book has it all. I highlighted more passages in this book than I have all year.

As someone who deals with anxiety and second guessing herself, I was happy to see Ally articulate the experience and discuss how a victim of gaslighting might process her experiences. I appreciated how the love interest supports her in the journey to trust herself again.

I will be recommending this book to everyone. I recommended it to my mom before I even finished writing this review!

I received this eARC from NetGalley and the publisher in return for an honest review.

This book worked better than Ally Carter’s last one, The Blonde Identity. The comic bits worked better, the male and female characters were on a more equal footing, the pacing of reveals and twists was better done. I found the characters smart and likable; the mystery and rom-com tropes were abundant but the book was having fun with them. The suspense and danger amped up in the second half of the book–the first half felt more rom-com and the second half more mystery-solving with a dash of the rom-com. All in all, it was fun: I laughed, I liked learning about the characters, the mystery was engaging with not just interesting suspects, but trying to understand what actually happened to the missing person.

I just adore Ally Carter books. Give me all of them. I loved this closed door mystery. Maggie was sweet and complicated and funny. Ethan was everything. And when you find out why he keeps called her the wrong names??? My heart. I loved their romance so much.

Romance, mystery, and Christmas? What more could a girl ask for in a book? Maggie flies to England at the request of her favorite author/hero, Eleanor Ashley, to spend Christmas at her estate. Also her nemesis Ethan will be there as well.

There’s a whole cast of characters as well as Eleanor suddenly disappears. It’s up to Maggie and Ethan to figure out what happened. The couple had really good chemistry and I enjoyed the flashbacks we got of them as well.

Thanks as always to NetGalley for the ARC.

I unfortunately did not love this one. My biggest complaint was that it felt like the mystery elements and rom com elements were fighting each other. The mystery itself was fair but the romance felt forced and rushed. (This story took place over 4 days.) Also some of the dialogue was cringey at times. I loved the Gallagher Girls series and was hoping to love this one too, however I just don’t think the adult fiction from this author is my cup of tea.

4.5 stars

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter is a delightful murder mystery rom-com!!

Maggie and Ethan are rival authors who are both invited to spend Christmas with the famous author of almost 100 books - Eleanor Ashley!! Maggie is recovering from a divorce - being betrayed by her husband and best friend. Maggie has never been fond of Ethan, seeing him as more of a persona versus an actual person. These rivals turn into lovers in the most satisfying way!!

This book is fast paced - you can’t skim or skip even a paragraph or you’ll miss some important details. It was so fun to try to solve the mystery along with Maggie and Ethan. This book pokes fun at romance tropes and will have you laughing out loud.

Be sure to grab a copy of this one on September 24, 2024. Thank you so much to Avon and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review - I highly recommend this to murder mystery lovers looking for a fun romantic read. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

I had such a great time reading this! it was the perfect combination of a whodoneit plus rom com.

Maggie and Ethan are authors of the same publishing house and were invited to attend Christmas at a strangers home in England. When they arrive a chain of events begin to take place - beginning with a disappearance and ending with a murder (?). I loved going along this journey with Maggie and Ethan trying to figure out who the 'murder' was and what was happening in the mansion/castle.

Even more, i loved the banter and dynamic between Maggie and Ethan themselves. Maggie has had a hard year, and an even harder life so she's slow to trust anyone. However, Ethan and his golden retriever energy show her how to trust herself again.

This book made me have so many feels!! i would absolutely recommend anyone to read this book - especially around Christmas time.

perfect for fans of: Agatha Christie, Clue, Contemporary Romance and a good old fashion mystery

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter is a most wonderful story that I really enjoyed reading.

This story checked all the boxes for me, Locked room murder mystery, Christmas, romance, mystery and rivals to lovers.

Highly recommend this cozy fun romantic mystery!

I don't normally read mystery romance -- they tend to be too cozy for me. However, this book is freaking amazing and left me on the edge of my seat to see what was going to happen next.

I literally read this book in less than 12 hours and could not put it down!

It's quick paced, funny, and throws twists and turns at you with secret passage ways and misunderstanding woven into the mystery. The writing is so good (the ARC had a few misspelling in the beginning like "may" instead of "maybe" - but it was not enough to detract from the story). The love between the characters builds but you feel the attraction from the beginning.

I loved how Ethan didn't try to steal Maggie's thunder but was a supportive MMC who honestly fell first.

Read this book - It will leave you wondering who is the murderer and where Eleanor Ashley went.

Thank you Avon and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Absolutely loved this book and devoured it within a few days! This book is a rivals to lovers, rom-com, and knives-out mystery all in one and I couldn't have asked for anything better!
While I loved the mystery component of this book I ADORED the romance element. You know the phrase "to love someone is to know them," well that my friends is a perfect description of Ethan Wyatt and his love for Maggie. Ethan is now officially one of my new favorite book boyfriends! He's an absolute walking green flag.
Here are just a few things I love about him: he reads romance books, he's protective and thoughtful, can read Maggie very well, and is so comforting. Also, the banter between Maggie and Ethan was so fun and had me blushing and cracking up.
I also enjoyed the pace of the story and how seamlessly the characters' backstories were incorporated throughout the chapters. Oh! and I need to mention that I loved how the book had short chapters!
Overall, this was such a fun read! Tloved it so much that the moment I finished this book I bought a ticket to see Ally Carter in LA in October! If this book sounds like something you might be interested in please give it a try!

As a long time fan of Ally Carter (she got me into reading when I was 14) I screamed when I got approved for this ARC (Thank for NetGalley and the publishers!!! Very much appreciated!!!) And then I screamed again when I started reading it because it was That Good.
This book was literally the most fun I’ve had reading all year. And definitely my fav Ally Carter release of the last 6 years (how long I’ve been reading her). The setting was so very atmospheric, it doesn’t matter that I read this in August with my AC broken, you can’t tell me there wasn’t a foot of snow outside my window and I wasn’t in the English countryside. The writing was packed with Carter’s signature humor, the dialogue especially had me laughing out loud at multiple points. If nothing else, you should read this book simply because it’s genuinely funny. I loved the characters so very much as well. Maggie and Ethan were phenomenal, and their character development stood out to me immensely. Carter did a great job having their individual growth not be hindered by their budding romance as well. I always value themes in books, and I loved the ones presented here— this is at its core a story of overcoming doubt when you’ve been made by everyone around you to feel less than or crazy, and finding yourself. And of course, the mystery was fantastic. I’ve never been one for cozy mysteries, but this has me reconsidering that. It was so much fun, and the twists were incredible. The reveal scene at the end was one of my absolute favorites. Plus, it’s not an Ally Carer book without secret passages. I just had so much fun reading this book, it's easily one of my favorite books I've read this year. It's books like these that remind me why I'm so thankful for stories and blessed to be able to read them.
Once again, thank you NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC!

Ally Carter and I go way back. I was a Gallagher Girl who was lucky enough to read the series as they hit the shelves. So when The Blonde Identity came out last year, I knew it would be a hit. And of course, I loved it. I thought that Ally Carter had hit her peak. Nope. She just keeps getting better and better because The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year is somehow better than the already amazing books she has written.

The banter in this one is top-tier. The twists and turns kept me second-guessing. AND no one can write as sweet of a romance as the one Ethan and his Margaret Catherine-Louise-Grace-Eugenia-Amelia-*Elizabeth* Chase.

Thank you so so so much NetGalley and Avon for an ARC of The Worst Crime of the Year! This one will probably be my favorite read of the year. Pub Date: September 24, 2024

This book had me at the dedication. I love Ally Carter's writing and normally finish a book in one or two sittings. This one I had to take breaks with because the way that it deals with recovering from gaslighting was really hitting and helping me personally. It gave me a getaway of my own to really think through my own things as the main character is sorting through some of her own memories. The story is about a recently divorced writer being invited to a Christmas party at her biggest fan's mansion, along with other mystery writers. The fan goes missing in a locked-door mystery and so our heroine has to team up with her megastar rival to solve the mystery. I love stories that revolve around writing and traditional publishing. There's just something about the fantasy of an author's life in a wacky situation that gets me excited to read. This, along with The Blonde Identity, is a great take on a locked door mystery. I love that Ally is writing for an adult audience now. I don't care for cursing, and this one has a bit, but not like The Blonde Identity. There are some spicy moments, which I prefer closed door/sweet clean romances, but this skirts the line of what I would have to skip over or skip entirely. It was a great three day read for me, and helped me through some lingering self-doubts I had from my own gaslit life. If the dedication speaks to you too, keep reading! You're not crazy, this is a book for you.

Such a fun locked room murder mystery! It's a very cozy read, perfect for around Christmas time as it takes place (mostly) from the 23rd-25th of December. The perfect amount of romance and mystery and enough twists and turns to keep you guessing. I'd definitely recommend this book! Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager and Netgalley for the early copy!

Ally Carter I was not familiar with your game; I will for sure be checking out her previous work and any future works because this was so delightful. A cozy mystery and setting is so atmospheric — steeped in suspense and romance (the perfect combination). Full of banter between the main characters and a surprisingly intimate and emotional love story woven between the locked door mystery. I just want to quote the entire book, but sadly I'm not allowed. However, there's a “who did this to you moment“ that had me squealing and I know will have you down bad too. There are short chapters to keep your attention and makes you want to get to the end of the book faster to figure out the mystery. This book really did play out like a movie, especially the scene where Maggie and Ethan reveal everything to the guests, à la Clue (1985).

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!