📚 BOOK REVIEW 📚

Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret
By Benjamin Stevenson
Publication Date: October 22, 2024
Publisher: Mariner Books

📚MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
(Rounded Up To 5⭐)

📚MY REVIEW:

I wanted to read a fun holiday mystery this month, and Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret absolutely fulfilled that holiday wish! This is one of those old school mysteries, with a plot like Knives Out or one of your favorite episodes of Murder She Wrote, but with a holiday theme that is perfect for this Christmas season.

This is the third book in the Ernest Cunningham mystery series. Because I haven't yet read the first two books, I wondered if I'd feel lost. While this book mentioned the first two mysteries in the series, it didn't affect my understanding or enjoyment of the book at all. This one can definitely be read as a standalone.

While Ernest always enjoyed reading good ol' murder mysteries, he never expected to keep finding himself unwittingly in the middle of trying to solve them. And yet, here he is once again, when his ex-wife Erin requests his help after she's accused of killing her boyfriend - and has no memory of doing so.

I really enjoyed the way Ernest spoke to the readers, offering little nudges and morsels of clues as he told the story and detailed how he solved this murder mystery. Even with all little bread crumbs, I didn't figure this one out in real time as I read. Sure, after he shared how he figured it out, I thought back and remembered when and how he tried to nudge me to the correct conclusion.... But I didn't get there. The plotline was fun, the clues were laid out brilliantly, and Ernest's deduction skills were fantastic in this festive mystery.

If you're a fan of whodunnit mysteries as much as I am, you simply MUST read this book. Reading it during the holiday season is especially fun and I highly recommend it! A merry thanks is due to NetGalley, Mariner Books, and Benjamin Stevenson for this advanced e-book in exchange for my honest review.

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Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret is another home run by Benjamin Stevenson. I read the digital ARC and purchased the audiobook once it was published. The author set up our whodunit as an advent calendar for this Christmas themed holiday novella, so we knew exactly what to expect as the story unfolded. It was cleverly planned out, and, as always, Ernest was charming, witty, and fun. I highly recommend this book!
Thank you to NetGalley and Benjamin Stevenson for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

4.5 stars rounded up

Another hit from Benjamin Stevenson! The Ernest Cunningham stories have quickly become my favorite series. I love the meta murder mystery aspect and the quick, witty writing and narration. I cannot get enough of these books!

A big thank you to NetGalley, Mariner Books, and Benjamin Stevenson for the advanced copy in exchange for my review.

Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson was an interesting read. It was slow but I enjoyed the writing, plot points and characters.

This was an easy read written in a light-hearted manner even with two murders and six suspects and the narrator getting shot. It is by far my favorite of the three books the author has written. The ending is rather clever in its choice of how the murderer is revealed although the actual culprit is not surprising nor is it meant to be. A fast read for a late December afternoon.
3.5 Stars

Our favorite reliable narrator is back, dropping clues and dry humor as he counts down the days to Christmas and until he solves the latest murder plaguing the Cunningham family. This time it's Ernest's ex-wife, Erin, who's in trouble--in jail, accused of murder her wealthy boyfriend. And she sure looks guilty, covered in his blood, but Ernest is determined to find the real killer--and before the new year. With a theater full of suspects, a magician who loses his head, and a real-life and metaphorical advent calendar of clues, he has his work cut out for them.

I love this series so much. Stevenson (and Ernest) have such a unique, fun, fourth-wall-breaking voice that it really draws me in and keeps me engaged throughout. Neither book two or this one, three, reach quite the level of snark and boundary breaking as the first, but the mysteries themselves feel cleaner and more intriguing. This mystery may actually be my favorite of the three, quite clever all around and full of holiday cheer. The one thing that throws me off is whether this is a true book three or a novella. I thought it was a novella, as the hardback is quite thin and it took me about half as long to read as his other books, but it's branded as book three and not book two-point-five. So if it's supposed to be full length, I guess I'd complain that it's short. But that's also not a reason not to read it--because it's great, and probably a favorite of the year.

Thanks to the publisher for my eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 stars - 9/10

This is the third book in the Ernest Cunningham Mystery series. While I encourage you to read the series from the beginning because they are delightful, you can jump right into this festive mystery, which features an advent calendar without feeling lost. Each book has a self-contained mystery and although there are recurring characters with relationships to the protagonist, that really doesn’t come into play much in this Christmas novella.

In this story, Ernest receives a call from his ex-wife requesting his help to solve a murder since she has been incarcerated for the deed. Ernest ends up investigating a magician and his entourage of plentiful suspects. When another murder occurs in the midst of his investigation, the situation becomes even more complicated.

As with the other books in this series, I found the story humorous and entertaining. Ernest is such a fun character to lead the reader through a murder investigation. This story had a lot of characters for such a short span and I might have preferred for it to be a little more in depth and drawn out, but that’s typical of most holiday books in my experience. It was a fun installment for the series and if you’re a fan I’d recommend it for a light mystery to read during the season.

Thank you to Netgalley and Mariner Books for a copy provided for an honest review.

I can't resist an Ernest Cunningham novel! Stevenson should call the next one "Everyone Wants to Read This Book".

I love a good theme, and the Christmas theme is especially potent in this book. Despite the fact that the characters are suffering from an intense Australian summer, everything feels very cozy, and the entire mystery is Christmas-related. The murderee writes the word "Christmas" in his own blood, each chapter is labeled with a star 1-24 as if it's an advent countdown, and the events take place in mid-December.

Overall, I had fun with this one. I thought the plot was intriguing and the narrator as funny as ever. My only qualms are that I think the killer was not super obvious (could be a me problem) and that the beloved cast of characters from previous books does not appear. However, in Ernest's rules of Christmas specials at the end, he does mention that not every character has to appear, so I'll give that to him.

Thanks, NetGalley, for this copy in exchange for honest feedback!

Super interesting book! I did not read the first two and felt like it worked as a stand alone and I was able to follow along with the narrator and side characters just fine.

What fun!!!! A murder mystery advent calendar is what I never knew I was missing in my holiday season. While I find it hard to remember that Australia is warm during Christmas (so readers adjust yourself), this was still appropriately festive and a really fun time. Told with his trademark charm and sass, this is another feather in Stevenson’s cap.

This was a fun quick read for the beginning of the holiday season. Ernie is up front about his "holiday special" and relays that it could be read as an advent calendar with 24 chapters. Inventive, but I barreled right through it because it was so entertaining. The sense of fair play is on display as always, as Ernie heads to another part of Australia to help his ex-wife Erin clear her name of her long-time partner's death. Lyle was the head of a successful non-profit that helped rehabilitate drug users. The story is full of quirky characters and a reveal worthy of a Columbo episode.

Thank you to Mariner Books for sending me an ARC. I enjoyed this book and was happy to see the continuation of Earnest story. We get to see more into his life of fame now and we even see some character growth from him. This novella follows Earnest as he has to solve a murder before Christmas that is ex-wife is implicated in. We follow a new cast of characters in this holiday special. I think that this one was missing some of the charm of the previous work. You still get the inside look at murder mystery books, but it almost feels watered down. I do enjoy the complexity of the mystery and think it was wrapped up nicely. However, I feel like more of the story went into building up this new mystery instead of spoofing it. I think I would re-read this one again to get a look into the hints. I would also recommend this book, however the other books are needed to fully understand this book. It is a quick read and an interesting look into Christmas since this takes place in Australia. I would give this a read if you want a fun Christmas mystery.

Like the other books in this series, Benjamin Stevenson (in shorter form, darnit!) brings on another clever, well written, and Fair whodunit. I am recommending it to one and all who lean cozy mystery but want something different, challenging, and fun.

A huge thank you to@marinerbooks for the
ARC and finished copy! Thank you to Mariner for the eARC as well! I adore the Ernest Cunningham mysteries. These books have absolutely captivated me since the start of the series. I love the traditional mystery aspect mixed with the meta vibes of Ernest writing books about his escapades.
For such a short story this was SO satisfying. I was hooked and found it so interesting, clever twists and atmospheric settings. I'm ready for more Ernest Cunningham ASAP.

I just adore the Ernest Cunningham books and this was no exception. Immediately ran out to buy it as advent calendar gifts for friends and family after reading it.

As always, Benjamin Stevenson has written a delightful, witty, twisty and fun mystery. It was short and quick but fleshed out and developed well enough to my liking. The quick pace made for a more exciting story.

Our narrator suggests reading the book a chapter at a time throughout December for an Advent Calendar experience. I admit I was very interested in the idea (how fun!!) but could not keep myself to one chapter a day. Instead I finished the entire book in a single day.

While not required reading for the series I definitely recommend adding this to your list if you enjoyed the previous two books in the series

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.

This was that direct to home video sequel that you keep in your house and consider canon but not a necessary for everyone. I think it was cutesy done and a little side book to complement the series just not as enjoyable as the first two. Fun short read before Christmas though!

Ernest is back! Ernest’s ex-wife’s boyfriend is murdered during the Christmas holiday and when Erin is arrested, Ernest must prove her innocence by uncovering the real murderer.

This is a short novella, just under 200 pages, you can read in 1-2 sittings, or you can read a chapter a day like an advent calendar (if you can wait that long!). I recommend reading the first two in the series to understand some of the characters and references to previous storylines, but this can definitely be read as a standalone. This is one of my favorite mystery series because I love Ernest as a reliable narrator, the mysteries are plotted so well, and the twists are well executed!

Recommend if you enjoy:
🎄An advent calendar of clues
🎄Reliable narrator
🎄Locked room cozy mystery
🎄Murder mystery
🎄Abstract set of clues that tie together well!

Very entertaining Christmas mystery novella. Ernest is his humble self and solves this mystery beautifully. Not without putting himself in peril, of course. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC

Thanks to NetGalley for my sneak read!


What a fun way to start my holiday reading.
This is my first taste of the series, I'll be reading the others!