Golden Age of Detective Fiction

For those of you who are tired of snow and cold, you’ll appreciate a warm Christmas mystery set in the baking heat of Australia. Immerse yourself in the festive spirit this holiday season with Benjamin Stevenson’s chatty, ill-fated Ernest Cunningham as he solves his third murder mystery in Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret.

This Christmas-themed murder mystery to follow his previous adventure in Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, and Everyone On This Train Is A Suspect. Since its release in October, I have been looking forward to reading Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret for my #20BooksOfChristmas reading challenge set by That Happy Reader.

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The Story

Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson continues the Cunnigham family curse- that everyone in the family is a murderer- when Ernest Cunningham’s ex-wife, Erin is arrested for stabbing her millionaire boyfriend to death. Erin calls the only detective she knows who might believe her- Ernest Cunnigham, amateur detective and writer of how to write golden age mystery story pamphlets cum author- the only problem is her story: she doesn’t know how she became covered in blood, she doesn’t remember killing him, or even if he was at their luxury apartment after she went to sleep.

To clear Erin’s name, Cunningham immerses himself in her boyfriend’s charity foundation, a unique program that aids individuals in overcoming drug addiction while teaching them the art of magic and stagecraft. The successful participants are then employed in a traveling stage show headlined by the renowned magician Rylan Blaze.

However, when Blaze is tragically killed on stage in a mishap with one of his illusions, Cunningham realizes that he’s in for a complex puzzle. He must navigate through the smoke and mirrors of the magic world to uncover the truth behind two gruesome deaths.

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The Review

Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret stands out with its snarky first-person narrative, a refreshing departure from the typical whodunnit. Cunningham, usually fixated on the rules of golden age detective fiction, ventures into an even more niche subgenre- the Christmas special in this festive holiday spectacular. For those curious about the criteria for a Christmas special, Cunnigham thoughtfully lists them at the end, adding an extra layer of engagement.

Confined to an even smaller genre, Cunningham sticks to his self-imposed rules well and presents an adequate, if not realistic, plot. It will be a satisfying read if you read this in the vein of a Doctor Who-style Christmas special with the knowledge that campiness outweighs logic.

Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret starts strong with Erin being implicated in the murder of her long-term boyfriend; after being detained by the police, she almost admits to having done the murder even though she has no memory of committing the crime, but she holds out hope that Cunningham can figure out what happened that night.

Here’s where the plot lost me. Erin may have had a millionaire boyfriend who runs a charitable foundation that helps people with a substance use disorder. However, the backbone of this charitable foundation is that these people with an addiction desire to become magicians and illusionists and then train to perform in a Criss Angel style show to work under megalomaniac illusionist Rylan Blaze. It feels like a hat on a hat. I believe that Stevenson could have written a mystery about a millionaire who got murdered or written about a murder within a traveling magic troupe. Still, these two elements feel disjointed and even clash for me.

Stevenson took great care in researching and writing the illusions- although the reader could have benefited from illustrations and drawings, especially since Cunningham finds diagrams and sketches in his investigation. They are integral to understanding how the murder of Rylan Blaze was brilliantly accomplished. He did a great job of letting the reader experience the tricks nonvisually. Since many of the workers perform different styles of tricks, including hypnotism and sleight of hand, it would have ramped up tension and suspicion if these tricks had been used on an audience before Blaze’s murder or on Cunningham himself during his investigation of the foundation.

The charitable foundation, which at times felt more like a cult of personality than a genuine charity, is soon found to be the source of a lot of problems- both interpersonal and otherwise- which also felt a little underwritten if Cunnigham could figure all of this out in like 3 days just bumbling around, I feel like a police forensic accountant could have cracked the mystery in like hours. Cunnigham has almost no foil- no surly police officer to win over, no family members to bristle with; instead, everyone at the foundation and in the magic show is unendingly helpful- maybe even too beneficial,l as Cunningham soon realizes.

The charitable foundation element also invited the inevitable discussion about how guilty the people trying to overcome addiction are and whether they can ever really change. There’s the standard temptation of the struggling addict,ct the feeling of betrayal, and maybe even the realization that helping people out of addiction is a hopeless battle. I disagree with the portrayal of people with a substance use disorder or addiction in this book or the conclusion Stevenson ultimately makes about whether treatment is possible- the final verdict on his musings is instead damning about addiction treatment, which I’m not sure was his intention, but is in the book nonetheless.

While the charitable foundation element may not have resonated with me, the resolution of the impossible crime was deeply satisfying and left me on the edge of my seat. ‘Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret’ truly delivers on trickery, tension, and a touch of body horror, making it a standout in the realm of holiday mysteries.

There are also several allusions to cultural Christmas traditions. Clues are hidden in Advent calendar chocolates and secret Santa presents, and the mysterious scrawling of Christmas in blood next to the body of Erin’s dead boyfriend, written in his blood. I generally liked the payoff of these holiday inclusions. Still, they also felt like another hat on a hat, clever little easter egg clues that had to be worked into the story, whether they were the best mechanisms to move the story along or not.

Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret fulfills its promises, offering a story that is both action-packed and filled with cool illusions. The Christmas flair adds an extra layer of intrigue, making it a compelling read despite some parts that may not work for every reader. Overall, it’s a good novella and a fun read for fans of the series.

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#20BooksOfChristmas Reviews

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