Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret: A Festive Mystery

Benjamin Stevenson returns with a Christmas addition to his bestselling, “deviously good fun” (Nita Prose), Ernest Cunningham mysteries. Unwrap all the staples of a classic cozy mystery: presents, family, an impossible murder or two, and a deadly advent calendar of clues. If Knives Out and The Thursday Murder Club kissed under the mistletoe.

My name’s Ernest Cunningham. I used to be a fan of reading Golden Age murder mysteries, until I found myself with a haphazard career getting stuck in the middle of real-life ones in this funny mystery. I’d hoped, this Christmas, that any self-respecting murderer would kick their feet up and take it easy over the holidays. I was wrong.

So here I am, backstage at the show of world-famous magician Rylan Blaze, whose benefactor has just been murdered. My suspects are all professional tricksters: masters of the art of misdirection.

THE MAGICIAN

THE ASSISTANT

THE EXECUTIVE

THE HYPNOTIST

THE IDENTICAL TWIN

THE COUNSELLOR

 THE TECH

My clues are even more abstract: A suspect covered in blood, without a memory of how it got there. A baffling locked room mystery committed without setting foot inside the room where it happens. And an advent calendar. Because, you know, it’s Christmas.

If I can see through the illusions, I know I can solve it.

After all, a good murder is just like a magic trick, isn’t it?

• A cozy holiday read
• Perfect for fans of winter mysteries
• A delightful Christmas gift

“Sparkling with wit and witticisms about the world of writers and writing, Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect offers a tip of the hat to the great Agatha Christie novel while at the same time being a modern reinvention of it. Leave it to Stevenson to make high-jinx and murder deviously good fun.” - Nita Prose, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Maid and The Mystery Guest

“Fun and diverting, with a plethora of red herrings.” - New York Times Book Review on Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect

“Another clever spoof of the mystery genre.” - Washington Post on Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect

“Witty…Readers should find the ride on the Ghan well worth the price of the ticket.” - Wall Street Journal on Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect

“An outstanding and exceptional mystery from start to finish . . . everything fans would hope for. It’s a spectacular sequel, every twist and turn as fun and fiendish as the first novel.”  - Jane Harper on Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect

"Clever Christmas fun...a perfect stocking stuffer." - Anniston Star

"Ingenious...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." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"The Cunningham meta-mysteries are absolutely delightful." - Booklist