Book Review: Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson

This is the second book by Benjamin Stevenson that I’ve read and enjoyed this year. Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret is obviously a seasonal release, meant to capture those readers who love a good holiday-themed book, myself included. I’ve reviewed stories like this before, and typically enjoyed them. But I knew this book would delight regardless of the Christmas tie-in, because I loved Stevenson’s last book Everyone On This Train is a Suspect too. All his novels are works of crime fiction, with a twist of humour. They definitely aren’t cozies because the victims are often decent people, and there is usually more than one death so there’s some suspense buit-in. Still, it feels like good-natured fun, and this yuletide tale is no different.

Plot Summary

The advanced reading copy of this book clocks in at a mere 171 pages, so the number of characters and backstory is fairly limited. We meet our amateur detective (now a fairly household name in Australia) Ernest Cunningham as he’s visiting his ex-wife in jail. She’s been thrown in the slammer on a suspected murder charge for her boyfriend, a millionaire who was stabbed to death the night before in their shared home. She woke up with blood all over her hands, and called Ernest for help when she was taken into custody. Ernest has a reputation for solving crimes, and comes to help her just a few days before Christmas. The deceased was the head of a charitable foundation dedicated to giving people a second chance at life after becoming sober, and there is a huge magic show planned that same evening meant to raise funds. The show must go on, but as Ernest attends to gather clues and learn more about the victim (and clear his ex-wife’s name) he stumbles upon another murder in progress. It becomes clear that this mystery is much larger than originally thought, so Ernest decides to stick around for a few days and investigate, all hopefully wrapping up before December 24th so he can return to his fiancée.

My Thoughts

All the reasons I loved his last book apply to this latest release as well. Ernest as the protagonist and narrator of the story is the best part about Stevenson’s writing – his voice is just so distinctive and fun. Like the last book, Ernest is speaking to the readers from the future as he recalls the story and writes it down, so we know he emerges unscathed from this latest adventure; although he does drop some serious bombshells, including the fact that he is shot in the chest at some point. He reminds us that this story is once again fair play, so we can solve the mystery ourselves if we want to. To tie into the Christmas them, he highlights 24 clues that appear at the end of each chapter, framing it as an advent calendar. The end of the book also includes a fun list titled “Ernest Cunningham’s 7 Commandments of Holiday Specials” which the story adheres to.

Aside from the mystery happening around Christmastime, there’s not much else that gives it a holiday vibe. And speaking as a Canadian it doesn’t help that it takes place in Australia, which is of course in the thick of their summer heat, so nothing felt particularly festive to me, but I really didn’t care because I enjoyed the story and characters so much. Ernest is especially appealing because he presents himself as a mystery fan first and foremost. It’s important to him that he follows certain rules when writing his mysteries, but he also reads mysteries widely himself. I just love how self-aware Ernest is as well, so both the reader, author, and narrator are all in on the same jokes:

“I’ll remind the cynics out there that the favorites aren’t immune to a little yuletide cash grab. Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle both caved to the whims of the popular desire for holiday murders, though Sherlock Holmes only picks up his single festive case on December 27.”

-(p. x of Everyone This Christmas has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson, ARC edition)

There’s lots of one-liners throughout the book to keep you laughing. As for the crime; the plot itself is still simple enough to easily follow, but complicated enough that I didn’t bother trying to solve it myself, I was just along for the ride. I honestly can’t recommend this author enough, so far everything of his that I’ve read in 2024 has been an absolute delight.