Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret

In this third book of the Ernest Cunningham series, set in Australia, the amateur sleuth investigates a very tricky case. The book works well as a standalone.

The premise of these clever mysteries by Benjamin Stevenson is that an author named Ernest Cunningham writes books about real murders he’s helped solve. Cunningham’s first book, Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, is about homicides that occurred during a family reunion at a mountain resort. His second book, Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect, is set on a luxury train.

Cunningham prides himself on adhering to the rules of ‘Golden Age’ mysteries, such as: nothing supernatural; no surprise identical twins; the killer must be important to the plot; no obvious truths must be concealed from the reader; and so on. Ernest sticks to the rules but in a rather cunning fashion, and he promises, “My job is to relay to you everything you need to reach the same ‘lightbulb’ moment I did.”

As the story opens, it’s a few days before Christmas, and Ernest is headed to Katoomba, where his ex-wife Erin Gillford has been arrested. Erin is charged with murdering her boyfriend, wealthy philanthropist Lyle Pearse. Lyle pioneered the Pearse Foundation, which helps drug addicts get clean—and stay clean—by involving them in theatrical productions.

When Ernest arrives in Katoomba, he finds Erin sitting in a jail cell, waiting for him. Erin explains that when she woke up that morning, Lyle wasn’t in bed, and she had blood on her hands and face. Looking around the house, Erin saw a knife at the top of the steps and blood drops leading to Lyle’s body downstairs.

Erin’s first thought was to contact Ernest, who has a knack for solving murders. She then called the police, who promptly arrested her. Ernest listens to Erin’s story, proclaims that he believes she’s innocent, and promises to look into the case.

As soon as Ernest leaves the jail, he’s accosted by tabloid journalist Josh Felman, who chronicles reality star divorces and Ernest’s investigations. Ernest observes, “I had no idea how Felman had managed to get to Katoomba so quickly, let alone how he knew I’d be there…. Josh Felman is a truffle dog of a journo who prides himself on being the nearest to the stories rather than the best at reporting them.” It turns out that sneaky Josh has photos of the crime scene, and he and Ernest agree to share information.

Meanwhile, the Pearse Foundation is preparing for that evening’s show, which is a performance by renowned magician Rylan Blaze. Rylan’s big trick involves him being placed in stocks beneath a guillotine, with a gun pointed at his head. Rylan has to escape the stocks before the guillotine blade drops, simultaneously catching a bullet in his teeth.

Ernest plans to catch Rylan’s show later that night and, in the meantime, proceeds with his investigation. He examines the murder victim’s office, where he observes Lyle’s cheap supermarket chocolate advent calendar, computer setup, diary, and what turns out to be an important clue.

Ernest also meets the Pearse Foundation employees and volunteers, many of whom are recovering drug addicts. He considers everyone at the foundation a possible suspect, including:

• Rylan Blaze – the magician whose show is currently being featured at the Pearse Foundation.
• Flick – the CFO of the Pearse Foundation.
• Theresa – a hypnotist/psychic who does a warm-up act for Rylan Blaze.
• Samantha – Theresa’s twin sister, who works as Flick’s assistant.
• Dinesh – the production manager for the Pearse Foundation, who’s operating the lights for Rylan Blaze’s performance.
• Christopher – the head counselor at the Pearse Foundation.

Cunningham is fair but devious about sharing clues with the reader, and I didn’t match his ‘lightbulb’ moment. It was fun to try, though, and many fans of cozy mysteries will enjoy this book.

Thanks to NetGalley, Benjamin Stevenson, and Mariner Books for a copy of the book