The Most Wonderful Crime Of the Year by Ally Carter Published by Avon Genres: Holiday, Cozy Mystery, Contemporary Romance
Pages: 303
Format: Kindle or ebook
Source: purchased
Purchase: Amazon | Bookshop | Audible | Chirp
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Knives Out gets a holiday rom-com twist in this rivals-to-lovers romance-mystery from New York Times bestselling author Ally Carter.
The bridge is out. The phones are down. And the most famous mystery writer in the world just disappeared out of a locked room three days before Christmas.
Meet Maggie Chase and Ethan
She’s the new Queen of the Cozy Mystery.
He’s Mr. Big-time Thriller Guy.
She hates his guts.
He thinks her name is Marcie (no matter how many times she’s told him otherwise.)
But when they both accept a cryptic invitation to attend a Christmas house party at the English estate of a reclusive fan, neither is expecting their host to be the most powerful author in the Eleanor Ashley, the Duchess of Death herself.
That night, the weather turns, and the next morning Eleanor is gone.
She vanished from a locked room, and Maggie has to wonder: Is Eleanor in danger? Or is it all some kind of test? Is Ethan the competition? Or is he the only person in that snowbound mansion she can trust?
As the snow gets deeper and the stakes get higher, every clue will bring Maggie and Ethan closer to the truth—and each other. Because, this Christmas, these two rivals are going to have to become allies (and maybe more) if they have any hope of saving Eleanor.
Assuming they don’t kill each other first.
The Most Wonderful Mystery-Romance of the Year
Oh my goodness, this novel was so much fun! It’s the frenemies-to-lovers cozy holiday mystery-romance I didn’t know I needed. There’s humor and real emotion, a plot reminiscent of Agatha Christie and a missing author clearly modeled on the Queen of Mystery. The book hits a number of romance and classic/cozy mystery tropes, and does it with style. I devoured it in one sitting.
I will admit that as a fellow Christie lover (for Ally Carter is clearly a fan) I did spot some of the clues as well as the murderer. Or at least, I spotted that they were clues, and that the villain was potentially the murderer, but in this book, as with Christie, you can never be sure until the big reveal. Our missing mystery author has left clues related to her many novels for the heroine to find, but there are little homages to Christie scattered here and there in the narrative as well, to delight the afficionados of that great lady’s works.
Ally Carter does a great job setting up the clues, the red herrings, and the twists while simultaneously nailing all the romance beats. The only drawback is that to keep the book to a reasonable length and moving at a good pace, both the mystery and the romance felt just slightly less well-developed than they would be in a single-genre book. But that’s a minor quibble, and the grin on my face as I finished the last several chapters more than made up for it. If you’re looking for a sparkling holiday mystery/romance, The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year is definitely it.
Challenges: COYER Unwind, Chapter 4
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- COYER Unwind (2024) – Chapter 4
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