Ernest Cunningham, having solved two murders, now has a reputation as something of a detective. He even seems to be believing it himself (despite the blurb) so when his ex-wife Erin wakes up with her partner’s blood on her hands, it’s Ernest who she turns to for help.

Ernest heads to help – and to check out the entertainment for his upcoming wedding to Juliet, the magician Rylan Blaze, who happens to have links to Erin’s partner. When a second murder occurs, Ernest is the only person who can find the murderer. If he can work out how someone’s head was cut off with a sheet of paper…

First off, go and read Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone and Everyone On This Train Is A Suspect. You won’t regret it.

You’re back? Excellent. This is sort-of book three in the series, but Ernest bills it as a Christmas special, hence a reduction of recurring characters and a very Christmassy theme. I do hope the Advent Calendar idea works in the finished ebook properly – each chapter (out of twenty-four) ends with a clue being revealed behind a door – because in the advanced version, it was just a graphical mess. This isn’t an essential part of the story – it’s a nice touch – but let’s address the Christmas special idea.

Last year, there was a Christmas special from Janice Hallett, a short sequel to The Appeal that I really didn’t think much of. I do wonder – is that why I didn’t get approved for The Examiner? Who knows? I did worry that when a similar shorter Christmas sequel for a couple of books that I loved even more than The Appeal was announced…

I needn’t have worried though. This is a wonderful read. Cunningham’s knowing narration, dropping hints of things to come and with a seeming knowledge that he is in a Christmas special – you can square this with the fact that he is writing the story up after the case has ended, but it does get a bit Deadpool-y at times. His voice is very entertaining, dropping in bits and pieces about classic crime fiction along the way.

And yes, there are clues here – twenty-four allegedly – along with a misdirection straight out of the classic crime playbook. I had a solution in mind, and that was clearly what Stevenson wanted me to think, as it ends up being a false solution. The whole thing is clever, and the pacing works well – the impossible decapitation method isn’t left too long without being explained, but long enough to give the reader time to ponder.

It may be October, but thanks to this book, I’m feeling Christmassy already. I’ve even learned the true meaning of Christmas…

Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret is out this Thursday in hardback and ebook. It’s the perfect present for the classic mystery buff – one of the few Christmas mysteries that I’ve read that genuinely provides a proper mystery.