by Benjamin Stevenson
First sentence: “There are quite a few differences between an Australian Christmas and the stereotypical Northern Hemisphere fare seen in most books and movies.”
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Others in the series: Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, Everyone On This Train is Suspect
Release date: October 22, 2024
Content: There are murders, of course. It will be in the Christmas book section of the bookstore.

Ern Cunningham is back, and this time he needs to exonerate his ex-wife from the murder of her boyfriend. The problem is that she woke up covered in his blood, with no memory of how that happened. So, Ern heads to Australia’s Blue Hills and the Christmas magic show in order to figure out the murder.

Of course, there are twists and turns, and Stevenson’s trademark humor (Ern even learns the true meaning of Christmas… but it’s not what you think). The book is laid out like an advent calendar (read one chapter a day!), with references to Christmas specials and fair play mysteries. All the clues are there, if you can figure out how to put them together (no surprise: I didn’t). It was fun and entertaining, and a delightful addition to this series.