Book Review: The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter

Pages: 304

Genre: Adult Fiction/Holiday

Pub. Date: September 24, 2024

Publisher: Avon

Source: Personal Copy

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

 

Goodreads says, "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 Wyatt: 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 world: 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."

 

Maggie Chase, a cozy mystery writer, has never really enjoyed Christmas, thanks to the fact that she has horrible memories associated with the holiday, namely, the untimely death of both of her parents and the fact that her husband left her for her best friend. Her publisher invites her to her literary idol's holiday party at her English estate. They are pushing her to go despite her hesitations, but how can Maggie pass up an opportunity to spend time with Eleanor Ashley? Once she gets there, she realizes Ethan Wyatt, another mystery writer and her nemesis, is also there. As long as she can avoid him, she is sure to have a delightful holiday in such an idyllic spot. But things go very, very wrong. For starters, Eleanor goes missing. At first, Maggie thinks that maybe this is a "fun" game as Eleanor is a fantastic mystery writer and has come out with her one-hundredth book. Maggie hopes this fun  "game" is a way to figure out who should be her co-author or maybe Eleanor wants someone to continue the series. However, things go from bad to worse. One of the  house guests is poisoned. This doesn't feel like a game anymore, so Ethan and Maggie team up to figure out what is happening and find out what happened to Eleanor. As they spend more time together, sparks fly between Maggie and Ethan, as they have great chemistry. Carter provides flashbacks to their first encounters to shed some light on their past and some misunderstandings. If you need a break from the overly sappy holiday novels, check out Ally Carter's The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year. It's a fun mystery with a festive touch.

How could you not root for Maggie? Her backstory is pretty depressing, so I was hoping she would step out of her comfort zone. She definitely does and I adored the blossoming relationship between Ethan and Maggie, especially when they realized they have more in common than they thought. Carter does a fantastic job with their witty banter, jokes, and snappy dialogue. I really enjoyed that aspect of The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year.

The setting of an English estate was also fantastic as it reminded me of an Agatha Christie locked room mystery. Many novels lately claim to be Agatha Christie-inspired, but have failed to capture that type of energy. That is not the case here in The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year. Carter truly pulled it off!

While this novel can be enjoyed any time of the year, I feel The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year was made  for the winter months and especially enjoyed over the holidays. It's not an overly Christmas-y novel, but the many festive touches that  Carter includes definitely adds to the holiday feel throughout the novel. Admittedly, I was getting pretty tired of the overly melodramatic and Hallmark movie-type of holiday novels, so this was a great break from that. If you need a break too, I urge you to  check out The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year this winter season.

So, are you a fan of Ally Carter? Have you readThe Most Wonderful Crime of the Year? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.