Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret - Benjamin Stevenson

nBenjamin Stevenson returns with a Christmas addition to his bestselling, deviously good fun (Nita Prose), Ernest Cunningham mysteries. Unwrap all the Christmas staples: presents, family, an impossible murder or two, and a deadly advent calendar of clues. If Knives Out and The Thursday Murder Club kissed under the mistletoe.n nMy name's Ernest Cunningham. I used to be a fan of reading Golden Age murder mysteries, until I found myself with a haphazard career getting stuck in the middle of real-life ones. I'd hoped, this Christmas, that any self-respecting murderer would kick their feet up and take it easy over the holidays. I was wrong.n nSo here I am, backstage at the show of world-famous magician Rylan Blaze, whose benefactor has just been murdered. My suspects are all professional tricksters: masters of the art of misdirection.n n THE MAGICIANn n THE ASSISTANTn n THE EXECUTIVEn n THE HYPNOTISTn n THE IDENTICAL TWINn n THE COUNSELLORn n THE TECHn nMy clues are even more abstract: A suspect covered in blood, without a memory of how it got there. A murder committed without setting foot inside the room where it happens. And an advent calendar. Because, you know, it's Christmas.n nIf I can see through the illusions, I know I can solve it. n nAfter all, a good murder is just like a magic trick, isn't it?n n