Ally Carter’s newest adult novel THE MOST WONDERFUL CRIME OF THE YEAR is Agatha Christie with romance thrown in as a bonus. Cozy Mystery writer Maggie Chase is tricked into attending a party by her Editor. She receives an invitation to spend an all-expenses-paid Christmas with her “biggest fan” in the United Kingdom. Alone after her ex-husband took her house, her best friend, and most of her money, Maggie decides she has nothing to lose only to learn that her publishing nemesis, Ethan Wyatt, will be a guest as well. The manor house is located on a 20,000-acre estate and is full of greedy relatives, a handful of mystery authors, a local constable, and a butler. Then their elderly host, Maggie's favorite author Eleanor Ashley, disappears from a locked room during a massive blizzard. Maggie must decide if she trusts Ethan enough to team up and solve the mystery amidst poisonings, fires, and mysterious gunshots. The story focuses on Maggie rebuilding her confidence as she follows the clues and realizes Ethan and their prior interactions are not what she thought.
Fun mystery with interesting twists and a satisfying ending including an epilogue to wrap it all up.
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 two 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.
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