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.

I've started the year by reading a bunch of books, but this is the standout so far! It's a mystery romantic comedy set at a mansion in the United Kingdom during Christmas.

Ally Carter is a new to me author, but I really enjoyed this book so I'm going to pick up the first book of her new series, The Blonde Identity.

On the book flap, it tags this as if like “Knives Out” gets a holiday rom-com twist. I actually haven't seen “Knives Out” yet (I know!) so, I can't say if that's on the ball, but I really enjoyed this book.

Our first main character is Maggie Chase, a cozy mystery writer, who idolizes Eleanor Ashley. Ashley is an Agatha Christie type character, with a rougher start and a more grasping family. Ashley has invited Maggie to her house for Christmas.

Ashley has also invited Ethan Wyatt, a thriller writer who has annoyed Maggie for years. Of course, Ethan and Maggie have to team up to travel to the UK. They then have to join forces to try and find Eleanor Ashley when she disappears without a trace.

Ashley's family is unconcerned with the disappearance of the wealthy matriarch. Maggie and Ethan uncover a troubling history of possible murder attempts on Ashley's life. Of course, it wouldn't be a country house mystery without a snowstorm cutting off outside communication.

I'm not sure this is a cozy-mystery but there are some elements to it that made me feel that it was leaning into a (more fun trope of the) country house mystery. The prose was easy to read, which in turn made this a quick read for me. I don't know if that makes sense. Sometimes books have a sentence structure that slows me down and sometimes the flow is just smooth. This made it nice to sit down at lunch a few times a week and go through a few chapters at a time.

This was one of Book of the Month's December 2024 picks. I follow people who get Book of the Month, a subscription book service, but I don't have it because I actually don't like that they have to label their books. Aardvark is the same. I think it's a me thing, I also don't like those "stickers" that get printed on the cover of books like "Jenna's book club." If my book is going to be different, than it needs a pretty edge painting. Also, movie posters as book covers. Nope.

I've gotten off track with my rant there. Book of the Month has some really good picks, as does Aardvark, and Jenna and Reese, etc., so I follow but I don't get that version of them.

While I've labeled it a mystery, I think this is more of a romance with some mystery elements. At the end, we discover who is trying to kill/or has killed Eleanor Ashley, why her family is the way they are, and why Ethan Wyatt calls Maggie by the wrong name.

As the reader, we know that Ethan likes Maggie a lot and as it's a shifting POV between Maggie and Ethan, we get a more nuanced view of his life than Maggie gets. Eventually Maggie gets on the Ethan train, and they have some very cute moments. This is a cute, very G/PG rated romance.

Harper Collins has an excerpt on their website if you want to check that out.

I have it down as a 3.5-4 stars in my head. Heavy on the tropes, sweet romance (other readers complained about the overuse of the word "sweetheart"), and fast read. It's a cute book and I enjoyed it!

Genre: mystery, fiction, romance, contemporary

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter

The Only One Left by Riley Sager