The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year
USA Today Bestseller! "Full of tongue-in-cheek humor, excellent dialogue, and fantastic characters, this expertly crafted story from Carter (The Blonde Identity) is a heart-melting rivals-to-lovers romance combined with a delightful locked-room mystery." — Library Journal (starred review)
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 a snowbound 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 in a classic locked-room mystery, 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 mansion she can trust?
As the snow gets deeper and the stakes get higher, every clue in this cozy holiday mystery 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.
The laugh out loud holiday "romystery"—filled with witty banter—that you’ve been waiting for! A touching holiday readPerfect for fans of uplifting winter romancesA delightful Christmas gift
- Pages
- 293
- First published
- September 24, 2024
- Language
- English
- Edition
- Ebook
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Shelved by 8 Litcadians
Reviews
Finished December 17, 2024
Finished December 26, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Favorite line: ”So what you’re saying is . . . you think I’m hot?” He arched an eyebrow and Maggie couldn’t stop herself. She burst through the library doors. “Where is that sword?” The dagger would also do. “Oh, is that a crossbow?” 📖 My Thoughts At first, I was super invested in this story and where it was going. The writing, the banter, and the characters piqued my interest. But after a while, it became a little dull and repetitive. I couldn’t reconcile the way Ethan would act with how he was being portrayed. You know as the reader he’s supposed to be the good guy, but I don’t know, his actions and the way he talked to Maggie made me cringe at times. He really started to seem like that one guy who thinks way too highly of himself and assumes everyone is into him. Not to mention, the insta-love isn’t my thing. I really wanted to like this because the idea is so fun! It felt like we were in a Christmassy game of Clue but even the mystery aspect of the story didn’t thrill me. And for all my fellow smut readers, there is no spice at all!! All in all, not a terrible book, just not for me. ⚠️ Trigger Warnings Graphic: Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Death of parent Moderate: Murder, Gun violence, Violence Minor: Infidelity, Toxic friendship, Sexual content
Finished December 8, 2025
This was like Agatha Christie and a romance novel had a baby, and I loved every second of it!!! The clues were so clever and the red herring was just chefs kiss
Finished March 20, 2025
Finished December 23, 2024
The perfect combination of rom-com and cozy murder mystery. This story takes place in an isolated estate during a snow storm which makes for the perfect cozy holiday read!
▸ Did not finish (1)
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