IT’S THE SEASON FOR MAYHEM: CHRISTMAS 2024 THEMED BOOKS BY MIKE RIPLEY, BENJAMIN STEVENSON AND LISA UNGER

As Benjamin Stevenson points out in the ‘Prologue’ to Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret, (Penguin, 22 October 2024), Christmas mystery stories, or yuletide cash grabs as he calls them, have a long history, and were even indulged in by no lesser stars than Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle.

Last year we had Peter Swanson’s haunting novella, The Christmas Guest, and this year we have been blessed with three excellent examples of the yuletide crime story. In addition to Stevenson’s witty novel, there is an engaging, seasonal spy thriller by Mike Ripley and a very good cold case novella by Lisa Unger.

All of them make for ideal post-Christmas lunch reading!

Benjamin Stevenson’s first two Ernest Cunningham mysteries, Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone and Everyone On This Train Is A Suspect, were a breath of fresh air on the the Australian crime scene. Clever and entertaining, they played enjoyable homage to the classic British murder mystery in a very unique and Australian way. 

Now Stevenson has brought back Ernest Cunningham for a shorter seasonal book, Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret, that features deceptive murders, fair play clues and a strong dose of humour. As the blurb for the book says: “Unwrap all the Christmas staples: presents, family, an impossible murder or two, and a deadly advent calendar of clues.”

The story revolves around a murder in the Blue Mountains’ town of Katoomba, where Cunningham’s ex-wife has been discovered covered in blood near the dead body of her new husband. She has no idea as to how the blood got on her, or what happened to her husband. Christmas is quickly approaching and she asks Cunningham for help. He arrives to find a host of suspects, including a magician, a hypnotist and other masters of deception. Desperate to solve the murder before Christmas, Cunningham launches his usual haphazard investigation that combines fictional murder mystery rules with real life dangers.

To go into more detail about the plot would do the book a disservice, but there are plenty of twists and turns, more death, and plenty of witty asides. It is only a short book, and it moves along at a good pace, enhanced by Cunningham’s wry comments on crime writing, the rules of the genre and Christmas Special TV shows. As usual, Cunningham frequently talks directly to the reader as he outlines the possible suspects, rates their likelihood of having committed the murder and comments on the progress of the book:

“Of course, this is a murder mystery staple: the midpoint murder (or the ‘second ad-break murder’ if you want to think about television) both props up the reader’s interest and moves the plot along.”

He also mixes ruminations on the mystery novel with broader amusing concerns:

“Yes, I’m aware that someone with their back to a security camera is an instant suspect. It’s like wrapping a Toblerone for Christmas. What’s the point? How many other triangular-prism shaped objects am I likely to receive?”

As with the first two books, at the core of Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret is a good mystery plot that will keep ardent crime fans happy as they try to separate the real clues from the red herrings and other acts of magic. Most of the twists are well hidden, and the book builds to a tense and very unexpected conclusion. As with all good murder mysteries, the ‘whodunnit’ elements are underpinned by fairly placed clues and clever sleights of hand, and are ably supported by a good cast of characters.

Overall, it is great fun read that is easily consumed over the Christmas break.

Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret is released in Australia and the United States on 22 October 2024 and in the United Kingdom on 24 October 2024.

Mr Campion’s Christmas, (Severn House, 5 November 2024), sadly brings to an end Mike Ripley’s enjoyable continuation of the Albert Campion novels by Margery Allingham. The books have become a regular feature of the British crime scene, and they conclude in good style with this twelfth volume in the series. As usual, the latest book features Ripley’s marvellous sense of humour, deep historical knowledge and his love for British thriller writing of the 1960s.

Set in in the days following Christmas 1962, Mr Campion’s Christmas opens with Boxing Day looking like being a quiet affair for the Campions who are snowed in at their remote Norfolk farmhouse, Carterers. That changes when a charabanc full of ‘pilgrims’ travelling from London to the Shrine of Our Lady in nearby Walsingham crashes into their imposing granite gateposts and the family unexpectedly find themselves playing host to the eccentric passengers. However, any lingering festive cheer is in short supply when a shocking discovery is made the following day and a terrifying twist reveals that some of the guests are not who they seem to be. Suddenly the Campions are drawn into a fiendish web of espionage, as the Cold War comes chillingly close to home.

Mr Campion’s Christmas is very good fun, with Ripley skilfully concocting an innovative spy plot in the most unlikely location at the most unlikely time. The book unfolds in his typically leisurely style, with an abundance of interesting historical snippets and cultural references, as well as several amusing insider references by Ripley. There are also the twists, surprises, shady characters and red herrings you expect from a crime novel, and a good burst of action towards the end. Campion flits amicably through the story trying to keep one step ahead of the villains, with the concluding heroics coming from an unexpected source.

Fans of spy fiction will love a sneaky James Bond reference included in the book, among others, and the central idea at the core of Ripley’s espionage plot is clever and original. There are also plenty of references to the Campion canon to appease devotees of the original books.

In all, Mr Campion’s Christmas is an enjoyable seasonal feast of a story and a good finale for the series.

Mr Campion’s Christmas is released on 5 November 2024. Thanks to the publishers, the author and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book for review.

A bit darker in tone is Lisa Unger’s accomplished novella Christmas Presents, (Head Of Zeus, 10 October 2024).

When true crime podcaster Harley Granger drifts into Madeline Martin’s small town bookshop days before Christmas, he seems intent on digging up a past that Madeline would much rather forget. Granger’s work has earned him fame and wealth, as well as criticism for his various unethical practices. Madeline does not want to relive the night that she was left for dead, the only surviving victim of the notorious killer Evan Handy, but Granger is insistent.

Handy, who also murdered Madeline’s best friend and is suspected in the disappearance of two local sisters, has been in jail for a decade. Since then, though, three other young women have gone missing in similar circumstances. Is the true predator still out there somewhere? And is the truth more terrible than Madeline ever imagined?

Christmas Presents is a very well written crime story, with an elegantly crafted plot and some nicely developed characters. The dual timeline works very well, with Lisa adroitly capturing the essence of Madeline as a teenager, and later as a damaged young woman. The events in the present day imbrue the story with an overriding sense of suspense and tension, and the book builds to a surprising climax. The true crime podcast aspects of the story are also well handled, and enable the plot to unfold at a brisk pace.

Christmas Presents is a good reminder of Lisa’s skills as an author and her ability to quickly evoke a scene and its atmosphere, as in this description of the clients at a strip club:
“middle aged and doughy, with that lingering energy of dissatisfaction clinging like an odor.”

Overall, Christmas Presents is a very enjoyable, dark take on the Christmas mystery. Recommended.

Christmas Presents is released in Australia and the United Kingdom on 10 October 2024. It was released in the United States in 2023. Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for a copy of the book for review.

Fans of Lisa Unger’s books can also look forward to a new thriller from her in 2025. Set on a remote island, Close Your Eyes And Count To 10 seems to provide an interesting twist on the recent flood of ‘destination thrillers’.

“When the real game begins, who will make it to the count of 10?

Charismatic daredevil and extreme adventurer Maverick Dillan invites you to the ultimate game of hide-and-seek. But as the players gather on Falcao Island, the event quickly spirals into a chilling test of survival. A storm rages as a deadly threat stalks the contestants, turning the challenge into something far more sinister than the social media stunt it was intended to be.

Enter Adele, a single mother with a fierce determination to protect her children at all costs. When she begins the game, she unwittingly enters a twisted web of deception and intrigue. Can she maneuver through the treacherous storm and the relentless competition and get home to her family? In a ruthless battle for survival where the stakes are higher than ever, the blurry line between the virtual and the real proves that the only person we can trust is ourselves.”

Sounds like a fun read!