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Benjamin Stevenson returns with a Christmas addition to his bestselling 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... My 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. So 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. THE MAGICIAN THE ASSISTANT THE EXECUTIVE THE HYPNOTIST THE TWIN THE COUNSELLOR THE TECH My 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. If I can see through the illusions, I know I can solve it. After all, a good murder is just like a magic trick, isn't it? 'Ernest Cunningham is back! From a magic show to soaring above a valley in Australia's beautiful Blue Mountains, the mystery is as ingenious and delightful as ever. Strap yourself in for Christmas hijinks, done the way only Benjamin Stevenson can.' Hayley Scrivenor