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A review by mari1532
The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I listened to this book through my library with Libby.
Brief Summary: Maggie Chase is the Queen of cozy mysteries, but she is better known for the recent implosion of her personal life. That's why she is weary of taking a glamorous, but mysterious Christmas vacation opportunity that her publisher presents her with. However, an emotional encounter with her enemy Ethan Wyatt makes up her mind.
Once on the plane, Maggie is confronted by Ethan being invited on this trip too. As Maggie grapples with her irritation about being around Ethan she is overwhelmed by the excitement of meeting her writing idol, Eleanor Ashley, the Duchess of Death. That is until Eleanor goes missing and there is an attempted murder.
Thoughts: I loved the mystery elements of this book. It has many aspects of a cozy mystery that make the genre so readable. However, the romance elements of the book fall a bit short.It's clear from the beginning that Maggie and Ethan are in an enemies-to-lovers relationship. The highs of the romance on the page are learning how and when Ethan's feelings developed. Unfortunately, how Maggie develops feelings is too muddled with the reckoning of her divorce. Particularly when Maggie thinks Ethan poisoned the tea and then she is kidnapped. She seemed to gloss over her fear with that quickly and I'm not sure if it was just the plot happening or that she had an actual emotional change.
My favourite part of the book was the murder mystery. The mystery elements reminded me of Agatha Christy with a cast of characters like Knives Out. Parts of the mystery elements were easy to figure out before we got that far in the text and there were a few shocking bits.
Overall this had great cozy mystery with he-falls-first vibes. I would recommend this book if you enjoy fun, but emotional reads.
Brief Summary: Maggie Chase is the Queen of cozy mysteries, but she is better known for the recent implosion of her personal life. That's why she is weary of taking a glamorous, but mysterious Christmas vacation opportunity that her publisher presents her with. However, an emotional encounter with her enemy Ethan Wyatt makes up her mind.
Once on the plane, Maggie is confronted by Ethan being invited on this trip too. As Maggie grapples with her irritation about being around Ethan she is overwhelmed by the excitement of meeting her writing idol, Eleanor Ashley, the Duchess of Death. That is until Eleanor goes missing and there is an attempted murder.
Thoughts: I loved the mystery elements of this book. It has many aspects of a cozy mystery that make the genre so readable. However, the romance elements of the book fall a bit short.
My favourite part of the book was the murder mystery. The mystery elements reminded me of Agatha Christy with a cast of characters like Knives Out. Parts of the mystery elements were easy to figure out before we got that far in the text and there were a few shocking bits.
Overall this had great cozy mystery with he-falls-first vibes. I would recommend this book if you enjoy fun, but emotional reads.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping
Minor: Death, Sexual content
The male main character was previously a Secret Service officer.