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A review by actuallyjusthanne
The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I heard about this book because it was one of the Book of the Month picks, marketed as Knives Out meets Agatha Christie, and it sounded soooo good! I went into this book wanting a fast paced, fun little Christmas mystery and it delivered! The setting was such a vibe: an English country estate of an author with a huge library that's snowed in on Christmas??? The PERFECT quick read by the Christmas tree!!! While there was definitely a touch of modern vibes (e.g., cell phones), the whole setting felt like it came out of an Agatha Christie book and it was so fun.
Maggie, the main character, is an author who writes mystery novels, who gets invited to the estate of her all time favorite mystery author, along with her rival, another mystery novelist, with whom she has had a rocky relationship when they've crossed paths. I felt that both of their characterizations were a little shallow, and despite having a compelling backstory, I was still not particularly rooting for Maggie throughout the book.
The romance is a little contrived, though I wasn't reading this book for the romance, which is why I wasn't as invested in the two main characters. I didn't really think they had that much chemistry in each other, and I felt as though the two main interests were shoved together and kept searching each other out because they were the main interests, and nothing else. There wasn't a lot of emotional depth to the two characters--another review said that it felt like a YA romance and I agree--despite the heavier topics that the two of them discussed, the romance itself didn't feel like it had much depth.
Altogether, the writing and the story structure was pretty average: there were some chapters/plot points that I really enjoyed and some chapters that felt really repetitive. The phrase "touch her and I'll kill you" was used unironically, which did kind of give me the ick. I really enjoyed the chapters where Maggie and Ethan were solving puzzles/the mystery, but the ones where they just kind of . . . argued about who hated each other more were pretty unimpressive. This also was possibly the first book that I've read where a police interview transcript was included that did not add to the story.
Surprisingly, there was some pretty good discussion about grief, relationship abuse/control, and the fallout from that. Maggie is reclaiming her life after a relationship, and the way that her ex changed her thought patterns and self image was actually pretty well done.
With all that being said, the mystery itself was fantastic, and I loved the chapters where that was being covered: each of the various people in the house and how they relate, the mansion with its secret passageways, the greenhouse with the poisonous plants, and so forth. The link between the mystery and the author's books was also soooo fun and I wished there was more of it!
Overall, I really liked it: it was really fun and the concept of a Christmas thriller is something I am SO DOWN for. I liked the Christmas vibes and the author/library/mystery was really fun: it was very reminiscent of an Agatha Christie book with the setting and the characters, and I had a really good time reading it! The wintery vibe was perfect for this time of the year, and it was the perfect book to start off my Christmas vacation with!
Maggie, the main character, is an author who writes mystery novels, who gets invited to the estate of her all time favorite mystery author, along with her rival, another mystery novelist, with whom she has had a rocky relationship when they've crossed paths. I felt that both of their characterizations were a little shallow, and despite having a compelling backstory, I was still not particularly rooting for Maggie throughout the book.
The romance is a little contrived, though I wasn't reading this book for the romance, which is why I wasn't as invested in the two main characters. I didn't really think they had that much chemistry in each other, and I felt as though the two main interests were shoved together and kept searching each other out because they were the main interests, and nothing else. There wasn't a lot of emotional depth to the two characters--another review said that it felt like a YA romance and I agree--despite the heavier topics that the two of them discussed, the romance itself didn't feel like it had much depth.
Altogether, the writing and the story structure was pretty average: there were some chapters/plot points that I really enjoyed and some chapters that felt really repetitive. The phrase "touch her and I'll kill you" was used unironically, which did kind of give me the ick. I really enjoyed the chapters where Maggie and Ethan were solving puzzles/the mystery, but the ones where they just kind of . . . argued about who hated each other more were pretty unimpressive. This also was possibly the first book that I've read where a police interview transcript was included that did not add to the story.
Surprisingly, there was some pretty good discussion about grief, relationship abuse/control, and the fallout from that. Maggie is reclaiming her life after a relationship, and the way that her ex changed her thought patterns and self image was actually pretty well done.
With all that being said, the mystery itself was fantastic, and I loved the chapters where that was being covered: each of the various people in the house and how they relate, the mansion with its secret passageways, the greenhouse with the poisonous plants, and so forth. The link between the mystery and the author's books was also soooo fun and I wished there was more of it!
Overall, I really liked it: it was really fun and the concept of a Christmas thriller is something I am SO DOWN for. I liked the Christmas vibes and the author/library/mystery was really fun: it was very reminiscent of an Agatha Christie book with the setting and the characters, and I had a really good time reading it! The wintery vibe was perfect for this time of the year, and it was the perfect book to start off my Christmas vacation with!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, and Death of parent