This year, PADERBORN2READ—The English Book Club celebrates the twelve days of Christmas with twelve curated reading recommendations for the festive season and cozy winter days.
The first day of Christmas, the partridge in a pear tree so to speak:
The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter
recommended by PADERBORN2READ member Hannah Luise
“You know, it’s a miracle there aren’t more murders at Christmas.” (p. 3)
If Knives Out and your usual holiday rom-com had a baby, it would be this book. Maggie Chase is the Queen of Cozy Mysteries, Ethan Wyatt is Mr. Big-time Thriller Guy—and they absolutely despise each other. When both get invited to a mysterious fan to celebrate Christmas together, they plan to just get through with it and expect nothing out of the ordinary. Turns out, they have been invited by Eleanor Ashley, the world’s most successful author, the Duchess of Death. On the next day, she is gone without any trace and out of a locked room… Maggie and Ethan are determined to solve the case, getting closer to the truth and each other.
“You know, if mankind has one universal superpower, it’s gaslighting women into thinking they’re the problem.” (p. 262)
The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year is the perfect holiday read when you love mysteries with a touch of love and high stakes, witty characters, and quite serious topics. The novel is not only entertaining but also touches on topics such as loss of family, abusive families, betrayal, and anxiety disorders. The mixture of rather dark topics with a light-hearted love story and an exciting trapped-in-a-mansion scenario makes it the perfect book to read during the holiday season. Bonus points, for the obvious relation to Agatha Christie’s disappearance in 1926.
