This meta locked-room mystery is a lot of fun, especially for readers who enjoy characters breaking the fourth wall. When the Australian Mystery Writers’ Society invites debut author Ernest Cunningham to their crime-writing festival aboard a famous luxury train, he’s only hoping to mingle with peers and get some inspiration for his second book. But then, one of the attendees is murdered and it’s time for the rest of the authors to put their detective hats on. If anyone can solve a crime, it should be mystery writers. Except…that means mystery writers also know how to commit a crime.

Brigid says: An innovative interactive tale with a killer premise and laugh-out-loud moments. Ernest Cunningham is a quick-witted expert on murder mysteries; he even writes books about the genre. All that knowledge soon comes in handy as he finds himself snowed in during a family reunion and learns that everyone has killed someone and there is a killer on the loose. There are lots of meta references like the “10 Commandments of Detective Fiction” and I absolutely adored all the times Ernest breaks the fourth wall by speaking directly to the readers. Important to note — the plot, deaths, and backstories might be grittier than one expects from the cover and title. In fact, after a particularly upsetting scene, I almost DNF’d the print book around the halfway mark. Luckily, a friend mentioned she tore through the audiobook narrated by Barton Welch, inspiring me to pick it back up in audio to find out whodunnit. I am so glad I did! Especially since the second in the series has the rare honor of being EVEN better than the first and there is a fabulous Christmas novella as well.

Brigid says: Ernest Cunningham, quick-witted expert on Golden Age mysteries, keeps finding himself caught up in real life murders to solve and this Christmas is no exception. When an important person from Ernest’s past wakes up covered in blood with a magician’s dead body nearby, Ernest agrees to help clear their name. I loved how the holiday weather in Australia mirrors the typical December forecast in my south Florida home. Plus, the festive format of this fair play whodunit revolves around an Advent calendar and presents under the tree. Filled with jolly humor and twisty turns, this third book in the series can totally be read as a standalone. It's got the comedy of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, the entertainment of a BBC Christmas special, and the magic of the Now You See Me movies.