This book is charming in every possible way.
Maggie Chase is a cosy mystery writer. Her parents died when she was 18 and she’s in the process of recovering from finding out her best friend and her husband have been having an affair. Maggie’s pain and lack of confidence are visceral to read. My heart just ached for her.
Ethan Wyatt is a Leather Jacket Guy, in Maggie’s eyes: all easy charm and women throwing themselves at him, but not much is known about him prior to his appearance as a thriller writer at the same publishing house as Maggie. I’m going to tell you almost nothing about Ethan as the reveal of his true self is delicious. He appears to be a charming, attractive author and he is those things but there is wonderful depth there, too.
Ethan’s backstory, indeed, the backstory of Ethan and Maggie’s ‘relationship’ is revealed in stages throughout the book. Each new detail is a little bit unexpected and says a lot about who they are as people. If I were to label this with a trope, it would be enemies-to-lovers, but from the start it is clear that while Maggie feels animosity towards Ethan, Ethan seems oblivious to Maggie’s annoyance. But what are their true feelings?
How are these two delights thrown together? At their publishing house’s Christmas party, Maggie receives a mysterious invitation. Her editor INSISTS that she take up this opportunity. Maggie doesn’t realise this at the time, but Ethan gets the same invite. They only find out that the other is attending when they’re boarding the private jet to a destination unknown.
They have been invited to a Christmas party hosted by Eleanor Ashley, the (living) Agatha Christie of this book world. Maggie is a massive fan and can’t quite believe this is happening. They arrive just as a winter storm cuts the remote estate off from the rest of the world. There are several other characters in attendance aside from Eleanor Ashley herself: many of Eleanor Ashley’s relatives and friends. I really appreciated how they were introduced, because it was really easy to keep track of who was who. While they are introduced one immediately after the other, each description is vivid and unique to that person. When the focus swaps from one to another, it’s easy to follow and keep the different backstories separate and clear. It’s a pet hate of mine when a book with many characters doesn’t take the time to help the reader differentiate between the different characters, and I appreciated the skill involved here.
Then, three nights before Christmas, Eleanor Ashley disappears from a locked room.
Is this a game that Eleanor is playing? Is she okay? Of course, Maggie and Ethan work the case and it is soon clear that not everything is as it seems with all these relatives and friends.
The mystery is satisfyingly twisty and thrilling, and the plot is so original that I couldn’t even begin to guess how things would unfold. The events of the plot are pretty standard for a house party mystery: attempted murder, anyone could be the guilty party, etc., but they are told in such a fascinating way that the familiar tropes feel new. I also really enjoyed the Christmas setting of this novel without it falling too far into saccharine territory: it was bright and fresh, rather than cloying and sweet. There are elements of a classic house party mystery, but the romance is really front and centre.
The mystery elements are handled really well. For most of the book, we live in Maggie’s POV, and I was given a frank look at what it would feel like to be faced with some of the things Maggie deals with in the book. There’s no glib brushing off of the events or powering through difficult emotions.
The gradual thawing (reluctant on Maggie’s part) between Maggie and Ethan feels satisfyingly real. Their progress is not linear: it flip flops. As they have a close moment, Maggie freaks out and pushes him away but sort of half-heartedly. Given that she’s trying to move on from a massive betrayal, her hesitation made sense, and I wasn’t frustrated by the way they grew closer. It made each little step Maggie took that much sweeter.
As the plot builds to a crescendo, things get really intense and thrilling to read. I had to put the book down and decompress on TikTok with some cat videos at some points. I am a bit of a baby when it comes to scary things in books though, so perhaps for others this would just be normal amounts of tension.
This book just got better and better with every twist and reveal. Original, compelling, well-written and immersive, this is a great book to escape into. It is perfect for right now, for the holidays, and for re-reading, which I will definitely be doing very soon.
