Kristin's Bookshelf

📖 The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year
✍️ By: Ally Carter
🎧 Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld & Zachary Webber
Series: Kiss, Merry, Kill – Book #1
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Clearly I’m on a Saskia Maarleveld kick, and for good reason. She is an incredible narrator. I’m still not sure where I first heard her, but after listening to “They Say a Girl Died Here”, I knew I needed more. Her range is amazing, and she absolutely shines in crime thrillers and mysteries. Naturally, I added four more audiobooks she narrates to my Audible queue.

“The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year” was such a fun spin on the classic locked-room whodunit. Two rival mystery authors, Maggie and Ethan, are invited to spend Christmas with legendary author Eleanor Ashley and her family under a mysterious pretense. When their host suddenly disappears, the reluctant pair finds themselves investigating the case together. Add in a slow-burn romance, and it makes for a thoroughly entertaining read.

The audiobook was especially well done. The story shifts between the FMC and MMC’s perspectives, along with excerpts from official police interviews, which gave the mystery a fresh, engaging structure. Every perspective added another piece to the puzzle, making the reveal all the more satisfying.

This was cozy, clever, festive, and full of charm. I’ll definitely be picking up the next book in the series.