What a DELIGHT!  

 

The festivity! The mystery!  The banter!  The wit!  The chemistry!  It’s like Carter asked me which key elements would make for a proper mystery/romance mashup, and then FULLY DELIVERED.  

 

Decades ago, Agatha Christie disappeared for 11 days with no explanation.  There have been plenty of wild theories about what happened.  But none have provided the entertainment that Carter’s fictionalized envisioning did in this novel.

 

Well written and cleverly plotted, the mystery was both twisty and surprising.  The dash of family drama on the side added an extra spectacle, and I appreciated the nods to Christie’s storytelling as well as the fast pace of the plot.  

 

But where this book really shined for me was the SWOON worthy romance.  Every time Ethan told Maggie to believe in herself, I melted.  The banter was top notch, and the chemistry was undeniable.  I cheered for these rivals as they became lovers.    

 

This was a wildly entertaining holiday read, and I will recommend it with abandon every year.  A favorite, for sure!