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The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year

A Novel

Ally Carter

Ages 12–16

Readers rate it 3.9 (176 on Hardcover)

293 pages · Released Sep 3, 2026

Content report card

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year parent’s guide: what’s inside

Medium confidence

LGBTQ+ themes

Substance use

What it offers

Educational value

A note for parents

This is a cozy mystery aimed at young adult readers that combines romance, humor, and intrigue in a locked-room whodunit setting. The tone is lighthearted and playful despite the mystery elements, with the central focus on rival authors learning to work together and trust each other. Content is generally clean with only mild language and suggestive moments; the mystery itself generates tension but no graphic danger. Strong themes of collaboration, intellectual growth, and openness to seeing beyond first impressions.

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From the publisher

The bridge is out. The phones are down. And the most famous mystery writer in the world just disappeared out of a locked room two days before Christmas. Meet Maggie Chase and Ethan Wyatt: She’s the new Queen of the Cozy Mystery. He’s Mr. Big-time Thriller Guy. She hates his guts. He thinks her name is Ma... The bridge is out. The phones are down. And the most famous mystery writer in the world just disappeared out of a locked room two days before Christmas. Meet Maggie Chase and Ethan Wyatt: She’s the new Queen of the Cozy Mystery. He’s Mr. Big-time Thriller Guy. She hates his guts. He thinks her name is Marcie (no matter how many times she’s told him otherwise.) But when they both accept a cryptic invitation to attend a Christmas house party at the English estate of a reclusive fan, neither is expecting their host to be the most powerful author in the world: Eleanor Ashley, the Duchess of Death herself. That night, the weather turns, and the next morning Eleanor is gone. She vanished from a locked room, and Maggie has to wonder: Is Eleanor in danger? Or is it all some kind of test? Is Ethan the competition? Or is he the only person in that snowbound mansion she can trust? As the snow gets deeper and the stakes get higher, every clue will bring Maggie and Ethan closer to the truth—and each other. Because, this Christmas, these two rivals are going to have to become allies (and maybe more) if they have any hope of saving Eleanor. Assuming they don’t kill each other first.

Shelved under

  • Loveable Characters
  • Not Diverse Characters
  • Strong Character Development
  • A mix driven
  • Plot driven
  • Unloveable Characters
  • Diverse Characters
  • Weak Character Development
  • Character driven
  • mysterious
  • funny
  • Adventurous

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ISBN 9780063276680 · HarperCollins Publishers

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