Publication Date: Oct 2024

Blurb:

My name’s Ernest Cunningham. I used to be a fan of reading Golden Age murder mysteries, until I found myself with a haphazard career getting stuck in the middle of real-life ones. I’d hoped, this Christmas, that any self-respecting murderer would kick their feet up and take it easy over the holidays. I was wrong.

So here I am, backstage at the show of world-famous magician Rylan Blaze, whose benefactor has just been murdered. My suspects are all professional tricksters: masters of the art of misdirection.

THE MAGICIAN THE ASSISTANT THE EXECUTIVE THE HYPNOTIST THE IDENTICAL TWIN THE COUNSELLOR THE TECH

My clues are even more abstract: A suspect covered in blood, without a memory of how it got there. A murder committed without setting foot inside the room where it happens. And an advent calendar. Because, you know, it’s Christmas.

If I can see through the illusions, I know I can solve it. After all, a good murder is just like a magic trick, isn’t it?

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What To Expect:

The third book in the Ernest Cunningham series, this story brings another murder mystery with Stevenson’s clever narrative style.

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Content Warnings:

Language: Moderate – 1 f- word, several s- words

Sexual Content: None

Violence: Moderate – Murder by stabbing, beheading. Not overly descriptive but with blood mentioned. Self harm implication

Substance Use: Characters do not use drugs on page, but many are former drug users. They are in a theater program for recovering addicts.

Prejudices: None

Religious Themes: None

Other Topics: Loss of loved one

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