Benjamin Stevenson will be in conversation with Jack Heath on his new novel Everyone this Christmas has a Secret, a Christmas addition to his bestselling Ernest Cunningham mysteries. Unwrap all the Christmas staples: presents, family, an impossible murder or two, and a deadly advent calendar of clues. If Knives Out and The Thursday Murder Club kissed under the mistletoe...

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. 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 ?

'Ernest Cunningham is back! From a magic show to soaring above a valley in Australia’s beautiful Blue Mountains, the mystery is as ingenious and delightful as ever. Strap yourself in for Christmas hijinks, done the way only Benjamin Stevenson can.' Hayley Scrivenor

Benjamin Stevenson is an award-winning stand-up comedian and USA Today best-selling author. He is the author of the globally popular ‘Ernest Cunningham Mysteries’, including Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone, which is currently being adapted into a major HBO TV series, and Everyone on This Train is a Suspect. His books have sold over 750,000 copies in 29 territories and have been nominated for eight ‘Book of the Year’ award.

Jack Heath is the award-winning author of 40 novels, published in 10 languages, including 300 Minutes of Danger (for kids) and Kill Your Husbands (not for kids). His mission is to create books that inspire a love of reading in children and adults. Jack started writing his first novel in Canberra, while studying at Lyneham High School. He submitted the manuscript to a publisher when 17 and the book became his first international bestseller. In 2009 Jack was named the ACT Young Australian of the Year.

The vote of thanks will be given by Karen Viggers, award-winning Canberra writer, veterinarian, podcaster and literary critic.

This event is in association with Harry Hartog Bookshop. Books will be available for purchase. Pre-event book signings will be available from 5.30pm and again after the event.

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A podcast will be made available after the event.

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