I’ve never understood the interest in seasonal mysteries. Christmas is a time of birth and hope (or generosity and compassion in secular circles). Taking the atmosphere and shoving in a murder always felt incongruous to me, but people sure like to attempt it. However, thanks to today’s book, I can kind of see the appeal.
The Christmas Miracle Crimes is the second book by mysterious mystery author A. Carver, who previously published The Author is Dead. The book promises to be a true holiday mystery, rather than featuring Christmas incidentally, and indeed the book is dripping with holiday charm, from a murderous Santa Claus to potential escapes from a locked room via a chimney. Witnesses even witness a sleigh flying into the sky and seem to encounter a wandering snowman.
However, the Christmas inspiration goes further still than the set dressings of the crime. Alex and Cornelia, the returning detectives from Carver’s last book, essentially walk in on a long overdue family reunion at Whitefell Chimneys, a sprawling manor tucked away in the snow. For many, Christmas is more a time for awkward encounters with distant family members than a time for joy, which comes across in the Whitefells’ relationships with one another. And the icing on the fruitcake is the clearly Christmas inspired names (Carol, Rudy, Nicky).
As a result, this was an excellent holiday read that really captured the spirit of the season, and I’m glad I waited to start it in December. I actually managed to finish the book right on December 25th. I wouldn’t call this a cozy mystery—the detail-oriented discussions of each detail of the crime scene would vaporize the average old white woman—but tonally, this was a very easy book to slip into, and it felt like sitting by a warm fire.
The Christmas Miracle Crimes represents Carver really nailing their writing style. On a craft-level, this was better written, and the characters were excellent. I criticized the characterization in my review of The Author is Dead, but obviously Carver figured this out on their own. Each character has a clear, vibrant personality and feels well-developed, which is remarkable for a mystery story of this size.
Most of the characters are kind of over-the-top, like they’re pulled from Ace Attorney, which helps them stand out. You have Butler, who acts like his name would suggest, and the incredible Hype Marathon, who talks like an annoying influencer—and it somehow works. Then most of the Whitefell family occupy their expected roles—you’ve got the funny uncle, the helicopter mom, twin siblings, the Scrooge-like victim, and his young daughter. All of these characters respond realistically to the murder, and it’s wonderful seeing their edges fray as they’re forced to stay together for longer than expected. They all have a great dynamic and really feel like a family.
Alex and Cornelia also contribute to this dynamic in engaging ways. I’ll admit, Cornelia somewhat treads the line of likeability in this one, but she does do a great job at constantly pushing everyone’s buttons and bringing out the drama. Seeing Alex interact with Rudy and Nicky, who were both closer to her age, was sweet as well.
But anyway, on to the actual mystery. Carver tries to stuff a stocking full of impossibilities into the book, all centering on Forrest Whitefell’s study, starting with the first murder, where the victim is found in the locked and watched study. A figure in a Santa Claus suit was witnessed at the scene but seemingly disappears. Then we have more mysteries—another impossible escape, a feat of strength, an object found in a room unopened for years, along with the aforementioned sleigh and walking snowman. And then there’s another mystery in the past, involving a disappearing murder weapon. There’s certainly a lot to enjoy.
However, I honestly feel it may have been too much. You reach a point, around three quarters through the book, where it all feels redundant. Something happens at the study, everyone theorizes for a bit, then Alex and Cornelia go off on their own, rinse and repeat. It gets a bit old. While the solutions are fine, none of them really blew me away. The murder itself is clever, keeping you from asking the right questions before revealing its simplicity, and I thought the past murder was an excellent use of Christmas theming (too bad it’s barely relevant). The others are either too easy or so confusing that I barely remember them.
Honestly, I think dropping a few of the impossibilities from the middle would have been fine, if only to leave more room for the characters to interact. Even setting aside the impossibilities, a lot happens in this book, and it’s hard to keep track once we get to the solution section. Some elements are independent of the killer’s identity, which makes me think they could have been resolved earlier. Sometimes spacing out solutions is a good way to shake up the rhythm of a story.
I sort of identified the killer (not really) and thought they were characterized well. I liked the way the killer was confronted, and it made for a memorable scene. The motive was particularly fun—almost farcical, but I liked it. In the end, the book twists typical Christmas themes and narratives on their head, leading to excellent payoff for the holiday aspect of the book.
Overall, The Christmas Miracle Crimes is even better than Carver’s debut. While the mystery may have been rather complicated, I still think I prefer its solutions, and the characters were clear improvements. The only thing this book was missing was a meta twist like that of The Author is Dead (though the book kind of does something similar). But obviously, a book doesn’t need to play with genre conventions to be excellent.
All in all, these are good signs for Carver’s next publication. They even mentioned other cases Alex and Cornelia were involved in, perhaps foreshadowing future books and short stories. Or perhaps the book mentioned at the end of the story is a future publication? Lots of interesting possibilities, but I’m looking forward to whatever comes next.
Stephen M. Pierce 