Do You See What I See?
When struggling author Nicholas Child is sent to a Cape Cod mansion to help the famous Marco Tavares finish a long-overdue sequel, he expects a quiet holiday. Instead, he finds a seaside estate dripping with festive decor but devoid of cheer. Every guest at the gathering has a reason to want Marco dead—from his estranged wife and bitter ex-girlfriend to a rival writer claiming Marco stole his best ideas.
As Christmas approaches, a night of heavy drinking ends with two corpses and a house full of suspects. Trapped in a web of old grudges and hidden agendas, Nicholas becomes convinced the entire weekend was a setup from the start.
- Nicholas - Mystery writer
- Marco - Mystery writer
- Maeve - Marco’s wife, painter
- James - Marco’s friend, formerly a rival
- Catherine - Marco’s sister
- Louisa - Marco’s grandmother
- Billy - Marco’s best friend
- Eve - Marco’s ex, writer
- Ben - Eve’s husband
- Nicholas arrives at Marco’s home to help him write his next book.
- Years ago, James claimed Marco stole the idea for his popular book ‘Girl at the Door’ from him.
- A few mornings after everyone arrives, James and Marco’s bodies are discovered.
- Marco’s throat was slit while he slept on the couch in his office.
- James was found floating in the ocean.
- Nicholas and Marco met twelve years prior at a writers retreat, where Marco slept with Johanna, another writer at the retreat whom Nicholas had a crush on.
- The police conclude James killed Marco and then took his own life, and they close the case.
- Nicholas met Maeve when he was seventeen and her parents fostered him.
- At the time, Maeve told Nicholas she wanted to marry a rich, loathsome man someday so she could kill him and have his money.
- Fifteen years later Nicholas e-mails Maeve and tells her he has found the perfect candidate, Marco, and a year later Marco and Maeve are married.
- One year after Marco and James's deaths, Maeve tells Nicholas that she and James planned Marco's murder; James believed the plan was to kill Nicholas and blame him for Marco’s death, but Maeve always intended for James to die and take the blame.
- Maeve took James out swimming that morning after Marco died and he drowned easily because he was hungover.
- Nicholas tells Maeve he thought she killed Marco; she says she thought Nicholas did.
- Marco was far too drunk that night to have killed James - so who actually did?
I really love this Christmas novella for its clever structure and depth. The inclusion of a "cast list" at the very beginning is a brilliant move; by identifying the characters before the first chapter starts, the narrative never gets bogged down in clunky introductions, allowing the tension to remain front and center. Despite the shorter length, the story offers a surprising amount of depth, unfolding in layers that make the narrative feel far larger than its page count suggests.
The book consists of only three long chapters, which helps it read like a full-length novel. The constant sense of mystery is captivating and kept me turning pages until the end. Nicholas is an exceptionally well-developed protagonist for a novella, and the "story-within-a-story" approach - written from his perspective as he writes his own account - is a particularly engaging way to reveal the plot.
- Murder
- Child abandonment
Publisher: William Morrow
ISBN: 9780063433670
Publication Date: October 6, 2026
Note: Details are for the original edition. Other formats, editions, and audiobook versions may be available.
