If I were to write a mystery book I would want to write like Benjamin Stevenson wrote Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone, there are notes of humor that really worked for me (i laughed several times), an style of subtle well paced absurdity that reflects my love for movies like Clue and Knives Out, and a narrator who breaks the fourth wall in such creative ways that really worked for me. Reading this was like getting really good European chocolate when I was expecting generic chocolate; an unexpectedly good cup of coffee when you aren't sure what you will get.

I don't even know how to describe this book. The title caught me eye and I have to say the prologue alone and the first few chapters had me wanting to stay up all night just to be amused and delighted by this story of a family reunion weekend (gone wrong? filled unavoidable happenings?)... filled with memorable scenes and characters for sure. Yes there are some moments where plot holes exist (delightfully noted by the narrator) and a few moments of pacing issues but... this is a 5 star review because I will be recommending this book often and it also was an unexpected treat, an author I am now a fan of.

This mystery for me is a wonderful homage to classic mysteries and yet a welcome placement of classic mystery writing in a present day format. Just read this one, enjoy it, and wait for the next book from Benjamin Stevenson.

Recommended for: fans of Finlay Donovan (I was perhaps similarly delighted by that first book, darker edgier humor in that one too!), fans of indeed Knives Out type stories, and for readers looking for a few laughs with their murder mystery.

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Steven tells the story of a family haunted by a generations-old curse. This tale is both tragic and haunting, but it's also incredibly intriguing as we witness a family trying to come to terms with their dark history. Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone pairs a powerful plot with complex characters - leaving readers feeling just as lost yet quietly enlightened afterward.

Ok so! Somehow I read back to back to back author's who wanted to delve into the Agatha Christie-esque vibe. And the first 2, while good, they didn't hit it out of the park like this one! This is my first novel by Benjamin Stevenson and he won himself a loyal reader now. I saw that this is going to be a series and I am ready for the next book like NOW.
Ernest (Ernie) is apart of the Cunningham family and that means something...and not anything good. He's headed to his family reunion at a remote ski resort amidst a giant (and I mean giant) snowstorm. And while I don't want to give anything away, I will say this, by the end of the book everyone in his family has killed someone....including Ern.
Things I loved about this book, there are a ton, but my favorite was that the main breaks the 4th wall the whole time. Ern takes the time to narrate to you and I can say, the more he talks the more you love him as a character. He has one liners to spare and is so relatable. Thank you THANK YOU NetGalley for giving me this ARC. I loved it and am rating it a 4.25! I can't wait to see what else Ernie gets into.

I found this book to be quite entertaining. In a way, this is kind of a spoof of classic detective fiction, but also an homage to it. The narrator is clever, the humor is dark and there’s a very complicated who-done-it mystery that is unraveled in classic Agatha Christie style.

Super fun mystery! Some family reunions are more interesting than others. I'm not saying anything else - wouldn't want to ruin it.

"Everyone in my family has killed someone. Some of us, the high achievers, have killed more than once. I'm not trying to be dramatic, but it is the truth. Some of us are good, others are bad, and some just unfortunate.

I'm Ernest Cunningham. Call me Ern or Ernie. I wish I'd killed whoever decided our family reunion should be at a ski resort, but it's a little more complicated than that.

Have I killed someone? Yes. I have.

Who was it?

Let's get started.

EVERYONE IN MY FAMILY HAS KILLED SOMEONE

My brother

My stepsister

My wife

My father

My mother

My sister-in-law

My uncle

My stepfather

My aunt

Me"

Thanks to NetGalley and Mariner Books for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed herein are my own.

I don’t care for Stevenson’s using the literary technique of the narrator not only being a character in the story, but also speaking directly to the reader in asides. In addition, the narrator boasts of following a series of rules in writing/solving a mystery, but at the end of the story tries to explain away his NOT following those same rules with technicalities. I also thought the plot to be unreasonably convoluted.

Confusing and tedious. I had to force myself to finish it. I could not keep the characters straight. Too many and too many interweaving of characters. I wanted to like it - but did not

Meeehhhhhhh. This was one of my most anticipated books of 2023 and unfortunately it fell very flat for me. There were so many characters it was hard to keep track of everyone and each chapter jumped around so much it was hard to follow the story. The ending ruined it for me because I found that I just didn’t care. You know when someone hypes you up so much for a surprise and then you get it and think “that’s it? I mean i like it but just not worth the hype”… ya that’s this book for me.

Such a fun book! Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone is the story of The Cunningham family, and it all essentially takes place at a ski resort in Australia during a horrific snow storm - the perfect location for murders! Benjamjn Stevenson has written himself into the story - a quirky and novel thing to do, but it just works with this story!
There are numerous mysteries to solve, and so the story does get a little tedious, and sometimes a little confusing. A lot happens, and has already happened, and all of that has to be explained. I needed to go back and read parts a second time to be clear on characters and events. This is the only reason for the 4 star rating.

The book concludes quite satisfactorily, and I found a smile on my face and I read the last words. Highly recommend to those who love a complex mystery!

Thank you, NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone.

How can this title not pull a reader in?

Narrator Ernest Cunningham tells his story in first person, with some asides straight to the reader. He is sort of a marginal crime writer and starts the story with some Golden Age rules for writing a fair detective story.

His disjointed family is meeting for a reunion at a secluded mountainous resort. The occasion is his brother Michael getting out of prison for murder -- and Ernest is the one who turned him in. It would be a spoiler to divulge anything else. Ernest does a very organized and deadpan job, going relative by relative, of updating us.

There are loads of surprises, some dark humor, and some painful family history. This is an unusual and entertaining read. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone was so much fun to read! I read it while picturing a Clue board game in my head. The descriptions of the location and the characters were great. I laughed so much while reading this, which is NOT my usual reaction to a murder mystery. I highly recommend this book!

I thoroughly enjoyed this tongue-in-cheek mystery where the narrator constantly breaks the fourth wall and speaks directly to the reader. There actually is a series of mysteries, and the usual unexpected surprises that held my interest quite well but what this book really does is upend all the mystery tropes in a laugh out loud manner. The narrator is an author who writes books on how to write mysteries and as such he is constantly "revealing" to the reader how he is following the rules of writing a good mystery. Highly recommended

Thanks to NetGalley and Mariner Books for the advanced reader copy.

If you like quirky mysteries, pick up Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone! It doesn't quite reach the level of Cosimano's Finlay Donovan or Sutanto's Aunties series, but it is a very good mystery.

Ernest Cunningham is the narrator of this tale, and he begins with the rules of mysteries during the Golden Age. Ern's job is writing articles about how to write a good murder mystery, which is a very specific and yet kind of useless job. However, his family is infamous for causing trouble, and yes, he asserts that everyone in his family has killed someone. He, as narrator, promise to be a reliable narrator and tell the story as it happened. This removal of the fourth wall makes for an intriguing novel.

The Cunningham family is gathering at a remote ski resort in Australia to celebrate the return of Michael, who has been in prison, for, you guessed it, killing someone. Ernest is the one who turned him in, so he's not been on the best terms with his family since then. However, he's hoping that bringing (most of) the money Michael had stashed with him before his arrest ($267,000), might make things better between him and Michael, and that could make his mother look at him more favorably.

When Michael arrives, he's in a moving van, driven by Ernest's not-quite ex-wife (they're separated), and he's immediately detained for a murder that happened that morning at the resort.

The book moves back and forth in time, sharing each family member's story when they killed someone, and slowly revealing what happened in the present. Some of the twists are easy to figure out (Ernest lays out the clues fairly well), but others might catch you by surprise.

This is a very enjoyable mystery, and, given the #1 beside the title, is the beginning of a series! Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy of this novel.

👅👅👅👅👅 / 5

Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for providing me early access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is a must-read for my fellow mystery nerds—especially fans of the Knives Out movies! The unique narration and sense of humor made this book so much fun. I loved the narrator’s honesty and transparency, and I appreciated when he shared recaps to ensure the reader was up to speed. I also couldn’t get enough of the small details, like any time a phone was produced, the narrator noted what the battery percentage was because of the overused trope of phones dying during critical times. I love the mystery/thriller genre, but it’s often saturated with the same tropes, plot holes, and contradictions, so books like this are a breath of fresh air. The execution was perfection!

Present day mystery following the rules of the Golden Age writers in a non-traditional manner.

First, this book is meant to be humorous in a cheeky, break the fourth wall manner. Come back later if you’re looking for something more straight forward and traditional right now.

Narrator Ernest Cunningham (Ern to his friends) is an author of guides on how to write books including "10 Easy Steps to Write Crime Like You Lived in the 1930s" and the "Golden Age to Your Golden Page: How to Write a Mystery", so it’s not too surprising that the first page is a list of Ronald Knox’s Ten Rules for Detective Fiction from 1929 (with one rule redacted as it’s become culturally outdated). In summary, the rules state that writers should play fair.

In the prologue, Ern states how he’s going to follow Knox’s rules to the best of his abilities. At one point later in the book he comments, “Was this…one of those moments where I was losing which parts were real and which parts I was filling in myself? I apologize; that’s not something a reliable narrator does,” so the reader knows he’s telling everything as he remembers it, but some of it happened when he was young, and his memories may not be reliable.

The action quickly shifts to the first killing: Ern’s older brother calls, Michael, needing help to bury a body. Ern agrees, but then is compelled to report it. The action then shifts to a few years later; Michael has served his three year prison term and is about to be released. His aunt decides to organize a family reunion at an isolated ski resort to welcome Michael back. The weather quickly turns, leaving people trapped in the resort in a snow storm.

From this point forward, the book is grouped into chapters around a family member and their act of killing, in the midst of solving who is killing some of them. Some of these events occur in the past, so the flow isn’t chronological, and there are a couple of recaps, including (at least in the ebook I read) links to the various killings in the book. The book has a lot of foreshadowing; one character is mentioned as having smoked their last cigarette.

All the while the narrator is playing with the reader, including frequent references to his editor and readers, breaking the fourth wall. At one point, Ern points out how some writers use anagrams or other significant, historical names and dares the reader to see if any fit this pattern (so is it coincidence that his nickname sounds like ‘urn’ as in a funeral urn?) When it looks like the afore mentioned character is going to smoke another cigarette, Ern points out that the wait staff quickly reminded the individual that smoking isn’t allowed inside. He points out information like a character not being pregnant, distracting from the fact that there may be another reason she’s acting in a specific manner - just like a good Golden Age mystery writer playing by the rules would as he frequently reminds the reader he’s doing.

The reviewer in me wants to point out that a few elements of the plot are invalid - a 7 or 8 year old would be too big for a 5 point harness car seat, or a crackling fire would have long been put out - but the reader in me ignores them.

If it’s not clear from my review, I loved this book. I’m a big fan of Golden Age mysteries, and it was fun to see a book diligently playing by the rules, even in all it’s quirkiness. I really enjoyed how the various subplots fit nicely together: the ski resort was selected to help A, but it also helped B and C. D later “kills” E trying to hide evidence to help B. Even the final events, triggered by F end up helping A. I even loved how the writer added layers to the story by addressing the reader directly. Altogether a fun read!

Highly recommended!

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley.com and voluntarily chose to review.

Really liked the way this book was narrated! So cool. Like the narrated talked to you at times so cool!
Writer has a very good sense of humor. I cannot wait to read the next book in this series. Really found this one fascinating!

This is a quirky mystery with a cheeky narrator, Ernie, telling the story of his family’s reunion at a ski resort. The occasion is that Ernie’s brother, Michael, is getting out of jail. They all convene and yes, more mysteries occur. This is very Clue-like with many characters who are (mostly) related to the narrator by blood or marriage, current or former. Having live links in the e-book is a first for me. (For example, the narrator says something like I don’t tell you think until chapter 10, and it links to the spot in the book.)

Unfortunately, getting through this one was difficult for me as there were many random story lines and I just was not invested. The cheeky narrator was a little much for me as well. I finished, but at 75 percent, it was a struggle. Maybe this is for cozy mystery lovers? Or cozy mysteries with an edge because there is some gore.
There were action packed parts where I had no idea what was going on and felt like the book was written for film.

Thank you netgalley and Mariner Books for a free e-arc. All opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

This one is releasing on the 17th.

I enjoyed this mystery it is reminiscent of the golden era mysteries. The story was interesting and fun.

Here’s what I liked:
😊 the “reliable” narrator
😊 the resort setting
😊 everyone had their own secrets
😊 the library at the end to wrap up the mystery
😊 the book’s organization

EVERYONE IN MY FAMILY HAS KILLED SOMEONE was an absolute delight. This book combined so many things I love in a book: a messy family story, humor, an engaging mystery with locked-room elements, homages to classic mysteries, and plenty of quirkiness.

Our narrator, Ernest, writes books about how to write mysteries. He's lived through some crime-related family drama, including getting wrapped up in a murder his brother committed (this happens in about chapter two and is part of the set-up, so not a spoiler). Meanwhile, his aunt invites the whole family to a reunion in a secluded, snowy mountain resort. While there, a man mysteriously shows up dead. Ernest knows his family must be involved, he just doesn't know how. He proceeds to try and figure it out, revealing bits and pieces of relevant family history along the way.

Throughout sharing his personal mystery story, Ernest often breaks the fourth wall, telling us what he's doing and how it relates to his story and classic mystery writing in general. I thought that was such a fun piece of the storytelling in this book and I loved Ernest's cleverness and self-deprecating wit.

I would definitely recommend this book to mystery lovers who enjoy a side of quirkiness.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free review copy of this book. A review will be posted on my Instagram account (@fromsarahsbooknook) closer to the release date.

This is one of the most unique mysteries I've read in a while. Told from the perspective of Ernest Cunningham (aka Ern or Ernie), the book is centered around the Cunningham family reunion at a winter ski resort where a murder occurs. Ern, a mystery how-to writer, begins to investigate the killing, while also explaining how each member of his family has killed someone.

This book has a narrative style that I think some readers will find appealing, and some will find jarring--Ern breaks the fourth wall on a number of occasions to talk directly to the reader in a way that can be cheeky and at times perhaps slightly patronizing. At first, I wasn't sure whether I liked this or Ernie--though he insists he is a reliable narrator and telling the truth, as he knew it, at all times.* But the Ernie and the unique storytelling style really grew on me as the book went on, and it ultimately became one of the more interesting aspects. I'm tempted to make a comparison to The Glass Onion, due to the layered story telling, delayed reveals, and general locked-room mystery, though Ernie is certainly no Benoit Blanc. I do think this book is a great choice for fans of the movie and its predecessor, Knives Out, though. Ultimately, I really enjoyed this book, and binged it one sitting because I was dying to know what happened. And the ending! The mystery! I found it all so creative and well-done. I won't be able to stop thinking about this one for a while.

Thanks to Mariner Books for my eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 stars - 10/10

*Ernie, at times, criticizes many modern mysteries for their exaggerated twists, unreliable narrators, and general lack of playing by the "rules" of mysteries as established by the greats such as Agatha Christie. But, it should be noted, that Agatha Christie gave us one of the earliest unreliable narrator mysteries, [TITLE REDACTED B/C SPOILERS].