Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle meet Knives Out and The Thursday Murder Club in this fiendishly clever blend of classic and modern murder mystery.

I was dreading the Cunningham family reunion even before the first murder.

Before the storm stranded us at the mountain resort, snow and bodies piling up.

The thing is, us Cunninghams don’t really get along. We’ve only got one thing in common: we’ve all killed someone.

My brother
My step-sister
My wife
My father
My mother
My sister-in-law
My uncle
My stepfather
My aunt
Me

Published 29 March 2022| Publisher: Penguin Random House | RRP: AUD$32.99

Buy it at: Dymocks | Booktopia | A&R | Abbey’s | QBD

My Blurb (4.5 / 5 stars)

Honestly, I didn’t expect to adore this book so much! It sounded somewhat interesting even if I thought description was a bit sparse in details but now that I’ve read it, you really don’t need to know much more. We’re told the type of book it is, who’s perspective it’s told from, the isolated setting, and a cast of characters.

The novel is told solely from the perspective of Ernest and in stream-of-consciousness style even as he’s telling his version of events as it transpired and his thoughts then with some references to what’s coming. It is acknowledged throughout that this is a book he is writing with references to his editor and his narration being ‘chatter’. I have to admit that I’m not a huge fan of stream-of-consciousness as I usually find them hard to follow but Ernest’s chatter is highly entertaining. None quite full-blown Laugh-Out-Loud but truly amusing. Chapter 9 is still my favourite! Oh, and that reference to Jane Eyre … he’s got me! Total undying adoration 🤣

The unveiling at the end, of course, was so many lightbulb moments and after all he’s been through & the soul searching he’s done, I am very glad that Ernest found what he’s looking for. This novel is more than just a whodunit or a funny modern retake of it; at its centre is, of course, family. Do you know your family and what would you do to keep them?

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone is a brilliant spoof of Golden Age whodunit mystery in the present day. If I can show you a list of tick boxes without spoiling it for you, I would have. As it is you just have to take me at my word. I feel, however, that I must reread from the beginning just to pick up all the clues I’ve missed in my first read. Maybe even grab a piece of paper and a pen to make notes… because, seriously, all Ernest’s entertaining chatter was an excellent sleight of hand. Bravo!

My thanks to Penguin Random House for this paperback copy of book in exchange of my honest thoughts

About the author

Benjamin Stevenson is an award-winning stand-up comedian and author. His first novel, Greenlight, was shortlisted for the Ned Kelly Award for Best Debut Crime Fiction, and published in the USA and UK. His second novel, Either Side of Midnight, was shortlisted for the International Thriller Writers Award for Best Original Paperback. His novella, Find Us, was an internationally bestselling audiobook. He has sold out live shows from the Melbourne International Comedy Festival all the way to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and has appeared on ABCTV, Channel 10 and The Comedy Channel. Off-stage, Benjamin has worked for publishing houses and literary agencies in Australia and the USA. He currently works with some of Australia’s best-loved authors at Curtis Brown Australia. Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone is his third novel.