Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone

Ernest Cunningham #1

by Benjamin Stevenson

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

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Audiobook, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Book Club

371 pages, Hardcover

First published March 29, 2022

Reviews

[Yun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gosh, that title just draws you in, doesn't it?

Murder mysteries generally fall in two camps—the newer psychological thrillers with lots of mental angst and unreliable narrators, and the old-school cozies with clues and red herrings galore à la Golden Age of Mystery. This book mimics the style of the latter, and that's right up my alley.

No doubt this has all the components I enjoy in a mystery: a family reunion set in a snowed-in resort, a gruesome murder, and ample suspects among those present. And with the dangle of everyone being some sort of killer, it reeled me in and kept me riveted. There were so many unexpected reveals along the way, and I was surprised more times than I can count.

However, it did take me a few chapters to get into it. The narrator often talks directly to the reader, and combined with the humor, can sometimes come across as a bit much. We also get introduced to all the family members in one go, and I had some trouble keeping straight who was who. But as the story went on and we got to the crux of the murder, I acclimated to the style and was thoroughly intrigued.

Regarding the mystery itself, I do feel it was on the complicated side. There were so many parts to it, and while the reveals were fun, I also got a bit confused. There were moments when I didn't understand how the narrator arrived at the conclusions he did based on the information he had, even when he explained in detail how he got there.

Still, I had a lot of fun with this. The story feels unique and there was a compellingness to it that had me turning the pages. And while the twists weren't as succinct and clear as I'd prefer, they still satisfied and made for an entertaining read.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
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[Nilufer Ozmekik · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was the greatest cure for my soul, with its dark, clever humor! I howled with laughter! I guffawed! I never imagined I could have so much fun reading a dark thriller, but I did—it was incredibly entertaining!

The homage to Robert Knox’s Ten Commandments and the way each commandment seamlessly blended into the story was brilliant! It was an absolute delight to be inside the mind of our (mostly) reliable narrator, Ernest Cunningham. Ernest recounts the story of his own dysfunctional family—murderers, including himself! But don’t get the wrong idea—this isn’t a Manson family biography! These folks aren’t a bunch of sociopaths plotting their next victim. Let’s just say they were in the wrong place at the wrong time (though the jury’s still out on that).

Ernest finds himself at a family gathering at a ski resort, where they become trapped during a snowstorm (cue the Christie-like vibes mixed with Clue). Unfortunately, not everyone will survive the storm! The tension mounts, knives are sharpened, and killers lurk everywhere!

I’m trying hard not to give too much away, but I must say that Stevenson’s brilliant wit completely captivated me. I can’t wait to dive into his next book soon.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Mariner Books for sharing this amazing digital review copy with me in exchange for my honest opinions.

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[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone?
Yes. Everyone.
Maybe not in the way you'd think, though, as this isn't a story about some wacky family of assassins.



It's a murder mystery that pulls the past and present together in a fun way, introduces a flawed bunch of characters, and is told through the eyes of a narrator that you're never really too sure about.
I would tell you more, but I think it's better to go into this with as little information as possible and just enjoy the ride.
I will say I thought it was a very cool book.



And while I personally want to read more in this series, if you decide to stop here, you've read a complete story.
Which is nice. I appreciate it when authors can give us a one-and-done.
Recommended.

[Emily (Books with Emily Fox on Youtube) · Rating 2 out of 5]

(2.5) I don't get the hype.

The humor got on my nerves quickly and by the end I didn't care who had done what.

[Henry McTavish · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ghastly.

[Frank Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars rounded up. I'm probably just not smart enough to get this one. It had a decent start but then it just slowly lost me. I think this author was trying to do too many things here, and it felt like there were too many things going on, maybe also he was trying to be too cute and the execution, especially via audiobook, didn't work for me. I'm sure I'm in the minority because it was probably 'clever' and I just didn't get it. And add the fact that it has been adapted as an HBO series proves a lot really enjoyed this one! I think this will actually work better in that format versus the audiobook/book I read or listened to, so I'm definitely going to check it out when the time comes! When everything is considered this one came off a little bit more as a cozy mystery then I anticipated, with not much of the thriller aspect I craved, Also adding to my overall disappointment. You can't please everyone!Anyways, moving on!

[Fran · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I thought: what if I spoiled the entire book on the first page, can I build a crime novel out of it?" "Everyone in my family has killed someone. Some of us, the high achievers, have killed more than once."
-Benjamin Stevenson

Ernest Cunningham was telling his truth as a self-appointed sleuth. Applying Roland Knox's "Ten Commandments of Detective Fiction" (1929) he was bound and determined to solve this whodunnit at a family weekend get together at a ski lodge. A heavy snowstorm...a frozen corpse with face covered in ash...an inept policeman...the lethal leanings of the Cunningham clan. Ernest was a self-published writer of how-to-guides. "I write books about how to write books". Did he possess any crime solving chops? Was he both a reliable narrator and a pseudo-criminologist?

I digress. The mandatory family reunion, orchestrated in an attempt to mend fences. Michael Cunningham was newly released after a three year stint in prison for the unnecessary murder of a dying man. Ernest was complicit, a witness to Michael's matter-of-fact attitude of killing. The man was breathing and then he just was not! Ernest's testimony both nailed and jailed Michael. He was still guardian of a bag of ill-gotten cash. Would Michael and the Cunningham clan forgive Ernest's disloyalty to his brother?

Ernest's chatty, conversational style allowed the reader to learn the backstory of each member of the dysfunctional family. As the body count increased, Ernest generously provided a recap of actions taken. There was plenty of suspense....the harrowing slide of a truck careening toward the frozen lake and the mention of a serial killer nicknamed "The Black Tongue" based upon his use of an ancient technique to overpower and snuff out his victims. Balancing out the elements of suspense were doses of dark humor. "We haven't met properly...People call me Ern." "As in cremated?"

Author Stevenson has delivered a unique, Golden Age infused crime mystery told in a playful, twisting and turning style, and chock full of teasers meant to stump even the best armchair detectives. Highly recommended.

Thank you Mariner Books and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Note: A shout out to Bianca for a wonderful review describing this original take on crime mystery!

[Holly B ( slowly catching up) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I REALLY wanted to give it a FIVE, but it didn't quite get there! 4.5 STARS

Super fun metafiction mystery.

The author promises to be a reliable narrator and "play fair".

It has quite a cast of characters and I needed to keep a list to keep everyone straight. I was able to refer back to it until I had them sorted and no longer needed a sneak peek.

I love a good puzzle and this one kept me entertained from the start. The audio was so FUN! The author states that he will follow Ronald Knox's 10 Commandments of Detective Fiction 1929. The mystery is reminiscent of the detective series by Agatha Christie, but much more modern with graphic scenes of some of the crimes.

The setting is a family reunion at a ski resort. There is also a literal "plot hole", haha, with lots of laughs with the dark humor. We have a police detective who is a wannabe Poirot, but not very experienced, a narrator who gives an update on the clues, and a lot of finger pointing by the family members!

Loved the style, but became a bit complicated and the resolution was too drawn out with a long "tell". Still a good time!!

I listened via Audible and had a library copy. 9 hours, 30 min. I've already added the author's next in the series Everyone On This Train is a Suspect! Soon to be an HBO series too! Woohoo!

[s.penkevich [mental health hiatus] · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a rule, I tend to avoid murder. Being on either end, to be clear. ‘Murder is always a mistake,’ wrote Oscar Wilde, ‘one should never do anything one cannot talk about after dinner.’ Yet for Ernest Cunningham, his entire family has each snuffed out a bloke or few so why not gather the family for a reunion where the topic makes for a great dinnertime conversation and a whole weekend merriment of murders, motives and mystery. And I gotta say, it makes for a snarkily charming read. The comical directness of the title, Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone, is indicative of the jaunty jocularity that Benjamin Stevenson provides for the narrative, often winking at the reader through a rather metafictional narration that doesn’t just break the fourth wall but has already added it to the growing pile of corpses in the novel. Equipped with a headful of knowledge on the rules for murder mystery plots and their tropes, can Ernest navigate the increasing number of family fatalities or will Ern find his final resting place inside an urn in this playful romp that takes the vibes of Golden Age detective fiction out of the quaint English country home and implants them into our modern mania for a high-tension whodunit.

‘Everyone in my family has killed someone. Some of us, the high achievers, have killed more than once.’

Stevenson says this book came from a simple premise, but with a twist characteristic of his plot reveal techniques: ‘ what if I spoiled the entire book on the first page,’ he says in an interview, ‘can I build a crime novel out of it?’ It is an intriguing idea, and one that he executes wonderfully with some clever narrative slight of hand while also reviving a cozy and familiar detective style in a way that feels simultaneously fresh yet familiar.

While this is the first in what appears to be an ongoing series of Ernest Cunningham stumbling upon killing sprees, I had previously read the second book—Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect—with my bookclub. I spent a good deal of time on the meta-elements in that review, which you can read here and found them to be more of less the same here. Claiming to dislike the modern mystery tropes of unreliable narrators as a means to keep key details in the shadows, Ernest assures you his narration is all in earnest. The gag, however, is that secrets can also hide in the light of truth and much of the fun is discovering that we have been bamboozled by a bumbling of truthful statements. ‘But I promised to be reliable, not competent,’ he chides. This is made all the more engaging through Ern’s frequent references to Ronald Knox’s ten commandments of detective fiction.

1.The criminal must be someone mentioned in the early part of the story, but must not be anyone whose thoughts the reader has been allowed to follow.
2.All supernatural or preternatural agencies are ruled out as a matter of course.
3.Not more than one secret room or passage is allowable.
4.No hitherto undiscovered poisons may be used, nor any appliance which will need a long scientific explanation at the end.
5.No racist Chinese laborer (okay he used another term...) must figure in the story.
6.No accident must ever help the detective, nor must he ever have an unaccountable intuition which proves to be right.
7.The detective must not himself commit the crime.
8.The detective must not light on any clues which are not instantly produced for the inspection of the reader.
9.The stupid friend of the detective, the Watson, must not conceal any thoughts which pass through his mind; his intelligence must be slightly, but very slightly, below that of the average reader. (It's me, the stupid friend)
10.Twin brothers, and doubles generally, must not appear unless we have been duly prepared for them.

As many of the Golden Age detective writers often broke these rules, its a humorous play on the idea that you need to know the rules to break them well. It makes for an impish twist on the unreliable narrator trope that, while fresh on a first read, felt a little stale on the second novel unfortunately (though this is the first, to be clear, I did it backwards but can also assure you that aside from like, obviously Ern is going to survive to star in a sequel, the two books could be read interchangeably or one without the other just fine). I’d also add that the twists work a bit better here, though this novel isn’t quite as tight.

It is a crisp, fun little tale though. Ern has been invited to a family reunion at a ski resort to await his brother Michale’s release from prison. Except Ern was the informant who got him put away. Cue the *record scratch* The death toll begins to rise and the plot thickens as new insights and unraveled mysteries about all the murders in his family history begin to surface. It pays tribute to familiar stories and ideas, most notably the works of Agatha Christie, and puts a fresh new coat of paint on Golden Age detective fiction. Its like finding your old Clue board game in your grandmother’s basement but when you blow the dust off its a shiny new package and a rule book written with sardonic wit that tries to throw you off your game.

Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone is a fun little detective thriller with plenty of twists but also suffers a bit by being too smart for its own good. I did enjoy the style, which seems ripe for a movie adaptation (I imagine it in my mind much like the fourth wall breaking and over caffeinated energy of the Enola Holmes films, but instead everyone is Australian and ripe with vice), though I see how it could be grating for some. I think I would have enjoyed it a tad more had I read it first as the gag wears a little thin on a revisit. Still, this is a lively tale that balances the lethal with the levity and I will be looking forward to another Ern adventure.

3.5/5

‘Family is not whose blood runs in your veins, it's who you'd spill it for.’

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is the first time I’ve chosen a book based on its title. But how could I resist?
Ernest Cunningham, “Ern” has written and self-published two books on how to write mysteries and spy thrillers. He is a strong believer in the classic rules for mysteries as laid out by Ronald Knox in 1929. He’s not a fan of modern day literary means, such as the “unreliable narrator”, and promises to be a reliable one. In this book, his latest, he breaks the fourth wall by talking directly to the reader. As he recounts his family’s history with murder, he slides in the terms he would use in his books, like foreshadowing, or gives the reader hints (rooms that are capitalized will be significant later on). Or comments like “police officers in these books, while being Last Resorts or Only Hopes, can also have character traits such as By The Book or Screw the Rules.” He reminds us that the language an author uses, even the punctuation, has significance.
Ern introduces us to each of his relations, each more quirky than the next. They’ve all gathered for a family reunion at a ski resort. Ern is the odd man out as he testified against his brother in a murder investigation. The reunion is soon disrupted first by a snow storm and then when a dead body turns up in the snow.
I found the book’s style of dry humor wonderfully entertaining. It’s an intelligent, mind boggling tale that kept me totally engaged. Maybe a smarter person could figure out the villain, but I sure couldn’t.
The blurb compares this to Knives Out and The Thursday Murder Club (both accurate comparisons), but I would also recommend it for fans of The Word is Murder.
My thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins for an advance copy of this book.

[Jessica Woodbury · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. I am not opposed to a meta mystery, a clever winking story that nods to all the tropes of the genre. I was willing to give this a try, even though it seemed to be a bit too clever. Ultimately it didn't work for me at all, there are only so many times a narrator can withhold details from you before you start to feel jerked around and in this book it happens about a third of the way through.

Besides being too clever for its own good, the thing that really kills this book is its devotion to golden age murder mystery rules while not being in even the same universe as a golden age murder mystery. Yes, it has some of the structural trappings, but they never feel real. For example, the setting at a snowed-in ski resort is filled with other people, and even though it's suggested several times that no one can leave because of a big storm, everyone else manages to conveniently leave with relative ease. Details like this occur over and over again.

There were many things I thought didn't make any sense at all. I attributed them to the author. A lack of research, perhaps, not paying enough attention to detail. But then in the third act all these details that don't make sense are given not-very-tidy explanations, which once again only irked me. The author seemed to think these had passed unnoticed and was displaying for them now as essential clues. In fact I had noticed every single one and they just felt like lazy writing because otherwise they didn't make any sense. Much of this does not make any sense. And the third act reveals only make it more nonsensical.

A lot of golden age murders are rather nonsensical. But it has been a hundred years or so since then. This book clearly knows all of that, but it's far too elaborate to be enjoyable. At least for me.

I suspect a lot of people will like this a lot. I am often a naysayer in books like this. (I also deeply dislike the Anthony Horowitz series and the Richard Osman series that feel somewhat related to this in tone and style.) If you liked those, you will probably like this. But if you didn't like those, you won't like this, either.

[Sujoya - theoverbookedbibliophile · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many thanks to Mariner Books and NetGalley for the eARC of this book. All opinions expressed in this review are my own!

3.5⭐

Our narrator Ernest “Ern” Cunningham is a self-published author who writes books on “how to write books”. A fan of Golden Age detective novels, he tries to adhere to Ronald Knox’s 10 Commandments of Detective Fiction (1929). He isn’t too fond of new age tropes such as the “unreliable narrator” and therefore makes his intentions of being a “reliable narrator” clear as writes his book based on the events that occurred during a family reunion held in a ski resort in winter. The discovery of a body of a local man on the grounds of the resort and Ern's brother Michael’s release from prison after serving a three year sentence (Ern’s testimony was instrumental in sending Michael to jail) sets the tone for an eventful (to put it mildly) and tension fraught family reunion. What follows is a complex web of multiple suspects including a serial killer who could be someone among them, a hefty sum of cash that Ern’s brother left his him before being jailed the origins of which remain questionable, twists and turns and red herrings, a bumbling police officer, loads of family drama and the unraveling of secrets of the infamous Cunningham family including a mystery that has a connection to the narrator's father who was killed while committing a crime years ago.

Oh, and as our narrator claims,
“Everyone in my family has killed someone. Some of us, the high achievers, have killed more than once.”

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson is an entertaining read. I really liked the premise of this novel and the structure of the plot. I loved the easy-flowing narrative and the conversational (and occasionally satirical) tone of storytelling in which the author breaks the fourth wall in his efforts to engage the reader and establish his “reliability”. I enjoyed the narrator’s references to the “Rules” throughout the narrative and his efforts to stick to them, not without bending them a bit, make for some amusing moments. There are multiple threads to this story and the author skillfully weaves it all together as the narrative progresses . The dark humor, the cast of interesting characters and the solid mystery at the core make for an engaging read. However, I felt that the book was a bit too long and does become a tad convoluted toward the end. The repetitiveness and the uneven pace did cause my mind to wander at times. There are a few OTT moments but those did not detract from the overall reading experience. Overall, there is a lot about this book that is praiseworthy and I did find it to be a fun read.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

As promised by the title this is a very intriguing read with a high body count! Narrator Ernest (‘Ern’) Cunningham is the self-published author of guides on how to write crime novels. He reveres the Golden Age writers of crime fiction and follows Ronald Knox’s ten commandments of crime fiction (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_...) which he commits to upholding in his own novel about his family. Ern has been ostracised by most of his family for some years but has been commanded to attend a family reunion at a ski resort in the Australian Snowy Mountains for reasons that will become clear as the novel progresses.

Ern’s family attending the reunion are a complex blended family where everyone seems to have some sort of beef with each other, particularly with Ern, whose past actions resulted in his ostracism. The morning after arriving at the resort, a body is found in the snow, that of someone who doesn’t appear to be a guest there and who no one seems to recognise. A policeman arrives from the nearest town but as a storm closes in, detectives fail to arrive, it is left to Ern to investigate the mystery of who the dead man is and who killed him.

This a very cleverly written and engaging mystery. Quite complex, so the reader needs to pay attention to all that is going on. Told in the first person by Ern, who is a reliable narrator (as he himself states), playing the parts of both Sherlock and Watson and sticking to Knox’s ten commandments. He doesn’t conceal any facts from the reader (commandment 9), but does often keep them back until the right time to reveal them. There is a wicked sense of irony running through the novel and much dark humour that all adds to the enjoyment of this smart and entertaining novel. 4.5★

[Jayme · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, I am “late to the chalet” on this one!

I was about to start “Everyone on This Train is a Suspect” when I realized that Ernest Cunningham was introduced to us in this book, so I quickly downloaded this entertaining Audible so that we could be properly introduced.

Ernie explains that this story will be told in the “Golden Age style” of mysteries, where authors “play fair” and follow a strict set of rules which show their hand, instead of relying on what is up their sleeve, (twists and tricks) allowing us to solve the case-if we are clever enough. He promises to be “reliable” as he tells this tale to us in a conversational manner.

To prove his reliability he even shares which chapters the murders will occur in, promises no sex scenes and only one plot hole and provides (and refers back to) the “rules” that Ronald Knox wrote in 1929 so DO NOT SKIP the epigraph and prologue!! You will definitely want to be familiar with them and might enjoy seeing which “rules” are frequently ignored by many of our more modern writers! ☺️

Let’s begin:

The setting is the Sky Lodge Mountain Retreat, where attendance is mandatory for our family of murderers who have gathered together to welcome home Michael -who has just been released from jail. They are NOT a family of psychopaths-some are good, some are bad, and some are just unfortunate.

There’s a storm coming, because of course there is. (the author’s words not mine) 😉

The family members are: (as related to Ernie, our narrator and the author of books on “how to write books” ✍️, hence adherence to the “rules”.)

Mother-Audrey
Stepfather -Marcelo
Stepsister-Sofia (Marcelo’s daughter)
Brother Michael
Aunt Katherine
Andy-Katherine’s husband
Lucy-Michael’s ex wife
Erin-Ernie’s current wife, presently separated from him

We also have Juliette, concierge, Officer Darius Crawford (way out of his depth) and a serial killer dubbed “The Black Tongue” after his or hers “unusual”choice of weapon.

Oh yes, and $267,000 cash.💰

The large cast may sound intimidating but it isn’t, as each is introduced to us in their own section, one murder at a time.

Three years ago, Michael arrived on Ernie’s doorstep with a dead man named Alan Horton in the backseat of his car. Ernie turned Michael in, but guarded the bag of cash for him, (to be returned to him upon his release from jail)

Michael will betray his brother, Ernie too.

Isn’t it incredible that this family is gathering together at all?

Of course, not everyone will survive-my words, not the author’s. 😉

I will let Ernie take it from here, now that I have set the stage for you, but I can attest to the fact that I felt the chill of the atmosphere, enjoyed the clever plot and was charmed by the wit of our amusing narrator.

It was a great Audible performance too.

Easy 4 stars and I am now ready to reunite with Ernie on the 🚂 train!!

[Sharon Orlopp · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway! I think my persistence in continually entering Goodreads Giveaways finally paid off!

Benjamin Stevenson grabs the reader's attention right off the bat with the first sentence, "Everyone in my family has killed someone. Some of us, the high achievers, have killed more than once."

With that, it's off to the races to understand why there have been so many deaths and murders in one family. There is a family reunion at a secluded mountain resort where the number of corpses continues to increase as the blizzard conditions scream.

I enjoyed the twists and turns of this fast-paced thriller and I liked Stevenson's conversational style. I found it humorous and fresh---there were other times when I felt like it distracted from staying on track to solve the mystery of so many deaths.

[Ceecee · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first two lines of the novel make me stop dead which is a highly appropriate reaction in the context of what unfolds. Ernest Cunningham is our narrator and explains all about his family. Apparently, they’re not a family of psychopaths, just unlucky, some are even good people who get caught up with a bad penny or two. Is he believable? The burning question is, which category does Ernest fit into? Do we trust him? I mean… Would you?? In the present day it all starts with the family “reunion“ in a somewhat jaded ski resort with aspirations of being The Ritz and a mystery two or three blows in pretty much like the all enveloping snowstorm trapping them in the resort.

I’m all in with this one from the get go as it most definitely appeals to my dark sense of humour.
I love the sense of irony and some remarks literally have me snorting with laughter. It’s very creative and it could even be described as quirky and this is especially evident in the tone as it’s as if Ernest is chatting to us, divulging things or keeping us in on the secret! It’s very well written, there is a vibrancy in the descriptions of place and of the characters who spring to life before your eyes.

There’s plenty of tension especially between the family and also suspense as it becomes more mystifying and entangled as time goes on with some jaw droppers chucked in for good measure! It’s dark (obviously!), exciting and complex as past and present collide as someone seems to be cleaning up.

Yes, it does become convoluted and OTT but that is exactly what the author intends and it works. I love the big nod to the Golden Age especially via Ronald Knox’s 10 Commandments of detective fiction (1929)which Ernest definitely adheres to! As for the title… well, if that doesn’t lure in mystery thriller fans then I don’t know what will!

It’s marketed as Agatha Christie meets Arthur Conan Doyle meets Knives Out and the Thursday Murder Club (though it’s probably more intense than the latter) but overall that is a pretty accurate description!!

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Michael Joseph for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Do you promise that your detectives shall well and truly detect the crimes presented to them, using those wits which it may please you to bestow upon them, and not placing reliance on, nor making use of, Divine Revelation, Feminine Intuition, Mumbo Jumbo, Jiggery-Pokery, Coincidence, or Act of God?” The Detection Club oath - 1930

It took me just under one minute of listening to this audiobook (and the delightful word jiggery-pokery) to know I was going to love it!

Author Benjamin Stevenson takes inspiration from the greats like Agatha Christie, G. K. Chesterton and others, and uses Ronald Knox’s 10 Commandments of Detective Fiction link to lay the groundwork early for this story, and the result is a mystery that I believe would make any of them proud!

The Cunningham family has a reputation as killers after dad, Robert, died after purportedly murdering a cop years ago. Now his son, Ernest, Ern’s mother and stepfather, stepsister, aunt and uncle, and ex sister-in-law are all gathered in a ski chalet in Australia’s Snowy Mountains to reunite with Ern’s brother, Michael, after his release from prison. Unfortunately, Ern’s testimony put him there making things awkward to say the least! Michael’s arrival with Ern’s ex-wife on his arm is just in time for a mysterious stranger with a mouth full of ash to turn up dead on the ski slope, and for a snowstorm that limits the police response to one seemingly inept local cop.

When Michael is assumed guilty by said cop, Ernest is left to figure out ‘whodunnit’ to clear him. The mystery deepens when Michael offers cryptic clues that suggest a connection between the event that put him in jail and the events that led to their father’s death. As Ern digs deeper, the body count starts rising! There’s a LOT more to this story, but that gives you the bare bones.

In a clever narrative structure, reliable narrator Ernest breaks the fourth wall in presenting the mystery directly to us, his audience. This gives a cozy, familiar feel to the proceedings, in the same way a friend telling you their secrets would. By interspersing references to one of Knox’s commandments as it relates to an event, he steers the reader in their own detecting, making us the Watson to his Sherlock. Considering the sheer number of characters, this is very helpful, as are his occasional recaps of events.

I loved the dark humor, the excellent narration by Barton Welch, and the overall fun I had in trying to solve this! I had suspicions about the ending, but the way it was explained was entirely unexpected. Despite a few confusing spots, the wonderful narration kept my rapt attention and I enjoyed every moment of this! I think this story lends itself brilliantly to audio. It’s a great start to a new series that those who liked The Thursday Murder Club, Clue, classic Agatha Christie, Knives Out, or similar stories would likely enjoy. I can’t wait for the next book and more of Ernest!

★★★★ ½

[Nataliya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading a book with an unreliable narrator is akin to literary masochism, and the narrator of this book, Ernest Cunningham (a member of the titular killer family) knows well. And so he sets out to ensure us, the readers, that he will not fall into that trap while snarkily breaking the fourth wall to the point of pretty much zero wall left.

“Call me a reliable narrator. Everything I tell you will be the truth, or, at least, the truth as I knew it to be at the time that I thought I knew it.”

Needless to say, he’s full of crap. But he’s full of crap with a snarky charm, and constant foreshadowing and making fun of detective tropes, and it’s easy to forgive him for pushing that “narrator reliability” to its very unreliable limit while gleefully misdirecting you while disregarding spoiler alerts (and my spoiler-indifferent self enjoys that very very much).

“A quarter past eleven. If you’re keeping track of the chapter numbers, you’ll know someone is supposed to die right about now. They just did, but I haven’t found out about it yet.”

The family dynamics are quite fun here. You see, Ernest is at the family reunion (at a ski resort in Australia (!!!) because apparently my idea of Australia was quite warped, so shame on me) which may be somewhat soured by the fact that he was an informant that put his brother in prison — and the said brother is now out of prison coming to the reunion (being held in his favor, actually), and Ernest is very much aware of the problems in this situation. It’s a bit awkward, to put it lightly, and that’s before multiple dead bodies start popping up (exactly in the chapters Ernest promises us from the start) — not the least because that brother is now in a relationship with Ernest’s estranged wife, and that’s even before a bag of quite a bit of money is revealed.

“I imagined the sign had a comma, so it instead read, Sky Lodge Mountain, Retreat!, which I thought was good advice ahead of a Cunningham get-together.”

It’s clever and snarky and full of self-deprecating humor, and breaking the fourth wall is just so much fun. Maybe some of it gets too convoluted, and maybe some threads of the mystery are easy to solve while others seem a bit far-fetched, but nothing beats that feeling of happy fun of reading (well, in my case listening) to it and losing yourself in the snow-centric Australian book.

Easily rounding up to 4 stars.

“I’ll hold it here to mention that I know some authors are incapable of having a woman throw up without it being a clue to a pregnancy. These same authors seem to think nausea is the only indication of childbearing, not to mention their belief that vomit shoots out the woman’s mouth within hours of plot-convenient fertilisation. By some authors, I mean male ones. Far be it from me to tell you which clues to pay close attention to, but Sofia’s not pregnant, okay? She’s allowed to throw up of her own volition.”

[megs_bookrack ((struggling to catch up)) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone is truly such a fun reading experience. More specifically, the audiobook. I highly recommend that as the format to take in this story.

Told from the perspective of our main character, Ernie Cunningham, the delivery is quite clever and memorable. Ernie is speaking directly to the Reader, he's taking them along on a journey as he explains how everyone in his complicated family has killed someone.



I loved Ernie's narrative voice and enjoyed riddling out the truth behind the mystery that unfolds. The setting is a remote ski resort, where the family has gathered for a reunion, just as Ernie's brother is being released from prison and inclement weather arrives.

The family itself is messy and complicated, like many are, and I enjoyed learning about all of the people, as well as their various connections and past histories together.



The cast is broad, but I felt like Ernie did a great job relaying the events occurring on the mountain, as well as some critical backstory. The plot also progressed at a nice steady clip, with things moving to warp speed towards the end.

There were a lot of twists and turns, some unexpected reveals and a shocking death which kept me on my toes throughout. For me, I'll admit, it did start to feel a bit convoluted towards the end, but I still enjoyed it even in spite of that.

Overall, I feel like this is just a wildly-entertaining story, that brings a fresh twist to the classic Murder Mystery space. I'm looking forward to continuing on with this series. I need more Ernie Cunningham!!

[carol. · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the running for one of my Best Reads of 2025. Witty dialogue with clever plot twists and nuanced commentary on complicated family dynamics. It starts very simply: writer Ern is retrospectively narrating his family reunion at an Australian ski resort. He starts out conversationally, assuring the reader about the veracity of his story:

"So I’ll strive to do the opposite. Call me a reliable narrator. Everything I tell you will be the truth, or, at least, the truth as I knew it to be at the time that I thought I knew it. Hold me to that."

It is soon obvious, however, that the 'reliable narrator' premise will be stretched to its limit. Ern is not above using generous foreshadowing:

"Of course, this isn’t a novel. All of this happened to me. But I do, after all, wind up with a murder to solve. Several, actually. Though I’m getting ahead of myself."

There's a lot of this in the beginning, but thankfully, Ern settles down as the events get under way. Still, he isn't above a callback reminder:

"A quarter past eleven. If you’re keeping track of the chapter numbers, you’ll know someone is supposed to die right about now. They just did, but I haven’t found out about it yet."

I actually appreciated the degree to which Stevenson uses this premise. Our society has developed such an emphasis on the concept of 'spoilers' that it is rather fun to have a broad view of events and yet be surprised by how it plays out.

"It sounds like I’ll reveal later on that she’s been dead the whole time, because that’s what happens in these kinds of books, but that’s not the case. She was driving up the next day [redacted for a twist] Besides, the chapter numbers don’t line up."

The challenge with a story like this is to balance the cleverness and entertaining tone with suitable emotion, and Stevenson nails it here. I actually read the second book in the series, Everyone on This Train is a Suspect, first and thought that balance wasn't quite achieved. Here we have Ern wrestling with guilt and loyalty, hopeful anticipations for reconciliation(s), and cynicism with human behavior, and it worked really well for me.

"I’d brought it in case he asked about it. I’d told Sofia I planned on handing it over for accountability, to try to keep myself from backing out."

Of course, it helps when there are moments of evocative writing, particularly useful at bringing the atmosphere at the ski resort to life:

"The temperature had continued to drop, trying to snake its way into the room; I could almost feel the breath of the glass pulsing against the indoor heating."

That writing helps convey the horror of a murder:

"I only saw a black lump of a shadow that looked more like a hole in the world than an actual body"

It definitely was a lot of fun, and a book I didn't want to put down. The humor, clever plotting, and writing all have me thinking I could re-read this, so I'm rounding up to five stars.

"I imagined the sign had a comma, so it instead read, SKY LODGE MOUNTAIN, RETREAT!, which I thought was good advice ahead of a Cunningham get-together."

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ernest Cunningham (Ern/Ernie) is the narrator of this entertaining whodunit involving a family where everyone has killed someone!

The Cunningham's have gathered for a family gathering at a ski resort. It will be the first time Ernie has seen his brother, Michael since his testimony sent Michael to prison for 3 years. Awkward! But wait, there is more! Ernie's wife is now with Michael. Awkward! There is a huge snowstorm, and a man has been found dead in the snow. Awkward! How did he die?


This family is an interesting one. As Ernie tells readers in a conversational manner, that besides being killers, they all have secrets! He makes observations on them and provides little tidbits about their lives and what he thinks of them. No one knows the dead man, or do they? That is what Ernie wants to find out. Using Ronald Knox's 10 Commandments of Detective Fiction, he sets out to solve the case.

This was a unique, entertaining and clever whodunit which kept me turning the pages and doing my own detective work. I enjoyed how Ernie said things would happen in 89 pages, keeping his editor happy and alluded to things happening in the future. He teases readers while sticking to the rules.

Clever, Entertaining and well thought out!

3.5/4 stars

*TravelingFriends/Sisters buddy read

Thank you to Mariner Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com

[Lesly Phillips · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can't read a book where the author talks directly to the reader; it's cringey. I wanted to like this book because of all of the other reviews saying how great it was, but it wasn't. It talked down to the reader like we are stupid and over explained everything. The concept was good, but it needs to be rewritten without constant distruptions of directly addressing the reader. This messes with my ability to stay inside the story and suspend disbelief.

[Melissa ~ Bantering Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ernest Cunningham’s family is something else. That’s because everyone, including Ernie, has killed someone.

No joke.

And when they all gather together at a ski resort for an Aussie family reunion, bodies start piling up. Rapidly. But have no fear, for Ernie is on the case. He just needs to solve the whodunnit before he ends up a victim himself.

Benjamin Stevenson’s novel, Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, is a clever throwback to The Golden Age of Mystery. It’s like Agatha Christie and Clue have been reinvented for the modern fan of detective fiction, and it’s so terrific.

Ernie, our narrator, makes for a great sleuth. He’s bright, witty, and knows how to recount an entertaining story to the reader. He’s also clear and methodical in his explanation of how all the pieces of the mystery fit together, which is important because, frankly, it’s a complicated one. My brain cells had to work overtime to keep it straight, along with the who’s who of Ernie’s family.

Stevenson’s novel is worth every bit of effort, though. It’s a suspenseful read and has twists aplenty. And it’s tough to set it aside once you’ve picked it up.

What makes it even better is that this won’t be the last we hear from Ernie. His detective work continues in Book #2, Everyone On This Train is a Suspect, set to publish in late 2023 or early 2024.

You can bet I’ll be riding that train with Ernie, sitting nearby.


My sincerest appreciation to Benjamin Stevenson, Mariner Books, and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy. All opinions included herein are my own.

[EveStar91 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone in my family has killed someone. Some of us, the high achievers, have killed more than once.
Have I killed someone? Yes. I have.

The first book in the Ernest Cunningham series, by Benjamin Stevenson, follows through on it's title and recounts the killings as a satirical play on the mysteries from the Golden Age. There are multiple mysteries, apart from the original event from a few decades ago that sets everything in motion, and kept me guessing (some correctly!). The setting for this book is an almost snowed-in family reunion and the book follows Ernest, the expert publisher of 10 Easy Steps to Write Crime Like You Lived in the 1930s and Golden Age to Your Golden Page: How to Write a Mystery, as he tries to unravel them before the body count gets too high.

The narrative style has a flippant humour that fans of Knives Out and/or Only murders in the building might relate to. We get plenty of Ernest's comments as he earnestly tries to follow Ronald Knox's ten rules for the murder mystery club. Having recently read a lot of Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers, I enjoyed this particular style of narration. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series!

🌟🌟🌟1/2🌟

The rating is 3 1/2 stars, rounded up to 4 stars for Goodreads as the series is intriguing.

[3/4 star for the premise and the whole book; One star for the writing; Half a star for the characters; 3/4 star for the story; Half a star for the world-building/ description - 3 1/2 stars in total.]

[Phrynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can tell from the title that this is going to be an entertaining book. I thought it was brilliant!

Ernest Cunningham introduces himself as an author of books about writing crime fiction. He explains the 'rules' and tells us that he is a reliable narrator, and as the story progresses he does seem to be exactly that. The setting is a ski resort in bad weather which makes it difficult for people to leave. Most of the characters are related to the Cunningham family and Ernest tells us who each one of them has killed.

The body count is large but they are not all murders. Sometimes you can kill someone accidentally and there are a few of those. Nevertheless I think you can safely say this is not a family you would wish to belong to.

I loved the quirky humour, the smart literary references and the mystery itself where I knew who dunnit but could not come close to why! There is a lovely twist which I should have been able to guess if I had paid more attention. There is no doubt Ernest tells you every thing you need to know but he is very slippery about it.

A very, very good read especially if you are a fan of the Golden Age mysteries.

[Creya Casale | cc.shelflove · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 STARS

Hmmm. Ummmm… well, that was weird. This was not a quick read for me at all. It started off well, but the story became increasingly outlandish by the page. The *thrilling* aspects were missing and I didn’t find myself racing to turn the pages. Were there even any twists in this book? The format was extremely clever—the author promises to tell no lies and reveal clues clearly and succinctly—but the story itself just didn’t suck me in. The many characters, names, and intertwining events were distracting rather than enhancing. I will still check out the upcoming HBO series, but meh. I can’t help but compare this book to Daisy Darker, and I really didn’t like that one either.

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun format and humor and I enjoyed it in the beginning. After I put it down, I wasn't dying to know what would happen next. I should have known I was not the right audience for this one as this is my third attempt this year. 🤪

[Derek · Rating 3 out of 5]

⚠️Outlier alert⚠️

Many of my trusted GRs friends praised this with 5-star reviews, and I highly recommend you read them for a different perspective.

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone initially comes across as smart and uber witty (c’mon, look at that title!). The author breaks the 3rd wall often to tell us readers that he will not lie or deceive us, and that all clues will be available to the reader. I didn’t mind the breaking of the 3rd wall and I found it mostly clever. There were plenty of laugh out loud moments.

However, what started as clever eventually turned pretentious. Likely due to the pacing and lack of anything suspenseful or really even any twists. Maybe, as thriller readers, we need to be deceived in order to be entertained haha I don’t know. But this turned into a major slog. Literally took me 35 years to finish.

This had it’s moments but I struggled to remain engaged. Good (loads of potential), but not great. Cheers!

[JaymeO · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Family is not whose blood runs in your veins, it’s who you’d spill it for.”

Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie’s locked room mysteries, Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone can best be described as Clue meets Knives Out.

Writer Ernest Cunningham attends his family reunion at a ski chalet. By the end of the trip, people will die. But as you know, everyone in Ernest’s family has killed someone, so it’s his job to figure out who killed whom and why.

This mystery is so cleverly plotted and executed, I dare you to figure it all out before the reveal!

The absolute best thing about this book is Ernest. The narrator with a witty sense of humor may spoil a few things that happen later, but it is all in good fun! Plus, it helped my brain process all of the details more clearly by knowing a little bit about what to expect.

I listened to the audiobook, which is narrated by Barton Welch. Usually, readers speak too slowly on audiobooks, but I found that his narration went too fast for me. I actually had to turn the speed down under 1.0! I also found his thick Australian accent difficult to understand at times. However, I loved that he changed some of the words in the book to directly address the audiobook listener. Very clever!

What an absolute winner! Benjamin Stevenson is a new author to me, but his Aussie Crime Fiction is not to be missed! I will be reading his two previous titles as soon as I can get my hands on them.

Side note: If you read the physical book, please comment and let me know what is wrong with the page numbers. The author apologizes for the page numbers several times in the acknowledgments and I’m afraid I missed something by listening to it!

Final note: If any book should be made into a movie, it’s this one! Are you listening, Netflix? HBO Max? I’m talking to you!

4.5/5 stars rounded up

[Linzie (suspenseisthrillingme) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author and self-professed knowledgeable crime connoisseur Ernie Cunningham has been told in no uncertain terms to be present at this year’s annual family reunion. His excuses may have worked in the past, but this year is different. Ernie’s big brother, Michael, will be joining them for the first time in over three years now that his prison sentence for the murder of stranger, Alan Holton, is over. And to make matters worse, in the Cunningham family’s eyes, the only reason that Michael found himself locked up to begin with was down to Ernie. For Ernie witnessed Michael kill a man in cold blood. And, despite their sibling bond, Ernie quickly turned his brother in to the police. After all, murder was not something so easily overlooked. At least for Ernie, that is.

Arriving at the isolated mountain resort, Ernie quickly feels the cold shoulder of many of his family members. Some who even refuse to acknowledge him. But things quickly go down hill when he wakes up the next morning to learn that someone has been found dead out on the snow covered golf course behind the resort. The unknown man has apparently succumbed to hypothermia, at least that’s what most of the family assumes. That is, however, until Ernie’s surgeon stepsister, Sophia, takes one look at the body and notices a bizarre detail: ash not only covering the man’s face, but clogging his airway. The only explanation is that he must have died by fire. What is even odder is that the snow surrounding his body shows no signs of melting and there’s not a single burn mark to be seen.

With the detectives unable to make it to the resort thanks to an impending winter storm, the local policeman, Officer Darius Crawford, must handle the case without backup. But the longer the dead man goes unidentified, the more it appears to Ernie that Crawford may not be up to the task. Instead, he decides that only he, with his superior knowledge of crime, will be capable of putting the pieces together to solve the case. But will he be able to successfully stop a the culprit from getting away with murder? Or will the dead man only be the first in a long line of victims that could even including Ernie himself?

Wholly original with a dark, gothic vibe, Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone was nevertheless a somewhat mixed bag for me: some extreme highs followed by several instances of great frustration. With a truly clever, mind-boggling plot that was as complex as it was convoluted, the Golden Age of crime style tale followed Ernie, the standard smarter-than-police narrator, as he worked out the who’s, the what’s, and the why’s.

The rub of this, however, existed in the fact that it often felt like Ernie was also smarter than me and I found myself rather befuddled and confused more times than I’d like to admit. This also meant that the overly complicated plot obscured the many twists, which caused them to land somewhat flat (there were no gasps of surprise, for example). Don’t get me wrong, each time a new clue was revealed, the entire hypothesis was laid out for the reader, but it often seemed to be written in code and I may have had to work a little harder than I would’ve liked to follow along here and there.

Despite this, I found myself thoroughly hooked by this book. Told in a colloquial, conversational manner that was laced with deliciously dry, dark humor, this twisted family had more secrets and lies than words in the dictionary. To top it off, there was also a wonderfully high body count, a suspect list longer than the phone book, and theories for days. Even the layout of the book was ingenious, which should be the overarching word for this novel, by the way.

What I loved the most (besides the giggle-worthy oft sarcastic quips), however, was how the reader was taken on a beguiling journey alongside Ernie as he methodically worked to untangle the clues. Better still, the back-and-forth theorizing about who was behind the deaths kept me on tenterhooks until the bitter, bitter end when the evil-doer is finally revealed…or most evil-doer that is. In the same breath, however, the dénouement felt anything but dragged out. Just properly and methodically organized to get the best bang for the buck as each new detail was slotted into place.

Last thoughts? Let’s see… for all of you decidedly eager armchair detectives, this novel is going to be one hard nut to crack and I would be surprised if you’re able to put it together before Ernie lays it all out (after all I took notes and still was unable to). Addictive, shrewdly written, appropriately over-the-top without feeling over-the-top, slowly ratcheting suspense, and a delightfully eccentric family, this was a perfectly updated, modern Agatha Christie-like story, which was unlike anything I’ve ever read before. So, if the premise sounds at all intriguing, snap this one up before the soon-to-be HBO TV series comes out! Because the twists and turns of this superlative mystery will give you the ride of your life. Rating of 4 stars.

Trigger warning: infidelity, fertility issues, suicide, drug addiction, mention of: child abuse, drunk driving