Book Review: Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

My Rating: 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.

Many thanks to Mariner Books and NetGalley for the eARC of this book. All opinions expressed in this review are my own! The book is due for release (U.S.) on January 17, 2023.