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Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone (Ernest Cunningham, #1)

Benjamin Stevenson

Start date: April 1, 2023

Finish date: April 30, 2023

Discussion: BOM /Series Nominations

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What Members Thought

Feb 07, 2024 Charlene rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: 2024-popsugar-reading-challenge

I did not get what people were raving about with this one. I was so frustrated with the unbelievable plot that I kept losing concentration and couldn't follow along with the clues. Too many side stories that didn't make any sense and that just would not happen in real life. I get it was supposed to be ridiculous, quirky, and funny but it just made me annoyed. By the time we got to the 'who done it' I was done with IT. ...more

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Dec 19, 2023 Bonnie rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2022-books, mystery

A tongue-in-cheek murder mystery that is supposedly a true story told by the author/narrator that follows Ronald Knox's 10 Commandments of Detective Fiction from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction.

This is a case study of how to lie to the reader while telling the literal truth. Ernest tells the reader that he never lies to them - which is true. But he obfuscates and misdirects with abandon. Ernest is at a family reunion in a remote ski lodge in Australia. He is the black sheep of his family af A tongue-in-cheek murder mystery that is supposedly a true story told by the author/narrator that follows Ronald Knox's 10 Commandments of Detective Fiction from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction.

This is a case study of how to lie to the reader while telling the literal truth. Ernest tells the reader that he never lies to them - which is true. But he obfuscates and misdirects with abandon. Ernest is at a family reunion in a remote ski lodge in Australia. He is the black sheep of his family after turning in his brother for murder. The brother has completed his prison sentence and is joining the family reunion. A dead body - apparently a victim of the Black Tongue serial killer - turns up the same day, and a suspicious local police officer arrests Ernest's brother. Ernest decides it is up to him to find the real killer.

Overall, it was a cheeky, well-written, mystery that does indeed harken back to the Golden Age mysteries instead of more flashy modern thrillers (which I am a big fan of as someone who is tired of the formulaic modern thrillers). It was certainly one of the more enjoyable mysteries I've read in 2023.

I have two complaints, one major, one minor. The major one is that Ernest (and everyone else) is convinced - based on nothing - that the killer MUST be a Cunningham. Ernest never talks to another member of the resort (besides the resort owner, who has a minor role in this). There's a snowstorm that leads to the other guests evacuating to a different nearby lodge - and no one thinks for a second that maybe the killer is among them! There was absolutely no basis that I could find to eliminate everyone else at the lodge as a suspect from the start. And it seems strange that no one else at the lodge is even considered a potential witness. Maybe this was originally set at a remote cabin instead of a full lodge?

My minor complaint is one that comes up in many books - when the narrator refers to relatives (especially parents) only by their first names. This is a personal pet peeve because I am bad at remembering character names and relations, especially when many characters are introduced at once. It is much easier for me to remember that Katherine is Ernest's aunt, Andy is Ernest's uncle (by marriage), and Audrey is his mother if Stevenson would just use their familial names (Aunt Katherine, Uncle Andy, and mom). As it was, I could never remember if Audrey was his stepsister or his aunt or his mother when her name came up. ...more

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Feb 15, 2025 Susan rated it it was amazing

This was a new to me author and I have to say I was really impressed with the story and his writing. I look forward to reading more of his books.

The story is set in Australia and it's about a family of so called criminals. The narrator tells this story in sections about how each of his family members have killed someone in some way shape or form. I'm always happy in a mystery book when the end had me stumped and the twist is never one you could figure out. I NEVER once figured out any of the pl ...more

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Jun 01, 2024 Paula Phillips rated it liked it

This book sounded interesting and on my list to read as who wouldn't want to read one with this title? The thing though the book had grabbed me with the title and started well but by the end of it, this was one of those what the hell did I just read books? You know the type of books you read and are still left thinking, about what happened and I am so freaking confused. It's like I read a whole bunch of pages, but am still lost. The book is told from the perspective of Ernie Cunningham and appar ...more

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May 20, 2024 Chris rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, series, fiction, australia

What are the chances I would end up simultaneously reading two books where members of a family are trapped and slowly picked off one by one? I read this book at the same time I listened to Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney, and while I enjoyed both, Stevenson's is the better book. It's not the story that's better - although it isn't a bad mystery - it's the very clever writing. Our protagonist Ernie makes his living writing books telling other people how to write mystery stories. He is VERY well awar ...more

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Feb 20, 2024 Amanda rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, 4-star-books, adult

I listened to the audiobook for Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone. It took me a little while to get used to the writing style where the author cuts into the story. Overall, I enjoyed it and didn’t see the end coming! I’m curious to check out other books in the series.

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