Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone: A Novel

by Benjamin Stevenson

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Are you a fan of Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club series, Anthony Horowitz’s Hawthorne and Horowitz series, or even The Maid by Nita Prose? Well then this is your next fun and clever Mystery/Thriller read! The Golden Age of mystery novels with a modern-day twist! (Notice we didn’t finish that sentence with “of the knife.”)

Knives Out and Clue meet Agatha Christie and The Thursday Murder Club in this “utterly original” (Jane Harper), “not to be missed” (Karin Slaughter), fiendishly clever blend of classic and modern murder mystery.

“A witty twist on classic whodunits… Stevenson not only 'plays fair,' he plays the mystery game very, very well.” — Maureen Corrigan, Washington Post

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

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063279025
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	01/17/2023
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	4,117
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 6.10(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Benjamin Stevenson is an award-winning stand-up comedian and author. He has sold out 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. He is also the author of Greenlight (shortlisted for the Ned Kelly First Fiction Award) and Either Side of Midnight.

Editorial Reviews

★ 11/14/2022

Ernie Cunningham, the narrator of this exceptionally clever and amusing mystery from Stevenson (Either Side of Midnight), hooks the reader immediately with his opening words: “Everyone in my family has killed someone. Some of us, the high achievers, have killed more than once.” Ernie, who acknowledges up front the recent trend in crime fiction for narrators such as himself to be unreliable, self-publishes how-to books for aspiring authors. As another character comments, “You write books about how to write books that you’ve never written, bought by people who will never write one.” It’s been three years since Ernie’s testimony sent his brother Michael to prison for murder after Michael asked Ernie to dispose of a corpse that turned out not to be quite dead yet. While attending a tense family reunion at an Australian ski resort, Ernie winds up in the middle of a real-life whodunit. The death of a stranger, apparently killed by a fire in the snow that didn’t melt any snow, resembles the work of a serial murderer known as the Black Tongue. Along the way, the author tosses in other deaths, past and present. Stevenson carries off this tour de force with all the aplomb of a master magician who conducts his tricks in plain view. This is perfect for Peter Lovesey fans. Agent: Pippa Masson, Curtis Brown Australia. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

A witty twist on classic whodunits… Stevenson not only 'plays fair,' he plays the mystery game very, very well.” — Washington Post

“I absolutely loved it. Utterly original, hugely entertaining, and a must-read for every fan of the mystery genre. What an exceptionally fresh, smart, funny book—I’ve never read anything like this before.” — Jane Harper

"As fresh and zingy as a salted lime. It's Knives Out meets Richard Osman. Or Dexter by way of Agatha Christie. Or Schitt's Creek with a body count. It's also the most luxuriantly enjoyable novel I've read in years. And years. I began toting my copy around town so that strangers would ask me about it — who could resist that title? I only wish there were more members of the Cunningham clan, so that this raucous, matchlessly entertaining mystery could go on longer. Benjamin Stevenson, I’ve got a lot to learn from you." — AJ Finn

“Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone is a jaunty and clever mystery with unexpected twists. Absolutely not to be missed.” — Karin Slaughter

"Clever." — USA Today

“I absolutely LOVED it. It’s so engaging, entertaining and charming. I don’t think I’ve ever read anything like it. It was SUCH a fun read.”  — Marian Keyes

"Exceptionally clever and amusing. ... Stevenson carries off this tour de force with all the aplomb of a master magician who conducts his tricks in plain view." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"An ingenious and hilarious meta-murder mystery." — Sunday Times (London), best crime of the year

“Resplendent in its sophisticated wit, characters with myriad motives and adroit plotting that indulges in clichés but manages to avoid the predictable. Stevenson also does the near impossible: he mixes the lightness of a cozy with the intensity of a hard-boiled thriller.” — Shelf Awareness

"Exceedingly clever... Read it once for fun and then again to see how it was done.” — CriminalElement.com

"Imaginative" — AARP Magazine

"Some readers are drawn to mysteries because they love the formula and logic—this one’s for them. ... This book and its author are cleverer than you and want you to know it." — Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

I absolutely loved it. Utterly original, hugely entertaining, and a must-read for every fan of the mystery genre. What an exceptionally fresh, smart, funny book—I’ve never read anything like this before.

Jane Harper

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone is a jaunty and clever mystery with unexpected twists. Absolutely not to be missed.

Karin Slaughter

2022-10-26
In this mystery, the narrator constantly adds commentary on how the story is constructed.

In 1929, during the golden age of mysteries, a (real-life) writer named Ronald Knox published the “10 Commandments of Detective Fiction,” 10 rules that mystery writers should obey in order to “play fair.” When faced with his own mystery story, our narrator, an author named Ernest Cunningham who "write[s] books about how to write books," feels like he must follow these rules himself. The story seemingly begins on the night his brother Michael calls to ask him to help bury a body—and shows up with the body and a bag containing $267,000. Fast-forward three years, and Ernie’s family has gathered at a ski resort to celebrate Michael’s release from prison. The family dynamics are, to put it lightly, complicated—and that’s before a man shows up dead in the snow and Michael arrives with a coffin in a truck. When the local cop arrests Michael for the murder, things get even more complicated: There are more deaths; Michael tells a story about a coverup involving their father, who was part of a gang called the Sabers; and Ernie still has (most of) the money and isn’t sure whom to trust or what to do with it. Eventually, Ernie puts all the pieces together and gathers the (remaining) family members and various extras for the great denouement. As the plot develops, it becomes clear that there’s a pretty interesting mystery at the heart of this novel, but Stevenson’s postmodern style has Ernie constantly breaking the fourth wall to explain how the structure of his story meets the criteria for a successful detective story. Some readers are drawn to mysteries because they love the formula and logic—this one’s for them. If you like the slow, sometimes-creepy, sometimes-comforting unspooling of a good mystery, it might not be your cup of tea—though the ending, to be fair, is still something of a surprise.

This book and its author are cleverer than you and want you to know it.

Kirkus Reviews

I absolutely loved it. Utterly original, hugely entertaining, and a must-read for every fan of the mystery genre. What an exceptionally fresh, smart, funny book—I’ve never read anything like this before.”

New York Times bestselling author Jane Harper