Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone: A Clever Take of the Classic Murder Mystery (The Ernest Cunningham Mysteries, 1)

⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 3 stars

So um I don't know, this one was a bit overwhelming for me. There's a whole lot going on and while it's clever, it's also confusing and very distracting.

The book shifts back and forth between the "story" and the narrator speaking directly to the reader.

It's a unique concept but one I found difficult to follow, at least via the audiobook format that I listened to while at work. I think I will be steering clear of murder mystery type books on audio in the future.

If you like a whodunit with a quirky writing style, then you may enjoy this book. Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone has gotten many great reviews so it may just be a case of "it's not you, it's me".

Thanks to the Libro.fm Librarian ALC program, HarperAudio, and the author for this complimentary Audiobook Listening Copy.

In a post-modern self-referential cosy murder, Bejamin Stevenson deconstructs the murder mystery genre, explaining the rules of the game (from Ronald Knox’s 10 Commandments of Detective Fiction) and even numbering the pages on which the murders occur. He insists there is nothing revealed later that the reader could not have known, and that he is a reliable narrator. “Once again, I am reminded that I am not the main character simply by virtue of being the one who writes this all down. In fact, I remember thinking to myself at the time that more people seemed to have motives to solve this damn murder than to actually commit it.” The premise is that he is one of a number of people who are trapped in a snowstorm up on a ski resort at Jindabyne for a family reunion after one of their clan has been released from prison – what could possibly go wrong? Quite a lot, as it happens. He divides his narrative into sections and leaves his chapters on cliffhangers. Chapter 9 is ‘My Wife’ and simply reads, “I don’t want to talk about it.” Many of the asides are pithy and lure the reader into thinking that we are on the same level. He writes of one character, “I wasn’t prepared to count on him any more than I would a bombmaker’s fingers.” In another moment he observes, “People have a habit of saying ‘That’s all I’m saying’ when they’re saying an awful lot, I’ve noticed.” He understands the human condition in subtle and intimate ways. When he apologises to Sophia, he explains, “Seeing as we were shoulder to shoulder, I spoke outwards, lobbying my apology into the void of the mountain. It’s the only way blokes know how to show humility, by pretending we’re at a urinal.” It’s smart and it’s funny, but it also has moments of unexpected poignancy, such as his memories of his father. “It was easier to tell where my dad had been than to see where he was. The empty armchair in the living room. The plate in the oven. Stubble in the bathroom sink. Three empty holsters in a six-pack in the fridge. My father was footprints, residue.” He writes as if he is learning as he goes along. “Books like this generally tease out the backstory of an ensemble of reprobates, lock them in a singular location and then present a body that can be linked to parts of each player’s backstory as possible motive. I’ll try that.” On many occasions he shows his working: “Sometimes books like these have maps behind the front cover, and the resort layout might have come in handy at this point.” He refers to Chekov’s gun rule, and the greats Agatha Christie (and Mary Westmacott). When he uses a magnifying glass called a loupe (for which he admits he didn’t know the word), we know this will come to be important later. “Looking was pointless if I didn’t know what I was looking for.” He is also inexperienced in the process of sleuthing. “She thought about that for a second. Not being a detective, I had a difficult time distinguishing whether this pause was out of offence or calculation.” The process of writing detective fiction is examined down to the structure and choice of word. “Crawford tailed us gruffly down the hill. My editor told me it’s impossible for someone to walk gruffly, but they’ve clearly never had Officer Crawford huffing two steps behind them, so I’ll stick with the adverb.” This is immensely enjoyable cosy mystery fiction which doesn’t deny what it is, even drawing attention to its own artifice. I’m sure Benjamin Stevenson will write more, and I’m equally sure they will become cult classics.

I really enjoyed it! The back and forth with the time lines, yes some bits were predictable - but I was still engaged the entirety of the novel.

I loved the way this was written! At some points it was too slow or I go lost in the details so it lost a star. I really enjoyed the ending and how we got a reveal of black tongue as well as the McAuley's. Super creative! I wouldn't have been mad if we got more with Ernest and Juliette, but maybe that will be in the next book.

Whoa! What a wild ride! A dysfunctional family having a reunion in the mountains then subsequently get snowed in with a murderer...

The reliable (sometimes tricky) narrator is what really makes this book great and quite funny for a murdery sort of story.