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.
With the success of the Knives Out series and probably The Thursday Murder Club, publishers are looking for more unique and quirky whodunits that follow the traditional cozy murder tales from the last 150 years and give them an update for the modern reader.
Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone by Australian writer Benjamin Stevenson, our narrator is Ernest Cunningham, who writes books about how to write books – or more specifically on how write murder fiction. As the informal, reliable narrator, he assures us that the title is not a lie— everyone really has killed someone, including himself.
The early part of the book sets up the different family members who come to snowy resort area in Australian mountains (I’m today years old finding out it snows in Australia) for a family reunion. It takes a bit as Ern has to explain some of the back story on his family members.
I did enjoy the book, as it has a dark sense of humor (and I liked the bingo card game between Ernst and Sofia) and while it took a bit to like the narrator, in the end I found his voice a bit irreverent. There were some parts I found hard to follow, if only because Ernst was sort of asking you to read between the lines, but for fans of modern whodunits that also tries to pay homage to the Golden Age of Murder Mysteries, should enjoy this take on the classic genre.
