Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone

Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

90 reviews

alynnhays's review against another edition

funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

P L O T
Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone follows Ernest "Ernie" Cunningham as he attends his unconventional family reunion. Ernie is a reliable narrator explaining his family dynamic a piece at a time by revealing information about each family member. Because of this, the plot felt twisty in the best way.

T H E G O O D
The character development was very strong. I cared for Ernie, he made me laugh, I knew his internal monologue, and I empathized with his emotional and moral struggles. The author helped me understand the motives of characters that I had originally disliked. No character was one-dimensional, and I really appreciated the effort it took to create a story I was invested in.

I felt like I actually had a chance at solving the mystery and was able to figure out one key clue which felt exciting. Still, the ending left me shocked! By no means was this book predictable!

T H E B A D
My one and only criticism happened in the epilogue. One final detail lacked clarity. I ended up Googling to see if others felt the same and found some discussion that helped clarify my confusion.

R A T I N G
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I wish I could experience it for the first time again - it's an absolute gem that left me spellbound and eager to share with everyone!

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aliciavalenski's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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oxfordcommas91's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was an amazing cozy mystery that really hit the sweet spot of Agatha Christie-esque whodunnit with some fun twists along the way. In this unique book where our narrator helps authors write mystery novels (amazing mystery novel inception here…) and frequently breaks the fourth wall to talk to the reader, we are engulfed in the family drama of the Cunninghams, all of whom have killed someone. But this book isn’t quite what it appears to be on the surface. With dark humor and plenty of red herrings along the way, this book sped to its satisfying and gasp-worthy conclusion. I read this book in only a few sittings - I honestly had a hard time putting it down. This isn’t a twisty psychological thriller that will keep you up at night and instead relies on pretty straightforward murder mystery mechanics that are really good for a reason! This book just works. Can’t wait to read Stevenson’s 2024 sequel!

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yvo_about_books's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious medium-paced

5.0

Finished reading: May 5th 2024

“Family is not whose blood runs in your veins, it's who you'd spill it for.”

There has been a lot of hype around this title, and this is probably the main reason why it has taken me this long to finally pick up Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone. I'm definitely kicking myself now though! I knew that I wanted to read this book as soon as I saw that eye-catching title, and the story itself ended up being everything I hoped it would be and more. This is such an unique and quirky thriller, and while it can go both ways depending on how you react to the writing style, I personally knew this was going to be a 5 star read for me almost straight away. There was just something about the writing style, tone and humor that was simply spot on for me, and I loved every single minute spent with this book. We see everything through the eyes of the main character Ernest, who basically narrates the story for us. This means random observations, quirks and humor incorporated along the way, and his voice was SO easy to warm up to. I loved the many bookish references and the whole 'how to write thrillers' part, which only added to the unique feel of Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone. This story might seem your typical locked room mystery with a bout of bad weather to boot, but it is also nothing like I've encountered before at the same time. The plot structure works really well and only adds to the suspense; the plot twists are well handled. I also loved how we not only have the present mystery, but also the mystery of who every Cunningham family member might have killed in the past. I can guarantee that Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone will appear on my list of 2024 favorites, and I already can't wait to read the sequel. Locked room trope, serial killer crime, bad weather, lots of bookish elements and references, humor... This story has it all and more.

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staceyinthesticks's review against another edition

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funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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theiagrace's review against another edition

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funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This is the first fiction book I've actually finished in years. The preface would catch you off guard and the break in the fourth wall stopped me multiple times to check if I've been actually paying attention. It was a fun read. Every single character is flawed and slowly built up into a fiery reveal. However, I don't know how I feel about the biggest twist at the end, I haven't decided yet. But that doesn't take away from how much a good time this book is.

P.S. I've experienced needing to rent snow chains from Jindabyne and run a sedan up the snowy mountains on turtle pace and because of that I've decided early on that I like Ernest, from shared trauma.

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latashman's review against another edition

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dark funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

They lost me at the degloving and never got me back. Gave me goosebumps every time his hand was discussed and the membrane under the oven mitt. I think it was probably entertaining, but I couldn't enjoy it after that.

I did like the narration on the audiobook, a little cheeky in the side conversations and information.

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