Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

141 reviews

bishop_504's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

The title is slightly misleading, but so is most of the book. I’ve never read a book where I felt so lied to while only reading the truth. It’s a hilarious dark comedy mystery. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use

Minor: Suicide

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!

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Torture, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Child death, Drug abuse, Infertility, Suicide, and Death of parent

aliciavalenski's review against another edition

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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

puddleshoes's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Suicide, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Addiction, Confinement, and Drug abuse

Minor: Gun violence and Abandonment

oxfordcommas91's review against another edition

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!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Vomit

theiagrace's review against another edition

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.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Violence, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Minor: Suicide

Themes sprinkled in are very heavy but treated lightheartedly

as that is how the narrator deals with difficult things.

beetree's review against another edition

funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

Loved how this was structured and narrated.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Blood, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Addiction, Confinement, Drug abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

violet_viper's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

Moderate: Drug abuse, Suicide, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail

skersnick's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

daniofthewood's review against another edition

funny lighthearted mysterious 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Suicide, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail