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Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'
Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson
10 reviews
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
5.0
“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 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 references to other books 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 a typical locked room mystery with a bout of bad weather to boot, but it is 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 question who every Cunningham family member might have killed in the past to answer. 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.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Grief, Abandonment, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Death, Death of parent, Addiction, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Child death, Vomit, Drug use, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Confinement, Murder, Suicide, Violence, and Gun violence
concon95's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Toxic relationship, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Death of parent and Child death
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Drug use, Physical abuse, Suicide, Vomit, Addiction, Gaslighting, Infertility, and Confinement
jojothefool's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Medical content, Violence, Addiction, Infertility, Infidelity, Gaslighting, and Torture
torturedreadersdept's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Gun violence, Murder, Grief, Kidnapping, Suicide, Violence, Addiction, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Torture, Bullying, Death, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Child death, Infertility, and Gaslighting
stephliljazz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Violence, Physical abuse, and Death
Moderate: Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, and Suicide
beepbeep101's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Fantastic. Twists all the way to the last page. The extra .25 is for the last quarter of the book or so, as so much happened right after each other that beautifully brought everything together and turned things on their head. I loved the narrative voice of Ern (who isn’t a crime writer but instead is a how-to-be-a-crime-writer writer), who recounts the book’s events with a sense of humor about the writing process. He even gives the page numbers at the beginning on which every death in the book will occur - something which sounds like it would spoil a great deal, but things often happen differently than you expect them to.
A great read, though definitely check the content warnings, as it wasn’t quite as light as I expected it to be from word of mouth recommendations. It gets into revenge, PTSD, infidelity, infertility, and addiction, and descriptions of trauma and injuries were a bit heavier than I expected.
Graphic: Torture, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Infertility, Suicide, Abandonment, Addiction, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Drug use, and Kidnapping
Minor: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Vomit, and Car accident
callie_castle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Car accident, Kidnapping, Violence, Drug abuse, Drug use, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Gore, Grief, Murder, Medical content, Alcohol, Blood, and Confinement
Moderate: Gaslighting, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Addiction, Infertility, Trafficking, and Vomit
purplepenning's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Blood, Death, Gun violence, Murder, Child death, Confinement, Drug abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Suicide, Violence, Alcohol, Addiction, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
cady_sass's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Police brutality, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Child death, Gun violence, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Vomit, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Medical content, Blood, Body horror, and Drug use
toffishay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Death, Murder, Torture, Death of parent, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, and Child death
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Kidnapping, and Infidelity
Minor: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Medical content, Gaslighting, Drug use, Car accident, Alcohol, Addiction, and Confinement