Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

91 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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Content Warnings

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

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

aliciavalenski's review

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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Content Warnings

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

puddleshoes's review

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

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Drug abuse, Addiction, and Confinement

Minor: Gun violence and Abandonment

oxfordcommas91's review

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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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Vomit

theiagrace's review

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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Content Warnings

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

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

Minor: Suicide

Themes sprinkled in are very heavy but treated lightheartedly

as that is how the narrator deals with difficult things.

beetree's review

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.

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Content Warnings

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

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Violence

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

skersnick's review

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

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Content Warnings

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

daniofthewood's review

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

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Content Warnings

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

elaineh7's review

adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

This book was super unique and the way it broke the fourth wall so often. It was super funny. The first half of the book was really fast paced and engaging but the second half slowed down in pace for me. The ending was surprising and very satisfying. I did find it to be a little convoluted at times 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, Suicide, Vomit, Torture, Drug abuse, Child death, and Addiction

Moderate: Kidnapping