Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

95 reviews

saramoser's review against another edition

dark funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

A new take on golden age thrillers, classic whodunnit murder mysteries, and an ode to the “10 commandments of detective fiction” by Ronald Knox. This was a fun, witty read that kept me on my toes, never expecting what the next twist might be, and definitely unable to guess the ending. 

Listened on audiobook, the narrator was easy to understand and fun to listen to.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Kidnapping, Drug use, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Blood, Child death, Drug abuse, Infertility, Medical content, Addiction, Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Violence

questingnotcoasting's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

This was very entertaining. The narrator breaks the fourth wall and it's kind of a deconstruction of all the classic mystery tropes. I found it really clever, especially having read a lot of Agatha Christie. The mystery itself was intriguing and I found the resolution satisfying but I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much without the unusual narrative structure. There's a sequel coming out later this year and I'm quite interested to see how Stevenson will approach it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Child death, Kidnapping, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and Suicide

Moderate: Drug abuse, Addiction, Grief, and Infidelity

ernis's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence and Murder

random_reader's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Child death, Death, Violence, Murder, Suicide, Death of parent, and Grief

Minor: Vomit, Drug abuse, Infertility, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Alcohol, Cursing, Addiction, and Infidelity

mnek's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, and Violence

Minor: Mental illness, Vomit, Drug abuse, Addiction, Grief, Infertility, and Suicide

kirstym25'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Child death, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Addiction

emi12's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury

cartridgepink's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75

Great book. I was having so much fun I stopped trying to work out the mystery and just enjoyed reading instead. (I did work it out anyway but that's not the point.) Funny, layered without being overly convoluted, great characters, and a satisfying mystery to boot.

Last year I went to a Melb Writers Festival event where Ben was a speaker. I hadn't read the book but was a fan of him + his brother's musical comedy. Panel goes well, Ben cracks jokes all the way through, then they open it up to Q&A and an elderly lady in the front row says, "Are you actually a comedian?" Honestly as brutal as some of the murders in the book. Gotta respect it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Vomit, Abandonment, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Blood, Body horror, Suicide, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Blood, Car accident, Medical content, and Infertility

Minor: Pregnancy and Emotional abuse

mylargirl'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

I love Benjamin Stevenson's wit and the clever, tongue-in-cheek meta narrative style of this murder mystery narrated by a protagonist who knows he's in a murder mystery. 

What didn't work as well for me was the third act. I found that the carefully constructed plot structure was a bit too engineered and fell apart upon scrutiny. There were glaring plot holes (despite the the narrator's sly claim that there would only be one), and the culprit was obvious from early on. Why weren't the other characters, most of them bright, highly suspicious people more suspicious of this person? It was irritating and disappointing, given how clever the rest of the book was. 

That said, I enjoyed Stevenson's writing style and I can recommend this as a good, fun, holiday read. Especially if you're on a ski holiday. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Suicide, Gun violence, and Child death

giuliapesta's review against another edition

funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Violence and Death of parent

Minor: Kidnapping