Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone (Ernest Cunningham, #1) by Benjamin Stevenson (Goodreads Author)

Amy Caudill‘s review

Not your usual cozy murder mystery, this novel is actually a satire of so many of the typical tropes.  Let’s start with the narrator- Ernest Cunningham, an author of books on how to write books, currently on the outs with most of his family because he testified, honestly, in a murder trial against his own brother.

The extended clan has gathered in an isolated ski lodge for a family reunion, and to welcome the aforementioned brother home from his prison sentence.  Of course, no family reunion is ever perfect, but most do not include a  slew of murders, some of strangers and others familial, in a setting where the year’s biggest blizzard is underway and only one local cop is able to get through the weather?!

Ernest spends much of the book trying to reconcile with his brother, who gave him a large bag of money to hold for him before he went away, his mother who won’t speak to him because he testified, his estranged wife who has been seeing his brother in prison, and an assortment of other relatives who are not entirely what they appear.

When he’s not trying to improve his family relations, Ernest is talking to the fourth wall; the reader.  He tells us exactly which chapters contain a murder, in a completely  matter of fact way.  (I chose to not skip ahead and let myself be surprised.)   He let slips out exactly who has smoked their last cigarette, but not exactly why, until the very second he tells you, see I told you this was about to happen.  

Ernest’s tone, which is deeply honest, and a little depreciating, also contains just enough humor to keep the reader engaged, as if the reveal of twenty-five year old family mysteries, the appearance of a dead brother who is actually not dead but a famous serial killer and the details of a tortured romance are not enough to do the job.

I admit, I was tickled by just the premise of this book; because I love cozy mysteries I just couldn’t resist a spoof of the same.  This book actually does contain several mysteries wrapped up into one, with a lot of humor poking fun at the genre.  I think it’s very cleverly done and can’t wait to read more from author Benjamin Stevenson.  I give this book five stars.