REVIEW: Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

Every once in a while a book comes along that fits perfectly with descriptors such as a ‘romp’, ‘farce’ and ‘original’. Everyone In My Family has Killed Someone is that book.

Benjamin Stevenson (Photo by Monica Pronk).

Benjamin Stevenson is an Australian stand-up comedian whose first two crime novels were shortlisted for awards both here and in the UK, and he cleverly puts his skillset to use in this novel. Stevenson’s comfort in relating to an audience is shown with the protagonist, Ernest Cunningham, who is constantly breaking the ‘fourth wall’ to communicate directly with the reader which brings much of the humour to the book.

Stevenson uses many of the tropes of the crime genre in this novel, starting with the premise. A dysfunctional family reunion is taking place at a snowy mountain resort, when a bad storm isolates the family from town as the bodies start piling up. However, the tropes are balanced out with strong plotting and a surprising depth to the characters, family dynamics and events that have bought them to this point in time.

This makes the novel hard to pigeon-hole, which is what makes it so engaging — you’re never quite sure what will happen next. Stevenson pokes fun at the genre while also showing great respect and affection for it and this is a large part of the novel’s charm. Most crime readers like a certain amount of comfort — we want to know that the bad guy/girl will get caught in the end, the protagonist will save the day and justice will be served. Stevenson is smart enough to provide enough of what is expected, which then allows him to play with many of the other expectations of a crime novel. There are a couple of times when this means the farcical element almost gets away from him but he manages to reign it in before losing control of the narrative.

I had suspected that the claim made in the title might involve a little bit of stretching of the definition of ‘killing’ someone (unless this was a family of deranged serial killers) and I was right. One particularly bought a little bit of an eye-roll but the fact that it made for such a great title for the book I was willing to let it go. It also made for a real sense of fun as you wondered how everyone had killed someone.

While I love the predictability of the crime novel, this was a wonderfully enjoyable way to get my crime fix with a great cast of characters, a unique perspective and a whole lot of charm and humour thrown in. I’d happily recommend it to anyone … as long as your dysfunctional family doesn’t have a reunion booked at a ski resort in winter.

—Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson (Penguin Books Australia) is out on the 29th of March. Limited signed copies are available while stocks last!

Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone

Limited Signed Copies Available!

by Benjamin Stevenson

I was dreading the Cunningham family reunion even before the first murder.

Before the storm stranded us at the mountain resort, snow and bodies piling up. The thing is, us Cunninghams don't really get along. We've only got one thing in common- we've all killed someone.

My brother. My step-sister. My wife. My father. My mother. My sister-in-law. My uncle. My stepfather. My aunt. Me...

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About the Contributor

Karen Robinson