One of my favorite books last year, and my very first five-star read in 2023, was Benjamin Stevenson’s “Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone.” From start to finish, I could not put that book down, desperately trying to figure out who was currently killing everyone, and failing to solve the mystery before the reveal. I live for the novels that leave me guessing until the end!

Synopsis

Ernest Cunningham has just been invited as a guest at the Australian Mystery Writer’s Society festival, taking place this year aboard the Ghan, a train of renown. Using the festival as an opportunity to get some writing done, meet some heroes, and spend quality time with his girlfriend, he is hoping for a low-key week. However, when one of his fellow authors is murdered, Ernest realized that not only do they all have what it takes to solve the murder, but also commit one.

Impression

I understand that I am in the minority of readers who love the fourth wall-shattering style of self-aware narration, but if it is done well, it is a very effective method of storytelling. I really enjoy Ernest Cunningham’s point of view as these murders keep unfolding around him and how he uses his observations and background as a mystery writer to uncover the culprit. The entire time I was reading this book, just as with book 1, I was desperately trying to figure it out before he did, but failed.

What I appreciate the most about these books is that Benjamin Stevenson respects the rules of solving mysteries. I can’t even tell you how many mystery novels I have read where the killer isn’t even a character in the novel until the third act. It is one thing to write a head-scratcher of a mystery, but it is another when an author has written a mystery that is so implausible that there is no way a regular person will solve it. Respect the game, people!

If you missed my review of “Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone,” you can check it out here.

Updates:

Over the next couple of weeks, I am reviewing all of the mystery novels I read during my time off from blogging, while waiting to find the answers to why my teenager is suddenly and literally allergic to everything at random times while having no diagnosable allergies. It’s a whole thing, but the reality is that while I am trying to keep to my regular writing and reading schedule, it will be hit and miss because reality is more important than fiction.