Written in the first person, Ern Cunningham speaks directly to the reader to tell them about his dysfunctional family members, all of whom have been responsible for the death of at least one person, not necessarily by murder. The book is divided into sections labelled ‘My Brother’, ‘My Stepsister,’ ‘My Wife’, ‘My Father’ and so forth.
All these people, except Ern’s father who was killed many years previously, have gathered at a mountain resort to welcome brother Michael back home after his release from prison after killing someone who had already been shot. As the weather closes in, the bodies begin to mount up. Ern is a crime fiction fan and opens his account with Ronald Knox’s 1929 ‘10 Commandments of Detective Fiction’. He tries to stick to the rules and makes constant remarks to the reader, such as how many pages till the next body appears, or reminding us of events in previous chapters.
As these events seem more and more likely to be connected to Ern’s father’s murder, the plot brings in events from the past as well. It does become a little confusing and very complicated. A family tree somewhere would have been helpful.
Although I wasn’t really wholly engaged and found most of the characters not particularly likeable, it is different, and Ern’s tone of voice is humorous, in keeping with the author’s other life as an award-winning comedian.
Reviewed by Lynne Babbage
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Benjamin Stevenson is an award-winning stand-up comedian and author. His first novel, Greenlight, was shortlisted for the Ned Kelly Award for Best Debut Crime Fiction, and published in the USA and UK.
His second novel, Either Side of Midnight, was shortlisted for the International Thriller Writers Award for Best Original Paperback. His novella, Find Us, was an internationally bestselling audiobook. He has sold out live shows from the Melbourne International Comedy Festival all the way to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and has appeared on ABCTV, Channel 10 and The Comedy Channel. Off-stage, Benjamin has worked for publishing houses and literary agencies in Australia and the USA.
He currently works with some of Australia’s best-loved authors at Curtis Brown Australia. He loves hearing from readers on Instagram (@stevensonexperience) and Facebook (The Stevenson Experience). Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone is his third novel.
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