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Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone Book Review

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Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson begins by listing the 10 Commandments of Detective Fiction by Robert Knox, and really sets the tone of the book within the first 3 pages. The book wastes no time and after just one page, lists every page in which someone was killed. 

Despite the first page being the rules of writing a crime book, the book really laughs at the traditional third-person writing, with a first-person format that communicates with the reader (literally).

The book’s first chapter depicts Ernest Cunningham’s explosive involvement with the (almost) start of the entire chain of killings. The story then jumps to 2 years later, when the Cunningham family have a reunion at a remote ski resort, and on the second day of being there, a man is killed from supposed natural causes. The Cunningham family aren’t so sure. From there, the humour and bloodshed spread, with about 3-4 genuinely surprising plot twists. 

The book was hilarious to read but spared no tension when needed. The book connects every single detail in the final reveal and really makes you think that the entire book is a recount, not fiction. It really competes with movies such as Knives Out, with a similar hilarious tone, but 14x the murders, and really 14x the humour. It would make an amazing movie/tv series, and HBO seem to have their eye on it, as they have already bought the rights to the book.

Benjamin Stevenson’s writing style is exceptional, with its strong balance of humour and tension, plot twists, murder, romance, and everything you want to see in a crime book. The book is comparable to some of the greatest crime novels ever written, and definitely is one of the greatest books of this decade. This is not Stevenson’s first book. He’s written two novels in the past – Greenlight, and Either Side of Midnight. Greenlight was shortlisted for the Ned Kelly Award for Best Debut of Crime Fiction, and Either Side of Midnight was shortlisted for the International Thrillers Writers award for Best Original Paperback. He is also (unsurprisingly) a comedian, not just in his books, but also in real life.  

Written by Kayden Goyal

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson is published on 29 March in Australia (Penguin, $32.99) and 18 August in the UK (Michael Joseph).

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Pet Themed Learning Activities

This month we’ve looked at cat learning activities and dog learning activities, but what if you have a different kind of pet? Here are some other pet themed learning activities you can try at home or in the classroom.

Tot Schooling has a cute pet bingo game, which does include dogs and cats but also lizards, snakes and fish. They also have a cute mathing game for learning about pets and their homes.

No Time for Flashcards has a ton of great pet themed learning activities including crafts, printables and more. There’s a PDF in there with a super cute animal checkup sheet for doing a pretend play vets office.

Planning Playtime has a great set of pet themed printables available for purchase, including things like making patterns with feathers, pet racing with unit cubes, beginning sounds, shapes and more. These would be great for a classroom.

Speaking of classrooms, Pocket of Preschool has ideas for pet-focused centers you can set up in the classroom, including counting, number lines and this cute frog shape I spy activity pictured.

If you have a pet store where you live you can try this pet store scavenger hunt from Toddler Approved. Or head to the library and see if you can find books about these different kinds of pets. You can also grab a pet-themed scavenger hunt you can do at home or in the classroom as part of the printable pack from Crafty Life Mom. If you don’t have all the items you can use pictures.

Let kids invent their own pets with this activity from Stories by Storie based on the book Invent a Pet. The printables are free when you sign up for their newsletter.

Sunny Day Family has adorable templates kids can use to build pets, including a dog, cat, rabbit, lizard, mouse and bird. These blank slate designs allow kids to add features including faces, stripes and more.

Make pets with playdough with the printable playdough mats from Preschool Play and Learn.