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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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Reflecting on the Past Year with Kids

I’m in deep denial about the fact that new year is almost upon us again! It’s been the fastest and the longest year at the same time, and I can look back and see some good things as well as some things I wish had gone differently.

Doing a year in review with your kids — whether in the classroom or at home — is a good way to capture some of their memories and the things they really liked about the year gone by.

There are a lot of different printable year in review worksheets you can use if you want to make this super easy. Here are links to a few (often part of larger posts about NYE celebrations with kids that are worth a read, too):

  • Teach Beside Me has lots of fun printables fro the end of the year, including a year in review that covers favorite memory, funniest memory and the best book they read, among other topics.
  • NurtureStore‘s version has space for a self-portrait and prompts like favorite toy, best day out this year and future dream job.
  • Remember favorites, their “best idea” of the year and have room for setting goals for next year with this one from The Keele Deal.
  • The year in review from Yes We Made This has room for drawing or writing and includes things like something they learned, a memory they made and a place they visited.

Of course you could pretty easily make your own year in review for the whole family to do that asks questions based on what you most want to remember. (Favorite video game? Best friend? Favorite family memory?)

And if after the year in review you’re ready to look ahead a bit, Mrs. Merry has new year’s resolution printables to inspired kids to look ahead and set goals for things they want to try. You can totally fill this one out as a grownup, too.

[Photo: Mrs. Merry]