Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson is a comedic suspense novel of a family who assembles for a weekend getaway at a ski resort in Australia. Billed by the paternal aunt of the family as a “reunion,” the family anticipates the release from prison of Michael Cunningham, brother of the novel’s narrator. The novel blends tropes of the mystery genre with contemporary metafiction as its narrator explicitly draws attention to his role as the mystery’s detective. The title, in its playful, tongue-in-cheek tone, asserts the truth, with narrator Ernie revealing, as the novel unfolds, the deaths caused by each family member prior to the novel’s present day.

Benjamin Stevenson also performs as a standup comedian throughout his native Australia, and his books have been published in the United States and United Kingdom. He is the author of three novels and a novella. Stevenson’s debut novel Greenlight was shortlisted for the 2019 Ned Kelly Award for Best First Fiction. He was shortlisted for the International Thriller Writers Award for Best Original Paperback for Either Side of Midnight. HBO purchased the rights for a limited television series based on Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone.