Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

40 reviews

heather_harrison's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

 "I've never heard of someone witnessing a murder and having to wait for a McMuffin"

This is a book where the narrator is telling you a murder mystery while also writing a book about how to write a murder mystery - and it gives the murder mystery a nice spin. 

The Cunninghams are spending a weekend at a ski resort as a family reunion. But it's sure to be an interesting reunion as our protagonist Ernie hasn't seen his big brother since he testified to have him put in jail. They all have a pretty colourful past and the further you delve into the mystery the more you start to learn about those skeletons in closest. 

This is almost like a combination of Knives Out and Underbelly. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Child death, Murder, and Death of parent

Minor: Violence, Grief, Suicide, Gun violence, and Drug abuse

brookey8888's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I really enjoyed this!! I just loved the way it was told. It was so engaging and funny. The mystery was honestly whatever, but one part did make me gasp because I didn’t see it coming. I can see how this might not be for everyone, but I enjoyed my time reading this. The audiobook is really good as well. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Child death, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Torture, Violence, Cursing, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Murder, and Grief

preciouslittleingenue's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

SUCH a compelling, captivating read. It was actually very cool to read this kind of mystery after finishing Meddling Kids, because though they’re both mystery, they are VASTLY different. And yet, I giggled nearly as much reading both. This is a DARK story. Lots of death. Including

Spoiler

child death.

Yet the author is so clever in how chooses to use the meta narrative, how he addresses his audience, and how he delivers information that it’s impossible not to giggle. Not to mention some of the dialogue was KILLING me (no pun intended). Like, I went from feeling sick to my stomach when

Spoiler

Ernie found Michael and absolutely lost it, the poor baby,

to LAUGHING not a minute later because the author had a character crack a joke about the death that JUST HAPPENED. Insane. How does he do that??

And the mystery itself! It truly just kept me guessing. The title obviously immediately makes one curious, and you spend the whole book wondering under what circumstances EVERYONE killed someone. And each reveal had me going either “OHHHHHH DUH” or “*gasp* oh my god”. Seriously, the reveal that Audrey killed

Spoiler

Jeremy by LOCKING HIM IN A CAR IN THE SUMMER ON TOP OF A PARKING GARAGE seriously made me feel so ill. But then!!! As soon as they revealed he was kidnapped after all, I KNEW HE WAS ALIVE! But I did NOT see it coming that he was in the cop all along! That was awesome!

 

And every little thing was important, as Ernie said it would be. I don’t know why I didn’t believe him right away when he said every little detail would matter but I should have! Also, I knew I didn’t trust

Spoiler

poor Rebecca’s parents…what a motherfucker her father is.

ANYWAY, just heard this will be a series and I CANT WAIT FOR MORE. Only reason it’s not a full 5/5 is just because I’m a little slow and a lot of the final explanations I kind of just went “well, okay, yes I guess that’s what happened” because I forgot/couldn’t follow wtf he was talking about lol. Also, I went from “oh another story where everyone is a horrible, irredeemable person, and I just get to wait and see who the worst of them all is” to “wow…I…actually feel very sorry for these people and I’m kind of sad so many of them died.” THAT is impressive. I am very difficult to sway on how I feel about people. Even fictional ones. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Child death, Blood, Death of parent, Child abuse, Confinement, and Death

Moderate: Drug use and Drug abuse

samanthabryan34's review against another edition

funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I loved the way this book was written - the narrator often talks to you as the reader which is super engaging and interesting. I also did not see that ending coming! I started out with the audiobook but being a mystery this is one that you really have to pay attention to. I kept getting confused because I was only half listening. I switched to actually reading it and liked it a lot better that way.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Child death, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Death, and Addiction

saramoser's review against another edition

dark funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A new take on golden age thrillers, classic whodunnit murder mysteries, and an ode to the “10 commandments of detective fiction” by Ronald Knox. This was a fun, witty read that kept me on my toes, never expecting what the next twist might be, and definitely unable to guess the ending. 

Listened on audiobook, the narrator was easy to understand and fun to listen to.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Kidnapping, Drug use, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Blood, Child death, Drug abuse, Infertility, Medical content, Addiction, Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Violence

questingnotcoasting's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was very entertaining. The narrator breaks the fourth wall and it's kind of a deconstruction of all the classic mystery tropes. I found it really clever, especially having read a lot of Agatha Christie. The mystery itself was intriguing and I found the resolution satisfying but I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much without the unusual narrative structure. There's a sequel coming out later this year and I'm quite interested to see how Stevenson will approach it. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Child death, Kidnapping, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and Suicide

Moderate: Drug abuse, Addiction, Grief, and Infidelity

random_reader's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Child death, Death, Violence, Murder, Suicide, Death of parent, and Grief

Minor: Vomit, Drug abuse, Infertility, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Alcohol, Cursing, Addiction, and Infidelity

mnek's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, and Violence

Minor: Mental illness, Vomit, Drug abuse, Addiction, Grief, Infertility, and Suicide

missrosymaplemoth's review against another edition

4.75

A fast paced, thrilling murder mystery with elements of humor and humanity at every turn. I absolutely loved this book despite some gross details and on-the-nose narration. I did not predict the killer or the ending at all, and the two (!) plot twists truly surprised me. Un-put-downable in every sense. A few points knocked off for some of the reveals and information/clues being convoluted and confusing.

☀️8/20

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Suicide, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

Moderate: Vomit, Addiction, Car accident, Confinement, Infertility, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic relationship

nightingale25's review against another edition

challenging dark funny informative mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Suicide, Murder, Child abuse, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Addiction, Drug abuse, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Medical content, Grief, Child death, Mental illness, and Torture