Benjamin Stevenson

This is not a family you’d want to claim as your own, but they sure are interesting! Ernie is a writer, and knows what makes a good mystery. In this story, he often breaks the fourth wall to instruct his readers. He is attending a reunion organized by his aunt, and things goes awry from the start. The beginning is a bit confusing as the family members—and their relationships and crimes—are introduced to the readers. And yes, a dead body kicks off the story. Ernie continues to explain clues and crimes to his readers, which is a good thing because subtle clues are dropped along the way, and keeping everything straight takes a bit of concentration. But Ernie’s statement is correct, the seemingly nice people in this family have all killed someone, sort of. The novel is well constructed, humorously written, and over-the-top entertaining.… (more)

“Apart from the murders, it had been a successful reunion after all.”

Like locked escape rooms, I’m not a locked-room mystery kind of reader. I don’t like riddles and impossible puzzles. I don’t want to muddle through hidden clues or Sherlock Holmes myself through a story. But because of the recommendations of some favorite readers, I picked this one up, and I’m so glad I did. Yes, it’s a locked-room mystery, littered with clues and riddles (so if that’s your thing, you’ll enjoy this), but it also has so much more. It’s a meta-mystery full of dry-witted humor and curious characters who give off some major Wes Anderson vibes. It’s funny. It’s also told through a really unique narrator’s voice and was (to me) more about the relationships in this dysfunctional family—who belongs to the family, roles within the family, living up to the family name—than it is about the mystery and murder happening around them. It really was a uniquely enjoyable read—so much so that I look forward to reading the next book in this series.… (more)