#Ernest Cunningham

[desdasiwrites]

– Benjamin Stevenson, Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone

[blogmollylane]

Finished reading: Supper for Six by Fiona Sherlock

Started reading: Everyone on this Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson

[jenmedsbookreviews]

Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret by Benjamin Stevenson

Today I am delighted to share my thoughts on the brand new Ernest Cunningham mystery from Benjamin Stevenson, Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret @stevensonexperience @penguinukbooks #books #bookreview #festivemystery #bookstagram #christmas

Today I am delighted to share my thoughts on Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson. True to form, this is the first book in this series I have read, but based on this shorter festive investigation, I’ll be heading back to the start really soon. My thanks to publisher, Penguin, for inviting me to read the advance copy via Netgalley. Here’s what it’s all about: Source:…

[pier-carlo-universe]

Tutti su questo treno sono sospetti: Un giallo travolgente tra mistero e ironia. Recensione di Alessandria today

Benjamin Stevenson ci regala un viaggio pieno di suspence e humor dove nessuno può essere considerato innocente.

Benjamin Stevenson ci regala un viaggio pieno di suspence e humor dove nessuno può essere considerato innocente. Recensione: In “Tutti su questo treno sono sospetti”, Benjamin Stevenson ci porta a bordo di un treno speciale, il Ghan, che attraversa l’Australia da Darwin ad Adelaide, trasformandosi in una scena del crimine. Ernest Cunningham, protagonista già noto per il suo libro di successo in…

[freshlybrewedbookreviews]

Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone (Ernest Cunningham #1) by Benjamin Stevenson

I thought the premise and title of this book were good, but I wasn't a fan of the narrative style (very self-referential and meta, as well as all over the place–intentionally–with flashbacks). I'm not always a fan when the narrator addresses readers in mysteries, and it didn't work for me here. I'm also not a fan of unreliable narrators, which I'm sure this narrator would argue he wasn't, but I wouldn't believe him. It was a bit more cutesy than I like for my mysteries, but it was fun for the novelty.

[libertyreads]

WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME ABOUT THIS?!

[chicagotimesmagazine]

Everyone On This Train Is A Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson

Chicago Times Magazine Review  February 22, 2024  Do you like classic mysteries on a train of murder?  Well, then Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect: A Novel may be the book for you.  A thrilling whodunit aboard the iconic Ghan train, author Benjamin Stevenson cleverly crafts a locked-room mystery where the suspects are fellow passengers and established mystery writers themselves.  The…

[gogmstuff]

1909 in Portraits & Images -

Left 1909 Signora Diaz Albertini by Giovanni Boldini (auctioned by Sotheby's). From their Web site 2880 X 3111.

Right 1909 The Japanese Fan by Walter Ernest (private collection). From Gandalf's Gallery's photostream on flickr 1638X2000.

Left 1909 The Web of the Golden Spider by Harrison Fisher (location ?). From tycheantiques.tumblr.com/image/171350466136; doubled size 1664X2216.

Right 1909-1911 Victoria Eugenia, Reina de España by Luis Menéndez Pidal (Palacio del Senado - Madrid Spain) From spanishroyals.tumblr.com 1125X1920.

Left 1909/1911 Lyudmila Borisovna Rayvich (Severtsova) by Nikolay Petrov. From tumblr.com/russian-room/720937676224741376/portrait-of-lyudmila-borisovna-rayvich? 590X800.

Right Anita of New Jersey, Princess of Bragança seated removed captions with Photoshop 658X894.

Left ca. 1909 Georgine Shillard-Smith by Hugh Henry Breckenridge (Philadelphia Museum of Art - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA). From their Web site via pinterest.com/sanushsergeev/художники 860X1472.

Right ca. 1909 Julia Fons by Ramon Casas (Museu Pau Casals, Fundació Pau Casals - Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain). From artsandculture.google.com 1058X2624.

Left ca. 1909 Princess Victoria Adelheid, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg Gotha. From eBay; fixed spots, scratches, & flaws w Pshop 970X1538.

Right ca. 1909 Queen Elena card. From eBay; removed spots & flaws with Photoshop and fixed mono-color tint 929X1511.

1909 Promenade by the Sea by Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida (Museo Sorolla - Madrid, Spain). From the discontinued Athenaeum Web site 1039X1076.

1909 Laura Pearson and Alison Cunninghame by ?. From tumblr.com/antiquebee/730070355255918592/laura-pearson-and-alison-cunninghame-1909? 1343X1762.

[krlyrics]

Lyric CRAVITY - Mr.

Album: EVERSHINEReleased date: 2024.2.26Lyrics by Exy, Sohlhee, Serim, AllenComposed by Ryan Jhun, Nathan Cunningham, Marc Raymond Ernest Sibley, Ryan Curtis, Justin Douglas StarlingArranged by Ryan Jhun, Space Primates Korean Hangul We on itI tell em like thisWoahOk잘 봐, 위대해 Like Gatsby먼 길을 돌아 arrive제쳐, 지나갔지 nineteenLet’s roll the dice (Right)날카로워진 attitude날 찾았어 Look at the truth달라 보여 Head to…

[onlymurdersintheafterparty]

Today I finished reading Everyone On This Train Is A Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson and I enjoyed it just as much as I did the previous book Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone. Ern is as hilarious as ever and thrown into yet another trapped mystery this time on a train. I enjoyed how witty it was and I can’t wait to see what kind of trouble he and Juliette will end up in next.

[letterboxd-loggd]

It’s a Wonderful World (1939) W.S. Van Dyke

May 14th 2023

[desdasiwrites]

– Benjamin Stevenson, Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone

[byronlc]

Grayson had been on his usual run, wearing his new white adidas running trainers, white socks, a white sleeveless shirt and very short blue shorts, and of course, a matching headband – according to the latest fashion, even though he didn't care about fashion, but it was what everyone was wearing and Grayson didn't want to stand out and look ridiculous. He was a good runner and he had managed to outrun the thing and was now crouching behind a dumpster, panting heavily, when the blond guy appeared with a bag of trash in his hand.

Grayson shrugged his shoulders, then shook his head and gestured wildly with his hand for the other to duck and hide. He didn't really understand what the guy was up to with the shovel, but the running gesture, that he understood and nodded.

A snarling sound made his head spin around and that thing pointed its headless head at them, and for a moment, Grayson froze, it was like looking into an endless pit, the mouth of hell.

The thing moved and Grayson got up to move, to run towards the door, but before he reached it, he turned to make sure the blond guy with the shovel was following him.

😶‍🌫️ - to be caught hiding from something . (from Grayson, he's afraid of almost everything, so he could be hiding from a demodog or just a regular dog)

"What the fuck is that" Nick mouthed to the guy hiding behind the dumpsters outside his work place. He was about to trash a huge garbage bag until he noticed the kid hunkered down. It looked like a dog, it had no face. It resembled something out of hell.

Nick silently grabbed the shovel leaning against the brick wall. He pointed his finger at the two of them, and back at the door. Motioning with his fingers to run.

@byronlc

[sporadiceagleheart]

Sophie Hélène Béatrix de France, Marie-Thérèse Charlotte de France,Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun,Marie Antoinette with a Rose,Marie Antoinette,Louis XVI,Marie-Thérèse Charlotte,Louis Antoine of France, Duke of AngoulêmeLouis Joseph Xavier François,Louis XVII,Louis XVIII,Charles X,Maria Theresa of Savoy,Sophie d'Artois,Louis, Dauphin of France, Aubreigh Paige Wyatt, Ava Jordan Wood, Leiliana Wright, Star Hobson, Saffie-Rose Brenda Roussos, Lily Peters, Olivia Pratt Korbel, Elizabeth Shelley, Sara Sharif, Charlotte Figi, Jersey Dianne Bridgeman, Macie Hill, Sloan Mattingly, Audrii Cunningham, Athena Strand, Athena Brownfield, Leocadia Zorrilla, Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes, Josefa Bayeu, Francisco Javier Goya Bayeu,Charlotte Eckerman, Adolf Ulrik Wertmüller, La Belle Italienne, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Anne Isabella Noel Byron, Elizabeth Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, Lady Elizabeth Finch-Hatton, Queen Elizabeth II, Barbara Shelley, Percy Shelley, Lady Elizabeth Pilfold Shelley, Anne Neville, John Winthrop, Mary Forth Winthrop, Margaret Tyndall Winthrop, Thomasine Winthrop, Elisabeth of Denmark, Anna von Brandenburg, Elisabeth von Brandenburg, Sir John Talbot, Elizabeth Wrottesley Talbot, Richard III, Edward of Middleham, Margaret Plantagenet, Anne Plantagenet Saint Leger, Elizabeth of York Plantagenet de la Pole Duchess of Suffolk, Edmund Plantagenet, Richard of York 3rd Duke of York, Lady Cecily de Neville Plantagenet, Katharine of Aragon, Henry Tudor, Elizabeth I, Isabella de Aragon, Juan de Aragón, Miguel da Paz, Prince of Asturias, Jacklyn Jaylen “Jackie” Cazares, Chief Thunder Cloud, Chief Yellow Thunder, Ernest White Thunder, Wa-Kin-Yan-Waste “Andrew” Good Thunder, Maggie Snana Brass,

[spaceorphanssecondbreakfastclub]

SO's Bookclub : Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone

Title: Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone Author: Benjamin Stevenson Genre: Mystery

Goodreads Summary:

Everyone in my family has killed someone. Some of us, the high achievers, have killed more than once. I'm not trying to be dramatic, but it is the truth. Some of us are good, others are bad, and some just unfortunate.

I'm Ernest Cunningham. Call me Ern or Ernie. I wish I'd killed whoever decided our family reunion should be at a ski resort, but it's a little more complicated than that.

Have I killed someone? Yes. I have.

Review:

Here's what hooked me on this one -- it's got a catchy title and appealing cover, the author starts out the novel by giving you the rules of Golden Age detective novels, and then lays out the page number of ever murder. Why yes - I am in.

This is a good book. It's a fun book. It's a way too overly complicated book. But man, it's nice to read a really good mystery not written by Agatha Christie.

Intentionally, I'm sure -- a lot like how Agatha Christie does excels at writing mysteries based around family, Stevenson takes the shell of the idea (and let's be honest - some of the twists), updates it, and then metatextualizes it. And it's a relatively functional, albeit silly when you pull it a part a little, mystery.

The crux of it is about a dysfunctional family that gets snowed in at a remote lodge. There's the hook of revealing that everyone in the family is responsible for a death. And the intrigue that a serial killer is in the mix.

The book starts out really solidly. The narrator, of course, breaks the fourth wall all the way through (and while I see it might be tiring for some, I really didn't get sick of it, but I like these gimmicky things -- it tied it into the 'rules' rather well). The cast of his characters (his family) is relatively well drawn is really the right amount of people for this closed-circle mystery.

About half way through - I think the plot gets a little too twisty, and there were times in the second half that I don't think I completely followed what had happened in the past to get all the pieces of the puzzle in motion. The family dynamics were great - but the mystery itself maybe needed to be trimmed just a little because even through the ending explanation I don't think I followed it 100%.

The major twist of the novel I kind of saw coming -- only in that this does play like a Golden Age detective novel at heart, and well, of course it was going to go that way. The crazy twist at the end left me feeling a little confused because... wha--why?? I think the answer is -- because the author could and there's always one thread left open a little.

Overall, though, it's a fun read. I love the fun the author's having with the audience. I enjoyed all the call backs to the Golden Age of detective fiction. I liked that it was a solid mystery that unfolded nicely as it went along. I think the author did well with the title of the book and made it creative enough to make it variations on a theme. And while I think there were some clunkier parts (again the plot is just a little too twisty to follow at times) it's over all an engaging and worthwhile mystery.

I liked it. It was a good book.

Rating : 4.5 Stars

[libertyreads]

July 2024 TBR--

It's finally time for my Christmas in July reading! I've been looking forward to it for months because I have FOUR NetGalley ARCs that fit perfectly into my Christmas in July M.O. I'll be reading three Christmas Romances and one Mystery/Thriller set during Christmas. I also have four other books I'm really looking forward to reading in the back half of the month.

The Holiday Honeymoon Switch by Julia McKay (NetGalley)-- The first of my Christmas in July TBR. This is a rom-com where Holly Beech and Ivy Casey, two best friends who are so in sync they even look alike, swap places after Holly's fiancé jilts her and leaves her with a nonrefundable honeymoon. Both find their own romantic matches this holiday season.

Mistletoe Season by Shelia Roberts, Kathleen Fuller, and Pepper Basham (NetGalley)--This is a collection of three Christmas stories: Say No to Mistletoe (author going home for the holidays + romance), Return to Mistletoe (returning home after spending time abroad renovating an Irish castle), and The Mistletoe Prince (Prince is sent to small town North Carolina to prove he's ready for the royal life). I think the one I'm most excited to read is the first, but I'm always down for some Christmas romance.

Christmas in Aspen by Anita Hughes (NetGalley)--Mourning her mother, Caroline Holt returns to her late mother's upstate cabin to spend the holidays. But when she arrives, she discovers a letter addressed to her mother from a man declaring his love for her and saying he'll be waiting for her in front of the Little Red Mailbox in Aspen, Colorado on New Year's Eve. Caroline decides to see her mother's mysterious lover and travels to Aspen. But once she arrives she keeps running into another man and things start to get complicated. This sounds like it's going to be super emotional and character driven.

Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson (NetGalley)-- Another book in the Ernest Cunningham series AND it's set at Christmas sign me the fuck up. I'm ready. I love ending my Christmas in July with a Mystery or Thriller set during Christmas. This one starts when a body drops in front of Ernest's feet during a Christmas pageant. It has the usual writing style that I enjoy so much and has the best end to a synopsis on GoodReads: "This Christmas everyone has a motive. So it's not a matter of who wanted the victim dead--but who got there first."

Teen Titans: Starfire by Kami Garcia and Gabriel Picolo (July release)-- This is the next book in the Teen Titans graphic novel series. They each follow a different Teen Titan before they become a Teen Titan. They've also started getting more interconnected as the series goes on which I enjoy. In this one we follow Kori Anders, who takes part in a clinical trial designed to treat her Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, and who discovers some strange powers she's never had before.

Sunny Disposition by Deanna Grey (Kindle)-- My hockey romance for the month. I realized a few months back that I've been reading at least one per month and decided to keep it going for the rest of the year. This is a book from an indie author following a sunshine gamer girl, Naomi, who shares a house with four hockey players and is drawn to a grumpy boy, Finn. There also seems to be a little bit of You've Got Mail Vibes in that he moderates for her online but neither know the other one is involved in the streams.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins-- This one is a reread for me. I've been planning to reread this series since the beginning of the year, but struggled with where I would have the time. I also want to watch all of the movies because I don't think I watched Mockingjay at all (which is weird...that one may be my favorite book). I'm also going to be reading the prequel for the first time (and hopefully watching the movie as well. A dystopian world where children fight to the death. Social commentary. Food. (I swear I get so hungry reading Katniss practically starving in the Games).

Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer-- One I am SO excited to reread before the next book in the series comes out. At least this time I'll go into it knowing it's the first book in a series. We follow a girl who decides to take an office job with a villain because a girl's gotta get paid. There are castles and dragons and a very Grumpy Villain (who's secretly a softy...shhhh). It's so campy and fun and I can't wait to get back into it.

I'm hoping my birthday month reading knocks it out of the park. I'm excited to get back in the holiday mood and end the month with some fun rereads.