Benjamin Stevenson

When the Australian Mystery Writers’ Society invited me to their crime-writing festival aboard the Ghan, the famous train between Darwin and Adelaide, I was hoping for some inspiration for my second book. Fiction, this time: I needed a break from real people killing each other. Obviously, that didn’t pan out. The program is a who’s who of crime writing royalty: the debut writer (me!) the forensic science writer the blockbuster writer the legal thriller writer the literary writer the psychological suspense writer But when one of us is murdered, the remaining authors quickly turn into five detectives. Together, we should know how to solve a crime. Of course, we should also know how to commit one. How can you find a killer when all the suspects know how to get away with murder?

Benjamin Stevenson returns with a Christmas addition to his bestselling, “deviously good fun” (Nita Prose), Ernest Cunningham mysteries. Unwrap all the Christmas staples: presents, family, an impossible murder or two, and a deadly advent calendar of clues. If Knives Out and The Thursday Murder Club kissed under the mistletoe. My name’s Ernest Cunningham. I used to be a fan of reading Golden Age murder mysteries, until I found myself with a haphazard career getting stuck in the middle of real-life ones. I’d hoped, this Christmas, that any self-respecting murderer would kick their feet up and take it easy over the holidays. I was wrong. So here I am, backstage at the show of world-famous magician Rylan Blaze, whose benefactor has just been murdered. My suspects are all professional tricksters: masters of the art of misdirection. THE MAGICIAN THE ASSISTANT THE EXECUTIVE THE HYPNOTIST THE IDENTICAL TWIN THE COUNSELLOR THE TECH My clues are even more abstract: A suspect covered in blood, without a memory of how it got there. A murder committed without setting foot inside the room where it happens. And an advent calendar. Because, you know, it’s Christmas. If I can see through the illusions, I know I can solve it. After all, a good murder is just like a magic trick, isn’t it?

Every object has a ghost. There is a small yellow backpack - half unzipped, mouth yawning to the pavement, contents strewn around it (a banana, an exercise book, a pair of scissors) - abandoned on a suburban footpath. Ten feet away, the rubber stamp of tyres, resisting clamped brakes, mount the curb and cut across the path. The tracks come to an end at a crippled stop sign. The street, a tree-lined suburban road dappled in late-afternoon sunlight, is calm. But anyone walking past can feel the ghosts: the prickle on the back of their necks that tells them something happened here. The story of a vehicle careening to a halt. Of a child’s backpack left in a hurry. That intuition all comes before they take a closer look, and see there is dark, dry red on the scissor’s blade. The ghosts are screaming now; the scene’s memory turns violent. And as the passers-by raise their phones to answer the question what is your emergency? They see more red. Between the tyre-tracks and the blood. There are two words, hastily scrawled on the sidewalk. Written in blood. FIND US.

From the bestselling author of Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, a fiendishly fun locked room (train) murder mystery that "offers a tip of the hat to the great Agatha Christie novel while at the same time being a modern reinvention of it" (Nita Prose)— perfect for fans of Richard Osman and Anthony Horowitz.

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. Who was it? Let's get started. EVERYONE IN MY FAMILY HAS KILLED SOMEONE My brother My stepsister My wife My father My mother My sister-in-law My uncle My stepfather My aunt Me

"An outstanding debut-confident, compelling, with a surprise around every corner. I loved it." —Jane Harper, New York Times bestselling author of The DryProducer Jack Quick knows how to frame a story. So says Curtis Wade, the subject of Jack's new true crime docuseries, convicted of a young woman's murder four years prior. In the eyes of Jack's viewers, flimsy evidence and police bias influenced the final verdict...even though, off screen, Jack himself has his doubts. But when the series finale is wildly successful, a retrial sees Curtis walk free. And then another victim turns up dead.To set things right, Jack goes back to the sleepy vineyard town where it all began, bent on discovering what really happened. Because behind the many stories he tells, the truth is Jack's last chance. He may have sprung a killer from jail, but he's also the one that can send him back. NOTE: This was first published in Australia with the title Greenlight, reissued UK: She Lies in the Vines, US: Trust Me When I Lie.

A Ernie Cunningham le riunioni di famiglia non sono mai piaciute. Di sicuro c’entra il fatto che tre anni prima ha visto suo fratello Michael sparare a un uomo e lo ha denunciato, un oltraggio che non gli è ancora stato perdonato. Perché i Cunningham non sono una famiglia come le altre. C’è solo una cosa che li unisce: hanno tutti ucciso qualcuno. Ora hanno deciso di ritrovarsi per un’occasione speciale: trascorreranno un fine settimana in un resort di montagna per festeggiare l’uscita di prigione di Michael. Ma i Cunningham non sono tipi da stare in pantofole davanti al caminetto. Il giorno dell’arrivo di Michael, viene trovato il cadavere di un uomo. Ha le vie respiratorie ostruite dalla cenere, come se fosse morto in un incendio, ma non ha ustioni sul corpo. Mentre una bufera si abbatte sul resort isolandolo e la polizia brancola nel buio, spetterà a Ern capire se il colpevole è uno dei suoi familiari, prima che vengano uccisi tutti.

Four years ago, in the small town of Birravale, Eliza Daley was murdered. Within hours, her killer was caught. Wasn't he? So reads the opening titles of Jack Quick's new true-crime documentary. A skilled producer, Jack knows that the bigger the conspiracy, the higher the ratings - and he claims Curtis Wade was convicted on flimsy evidence and shoddy police work. Millions of viewers agree. Just before the final episode, Jack uncovers a minor detail that may prove Curtis guilty after all. Convinced it will ruin his show, Jack disposes of the evidence and delivers the finale unedited, leading to Curtis's eventual release. Then a new victim is found bearing horrifying similarities to the original murder. Has Jack just helped a killer walk free? Determined to set things right, Jack returns to Birravale looking for answers. But with his own secrets lurking just beneath the surface, Jack knows more than anyone what a fine line it is between fact and fiction. Between life and death. Now there's only one option left. The truth.

Mi chiamo Ernest Cunningham. Ero un fan dei gialli dell’Epoca d’oro finché non sono diventato, mio malgrado, fin troppo esperto in materia. Quest’anno a Natale contavo sul fatto che qualsiasi assassino che si rispetti se ne stesse in panciolle a scartare regali e abbuffarsi, ma mi sbagliavo. Quindi eccomi qui, nel backstage dello spettacolo del mago di fama mondiale Rylan Blaze, il cui committente è appena stato assassinato. I miei sospettati sono tutti imbroglioni professionisti, maestri nell’arte del depistaggio: oltre al mago, un esperto di trucchi e travestimenti, un’ipnotista, una responsabile finanziaria, una gemella, uno psicologo, un tecnico delle luci e degli effetti speciali. I miei indizi sono ancora più fumosi: un disperato messaggio di aiuto, un omicidio commesso senza mettere piede nella stanza in cui accade e un calendario dell’Avvento. D’altronde, è pur sempre Natale. Se riesco a vedere oltre le illusioni, so di poter risolvere il caso. Dopotutto, un omicidio ben congegnato è un po’ come un trucco di magia, no?

An electrifying thriller with a mind-bending premise: One million viewers witness a popular TV presenter commit suicide live on air - yet his twin brother is convinced it was murder. How can it be murder when the victim pulled the trigger? At 9.01 pm, TV presenter Sam Midford delivers the monologue for his popular current affairs show Mr Midnight. He seems nervous and the crew are convinced he’s about to propose to his girlfriend live on air. Instead, he pulls out a gun and shoots himself in the head. Sam’s grief-stricken brother Harry is convinced his brother was murdered. But how can that be, when one million viewers witnessed Sam pull the trigger? Only Jack Quick, a disgraced television producer in the last days of a prison sentence, is desperate enough to take Harry’s money to investigate. But as Jack starts digging, he finds a mystery more complex than he first assumed. And if he’s not careful, he'll find out first-hand that there’s more than one way to kill someone . . .

‘You and I are going to have a chat. If you hang up, this girl dies.’ Adam Turner works the mid-dawn shift at his local radio station. From 12am to 6am, it’s his job to fill the airtime with old songs, inane chatter, and the occasional talkback caller. It’s a long way from his prime-time slot from over a decade ago, when he was a star in the making. Now there’s no producers, no billboards, no stakes, and, crucially, not many listeners. His frequent callers are drunk college students headed home from a night out, or long-range truck drivers. He is completely alone in the studio from midnight until dawn every night. And then one night at 12:45am, he gets a different kind of call, with higher stakes than he could ever have wanted. The caller’s rules are simple – stay on the line, live on air, until dawn, or the woman they are holding captive will die. The night wears on and Adam is tormented by his caller, forced to answer increasingly personal questions, exposing his fall from grace for all to hear. He must try to figure out just who is calling him, what they really want, and how he can stop them. All while staying live on air, and keeping the psycho talking. But as the conversation gets deeper, is Adam willing to broadcast his darkest secrets to the world in order to keep a stranger safe? ©2023 Benjamin Stevenson (P)2023 Audible Australia Pty Ltd.

Two fiendishly twisty crime stories from the author of international bestsellers Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone and Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect. A crime fiction double bill, from the master of brainteasing thrillers Benjamin Stevenson. FIND US There is a small yellow backpack - contents strewn around it, abandoned on a suburban footpath. There are the tracks of tyres coming to an end at a crippled stop sign. Anyone walking past can feel the prickle on the back of their necks that tells them something happened here- a vehicle careening to a halt., a child's backpack left in a hurry. Then they see two words, hastily scrawled on the sidewalk. Written in blood. FIND US. LAST ONE TO LEAVE Seven strangers are invited to compete to win a clifftop mansion. The rules are simple- each contestant must have at least one hand in contact with one part of the house at all times. The last one to take their hand off, wins the house. Then, after 36 hours, a contestant is murdered. And soon they start to realise that it may not be the last person to leave the house that wins it, it may be the last person alive. A locked room mystery where the door is open, but no-one wants to walk through it.

Benjamin Stevenson returns with a Christmas addition to his bestselling, “deviously good fun” (Nita Prose), Ernest Cunningham mysteries. Unwrap all the Christmas staples: presents, family, an impossible murder or two, and a deadly advent calendar of clues. If Knives Out and The Thursday Murder Club kissed under the mistletoe. My name’s Ernest Cunningham. I used to be a fan of reading Golden Age murder mysteries, until I found myself with a haphazard career getting stuck in the middle of real-life ones. I’d hoped, this Christmas, that any self-respecting murderer would kick their feet up and take it easy over the holidays. I was wrong. So here I am, backstage at the show of world-famous magician Rylan Blaze, whose benefactor has just been murdered. My suspects are all professional tricksters: masters of the art of misdirection. THE MAGICIAN THE ASSISTANT THE EXECUTIVE THE HYPNOTIST THE IDENTICAL TWIN THE COUNSELLOR THE TECH My clues are even more abstract: A suspect covered in blood, without a memory of how it got there. A murder committed without setting foot inside the room where it happens. And an advent calendar. Because, you know, it’s Christmas. If I can see through the illusions, I know I can solve it. After all, a good murder is just like a magic trick, isn’t it?

Una reunión familiar es siempre un asunto de vida o muerte. La mejor novela negra del año por  The Sunday Times . A Ernie Cunningham nunca le han gustado las reuniones familiares. Aunque algo tiene que ver el hecho de que hace tres años viera a su hermano, Michael, matar a alguien y lo denunciara a la policía, un ultraje que la familia nunca le ha perdonado. Ahora han decidido reunirse para una ocasión pasarán un fin de semana en un hotel en la montaña para celebrar el reencuentro con Michael. Pero los Cunningham no son una familia que se pase el fin de semana bajo la manta contemplando el paisaje. El día en que llegue Michael encontrarán el cadáver de un hombre en las inmediaciones del hotel. Cuando la policía sea incapaz de resolver el crimen, quedará en manos de Ernie deducir si el culpable es uno de sus familiares... antes de que sea demasiado tarde. «Todos los miembros de mi familia han matado a alguien. Algunos, los más eficientes y productivos, hemos matado a más de uno.»

Toți sunt suspecți. Dar care e criminalul? În curând o miniserie HBO Mă îngrozea reuniunea familiei Cunningham încă dinainte de prima crimă. Dinainte să ne înzăpezim în stațiunea montană. Ideea e că în familia Cunningham nu ne prea înțelegem între noi. N-avem decât un singur lucru în comun: toți am ucis pe câte cineva. Fratele meu, sora mea vitregă, soția mea, tata, mama, cumnata mea, unchiul meu, tatăl meu vitreg, mătușa mea. Chiar și eu. Când e găsit în zăpadă primul cadavru, e clar că doar un Cunningham ar fi putut comite crima — și eu trebuie să dovedesc. În familia mea sunt mulți criminali. Dar un singur ucigaș… "Mi-a plăcut la nebunie. Cu totul original, foarte distractiv și o lectură obligatorie pentru toți fanii genului mystery. O carte extraordinar de proaspătă, deșteaptă și amuzantă — n-am mai citit niciodată așa ceva." – Jane Harper „Fără îndoială, va deveni un clasic." – THE BIG ISSUE „Dacă vreți să citiți ceva diferit, alegeți Toți cei din familia mea au ucis pe cineva, un roman foarte inteligent și cu totul experimental (…) una dintre cele mai așteptate cărți ale anului." – WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN