For a book with major spoilers in the title alone—not to mention the prologue, which literally lists off the pages where someone dies—what a wild and unexpected ride this was!
Before the story begins, the author includes Ronald Knox's "10 Commandments of Detective Fiction." This is convenient, since they're referenced frequently throughout the story and reveal a lot about how things will play out.
If you're unfamiliar, I'll list them below:
The criminal must be someone mentioned in the early part of the story, but must not be anyone whose thoughts the reader has been allowed to follow.
All supernatural or preternatural agencies are ruled out as a matter of course.
Not more than one secret room or passage is allowable.
No hitherto undiscovered poisons may be used, nor any appliance that which will need a long scientific explanation at the end.
Author's note: Culturally outdated historical wording redacted (Blogger's note: Good call, Benjamin).
No accident must ever help the detective, nor must he ever have an unaccountable intuition that proves to be right.
The detective must not himself commit the crime.
The detective must not light on any clues which are not instantly produced for the inspection of the reader.
The stupid friend of the detective, the Watson, must not conceal any thoughts which pass through his mind; his intelligence must be slightly, but very slightly, below that of the average reader.
Twin brothers, and doubles generally, must not appear unless we have been duly prepared for them.
— Ronald Knox, 1929
Moving into the prologue, we meet Ernest Cunningham, our witty, sarcastic narrator. Ernest, aka Ern or Ernie, is a writer that writes books about how to write books. He makes it very clear that he's a reliable narrator that will play by the "rules," (see previous), and that everything he tells us is the truth, at least to the best of his knowledge at the time.
In case this isn't enough, he goes on to say,
"Actually, I'll prove it. If you're just here for the gory details, deaths in this book either happen or are reported to have happened on page 14, page 46, page 65, a twofer on page 75, and a hat trick on page 81. Then there's a bit of a stretch but it picks back up again on page 174, page 208(ish), page 218, page 227, page 249, somewhere between page 243 and page 250 (it's hard to tell), page 262, and page 355. I promise that's the truth, unless the typewriter mucks with the pages. There is only one plot hole you could drive a truck through. I tend to spoil things. There are no sex scenes."
He also clarifies that yes, everyone in his family has killed someone, himself included.
The story begins when Ernie witnesses his brother, Michael, murder a man 3 years prior. Despite his family's obvious notoriety, Ernie immediately goes to the police and ends up testifying against Michael in court.
In the present day, the Cunningham family has gathered for a reunion at a remote ski resort, with Michael being the guest of honor. He's being released from prison, and the family wants to give him a warm welcome back.
Sounds great in theory, but when everyone in the family has killed for one reason or another, things tend to be more complicated.
The discovery of a dead body on a ski slope the next day doesn't seem to be anything unusual at first. He could've been an injured skier that died of exposure. It happens, right?
However, what was initially believed to be frostbite turns out to be ash, and the skiers lungs are full of it, too. He seems to have died in a fire, on a ski slope, surrounded by unmelted snow.
Shortly after the body is moved from public view, Michael arrives and the family reunion is complete--for about 2 minutes. Michael is immediately placed under arrest by the inexperienced Officer Crawford, despite being miles away in a guarded prison when the skier's death took place.
Ernie realizes that Crawford is in completely over his head and has no idea how to solve this potential murder--he hasn't even managed to identify the victim yet.
He begins piecing the story together, taking us through his family history in the process. The sections are labeled, "My Brother," "My Stepsister," etc, as we learn about who killed who, why, and how it ties into the dead guy at the ski resort.
There's also a recap section, Chapter 14.5, that conveniently breaks down all the names, how everyone is related, what has happened in the story so far, and some key plot points to keep in the front of your brain. They will be important later.
If you're someone who doesn't like spoilers, rest assured: even though so much is revealed right out of the gate, none of it happens in the way you'd expect. This is a unique, well-woven story that will keep you guessing until the end.
"Family is not whose blood runs in your veins, it's who you'd spill it for."