Point of View

The point of view of the novel is a first-person narrator told through the perspective of Ernest “Ern” Cunningham, a middle-aged man who self-publishes mystery-writing guides. In the prologue of the novel, Ern explains witnessing his brother Michael murder a man. As the novel begins, Ern is reconciling testifying against Michael while the family gathers for a reunion as Michael is being released from prison.

Ern is not excited about going to the family reunion. Ern tries to give the reader an objective, unvarnished look at his family members. “Everything I tell you will be the truth, or, at least, the truth as I knew it to be at the time that I thought I knew it. Hold me to that” (2). Ern is also honest and critical of himself.

As the mystery unfolds, Ern tries to put the pieces together to solve the murders that...