Everyone in This Bank is a Thief/Benjamin Stevenson
March 17, 2025/Mariner Books
Ben Stevenson’s newest installment in Ernest Cunningham’s misadventures as an amateur detective will delight fans of the series and earn new ones. It’s funny and clever, with a reliable yet imperfect narrator who has had as much luck as skill in staying alive in his profession.
Our story is presented from inside a vault, where our narrator is running out of both oxygen and ink. He’s up front in disclosing that he’s penning a mystery he hasn’t solved yet, although he does have a few theories.
The problem is, he has more than one mystery on his hands. Ten suspects. Ten heists. That much I’ve deduced. And he’s discerned the stolen items: a gold pen, a single dollar, varied amounts, a coffee cup, a heart.
Rewind to when Ernest Cunningham and his lovely fiancé Juliette are entering the family-owned Huxley Bank of Australia in hopes of obtaining a loan for his new detective agency. A minor celebrity due to books he’s penned about his own cases, Ernest plans to solve crimes based on the application of old school mystery rules.
Instead of a loan, Ernest finds himself in the middle of a bank robbery by a masked man who claims to want only one thing: a dollar, from the vault. Unfortunately for everyone involved, the vault is inaccessible due to the disappearance of a bank executive and re-setting of the vault password.
When the bank robbery turns into a murder, suddenly the hostages are also suspects. To name just a few, there’s Remy, the narcissistic film producer; Felix, the inept guard; Michelle, the jaded receptionist; and Gabriel, the silent priest. In total, ten individuals are shut within the walls of the bank; and none of them are above suspicion. Ernest must determine not only the murderer but also solve several mini mysteries that are likely interconnected.
Everyone In This Bank is A Thief is a smart nod to the golden age of mysteries–the “fair-play” mysteries where the clues are front and center for the reader. In fact, as he scribbles his story from within the vault, Ernest mentions his respect for these principles and how these apply to the story that’s unfolding. This is a novel where every detail serves a purpose, every character has a hidden agenda, and the reader has all the tools they need to solve this mystery provided they can keep up with Stevenson’s crazy pacing and myriad of red herrings amongst clues.
About the reviewer: A writer of dark comedy thrillers, Sarah Reida is currently seeking representation for her sophomore novel, Murder Boat. Her debut, Neighborhood Watch, received a Kirkus Star and was honored as an Amazon editorial pick as one of the Best Books of the Year So Far 2024. Join Sarah’s elite group of Instagram followers here.
