Everyone in This Bank Is a Thief by Benjamin Stevenson Narrator: Barton Welch
Series: Ernest Cunningham #4
Published by Harper Audio on March 17, 2026
Source: NetGalley
Genres: Mystery
Length: 9 hrs 51 mins
Pages: 368
Format: Audiobook
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Ten suspects. Ten heists. A mystery only Ernest Cunningham can solve.
I've spent the last few years solving murders. But a bank heist is a new one, even for me. I've never been a hostage before.
The doors are chained shut. No one in or out. Which means that when someone in the bank is murdered, hostages become suspects.
THE BANK ROBBER
THE MANAGER
THE SECURITY GUARD
THE KID
THE FILM PRODUCER
THE PRIEST
THE RECEPTIONIST
THE PATIENT
THE CARER
METurns out, more than one person planned to rob the bank today. You can steal more from a bank than just money.
Who is stealing what? Are they willing to kill for it? And can I solve the crime before the police kick down the door and rescue us?
I like this series. I enjoy Ernest’s narration and how often and well he breaks the fourth wall. I typically find them amusing and clever. This time around, however, the choices he makes just seem ridiculous.
Ernest and his fiancée, Juliette, go to a bank trying to get a loan to open a detective agency. They’ve been to several banks and this one is essentially their last hope. Instead, the bank manager hires him to find his brother who has gone missing along with the code to the vault. Then a bank robber takes them all hostage and things start to spiral out of control.
I like the set-up, that everyone is a thief of some kind, and there were a couple of very good twists. Some parts were downright funny and took full advantage of the characters and world the author’s created. The hostages are an interesting bunch and it would be tough to keep control of. I’m fine with storyline being over the top and with some of the more absurd plot points, but I just can’t get past a couple of decisions Ernest makes even though he admits they were stupid. I won’t tell you what they are – I don’t want to spoil the book, but Ernest is the good guy and I had trouble rooting for him. Yes, everyone is holding secrets, but I feel like he could have found a better solution.
I listened to the audio, which is perfect for the first person narration. The reader did a good job bringing Ernest to life and giving all the other characters, even our silent priest, their own personalities.
I’ll read the next in the series, presuming there is one. I’m hoping I’ll enjoy it more than this one.
About Benjamin Stevenson
Benjamin Stevenson is an award-winning stand-up comedian and USA Today best-selling author. He is the author of the globally popular ‘Ernest Cunningham Mysteries’, including Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone, which is currently being adapted into a major HBO TV series, and the sequels: Everyone on This Train is a Suspect and Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret. His books have sold over one million copies in twenty-nine territories and have been nominated for nine ‘Book of the Year’ awards.
His latest mystery, Everyone In This Bank Is A Thief, releases in March 2026.
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