Not A Happy Family – Book Review

The new unputdownable thriller from the multi-million-copy bestselling author of THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR.

In this family, everyone is keeping secrets – even the dead.

In the quiet, wealthy enclave of Brecken Hill, an older couple is brutally murdered hours after a tense Easter dinner with their three adult children. Who, of course, are devastated.

Or are they? They each stand to inherit millions. They were never a happy family, thanks to their vindictive father and neglectful mother, but perhaps one of them is more disturbed than anyone knew. Did someone snap after that dreadful evening? Or did another person appear later that night with the worst of intentions? That must be what happened. After all, if one of the family were capable of something as gruesome as this, you’d know.

Wouldn’t you?

This is the third book I have read from Shari Lapena, the first two being The Stranger in the House and The End of Her. This book was released last year and just like her previous books, this was a fast paced thriller that will put you at the edge of the seat.

The story starts with the Merton family having Easter Dinner but the dinner went awfully wrong. Just after the dinner party, Fred and Sheila Merton were brutally murdered. Now the police focus on their three children, Catherine, Dan and Jenna as each were supposed to inherit the millions and each had a vandetta against their father. The question is which one actually killed their parents or did they conspire together to kill them?

Like all her books, this was a fast paced thriller with some twists and turns along the way. However, the ending was predictable and I kind of predicted that the ending was going to be like that. The author has done a good job of drawing the reader into the story and putting the reader at the edge–there were some parts in the book where you were put on the edge! As for the characters, many of them are hateful except maybe Irina as they all cared only about the money and not the welfare of others. Overall, I actually enjoyed reading this book and looking forward to read more of her books.

Worth four stars!