Rose Cutter is Catherine Mertons best friend and she is under stress. As the title suggests, the wealthy Merton Clan is not a happy family. Is this a mystery that I could have figured out? Fred is such a nasty man, I would have wanted to do him in. They all will all have a big surprise when their parents wills are read. , Detective Barr is single, thirty years old and Reyess partner. The only real clue was that the author focused on everyone but the killer for most of the book. She had motive and opportunity and with Lapena's children plus the nanny, I think it would have made for a better twist. Follow Shari Lapena on Twitter @sharilapena, Pingback: #BookRecommendations with titles that start with the letter N #GreatReads | Fictionophile, Pingback: Fictionophiles Top Reads of 2021 #BookRecommendations #GreatReads | Fictionophile. SPOILERS for After Anna by Lisa Scottoline, SPOILERS for Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell, SPOILERS for The Good Liar by Catherine McKenzie, SPOILERS for The Haunting of Brynn Wilder. She is conservatively elegant and dresses in a classy manner. Not a Happy Family is a terrific read for anyone who loves the suburban thriller market or who enjoys character driven whodunits. I even tried the audiobook, but I just disliked the characters too much to get into the story. I did not like the ending, but obviously won't spoil anything. They all went directly back to their own homes after dinner and stayed there all night. Ellen Cutter, Roses mother is worried about her daughter. It was like rubbernecking at a train wreck You just HAD to find out who murdered Fred and Sheila Merton! Brecken Hill in upstate New York is an expensive place to live. Its the Tuesday after Easter; an Easter that was a contentious family gathering. So glad. Worlds Biggest Digital Book Club The Big Library Read! Sometimes I can be a really slow learner. Id skip it. It felt so short! The dinner was pleasant, and everyone got along. She doesn't deserve half. She works as an attorney and has recently done something she deeply regrets. Not a Happy Family is bestselling author Shari Lapenas new suburban domestic thriller. Letting In Light by Emma Davies Book Review #LettingInLight @EmDaviesAuthor @AmazonPub #BookReview, "Still Life" by Sarah Winman - Book Review, Kindlepreneur - and why Book Reviews matter @DaveChesson #BookReviews #Kindlepreneur, "Misery Bay" by Chris Angus - Book Review @simonschuster #MiseryBay @YuccaPublishing #BookReview, "The Keeper of Stories" by Sally Page - Book Review, #BookRecommendations with titles that start with the letter 'T' #GreatReads #ReadingForPleasure, "The Floating Girls" by Lo Patrick - Book Review, "The Murder Rule" by Dervla McTiernan - Book Review, "The First Day of Spring" by Nancy Tucker - Book Review, "Not A Happy Family" by Shari Lapena - Book Review. The fact that we have a plethora of possible killers is another factor that really drives up the suspense in the tale. When her parents die, Catherine plans to take the house as her inheritance and let her younger siblings have all the cash. 2007-2022 Lynne LeGrow Start by marking Not a Happy Family as Want to Read: Error rating book. This is my 6th try with this author. This makes the third book of hers that I rated 3 stars, and I rated one 1 star so this will probably be the last Lapena book I will read for a while. What a page turner! Fictionophile has read 83 books toward her goal of 120 books. It was a fast read and the way the story is broken up helped it be a fast read. I came straight here to see what you thought of this one!
https://allaboutromance.com/the-agora-at-aar/profile/mboyd/, The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. It is definitely difficult to connect to any of the characters when all you get is the briefest snapshot of their lives. This review was written voluntarily and my rating was in no way influenced by the fact that I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel from Doubleday Canada via NetGalley. He made his fortune at his Robotics company. But even all their money can't protect them when a killer comes to call. Hated it! You have to be rich to have a house there. Shari Lapena is the internationally bestselling author of The Couple Next Door, A Stranger in the House, An Unwanted Guest, Someone We Know and The End of Her. Publication date: July 27, 2021 Publisher: Penguin Random House Canada, ISBN:9780385695046 ASIN: B08V4TQ98H 368 pages. Congratulations for being nominated as one of the best thrillers for Goodreads Choice Awards! It was the only book from BOTM Ive actively disliked. I didnt like it at all. The person who least wants to attend this little get together is Dan, the middle child. Audrey, Freds sister, joins the family for all their celebrations even though the kids and Sheila cant stand her. She aspires to one day inherit the beautiful family home when her parents pass away. if(!d.getElementById(id)) Or someone else? This is an addictive whodunit featuring a seriously dysfunctional family. There are a lot of different perspectives in this book (like ten) and a couple of them should have just been cut out. She, not their mother, raised them. Highly recommended! A fact they all try to hide from the police when Fred and Sheila are violently murdered later that night. Proceed with caution. I think after 5 books I finally figured out why I am middle of the road when it comes to reviewing her books: it is that her books read like a Wikipedia version of a good thriller. Also, she low key resented Audrey for her entitlement and selfishness. Thats whats exceptional about Lapenas work her ability to craft believable villains out of ordinary humans. Will be adding to my reading list. It was an easy read and kept me really engaged. You literally dont know whether youre coming or going. The novel is told via multiple viewpoints, so you get to discern a little of what is going on in each of their minds. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Mix (Opens in new window). Selective focus on the edge of book and page edges. Poison her iced tea, which she would be able to do, since as her best friend, she would have access to her apartment. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. But more than that they are RELIEVED! //]]>. Catherine Merton the oldest child, is married to Ted. , Pingback: Fictionophiles SEPTEMBER 2021 Reading Wrap-Up #MonthlyWrapUp | Fictionophile, Pingback: Links Ive Enjoyed This Week 19/09/2021 #WeeklyRoundUpPost #SecretLibraryBookBlog Secret Library Book Blog, Glad you were tempted Katherine. Then his father sold the company, leaving Dan with no job and no future prospects. If you continue reading, you will be exposed to spoilers about the above book. The Book of the Month Club is a United States subscription-based book club that offers a selection of new books each month to members. I read The Couple Next door recently, by the same author and I wasnt crazy about it.
I enjoyed the way the story was told giving perspectives of all the characters. And they don't come much richer than Fred and Sheila Merton. Lisa, Ted and James find themselves asking the same question. This is Shari Lapena at her very best. Would've been interesting if she resented Sheila for having the life she never did and for not caring for her kids like Ellen cared for Rose, and guilt for not being able to give Rose all the advantages they the Merton kids had. She never challenges Freds abuse and is concerned only with what their equally rich neighbors think of them. it just feels really repetitive. I thought Ellen Cutter would've made sense. And finally, the police detectives investigating the double homicide: Detective Reyes is married with children.
The Mertons are brutally murdered the night after an Easter Dinner with their three adult kids. I agree with some of the other poster's saying that the ending felt rushed because that's EXACTLY how I felt about it. One of his three children that he psychologically tortured, especially at that last dinner? Id love a spoiler free (obviously) review. While looking for who killed a rich couple their secrets and their kids secrets slowly unfolds. I am so glad you enjoyed this! I finished it, but only really to say I did.
4+ stars! This announcement cuts Catherine to the quick. I am so glad you stopped by. No come on, own up, who killed Fred Merton. When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings.
Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. And she, not their mother, loves them and knows them better than anyone. Its not because of the upkeep. Was it worth it?
But could one of them have commit such a brutal crime? He earned his MBA with the goal of one day taking over the family business from his father. This book was definitely one of the best reads of the year! Now, six months afterward, Dan and Lisa are in financial difficulties.
I have read some the authors other books and enjoyed them more.
}}(document,'script','twitter-wjs'); Just like he sold the business so that Dan couldnt have it., Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Mystery & Thriller (2021). All three of the Mertons did go out that night and asked for alibies from their significant others. Thanks to a foolish investment, Dans savings are tied up and hes pushed the limit of all his credit cards trying to stay afloat. Everyone but Audrey (who has the flu) duly shows up, and everything goes as badly as they expect it to. All other in soft focus. The narrative fairly races along as the Merton siblings fall into dissension. Lisa, Ted, James and Irena are forced to sit as awkward witnesses to both Freds cruelty and the fallout. Brecken Hill in upstate New York is an expensive place to live. Dan Merton married to Lisa. Dan is the middle child. By the end of the novel, we have four very viable suspects for murder. belong to their rightful owners. Fred, the patriarch, is malicious and makes his adult children miserable with his endless sly manipulations and vicious put downs.
Catherine, the eldest, is a successful doctor married to an equally successful dentist. His father hates him the most and has made no secret of that. the plot twist wasnt that good, it was pretty predictable which sucks because i spent the entire book being so shocked by the twists and turns just to get to the end and be let down. She missed attending Easter dinner because of a nasty flu bug. // (LogOut/ Open book in the hands of a mature man. {var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; They know of no one who would be angry enough with their parents to do this.
They are riddled with mistrust and suspicion. Wed love your help. This is my third novel by Shari Lapena and I really enjoy her writing style. by Pamela Dorman Books. She weaves fantastically complicated, intricate personas out of our typical suburban characters. So the question is, who murdered them? I loved it! She lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The narrator really brings the villain to life and it adds something special to the reading experienced. Though quite talented, she still depends on her father to subsidize her financially. Werent they an awful family! !function(d,s,id) Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Each new piece of information yanks us in a different direction. She would want her daughter to have her fair share, something she could never give her, as much as she wanted to. What a bunch of duplicitous and narcissistic individuals! We meet the Merton family assembled all together to have Easter dinner.
I expected more resolution from a couple of the sorta subplots. Although the ending of, the plot twist wasnt that good, it was pretty predictable which sucks because i spent the entire book being so shocked by the twists and turns just to get to the end and be let down. Ellen is a good friend of Audrey Stancik. I can't tell if this is a me problem and I'm burned out, or if it's a book problem, so no rating. I was really leaning towards Katherine!
All of the characters are suspects and the author does a great job of keeping the reader guessing til the end. Id definitely recommend reading it. The Mertons are brutally murdered the night after an Easter Dinner w. In this family, everyone is keeping secrets--especially the dead. I say four because Irena, too, is caught up in everything that is happening. They stand to inherit millions or could lose everything. What's the harm in taking time and adding an additional 100 pages? You have to be rich to have a house there. Lapena is a master of that sub-genre, and this is a not-to-b- missed read for fans of those books.
But Not A Happy Family was a winner in my book! The Merton adult children have lost their parents to a gruesome murder and they cannot get their stories straight. She was a lawyer and an English teacher before turning her hand to fiction. Avarice is rampant. Jenna has zero desire to see her family, but she lives off a stipend her parents provide and has no choice but to go when they demand it. And his wife was the total wuss, letting him get away with all his nastiness. She finds both Fred and Sheila Merton brutally murdered.
Sheila Merton the matriarch of the family has little backbone when standing up to her domineering husband. She prides herself on her unpredictability and likes to shock her parents with myriad partners and a somewhat bohemian lifestyle. So many shady and unpredictable characters to choose from. See all 12 questions about Not a Happy Family, 2021: What Women Born In The 1970s Read In 2021, 2022: What Women Born In The 1970s Have Read So Far This Year, 72 of the Most Popular Mysteries and Thrillers of the Past Three Years. Before dessert is even put on the table, the guests all leave angry. Change). I didn't figure it out at all either. A mistake that she must find a way to remedy herself. Even though the plot of her books are always fast paced, the dialogue is stilted and when not invested in the characters it is very hard to really enjoy the story.
There is another party in this pressure cooker as well. Youngest daughter Jenna is the family wild child. This sounds like a really solid mystery and something I would enjoy reading. Will definitely be picking this one up. All the characters felt pretty flat, the plot felt pretty thin (I think I needed a subplot or something) and the resolution left me wanting. This is a Psychological Thriller. Irena is also the person most likely to lie or kill for the Merton children. He hates that he will have to ask his father for a loan or face the fact that he and his wife Lisa will be in deep financial trouble without it. Top 30 Book Review Blogs on the internet as voted by ShoutAbout.org. All of the Merton siblings are harboring long-standing secrets.
As the police close in, that figure must determine what they can and will do to survive. Just finished this one. Excellent review Lynne. im also confused on why the person killed the. What a scandalous bunch of liars!! This makes the third book of hers that I rated 3 stars, and I rated one 1 star so this will probably be the last Lapena book I will read for a while. This is one novel where I have to say that I didnt much care for any of the characters. I've been an avid reader since 2nd grade and discovered romance when my cousin lent me Lord of La Pampa by Kay Thorpe in 7th grade.
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