Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - Murder in the Family

Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Murder in the Family by Cara Hunter

27 reviews

minimicropup's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

The Energy: Accusatory, dogmatic, sensationalized

The Scene: 🇬🇧 Campden Hill neighbourhood and filming studio in London, UK

The POVs: The investigators cast by the true crime streaming docuseries, the producers and staff on the show, and the family and interviewees of people connected to the featured cold case.

🎬 Tale-Telling: No chapters, everything is presented as a screenplay/transcript of the show. It was structured almost like a movie or play, since each time someone spoke, we first got their name and any expressions or body language, as if directing an actor (even when they were filming and it wasn’t the edited episode). I enjoyed the more intimate peeks via email, texts, and articles.

👥 Characters: With this story-telling method I recommend a notebook nearby (not just for the clues). We are introduced to the investogators via their photo and CV/resumes, and that’s all we get to start. And no pictures for the producers, staff, or family, even as they appear on camera. It made those characters feel half-established. I didn’t get a sense for any of the characters because they all read the same, so I needed those headlines to know who was speaking and it affected the pacing for me.

🤓 Reader Role: Audience member Googling during the ad breaks. Since we are privy to non-Googleable insider evidence like text messages and emails, we usually have slightly more information than the cast or viewers.

🗺️ Ambiance: The book mimics a show, which I usually love, but it felt awkward and stilted for me. Title screens and occasional floor plans or autopsy reports (just listing what the investigators already said) were included but it made me more frustrated than if it had been excluded. The characters were discussing things I couldn't wait to see but we never get to!

🔥 Fuel: The mystery of who killed the stepfather drives the plot, introducing twists about suspects with each new clue and new theories. As the story unfolds, the investigator drama takes over.

🚙 Journey: Adjusting to the novel’s format took a moment, but once I got used to it and remembered who was who, it was an interesting story. I gave it my undivided attention, but it ended up feeling like I was watching a TV show with volume off, closed-captions on, on the worst internet connection. It started off feeling like a real Netflix or Discovery+ show, but by the end I felt like this show would have been cancelled if it wasn’t marketed properly.

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🐺 Growls: The screenplay format should have been a tail wag. But it failed in the visuals. The author teased us by discussing documents and images I really want to see but instead we literally got things like a basic map of Canada. It felt half-assed in terms of the documentation and photos that were prepared for readers.

🐕 Howls: I had one prediction for the killer early on and was correct. The reverse red herring strategy made it obvious, as well as the epistolary ‘hints’, and the melodramatic distraction about people connected to the case that felt contrived (though I didn’t predict that). During the story I was curious, but by the end I felt disappointed.

🐩 Tail Wags: The investigatory pace and finding clues police could miss was an engaging way to build a story without diluting the mystery with unnecessary details.

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Mood Reading Match-Up:

Metafiction true crime meets reality TV docuseries melodrama
Whodunnit cold case puzzle, sleuthing alongside investigators
Screenplay style writing where we are watching a TV show via novel
Light themes around secrets, true crime, family dynamics, money can’t buy happiness, ambition, and conceit

Content Heads-Up: Suicide (implied; off page). Murder. Violence (bludgeoning). Adult/minor relationship (recalled; off page). Theft (identity, money). Car accident (hit and run; brief recall, off page). Infidelity (recall, off page).

Rep: Heterosexual relationships. Black and White Brits and Americans. Cisgender.

👀 Format: Kindle

“Reviews are my musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶 refined by my AI bookworm bestie ✨”

Content Warnings

mikaiten's review against another edition

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mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

Content Warnings

brandilovesbooks's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

If I was rating Murder in the Family based on the mystery. It would be 4 stars. A reality TV series delving into the 20-year-old case of who killed Luke Ryder. The producer of the show is the murder victim's step‐ son who'd been 10 at the time of the murder. The panel of experts brought in to dig into the case include a reporter, a retired NYPD police officer, a retired Metropolitan Police member, a criminal attorney, a crime scene investigator, and a forensic psychologist. There are tons of plot twists. The ending was unexpected.

The reason I only rated it 3 stars was the unconventional format. Murder in the Family does not read like a normal story. Each "chapter" is a transcription of a broadcast of the show "Infamous- Who Killed Luke Ryder?" There are also e-mails between people involved on the show, voice-mail message transcriptions, screenshots of a reddit group discussing each episode, and text messages.

I read books for all of the stuff that goes on between the dialogue. For the point of view that allows insight into thoughts, feelings, observations, and memories. This book didn't have that. You were forced to read between the lines. Cara Hunter did a great job with this chosen format, but it wasn't my cup of tea.

Recommended for people who like true crime and people who don't mind the unconventional format.

My content warnings include - cursing, murder, and graphic detail of the body.

Content Warnings

k_shimer's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

monarcadelibros's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

At first, I thought I'd really like this book and fly through it. While the story is fun, the formatting really distracted me and the arguments going in circles really prevented me from finding any motivation to finish.

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maddireads13's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

questingnotcoasting's review

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dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I was hoping I'd like this as much as The Appeal by Janice Hallett because of its mixed media format. I didn't enjoy it quite as much but it was still very entertaining. It's a very clever concept and I was gripped throughout. It was overly dramatic but that made sense considering its reality TV show premise. I didn't solve the case before the characters though, I think I figured it out about two pages before it was explained.

Content Warnings