Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Murder in the Family

Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Murder in the Family by Cara Hunter

62 reviews

pikkumarja's review

challenging emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

The book was definitely something. The concept was new to me and I believe it would have worked even better with my first language.

I did find out the murderer before the experts but not long before.

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judassilver's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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peggyt's review against another edition

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funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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wishyouweresober's review

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adventurous challenging informative fast-paced

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

4.75

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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

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thekissballad's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

I really enjoyed this. It's technically my first epistolary-type novel, so I was worried I wouldn't be able to get into it. But the transcripts of the episodes are essentially scripts (screenplays) in reverse, and I have experience reading those, so it worked for me.

That being said, the episodic nature and the emails, newspaper recaps, forums, etc in between did throw me off when I was very much into the "espisodes" and trying to follow all the clues.

I did guess the killer correctly, and very early on. It didn't take away anything for me because until the end, it was only ever just my gut instinct. It was interesting to see where all the clues and other intertwining factors took the story, though.

Basically, if you like true crime documentaries / mini-series, you'll enjoy this book. And without the week-long wait between episodes.

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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.

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