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savvyrosereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Told in a multi-media format styled after a true crime documentary, MURDER IN THE FAMILY follows six experts trying to solve the cold case murder of Luke Ryder, who was killed in the garden of his expensive estate twenty years prior.
This was the May pick for my book club, and for some reason I was really hesitant to pick it up—probably because it wasn’t a book that was on my radar before it was chosen. Fortunately, once I finally read it I was pleasantly surprised! I found this one super enjoyable and entertaining the whole way through, LOVED the format (though heads up that I feel like this one would be VERY difficult to follow on audio and I’m glad I went with the ebook), and overall got relatively invested in the story.
I did feel like parts of the plot were very predictable and I saw all of the twists coming. I also thought the ending was a bit too “easy”—and honestly I wrote an entire alternate whodunit in my head that I like more.
Still, if you want a fun quick mystery, I would recommend this one, and I’m looking forward to discussing it with book club!
CW: Death/death of parent/murder; statutory rape; mentions of hate crimes, racism, and homophobia
Graphic: Death, Blood, Death of parent, Infidelity, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Racism and Hate crime
Minor: Homophobia
phil266's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Death, Child abuse, Death of parent, Suicide, Racism, and Hate crime
judassilver's review
- 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
Graphic: Death, Murder, Blood, Death of parent, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Dementia and Car accident
Minor: Homophobia and Hate crime
thebiblioboo's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Cursing, Racism, Murder, and Blood
Minor: Mental illness, Drug use, Car accident, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Alcohol, Death of parent, and Dementia
vikiskiwis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Mental illness
Minor: Hate crime
martinkid45419's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Abandonment, Blood, Drug use, Body horror, Cursing, Death of parent, Death, Child abuse, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, and Car accident
Minor: Suicide, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Dementia, Hate crime, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Racism, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Religious bigotry, and Homophobia
brandonssmead's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Dementia, Suicide attempt, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Suicide
Minor: Addiction, Car accident, Hate crime, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Racism
kmsander4's review
- 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
4.0
My one critique is that I was fairly easily able to guess the murderer early on and even picked up on the majority of the surprises as we went. I think some of those could have been masked a bit better. However, I will say that the twist in the last couple of pages was done exceptionally well, I hadn't really expected that one at all.
100% would read plenty more books written just like this! Maybe my new favourite subgenre of true crime fiction.
Graphic: Murder
Minor: Hate crime and Sexual assault
hmetwade's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Death of parent, Chronic illness, Dementia, Gore, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Blood, Car accident, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Murder, Police brutality, Racism, and Violence
thewellreadlabrador's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Hate crime, and Grief