Reviews with content warning for Adult/minor relationship - Murder in the Family

Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

Murder in the Family by Cara Hunter

47 reviews

infjkiki's review

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mysterious fast-paced

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? No

4.5

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savvyrosereads's review against another edition

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mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

Rating: 4/5 stars

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

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beccaand's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense 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

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starglitters's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-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

3.75

The actual murderer is not that surprising, especially if you apply Book Logic to it. However, for a book that markets itself with “can you solve it before they do?”, the revelation doesn’t really hinge on the actual evidences collected throughout the book.

Still pretty enjoyable.

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arkwen452's review against another edition

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challenging informative mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

2.75

I think my notes and thoughts are too unpolished to post right now. TBD

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sophialib's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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? It's complicated

4.75

SO GOOD! I really think listening to this helped me keep everything straight and made a huge difference; the audio cast was great. The writing format was super fun too. The only issue I had was there were so many red herrings and false conclusions, it definitely added to it like it was a real investigation and made it feel like reality tv, but it felt a bit like overkill at some points. Other than that I thought it was great!

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pikkumarja's review against another edition

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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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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 ✨”

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