Reviews with content warning for Violence - The Family Game

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Family Game by Catherine Steadman

49 reviews

cieralegue's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

3.0

This book was full of curveballs and it was very dark, i liked the plot it was interesting and i found that the challenges faced were the best for this book. The ending was the absolutely biggest plot twist I ever read but the clues leading up to it fit in retrospect they just didnt seem nearly as important until you reach the ending with the family game they play on christmas eve. The very last chapter however I did not like nd was quite confused and wished they added one extra chapter before this one that would have helped tie up the ends better than the last chapter was able to. This book i would say is much more horror than thriller.

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shedobechaotic's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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savreads28's review

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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tammyanntchou's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense

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

4.0

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thalia16's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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mysterymom40's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

3.0

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lovelymisanthrope's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

I picked this up because it is the Literally Dead Book Club pick for the month of October.
"The Family Game" is a fast-paced thriller that follows a woman named Harry. Harry's life could be going better. She is struggled to write her second novel following the success of her first, but at least she has Edward. Edward is a seemingly perfect man, and he has just proposed to Harry. However, Harry has never met Edward's family. With the holidays just around the corner, now seems like the perfect time for Harry to meet all of the Holbecks, until Harry learns of their ruthless games and cutthroat attitudes towards one another.
This was a fast-paced, thrilling mystery with the added layer of a game. The Holbecks have some very eccentric holiday traditions, and honestly if I were Harry, I would have stormed out of the house far more quickly. As I have recently read "The Inheritance Games", this book reminded me quite a bit of that plot. The Holbecks do not come right out and say anything. They have a tendency to play games and leave riddles for people to try to guess what is really going on. "The Family Game" was also much more deadly.
The Holbecks have some dark secrets they are trying to keep buried, and those mysteries left me on my toes throughout the book. Just when I thought I had everything figured out, another layer of the story was introduced, and I was thrown for a loop. Ultimately, I did not see the ending coming, and I enjoyed where the story ended up.
This book takes place during the holiday season, and because of that, it is very atmospheric. The depictions of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and snow made me excited for the season to come, and I highly recommend this thriller during the months of November and December.
Harry is an author in this book, but I did not think this fact did a lot for her character. I think the reader is supposed to see that Harry is an author and because of this she knows how to investigate. However, for me, her character felt very amateur in her sleuthing and the fact that she was an author was just a small part of the story.
I had a pretty good time reading this, and I will keep an eye out for more from Catherine Steadman in the future!

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