Reviews with content warning for Stalking - Not a Happy Family

Reviews tagging 'Stalking'

Not a Happy Family by Shari Lapena

24 reviews

julienicole1106's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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kyrstin_p1989's review

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

3.0

This murder mystery is fast paced and interesting. It’s easy to read and the author makes you change your mind about who the killer is repeatedly. Deep down I knew who it was from about the middle of the book but the story telling was engaging enough to keep me second guessing.

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colettesjourney's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

4.5

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romam93's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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

2.5

This was...ok?

I think my main problems with this book were caused by my expectation that this was a thriller, and in my opinion, it is not. To me this book is more of a mystery/whodunit, and I think if I had gone into it expecting that, rather than a fast paced exciting thriller, I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more.

The book was well written and I liked the family drama aspect, I was just expecting more excitement. Some of the reveals caught me by surprise but I ended up not really caring about who committed the crime as the parents were so unlikeable. I would definitely try another book by this author to see if I got on better with her other work.

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anna_mayes's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Not A Happy Family by Shari Lapena

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“But all fairytales are tinged with darkness.”

Not A Happy Family is a fast paced thriller where everyone is a suspect. I had a few ideas about who the killer would be, but I was able to narrow it down to two. Luckily, one of my guesses was correct. Shari Lapena keeps you guessing by using alternating perspective chapters. I love when authors do this because it allows you to see the same event from multiple perspectives. The alternating chapters showed the distrust among the Merton family and solidified the motives that each character had for killing Fred and Sheila. I did not like most of the characters in this novel, but I do love family drama. The Merton family is so dysfunctional that I would actually like a second book! A book on Fred Merton’s upbringing would be fascinating. Or a follow up on what happens after the Merton children receive their inheritance. Either way, I could not turn the pages fast enough and I can’t wait to get my hands on another Shari Lapena book!

I recommend this Not A Happy Family for anyone who likes reading domestic suspense!

CW: Murder, Stalking, Emotional Abuse

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rachelwierick's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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starklinqs's review against another edition

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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

4.0

This was a really cool book! I was definitely kept waiting the entire time, and the end - and epilogue - was super interesting. Like another review said, I think this could have done more with backstories for the siblings. However, it was still really well done and I enjoyed the book.

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