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tiffanis29's review against another edition
2.0
Started out intriguing. As it progressed the storyline lacked creativity. Character development was poor. I have read other books by the author, they were more enjoyable.
deehawkins74's review against another edition
4.0
This was a good book. Long, but good. My book club's selection for the month. Kenneth was a rich older man who married a much younger Vera. Vera was not in love with Kenneth, she was in love with Kenneth's money. Vera was very deceptive to Kenneth. She lied, cheated, schemed, etc. Kenneth cheated as well, but he treated Vera well. Nothing was beneath Vera. She did whatever she had to do in order to get what she wanted. Vera knew Kenneth wanted children, since she didn't she tried everything to keep Kenneth from having a child. When Sarah stepped on the scene, things changed. This family and their lies will have you trying to figure out how and when they will get caught. You have to read it to find out. Other than the length of the book, there wasn't anything else that I disliked about this book. It was well written. I recommend this book to those who don't mind reading a long, good book and enjoy reading the works of Mary Monroe.
readincolour's review against another edition
2.0
Such a disappointing read. Seems like Monroe was on deadline and just threw something together. Either that or she's been watching too many soap operas because this reads exactly like one, a really bad one.
karmas_shelf24's review against another edition
2.0
The book was good in the beginning but became to "soapoperish." I know that is not a word, but you get my point. I had to actually force myself to finish reading it.
I don't know why all the readers were so upset with Very when Kenneth was equally as trifling.
I don't know why all the readers were so upset with Very when Kenneth was equally as trifling.
cakt1991's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
Family of Lies is another Mary Monroe family drama with an assortment of messy characters (to varying degrees) that really feeds into my love for well-crafted soap-opera-level drama with all the plotting and scheming and ultimately seeing the worst characters get what’s coming to them. I love how she creates characters where you can understand the psychology behind why they do what they do, even if they constantly behave in over-the-top, hypocritical ways and do things that would typically not endear me to them.
Vera is the ultimate anti-heroine. She’s the archetypal gold digger and snob, only looking out for her own interests, angry that one of her rich husband’s affairs produced a child, and then later on she flagrantly goes behind his back with younger men, and doesn’t even have the decency for discretion, which Kenneth (mostly) had. I was amazed how she managed to manipulate situations into her favor constantly, trying to be five steps ahead of both Kenneth and Sarah and prepare for every eventuality…even willing to mastermind murder to remove opposition from her path.
While I didn’t expect to sympathize with Kenneth, given his actions early on, I ended up feeling for him as the story went on. He really had the wool pulled over his eyes where his wife was concerned, both in terms of her own extramarital affairs and the extent of which she was trying to manipulate him and others around them. The moment he realized who she truly was was truly heartbreaking.
Sarah is perhaps the most immediately sympathetic of the major/POV characters. She and Vera have a very tense relationship, although admittedly Sarah also gradually falls into a similar trap that Kenneth does, in underestimating Vera. She also shares her father’s naïveté, which manifests in several situations throughout the book, and I love the irony of Vera being the one to encourage caution (albeit for her own reasons).
And then, there’s extended family and “friends” who also tie into this messy web of lies and deceit. I loved the interplay between the characters and trying to work out whether people would figure each other out or not.
This book is a little long, and there are moments with lulls in the drama. However, with her more recent trilogy as a comparison, I feel the long standalone allowed for a mostly punchy story that hit all the beats it needed to and retained most of the intrigue throughout.
This is a fun, if sometimes intense read, and perfect for anyone looking for a family drama with messy/unlikable characters.
tinajackson's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
readincolour's review against another edition
2.0
Such a disappointing read. Seems like Monroe was on deadline and just threw something together. Either that or she's been watching too many soap operas because this reads exactly like one, a really bad one.
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