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A review by justagirlwithabook
The Family Game by Catherine Steadman
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
4.5
Harriet is an accomplished author (and on the brink of publishing a new book!), and Edward is her new husband-to-be. Harriet has been an orphan since her tween years, and Edward's family, the Holbecks, offer her the chance at a life full to the brim: not just with a new, large family to call her own, but wealth, status, and power. As Harriet begins to meet her soon-to-be family, she discovers that everyone seems to have sinsiter secrets they're hiding. The catch? She has a very dark one of her own. Now she enters into a long tradition of family games, but the question is whether or not she'll be able to survive.
What I loved:
- This one takes off at a fairly fast clip and it doesn't let up. If anything it just gets going faster until you hit the end. It's a very quick read, and I hardly put it down until I was finished!
- I haven't read all of Steadman's books, but the last one I read was Mr. Nobody, this one was similar in that it all moved quickly, there was enough description to get you settled into the situation, and then before you know it, we're all gripping our chairs hoping the female lead makes it out alive and maybe even somehow on top. I love it!
- This was a fun twist on a classic "cat and mouse" story. The Holbeck family, which feels like the equivalent of America's Vanderbilts or Rockefellers, does play family games, but these games have a very dark element to them. There's chasing, hiding, and then hopefully it all ends with not getting caught and somehow winning (even if winning simply means you survived and may end up needing a little bit a therapy afterwards). There was a near constant element of danger and I enjoyed that.
- There was of course a twist that I entirely fell for. I didn't quite know where it was all going but I was curious, and then when things starting coming together, I thought, "How did I not see that coming, but of course!" I imagine there will be far more adept readers that will see through the smoke and mirrors earlier on than I did, but I enjoyed the ride!
What I didn't love:
- I don't know that there was anything I didn't love, though I think to move this from a 4/4.5 star to a 5 star for me, I would want a bit more background on other characters/family members, find out more of their secrets, and have a bit more of a complex storyline with a few more big jaw-dropping twists throughout. Though by all standards, I feel like this was a really solid and suspenseful mystery/thriller with a solid twist, and it will leave you satisfied by the time you hit the end.
Overall:
Again, this was a solid mystery/thriller from Catherine Steadman. I've come to discover that she seems to be pretty consistent with her writing and her suspensful thrillers. They're not necessarily mind-blowing twisty mysteries, but they're ones that I will recommend to others to read if they're wanting something they can get easily wrapped up in and won't easily put down until they get to the end to find out what's going on. I also really appreciate that her books don't feel like cookie-cutter books that are all very similar to one another. Each one seems very different but you also know you can expect a good twist and a fairly satisfying ending -- something you can pass off to others to read and know they'll get, at the least, a bit of enjoyment from it.
Huge thank you to Ballantine Books and Netgalley for the e-ARC! I'm excited to recommend this one and looking forward to when it publishes in November!
What I loved:
- This one takes off at a fairly fast clip and it doesn't let up. If anything it just gets going faster until you hit the end. It's a very quick read, and I hardly put it down until I was finished!
- I haven't read all of Steadman's books, but the last one I read was Mr. Nobody, this one was similar in that it all moved quickly, there was enough description to get you settled into the situation, and then before you know it, we're all gripping our chairs hoping the female lead makes it out alive and maybe even somehow on top. I love it!
- This was a fun twist on a classic "cat and mouse" story. The Holbeck family, which feels like the equivalent of America's Vanderbilts or Rockefellers, does play family games, but these games have a very dark element to them. There's chasing, hiding, and then hopefully it all ends with not getting caught and somehow winning (even if winning simply means you survived and may end up needing a little bit a therapy afterwards). There was a near constant element of danger and I enjoyed that.
- There was of course a twist that I entirely fell for. I didn't quite know where it was all going but I was curious, and then when things starting coming together, I thought, "How did I not see that coming, but of course!" I imagine there will be far more adept readers that will see through the smoke and mirrors earlier on than I did, but I enjoyed the ride!
What I didn't love:
- I don't know that there was anything I didn't love, though I think to move this from a 4/4.5 star to a 5 star for me, I would want a bit more background on other characters/family members, find out more of their secrets, and have a bit more of a complex storyline with a few more big jaw-dropping twists throughout. Though by all standards, I feel like this was a really solid and suspenseful mystery/thriller with a solid twist, and it will leave you satisfied by the time you hit the end.
Overall:
Again, this was a solid mystery/thriller from Catherine Steadman. I've come to discover that she seems to be pretty consistent with her writing and her suspensful thrillers. They're not necessarily mind-blowing twisty mysteries, but they're ones that I will recommend to others to read if they're wanting something they can get easily wrapped up in and won't easily put down until they get to the end to find out what's going on. I also really appreciate that her books don't feel like cookie-cutter books that are all very similar to one another. Each one seems very different but you also know you can expect a good twist and a fairly satisfying ending -- something you can pass off to others to read and know they'll get, at the least, a bit of enjoyment from it.
Huge thank you to Ballantine Books and Netgalley for the e-ARC! I'm excited to recommend this one and looking forward to when it publishes in November!