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A review by neelamreadsalot
The Family Game by Catherine Steadman
1.0
What in the actual fuck?
I’m so confused by the people who rated this book above 3 and that’s being generous.
I listened to the audiobook and first off, if Catherine Steadman wasn’t such a good narrator, I don’t think I would’ve made it to the end.
I’m okay with reading unbelievable plots, as long as it ties together. I feel like that’s such an important component of thrillers. Loose ends, fine. But when nothing makes sense!? And the thing is I truly wasn’t even invested in anything by the end. Not the characters, not the plot. I could not care less if MC died at the end, I just wanted the book to be done.
It was obvious that Edward was involved from the moment he kept insisting on visiting the family he never talks to. Honestly, I thought it was a sibling swap, and it was actually Edward who died and Bobby had to keep killing off anyone who found out. As it turns out, my guess was way better than the “he’s just a serial killer and no one wants to stop him” plot line.
And the whole making his family weird and shady was just so stupid. It was like a whodunnit but no one is the culprit. So so stupid. Not to mention the forced addition of weird games into the mix. It’s ironic that the title is The Family Game because frankly those were the worst and frustratingly stupid parts of the book.
I think I’m a person who doesn’t like stories where the MC is unlikeable. Not a troubled MC, but just a “you’re just as fucked up as this family, and you kinda suck too” type of character. Not for me. Especially when she spends most of the book pretending like she’s better than. There’s also this weird turn of pregnancy talk that gives me the ick. Like blaming her lust of her future father in law on her pregnancy, and it’s mentioned SO MANY TIMES, I was sure it was going to mean something in the end. Nope, it just meant the author’s got some serious issues with pregnancy and making infidelity okay. Not everything can be blamed on hormones and this storyline just grossed me out.
It’s been a long time since I’ve ranted about a book but I feel like I’ve never finished a book and been so mad about it. This isn’t a psychological thriller because the plot plays tricks on you. It’s a psychological thriller because everything is so disconnected that it’ll leave you thinking what the fuck was I thinking picking this book up.
I’m so confused by the people who rated this book above 3 and that’s being generous.
I listened to the audiobook and first off, if Catherine Steadman wasn’t such a good narrator, I don’t think I would’ve made it to the end.
I’m okay with reading unbelievable plots, as long as it ties together. I feel like that’s such an important component of thrillers. Loose ends, fine. But when nothing makes sense!? And the thing is I truly wasn’t even invested in anything by the end. Not the characters, not the plot. I could not care less if MC died at the end, I just wanted the book to be done.
It was obvious that Edward was involved from the moment he kept insisting on visiting the family he never talks to. Honestly, I thought it was a sibling swap, and it was actually Edward who died and Bobby had to keep killing off anyone who found out. As it turns out, my guess was way better than the “he’s just a serial killer and no one wants to stop him” plot line.
And the whole making his family weird and shady was just so stupid. It was like a whodunnit but no one is the culprit. So so stupid. Not to mention the forced addition of weird games into the mix. It’s ironic that the title is The Family Game because frankly those were the worst and frustratingly stupid parts of the book.
I think I’m a person who doesn’t like stories where the MC is unlikeable. Not a troubled MC, but just a “you’re just as fucked up as this family, and you kinda suck too” type of character. Not for me. Especially when she spends most of the book pretending like she’s better than. There’s also this weird turn of pregnancy talk that gives me the ick. Like blaming her lust of her future father in law on her pregnancy, and it’s mentioned SO MANY TIMES, I was sure it was going to mean something in the end. Nope, it just meant the author’s got some serious issues with pregnancy and making infidelity okay. Not everything can be blamed on hormones and this storyline just grossed me out.
It’s been a long time since I’ve ranted about a book but I feel like I’ve never finished a book and been so mad about it. This isn’t a psychological thriller because the plot plays tricks on you. It’s a psychological thriller because everything is so disconnected that it’ll leave you thinking what the fuck was I thinking picking this book up.