melle_reads 's review for:

Keep It In The Family by John Marrs

3.75

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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As the narrative is first-person and is shared between the main cast of characters, the characters themselves will heavily affect whether you will like this book. I found that their flaws and conflicts with each other were all rather surface-level rather than developed and realistic, which turned me off to liking them or finding them very compelling. There wasn’t any substantial groundwork laid for the final “twist” at the very end either, so to me it felt like a disappointing cop-out more than a proper shock. The twists and turns that led to the climax and third act were exciting though, and did keep me reading. It was only $2 for Kindle so all in all it was worth my time! 3.75 stars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicide, Kidnapping, Murder

Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Torture, Blood, Pregnancy

Minor: Domestic abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail

The main female character and her husband’s marital struggles are central to the book from start to finish. The main conflict is their difficulty with conceiving, and then after

they have their miracle baby,

the wife

experiences post-partum depression and difficulty