Not a Happy Family by Shari Lapena

 

Fred is a mean, sometimes cruel father in Not a Happy Family by Shari Lapena. He who puts down his children at every turn, and his wife Sheila seems to be afraid of him. With considerable wealth, Fred originally planned to leave the bulk of his estate to his children – all his children, including the one not born of Sheila. But his sister Audrey insists he was going to leave half of his fortune to her.

On Easter evening, someone slays both Fred and Sheila in their home after their three children have gone home after a Not a Happy Easter meal where Fred had told them that he and Sheila are selling the family mansion. Not only are they murdered, but many of their expensive items are missing.

Not terribly upset about the death of their parents because of their father’s hateful ways and their mother’s lack of a maternal gene – she left their upbringing to their beloved nanny Irene – the three legitimate children, Catherine, Dan, and Jenna, are quickly under suspicion since it seems obvious that they will inherit the family millions. Did the illegitimate child also expect an inheritance that would further expose Fred for the disgusting man that he was?

Shari Lapena has filled this page turner with any number of possible murderers including children, spouses, a boyfriend, an aunt, and the mother of the illegitimate child. The possibility of suspects just keeps changing until the very end. This author never fails to keep me up at night finishing her latest.  

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting May 31, 2021.

I would like to thank the PENGUIN GROUP Viking for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

The Guilt Trip by Sandie Jones

 Rachel is on The Guilt Trip, the newest novel by Sandie Jones.

Three couples are traveling to Portugal for a wedding -- Ali and Will are getting married. Rachel and her husband Jack and their friends Paige and her husband Noah find Ali to be obnoxious and attention seeking, and they all wish that she were not going to marry into Jack’s family as Will is Jack’s brother. Rachel and Noah are long-time friends since college, although they did cross the line in their friendship once before Rachel committed to Jack, the coupling an incident which they have kept secret from both their spouses.

Ali’s actions and words insinuate that she has a special relationship with Jack, who cannot stand to be around her anymore. Rachel starts to wonder about her husband and Ali, and Paige feeds her insecurity about the possibility that Ali is cheating on Will with Jack. Jack revealed to Rachel that Ali is cheating on his brother Will with a guy from the office, but he cannot bring himself to tell Will, who is as happy as he has ever been.

When Rachel discovers certain truths about Ali that are unsettling, the plot spirals to an unexpected climax to the story. All the dynamics will change with the death of one of the members of the wedding party.

Working as a freelance journalist for more than 20 years, Sandie Jones turned to fiction with her debut novel, The Other Woman. She lives in London with her family.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting May 7, 2021.

I would like to thank St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

 

Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins

 A Slow Fire Burning inside for so long has led someone to murder in Paula Hawkins’ latest thriller.

Is the killer Laura, a physically and emotionally damaged young woman who was thought to be the last one with the victim and had his blood on her T-shirt?

Perhaps it was the strange, hobbit-like Miriam. She said she found him that way, but did she leave him that way before she found him?

Then there’s Carla, the victim’s grieving aunt who lost her own son 15 years ago, whose former husband Theo has been led to believe that his wife and her nephew were having an affair. Could a jealous, grief-stricken ex who writes crime novels for a living have slit the throat of the young man?

An unpublished memoir by Miriam about being kidnapped as a teenager along with her best friend who was murdered and a seemingly plagiarized novel from that memoir by Theo adds an interesting thread that is woven throughout this clever novel.

Paula Hawkins, author of the best-selling The Girl on the Train, was a journalist for 15 years before turning to fiction writing. Born in Zimbabwe, she splits her time between London and Edinburgh.