This was one of the best serial killer thrillers I read so far this year. It‘s so gripping, haunting and pacing with a bit of humour here and there. I loved it! I definitely want to read more by this duo.

Thank you NetGalley / Avon Books UK for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the premise of this story. With the growing use of technology it is so interesting to consider the pitfalls of sharing your DNA online, and how this technology can be used to help solve crimes. I especially enjoyed the chapters focusing on the kidnapped girls. It was interesting getting their perspective and learning more about the Tri-State Killer from that angle. With a lot of similarities, these chapters could have been too repetitive, but I found that they each helped uncover a little more about the situation and created a sense of solidarity between the different women.

However, my biggest issue with this book was its unrealistic nature. I doubt the FBI would share case details, especially when the person was blatantly lying to them. Liz was also quite irritating and immature. Although the motivations for her actions were made clear, I struggled to understand why she did what she did. Her determination to meet with her ‘new’ family seemed reckless considering the link to the serial killer which she didn’t seem to really care about. I struggle to believe that that is how anyone in that situation would actually act.

Despite this however, the ending was reasonably satisfying. I wouldn’t say it was a total surprise since there was limited characters and therefore limited routes the author could do down. But the pace definitely picked up as it led to the ‘big reveal’ and I was excited to see how it was going to end.

DNF @50%

I just could not get into this one. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I found it slow, boring, and the writing felt clunky. They can't all be winners, right? 😉

**ARC Via NetGalley**

This book was a part of “read now” section on netgalley and the details were intriguing enough to download it immediately to my kindle! A full 3.5stars, this was gripping and a thrilling fast read.
When Liz Catalano takes a DNA test, she is shocked as the test results reveals she’s adopted. Her adopted parents tell her that they kept it as a secret from her as some years went by they didn’t want to let her know, as they had started to feel like she is their own. They also let Liz know that her birth mother was once upon a time in prison.
As she puts her details further into websites to know more, the results end up having FBI land on her door step mentioning that her DNA is a match to a known serial killer – she has to find out what’s happening as the killer is abducting girls in pairs, and she is worried that she and her cousin might be a potential target. As she meets the family from her birth mother’s side and learns that the details FBI shared is matching one of the family members she is even scared worrying about what she got herself into!
The chapters move from Victim ## & ## to Liz’s story, each chapter created more suspense and kept me hooked
#TheFamilyTree #NetGalley

Oh my word this book was something else. It wasn’t good it was absolutely fantastic. I just knew from the first chapter I was going to love this book and I sure did.

Synopsis: The DNA results are back and there’s a serial killer in the family. Liz Catalano is shocked when an ancestry kit reveals she’s adopted but that’s nothing compared to when the FBI comes knocking on her door saying that her results have a familial match to a serial killer. Can Liz figure out who in her bio family is the killer? Can she save the newest victims before it’s too late?

My thoughts: I thought this book was absolutely amazing! I don’t know how the authors thought of writing a book with this plot line, but I love them for it. It really did keep me guessing until the very end. That’s all I’m gonna say because I want you guys to pre-order this book NOW. Yes, it’s that good.

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The premise for this one was so good, and something that I (as a fan of true crime documentaries) have thought about for a while. We meet our protagonist Liz as she is given a DNA ancestry kit as a gift, only for it to lead to the revelation that she is adopted... and that her DNA is a partial match to a serial killer known only as "The Tri-State Killer". We then have alternating chapters from the POV of both Liz and the victims of the TSK, spanning decades.

What could be a fascinating insight into dealing with themes of nature vs nurture, or a thrilling chase to track down a serial killer, or even a shocking revelation of the modus operandi of a killer through the eyes of his victims, is just a rather dull plod through a series of scenes that don't have much in the way of emotion or depth.

Liz is not a likeable character. She veers between whining and acting in an incredibly naive (borderline unintelligent) way, making me care little what happens in her quest for the truth. The supporting cast is also of little consequence, sadly. Her cousin is the worst... (buying her that kit based on what she already knows, really?), the hot bartender as a love interest barely gets a mention, the alternative suspect gets nothing more than a phone call, the FBI agents are useless, the journalist is an occasional source of moral support but does nothing with the info Liz willingly (read foolishly) offers up (again, really?)... I could go on.

All in all, this tale didn't live up to my expectations. Maybe that is my fault, and others certainly seem to have enjoyed it, but it wasn't for me unfortunately.

My thanks to the author, NetGalley, and the publisher for the arc to review.

An book that interested me from the beginning as I find ancestry interesting to begin with.

Liz is given a DNA test for her Birthday and is surprised by the results that come back and they don't seem to add up. The DNA is linked to a serial killer.

The story is told from the serial killers past.

this book is gripping and a must read

This is the co-author's first novel, and it has an intriguing hook which really gripped me from the start.
With the rise in people tracing their ancestry, what would happen if a result came back which you didn't expect?
In the case of Liz, not only has her cousin's birthday gift revealed a family secret, but the family she *is* related to, could bring with it it's own complications.
Interspersed with Liz' first person narration of the her investigation into where she has come from, and if there is a serial killer hiding in the branches of her family tree, are chapters which link us to the Tri-State Killer.
His victims (apart from his first 'trial' victim) are snatched in pairs and goes back 40 years . So this is interesting, most serial killer books focus on young, fit men, but to take the perspective of a man who has been doing this-and getting away with it-for this long is very different.
The pairs are introduced by name and you get a snapshot of either a scenario post abduction, or how he abducts the two women. What I liked is that the girls take center stage, it is their resilience and the traces they leave for successive girls as if to say 'remember us, don't give up hope' rather than focussing on the mode of their deaths.
You don't need to know this, I feel that often women are served up as a dish , an adjunct to the killer who is the focus of the story, this time around, it is the victims and , also, the human fallout from that family tree's rotten apple which has consequences as well as exploring the nature vs nurture debate.
I really enjoyed the realism of the dialogue between Liz and her flatmate, the tension building as tow suspects are identified as possible killer candidates and the overall premise.
People often go searching for things in the hope that they will strike gold in the form of a famous relative or gripping story. Sometimes, however, that turns to infamy and regret.

A new insight to Long Lost Family a must read for anyone into researching their ancestry you never know what you might find A brillianty cast story line kept me fully involved from the beginning until the end and even then maybe more to come well worth a read a real page turner

Liz is given a DNA testing kit for her birthday from her cousin and roommate. But when the results come back the cousins are surprised to find the results don’t make sense. When Liz asks her parents about it, they tell her she was adopted. This comes as a big shock to Liz as she now feels she doesn’t know who she is or where she comes from.

She needs to trace who her real family is, she manages to trace a grand uncle who lives not too far away from where they live in New York. But soon after she is in for more shocks as the FBI turn up at her door looking for more information, it turns out her DNA is linked with that of a serial killer who has been on the loose abducting and killing women for the last 40 years.

The story is told through the serial killers point of view in the past and through Liz in the present, it was interesting to see these two points of view.

I enjoyed the relationship between the cousins, some of the banter between them lightened the mood a bit, compared to the actual subject matter.

I was reminded of how the Golden State Killer was apprehended after he had raped and attacked many women and families, it was only after a family member sent for a DNA test which brought justice to the women who are still now affected by the trauma that they had suffered.

A good read, that I would recommend to anyone who is into the crime genre, serial killers.

I would like to thank #netgalley and #AvonBooks for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest, fair and unbiased review.

I read the first line of the book blurb and I was hooked! What a dark and twisty ride it was 🤯
This is the kind of book that you will want to binge in a day. I loved the dual timelines, alternating between Liz in the present trying to come to terms with not only being adopted but also the fact she is related to a serial killer. Then the dark chapters on the serial killer taking you all the way back to the first victims, each time learning a little bit more about their captivity. I enjoyed the pace and with just enough information to keep you engrossed you were also kept guessing right until the end!

Fantastic debut from the authors, looking forward to see what they do next!

I liked it okay, but I do agree with some of the other criticisms I've read, like that the FBI interactions don't read as real. And it's weird that one character basically just disappears from the story.

It’s 2019 and Liz Catalano, 27, a social media associate, lives with her cousin Andrea (Andie) Catalano, 28, an X-ray technologist, in a two-bedroom ground floor apartment in a Greenpoint townhouse in New York. Andie buys Liz a 23andMe DNA ancestry test kit for her birthday and, when they compare their results, they discover that Liz is adopted. She’s shocked as she had no idea that her mum and dad weren’t her real parents as they’d never told her. She also learns that her birth mum was in prison when she had Liz.

Liz puts her details into various ancestry websites via one website, GEDMatch, in order to trace her relatives and also ticks the option to allow law enforcement to access her ancestry results. A couple of weeks later, she hears back from a grand uncle, Cristian (Cris) Dominio (65), and his wife, Rosie, in Connecticut. She arranges to meet up with them and finds out a bit more about her mum, Teresa, and discovers that there aren’t many of her close relatives left now.

Soon after, the FBI contact Liz as her DNA is a familial match to an ongoing multi-person homicide investigation. She’s horrified and quickly researches various active serial killers to try and work out who it could be. One that seems to match the timescales is the Tri-State Killer, who has evaded capture for decades and held captive, tortured and murdered numerous women over the years.

The Tri-State Killer’s first kill was in 1974 and he next struck 17 years later and from then on abducted and murdered pairs of women every two years to 2012. He’s been operating for over 40 years but the police only have vague details about his identity (grainy CCTV footage and a rough sketch) and a partial DNA sample taken from his first victim. After a gap of six years, it now seems that he’s back on the scene as two university students from Boston have been missing for nine months.

Liz is determined to investigate the case and work out what her links are to the serial killer, despite the danger she’s putting herself in. She’s feisty and determined – and rather reckless – but full of spirit. She’s in a unique position and the FBI agents tell her details of the cases in the hopes that she will discover some relevant evidence and links when talking to members of her newly found family.

Interspersed between scenes and dialogue from Liz and Andie are gruesome and disturbing chapters focusing on the Tri-State Killer’s numerous victims – how he approached the pairs of women or what happened afterwards. This works well and helps to ramp up the tension and it made me think about what must have happened to the women mentioned in the previous flashbacks.

Overall, this was a gripping and engaging read and kept me thoroughly entertained! It was over 400 pages long but it flew by and I couldn’t wait to find out if Liz would manage to work out who the Tri-State Killer was before she ended up as one of his victims!

The chilling story was cleverly plotted and well paced and I was never quite sure who was telling the truth. I suspected several different characters as they were all rather suspicious at times and there were a few hints and red herrings.

It was an intense read and I could sympathise with Liz’s feelings after discovering that she was adopted – she felt like her whole life had been a lie and that she’d been let down by everyone in her family, a lot of whom knew she was adopted. She almost rejects her parents in her desperation to discover the truth about her ancestry and she becomes obsessed with trying to work out which of her relatives is the Tri-State Killer. She’s lucky that Andie and her boyfriend, Travis, are so supportive. There were lots of tense moments as Liz kept putting herself in danger.

This was an intriguing and entertaining story and I find it fascinating that it was written by two authors! I understand they’re releasing another book in six months’ time so I’m already looking forward to that one!

An unusual and thought-provoking thriller that has a believable contemporary edge. This is a detailed and thoughtfully plotted story. It explores the emotional consequences of discovering your ancestry is not what you expected. It's atmospheric, and each character is well-drawn, moving the story forward to its climactic conclusion.

I received a copy of this book from Avon Books via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This was an absorbing story with great descriptions that made one feel part of the story. Lots of tension, great characters and a believable storyline. Good build up to the conclusion with some unexpected characters. The final paragraphs were a great addition!

After taking a DNA test, Liz Catalano is shocked to discover that she is adopted. Feeling that her whole life has been a lie, she is determined to find her biological family in order to discover where she actually came from. What starts as a family search soon turns into something more sinister – her DNA is connected to a notorious serial killer who has been operating for decades. The Tri-State killer abducts pairs of young women, keeping them hostage before killing them and it would seem that time is running out for his latest victims. With Liz desperate to get to know her new family, is she walking straight into a trap that will see her becoming the next victim?

As a family historian who loves reading books about serial killers, the blurb for this book ticked all of the boxes for me. I have enjoyed reading genealogical fiction for many years but it is only recently that I have seen authors venture into the world of DNA, something that I feel opens up so many potential storylines. In The Family Tree, this is used with great effect as we see Liz dealing with not only the news of her adoption but that her biological family contains an active serial killer.

I really felt for Liz and although I felt her treatment of her adoptive family was, initially, very poor, I could understand her desire to seek out her roots. Even after she discovered the reality of her biological family, it was easy to see why she did not want to break this newly-found bond, even if it was with a serial killer.

The story moves on at a good pace, providing clues and red herrings about who the killer is. We do get to read about the unnamed killer in flashback chapters where we are introduced to his particularly sadistic crimes. This is one terrifying individual, the scenes made even more chilling with his captives’ realisation that others have gone before them.

The Family Tree is an easy to read book with a great plot that kept me more than entertained. Highly recommended.

What a brilliant book I was hooked right from the very start.

The twist and turns in the book are amazing and keep you guessing all the way through.

An original premise and interesting characters with a fast paced plot but it does stretch incredulity a little too far at times.

I think programmes like “Long Lost Families” should use this book as a guide to finding your ancestors and unknown family because it seems very easy to do!
I didn’t like the characters and thought 5he ending dull. Just not for me.