What would you do if you found out you were adopted and there was a Serial Killer in your biological family? I know I wouldn’t actively search for him but Liz Catalano is a woman on a mission and the book follows her search not just for information about her real family but also which one is the serial killer.

I thought this was such a good idea for a book and how it linked up with the DNA provided for the ancestry kit. Even though I didn’t warm to Liz at all (I just kept shaking my head at all the decisions she made) I was fascinated as to what she was going to discover.

The book is told from the point of view of Liz which is broken up with chapters from the girls who are taken by the Tri-State Killer in chronological order. These were definitely my favourite parts of the book. They had me on the edge of my seat and I loved how you found out little bits about what the killer did which was then continued but with a different set of girls. It flowed perfectly and at times I felt like I was reading an episode of Criminal Minds.

It was fast paced and I was racing through it to read more about the victims. I was on the edge of my seat near the end when Liz visits a family member and everything starts to come together. My only issue is that I would have liked a slightly different ending but that’s just my opinion. However the ending was definitely twisty and the epilogue certainly leaves you feeling unsettled.

Liz Catalano's cousin, Andie, gifted her with a DNA ancestry test kit, and the results weren't quite what Liz was expecting. A call to her mom brought another surprise rather than a reasonable answer.

A secret that went on for far too long is now coming to light, and Liz is devastated to learn she was adopted. That was kept from her until the results of the DNA test results came back.

Liz pulls back from her family and decides to try to find her biological family. Upon Andie's boyfriends' suggestion, Liz uploads her results onto another website that checks all ancestry platforms to make connections. Liz elects to opt-in to give law enforcement access.

Little does Liz know that opting-in, it will open a whole new can of worms. FBI agents contact her about a familiar link into a case. There is a serial killer in the family. Liz is over the moon when she receives a notification from one of her matches and learns of her mother's name. This little bit of news drives Liz to want to get to know the new family members as well as learn more about her mom.

The story is told from Liz's point of view and the victims. Although I understood how Liz would want to learn more about where she came from, it drove me crazy that she ignored the FBI warnings because she couldn't fully support what they believed. The Uncle and Aunt were a tad odd in their behavior, that alone would've had me bugging out. Liz's dream of becoming an investigating reporter lead her to pursue issues that she should've left alone, she became obsessed with calling another unknown family member, who was also a suspect, despite having left him a message. So many times I wanted to tell her to just stop! The ending put Liz in a dangerous situation and was a total surprise.

I received an ARC from NetGalley via Avon Books UK and I have voluntarily reviewed this book.

This is a really fantastic suspenseful thriller!

I really loved the concept of this book. I've read a lot of thrillers but never one based around DNA and a long lost family. It was a very clever idea.

I loved the writing too. It was easy to read and kept me on the edge of my seat guessing till the very end.

I did not see the ending coming at all and the very end was very intriguing.

I enjoyed the structure of this book between the present day and the serial killer. It made the book really hard to put down.

I'll definitely be interested in reading more from these authors in the future.

If you are looking for a new, suspenseful and very well written thriller to read, I highly recommend this one.

TW: violence, murder, gore, sexism and drugs

A simple look back at her family tree has terrible consequences. Not only is Liz adopted but it appears she is related to a serial killer. Now the FBI are interested in her along with the victims of the Tri-State-Killer. A book for all crime lovers. Suspense all the way.

Compelling Suspense….
A DNA test, an unknown family background and a notorious serial killer. What’s your family tree hiding? Anything? Or nothing at all. An ancestry kit changes everything for for Liz Catalano and when she discovers that she’s adopted she sets out to discover more about her blood relatives - with devastating results that she could never have foreseen. A compelling suspense with a clever angle and very readable narrative. A thoroughly engaging read.

Well... this hit the ground running and didn't let up until the very last page, keeping me rapt throughout. It was also quite novel in it's plotting and execution.
Liz's world is rocked when her DNA reveals her to have been adopted. But, if that wasn't enough, further investigations in tracing her blood line leads her to a massive and rather shocking discovery. She has a DNA link to an open FBI case. And not just any old case. One that has been going on a while - the Tri-State Killer, who has been abducting pairs of women for some 40 odd years. Just as she has started to connect to her few remaining live blood-relations, she has to come to terms with the fact that one of them is a serial killer. Life's really becoming a bit of a btch for her...! Especially when the FBI let slip that there is a live case on their books...
Oh wow! This book broke my deadlock of reading quite samey books. A slump I quite often get myself into with the sheer amount I read. Sometimes I really should take a break but I can't ever manage to do this so a change is really as good an option as I can get and this book was a very welcome injection of fresh blood for me.
Ok so, for full disclosure, there were a few things that I didn't quite find completely convincing along the way but these were only few in number and low in intensity on the niggle scale so, with everything else going great guns, I was well able to accept and move on. nothing I read jarred me enough to irk me massively. I do however think that there was sufficient not completely resolved at the end to warrant a sequel - whether that is part of the author's plan already ?
Another thing I did like with this book was that the suspect field wasn't massive at the start. Sometimes authors flood books with multiple suspects that fall in and out of favour with the detectives, muddying the water along the way, and that can sometimes get a bit wearing at times.
All in all, an intriguing thriller that kept me on my toes throughout, leaving me wholly satisfied at the end. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Wow! Just wow! This book took me on one hell of a ride and I thoroughly loved every second of its dark and twisty pages!

“The DNA results are back. And there’s a serial killer in her family tree..”

The blurb to the book immediately grabbed my attention, as well as the bold red cover. When Liz Catalano, 28, sends off her DNA through a gifted genealogical ancestry kit (23 and me), not only does she discover she’s adopted but as she begins to investigate her biological family and background, she ends up thrust into an FBI INVESTIGATION of the notorious Tri-State Killer! Who has left a trail of bodies in his wake spanning over 40 years?! Mind-blowing or what?!

I really liked how this book was set out. It is told in Lizs narrative BUT the chapters are separated by the individual abduction/crimes from the victims, working through in chronological order, each time revealing a little bit more about the possible identity of the Tri-State Killer before returning to the present and Liz’s emotional whirlwinds, revelations and discoveries. It think this worked brilliantly throughout the book and have it an dark, compelling feel the further you delve into it. Its got a good pace to it and for me, I found it difficult to put down, I just didn’t want to stop reading! In fact, I finished the last 50% in one sitting.

The serial killer plot itself is great! The authors have clearly researched the characters well, particularly of the authoritative roles in the story. Liz’s character development from beginning to end, clearly portrays the emotional whirlwind she’s going through as she learns more and more, and you can really feeling that inner turmoil as she begins to question the innocence of her new blood relatives.

How the story played out in my head was a bit like a tv series, with each victims chapter and Liz’s follow up, playing out like episodes but while still working and flowing into each other as the story progressed. It was great! It’s full of twists and turns, and some shocking revelations as the truth finally comes to light! I was not expecting that, I was so certain I had it sussed! THEN that last chapter!! Well, that threw me, I was convinced the boy was going to be someone else (I won’t mention who I thought as I am trying my hardest not to give any spoilers away but if you read the book, I think you will share my thoughts on who I’d predicted it to be).

Overall, this was a great read! I love crime thrillers and this book was that and then some! If you are like me and enjoy Netflix crime documentaries, plus a dark, twisty story full of surprises, then this is the book is for you!

** I received an advanced copy of this ebook to read and review. Thank you NetGalley, the authors and publisher for allowing me this opportunity **

Loved it - Could not put it down!

The Family Tree has twists and turns throughout that I did not see coming. It was a real page turner for me which I would highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for my ARC.

Liz gets persuaded to take an ancestry DNA test by her cousin Andie. Little did she know it would soon expose a family secret, leading her down the path of a serial killer.

The story flicks between Liz and the Tri State Killers 24 victims. Each victim you read about more is revealed as to how the Tri State Killer would torture his victims, which I thought was a novel way of writing a crime/thriller book, normally I would read everything from the point of the detective, where all the murders have already been committed.

Liz was a bit childish and annoying. For 27 I did think she should grow up a bit, although if I was told I was adopted at 33 would I act the same? Probably!

I didn’t guess who the Tri State Killer was, I thought I knew but this person didn’t even cross my mind. This to be is the sign of a good book, as I had just spent 350 pages assuming it was someone all signs pointed to.

I would like to know what happened to some characters who just seemed to drop off the end of the world with no explanation. I am assuming there is going to be a book 2 judging from the end, which I will be picking up, so hopefully all will be explained then.

All in all a nice quick read, it wasn’t too taxing. As holiday season approaches this makes a fab by the pool book where you can lose yourself.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book but it looked and sounded good. And it definitely didn’t disappoint! I really enjoyed reading it, I loved following the story and finding out what happens in this situation as finding out your adopted must be hard alone, never mind finding out your related to a serial killer!

It was an easy read and it flowed well. I followed the story and had my own theories, the writing definitely led your way of thinking so the ending was abit of a shocker however I did have a few theories which weren’t far off the truth!

The only negative, was I found myself ending up skim reading some of the chapters from the past as I just wanted to know what happened with the present!

But the epilogue, wow! I didn’t expect that and my words are literally ‘oh no!’ 🤣

Liz lives a normal life, flat sharing with her cousin Andie in Brooklyn. Her whole being is thrown into turmoil when her cousin gifts her a DNA test in order to discover her ancestry. The first shock is discovering she has no relatives in common with her cousin. Demanding answers from her parents, they reveal they adopted her as a baby. Still reeling from this devastating development she sets about finding her biological family. Eventually Cris and his wife Rosie get in contact and she meets her new found relatives. The second shock comes from a visit by the FBI who say her DNA partially matches that of a serial killer. Threatening to become overwhelmed with this turn of events, Liz doesn’t know who to turn to or who to trust but knows she won’t rest until she has answers. Creepy, dark and twisty with intense fear seeping from every chapter, this book is most definitely a page turner with a final twist that has me hoping for a sequel.

Imagine growing up, living through childhood, teens, twenties and then all of a sudden finding out you are adopted. Well, this is what happens to Liz when her cousin Andie buys her a DNA ancestry test kit for a bit of fun!

After finding out her parents are not in fact her biological parents she starts her search, soon finding out that her mother was in prison for a drug related crime. She registers her DNA details with the police database in the hope of finding out more about her mother, only to have the FBI contact her saying they have matched her DNA to the Tri-State serial killer who has been abducting and murdering pairs of women for 40 years!

This had me page turning from the first few pages. It is full on, chilling and very dark at times, which just added to the need for me to keep on reading. I read this in a day as I just couldn’t put it down.

It is written in chapters from the point of view of Liz, then in the next chapter we discover more about the abducted women. It then rotates in chapters like this which was brilliant. The chapters about each pair of abducted women reveals more each time to what the killer actually does with the women and what he makes them do whilst in captivity. The descriptive writing was fabulous and sometimes quite graphic. I could picture the events as if I was actually there. This would make a perfect movie!

I found myself shouting at Andie in my head several times, saying “No, don’t do it”. You will have to read it to find out why. If you are a psychological thriller fan I am pretty sure you will enjoy this. I can’t fault it at all and is in my top 10 reads of the year for sure.

As for the ending.............brilliant!

Thank you to netgalley, the publishers and the authors for an arc.

Publication day is 10th June.

Steph and Nicole make a perfect match in this extraordinary novel.
What would you do if you not only discovered that you had been adopted at the age of twenty seven but also part of your DNA matches that of a serial killer?
This is what happened to Liz Catalano when her cousin Andie gave her a ancestry kit to try.
The -State Killer has been at large for over four decades and Liz is the only link that the FBI have as to finding him.
But Liz needs her own answers and after receiving a message from her Grand Uncle Cris and his wife Rosie she can't help but meet them.
Is she putting herself and her loved ones in danger? And will she live to tell the tale?

The Family Tree - Steph Mullin & Nicole Mabry

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books and I am leaving this review voluntarily

The DNA results are back. And there’s a serial killer in her family tree…

Liz Catalano is shocked when an ancestry kit reveals she’s adopted. But she could never have imagined connecting with her unknown family would plunge her into an FBI investigation of a notorious serial killer…

I thought that this was a very interesting concept with chapters switching between Liz and the victims of the Tri-State killer however I really struggled to connect with the book.

Liz is unaware that she is adopted and her search to find her real family brings her to the attention of the FBI. Personally I thought that Liz was ungrateful towards her adoptive parents as she struggled to come to terms with the fact that she was adopted.

Overall this is a fast-paced story with a unique concept but it was not the book for me.

Rating 3/5

As someone who has a huge passion for thrillers (especially those featuring serial killers) and genealogy alike, reading this was just a no brainer. And oh boy, did this just give me the goosebumps!

Told from the POV of the serial killer and Liz (who unfortunately does a DNA kit test and discovers her past isn’t what she believed it to be...) it grips you from the get go and takes no prisoners (no pun intended...!) The chapters told from the POV of the serial killer and the girls who have been taken sets the chills right through you. I love a baddie but my goodness, is this one cruel! My heart was breaking for these girls (I had to keep reminding myself it was fiction!) The authors transport you right there with them, feeling their fear, their despair, and ultimately their sad acceptance of their fate.

I felt Liz’s determination to find the answers to her abundance of questions after finding herself in such a situation.

It was pacey, suspenseful, and creepy. I’m not often a heart in the throat kinda gal (I like my books dark) but I was so invested in the characters that my heart was indeed in my throat at parts! The characterisation is just exquisite. And excuse me, that ending??!! Mind blown!

Read it. Read it now. You won’t be disappointed!!!

The Family Tree by Steph Mullin and Nicole Mabry tells the story of Liz, a twenty-something woman who lives in Brooklyn with her cousin. She dreams of becoming a journalist one day. When she is gifted a DNA test she finds out she has been adopted! Upset with her parents, she lashes out at them and shuts them out. Liz doesn't know what to think. Her whole life has been a lie. Liz finds out through DNA results that she has a grand uncle and soon meets him and his wife. She likes them and is happy to learn about her birth mother, Teresa. However, not long after the DNA test the FBI is at Liz's door. It seems she is related to the Tri State Killer, a man who abducts women who are usually roommates, keeps them 9 months, and then kills them. He has done this every 2 years since 1974! This completely freaks Liz out and she goes into investigative mode. She starts investigating the men in her new biological family to see who might be guilty.
I enjoyed way this story was told. Interspersed between chapters from Liz's perspective were the stories of the victims of the Tri State Killer in chronological order. It was very interesting to read what happened to them while they were in captivity. I liked the character of Liz and her struggle to find her bio family and also deal with her adopted family and the feelings that come with that kind of bombshell. The only complaint I have is that I would have liked to know how the Tri State Killer disposed of his victims and more detail on that and how they were found. I will definitely read any other books by these authors. This was a fun and exciting read! Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I usually avoid books where it’s a collaboration of two authors but this one piqued my interest, and I’m glad I gave it a read.
Two authors, two strands to one story, almost alternate chapters
Strand one. Liz gets a DNA Ancestry kit as a present, but doesn’t get the results she was expecting. She is adopted, her birth mother a drug addict in prison. Her father, that’s a mystery she hopes to solve
Strand two, a serial killer who’s been active for 40 years and has only ever left one fuzzy CCTV image and a small piece of DNA in all that time.
So when Liz uploads her DNA to another site, and ticks the allow law enforcement access box, it’s no Se she gets a visit from the FBI
This is a good original story told from two great points of view.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon Books UK for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! When I read the synopsis about the book I was intrigued, and I have to say I am so glad it didn't disapoint. I was hooked from turning the first page. I managed to finish it in about 3 hours as I just literally couldn't put it down.

Liz is gifted a DNA kit by her Cousin and when the results come back she finds out she is adopted. Reeling from the shock, she is further disturbed when she is contacted by the FBI to say her DNA has possible genetic matches to a serial Killer, who is still unidentified and continues to kill. We follow 29 year old Liz Catalano on a rollercoaster journey as she tries to make connections with her biological family, unsure of who she can trust.

The book is beautifully written, whilst we learn about Liz we also have the stories of all the girls abducted rolling alongside. The description of their captivity is brilliant and makes you scared to keep turning the pages it is so deliciously dark, especially when the killer refers to them as a number which keeps increasing overtime without you actually finding out what happened to them. It is so good, I can see this book becoming a film at some point in the future. And that ending...I will wait with bated breath for what I hope will become another book.

It’s been a rainy week and The Family Tree has been the perfect thriller to cozy up and read.

Liz and Andie are roommates/best friends/cousins. Andie buys Liz a DNA test thinking it will just be a fun way to get to know more of their family history. After Liz takes the test, she is surprised to find out she is adopted and had no idea.

Liz goes down a rabbit hole trying to find out more information on her birth family. As she gets to know and grow close with some of her birth family, she receives a call from the FBI stating she has the same DNA as a serial killer. Liz starts to spiral and question everything. Can there really be a serial killer in her newfound family? They seem so normal?

I received a copy of this e-arc in exchange for an honest review thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. When I read the blurb, it sounded right up my street!

It is written in dual perspectives - one being the kidnappings/murders which are set in the past and the other is Liz in the present.

As the murderer follows the same routine each time, the stories for each pair of women shows how the routine progresses by picking up where the previous pair left off. It’s a very clever way of writing the full story without giving it all away in 1 chapter.

I love a good thriller and this is one that kept me on the edge of my seat! It’s so clever and complex how the murders were planned out. I did find some of the torture scenes very graphic!

The one thing that was a let down was the murderer reveal. I expected so much more after the build up but it just fell flat. However I really liked the epilogue with the reveals of other details for the murders!

I definitely recommend this book to thriller lovers!