I wish I had liked this more than I did. The blurb sounded really fun, but the story wasn't really what I wanted it to be.

The pacing mostly didn't work for me, the first 30% especially were so slow, with lots of build-up but nothing happened that was really interesting. After that, the narration kind of just kept going slowly, but there was never really any suspense. Which was a shame, because the story itself was good. There was lots of potential for action and suspense, but it just never really happened.

At some point, everything just became a little far-fetched and unbelievable, which is something I don't like in domestic thrillers specifically. The ending was fine, there was finally some suspense although I also found those things to be resolved too quickly. Everyone just kind of moved on too quickly, without any consequences.

Overall this was an okay read for me, it was short and quick but nothing really memorable, sadly.

Thanks to NetGalley, Simon and Schuster UK and Catherine Steadman for the ARC of The Family Game.

I loved one of Catherine's previous titles Something in the Water so was excited to read The Family Game. It turned out to be a fast paced and gripping thriller that was quite unique in its story line.

No family is perfect, but when Harry meets her finace's family for the first time, it soon becomes aparent that this is like no family she has ever met before. This family like to play games and Harry is fresh meat!

Whilst I did somewhat see the ending coming; the journey to get there held my attention and kept me reading long into the early hours.

You know that feeling of starting a book and being hooked from the first page? This was definitely one of those. I absolutely loved it from start to finish!
Packed full of rich people drama (and who doesn't love reading about that?) this is a mix of that and action, thriller, suspense and a bit of horror thrown in for fun.
Whilst reading this you can 100% picture this being made as a movie. In fact it did remind me in parts of one of my favourite movies Ready Or Not.
I found the writing to be engaging and the plot was well paced. I absolutely flew through this book in two sittings as I couldn't put it down.
This is by far the best book by this author I have read so far.

A powerful family; a secret hidden for decades; a game that gambles with life: an absolutely breath-taking, gripping psychological thriller!

Harriet is a best-selling author and newly engaged to Edward, the first born son belonging to a powerful dynasty, the Holbecks. With wealth and powerful spanning decades, the family are used to getting their own way and Edward has attempted to avoid their influence on his life. As Christmas approaches, he agrees to introduce Harriet to his family as they celebrate the new life they are building. As traditional family games are played, Harriet realises that the stakes are much higher than just competitive spirit. It's actually about survival.

This book truly gripped me. The character of Harriet is a very likable and down to earth character and her exposure to a family of such power and wealth is one that creates sympathy and intrigue in the reader. To join a family as large and complex as the Holbecks is a test in itself and you get the sense of the secrets and underlying dynamics of the family from the outset. It was intriguing to meet the different characters with Harriet and experience the sense of trying to understand their personalities and motives along with her.

The multiple characters making up the family also mean that the jigsaw of the mystery of the family and their secrets is a complicated one and as a reader you are truly guessing until the end about who Harriet needs to be careful of and who she can trust.

A book I literally couldn't put down and one I highly recommend! 5 stars.

Thank you to @catsteadman @simonandschuster and @netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book as an ARC.

Oh wow.
Stir me in the wrong direction and then put me back together kind of book.
I loved it, literally devoured it and had no idea what was going on the entire time.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster UK for the digital ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for letting me read a proof of this, I was over the moon to be allowed to read an early copy.

The book opens with Harriet, a successful young author, in a dangerous situation on her in-law's country estate - and we know that they are the ones who have put her there.

The story then skips back a few months to when Lond0n-based Harriet meets her beloved Edward, who is heir to a huge US fortune. The fortune has been based on generations of family wealth and hard work and Edward is set to inherit everything as the oldest child.

Edward's previous girlfriends have been models, actresses and the like, so Harriet is taken aback when she catches Edward's eye, but the two quickly fall in love and begin planning a future together. This will include moving across the ocean to set up home in New York.

Harriet is an orphan and doesnt have any other family, so she is excited about meeting Edward's family, if understandably nervous. The more she spends time with them, she realises that they have long-standing family traditions and games, and that Family is everything to them. The games are quite sinister - including the one that leads Harriet to be in the previously mentioned dangerous situation... She also has her own secrets to hide, even from Edward and his family.

I liked reading the story though I prefer my crime thrillers to be a bit more realistic personally. The story was well plotted and well-written with lots of unlikeable characters in there - quite handy when there are so many dangerous incidents around every corner!

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Harriet has fallen in love with a man called Edward. Edward is extremely wealthy, and has a wealthy family. His family are also quite strange. It’s a long time before Harriet meets them, but when she does, they’re stranger than she ever thought they could be. They seem to be able to do as they wish, with no come backs, they can also see Harriet and the secret she is hiding. Harriet must fulfil the wishes of the family if she is to become one of them.

This was a great story, completely unique, and not really like anything I’ve read before. I loved the way the story was written, and how the chapters were given specific titles. The store flowed really well, and was full to the brim of ups and downs, twists and turns. The characters were all extremely well written, and Harriet was great. Brave and fearless, with a streak of vulnerability about her. I also really liked her future father in law, Robert. He was a great character. I’ve read all of this authors books, and I feel this is her best yet. Would highly recommend to all.

Harry is a novelist on the brink of stardom; Edward, her husband to be, is seemingly perfect. In love and freshly engaged., their bliss is interrupted by the reemergence of the Holbeck's, Edward's eminent family and the embodiment of American old money. For years, they dominated headlines and pulled society's strings, and Edward left them all behind to forge his own path. But there are eyes and ears everywhere. It was only a matter of time before they were pulled back in.

The Holbeck family is not like any other family. They are one of the most important families in America. The games the family play are terrifying. Especially at Christmas when they play Krampuslauf. Harriet (Harry) is a novelist who is engaged to Edward Holbeck. Her future father-in-law lets her hear a special recording he thinks the content is a great idea for for her next novel. Harry thinks it sounds more like a confession.

I didn't really know what i was expecting when I requested this book, but I wasn't disappointed. It started off slowly and I was nearly quarter way through before anything really happened. The Holbeck's were evil, weird and definitely dysfunctional. I also felt the ending was a bit rushed but it didn't spoil my enjoyment of this book.

I would like to thank #Netgalley #SimonSchuster and the author #CatherineSrteadman for my ARC of #TheFamilygame in exchange for an honest review.

I requested this book as I had read Something in the water, previously and loved it! So of course, I had to have this when I saw it come up.
Now, did it live up to my expectations? Oh….absolutely! This did not disappoint.
A story that messes with you as you read it, can you really trust anyone?
It’s so well written you can’t help but be drawn onto it. The author creates that atmosphere of confusion and throws in twists that will keep you guessing until the end. Another fabulous read, I’d highly recommend this book!
Thank you to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for my arc.
All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.

Heady, Ingenious…
Heady and ingenious. Harriet becomes engaged to Edward Holbeck - heir to a fabulously wealthy and incredibly powerful American family. It’s time to meet the future in-laws and what, really, could possibly go wrong? Let the games begin. Wholly compelling and incredibly immersive, this is a wild ride from start to finish and it just doesn’t let up. Perfectly crafted with a well drawn cast that jump from the page and a swift, edgy narrative leading to a, perhaps, unexpected denouement.

In Catherine Steadman's latest novel, Harriet (Harry) Reed, a British thriller writer, finds herself in a situation few could have dreamed up. Engaged to Edward, son of an outrageously wealthy American family, she's naturally concerned about how they're going to take to her - after all, they've apparently seen off several previous girlfriends.

This family though, welcoming as they initially seem, has its own traditions and games, and the games aren't exactly Monopoly.

Meanwhile Harry, of course, has A Secret, which she is very much not in need of anyone, particularly Edward, finding out about. (You can't blame her; as secrets go, it's a doozy.) Also of course, Harry's secret turns out to be less of a secret than she might hope...

This was a fab juicy read, admittedly far-fetched, but super intriguing and quite sinister at times. (The Krampusnacht business was both completely bizarre and really quite scary.)

Thanks for the opportunity to read and review - loved it.

Twisty, intriguing, well plotted. A sort of mental game that kept me hooked and on the edge.
The characters are interesting even if I didn't found the likeable, the plot is well told, and the twists surprised me
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Another excellent and absorbing twisty thriller from Catherine Steadman who is a superb plotter and always offers up intriguing, complex characters.

Meeting the Fiancée's family is always fraught, in this the family concerned are somewhat of a law unto themselves with a controlling patriarch and dark secrets - what could possibly go wrong?

Well many things obviously and the author throws you around every turn and subtly twists your perceptions right up until the brilliant, epic finale.

Loved it.

WOW! This is one talented writer. Each book gets better. I absolutely loved this and by my favourite book this year. Cannot wait to buy it for my family members. Telling everyone about this unbelievably amazing writer.

We follow mystery fiction author Harriet as she lives her own real life thriller. In the process of marrying into the incredibly affluent Holbeck family, Harry is introduced to the family in a rather unconventional way. After receiving a tape from her soon to be Father-in-law, Harry is slowly made aware that maybe her new family isn’t as perfect as they seem, but then again neither is she. This book is engaging with good hooks that keep you wanting more and great world building that draws you into the story. Finally just as every great thriller this book has ends with a twist no one saw coming.

WOW! What an amazing book
How far would you go to protect your family and your secrets? This was an enthralling read peeking into the lives of the super rich. It has some surprising twists which I just didn't see coming.
This is the sort of book where once you've read it you wish you could go back and read it for the first time again to enjoy that discovery all over again!

5 stars! Riveting read - great world building, characterisation and gripping plot. I flew through it!

What a twisted story with so really great hooks so you don't see the ending coming! Gripping from start to finish.

Harriet Reed, successful author, has hopped across the pond to be with the love of her life, Edward Holbeck, the heir to an all-American multi-conglomerate fortune (think the Roys from Succession).

Edward has long been estranged from his family, and after their engagement, the Holbecks reach out.

Should Harriet trust them? And will they find out her secret?

4/5, good twists and very meta about the genre - read it in about 3 sittings (only because I sadly have to work). Could totally see this being adapted into a series or film.

Wow what an amazing book.
Meeting the in laws is always terrifying right? But these in laws are extremely wealthy, each has hidden secrets that they would go to extreme lengths to hide. A twisted tale of family, games passed down from generation to generation that are more than games.
I was totally addicted to this story from chapter one. The characters are well written and it’s easy to identify and like them. The mystery will keep you turning page after page, needing to know more and unravel years of lies and cover ups.
Highly recommend read.