I adore Cara hunter but I felt let down by this book. I really struggled to get into it even though I felt so excited by it. By the end I didn’t care about the plot nor the characters which makes me sad.

This story is told in a unique way in the form of a play script. The story is investigating a cold case through the theme of a tv show. At first it is hard to get into reading this, but after a while the story takes over and you want to find out what happens.

Cara Hunter is now one of my favourite authors, I can’t believe it has taken me so long to discover her! This book represents an investigation into a cold case and is has a very similar presentation to a to documentary. It took me a little while to adjust to the format but once I did I was totally hooked.

Another bloody brilliant Cara Hunter novel!

In October 2003, Luke Ryder was found dead in the garden of the family home in London, leaving behind a wealthy older widow and three stepchildren. Nobody saw anything... or so they say?

Years later a group of experts re-examine the evidence on an infamous, a true-crime show – with shocking results.

Does the team know more than they’ve been letting on?

Or does the truth lie closer to home?

Can you solve the case before they do?

Murder in the Family by Cara Hunter was a 3.5⭐️ for me. I liked the format and sleuth concept of this story I just felt like it got a little too much at times. But I was definitely shocked at the ending. There was some really good parts to this and then there were times it felt like over kill.
Thanks HarperCollins via NetGalley.

I need to start this by explaining the 3 stars as Cara Hunter is an author whose books I usually love and often give 5 stars to, however sadly the format of this one just made it super hard to read, for me.

That said, the story itself is good and wonderfully crafted with characters that all felt slippery and untrustworthy making for a head scratching whodunnit, but I found it hard work pulling that out of the way the information is presented and found myself skipping the printed bits and attempting to join the dots. I read it on kindle and wonder if this would work so much better as an audio book?

My thanks to NetGalley and the (honestly brilliant, don't let this review but you off of her incredible books) author for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Loved this book

Took awhile to get in to the format but when i did it definitely added to the reading experience kept me guessing and working out right until the end

Loved the style, sharing all the evidence and research so you can feel like you’re solving the cold case with the characters. A great read, one I couldn’t put down!

It took me a few restarts to get into this book and adapt to the format it is written in. I enjoyed the style of the writing but felt bombarded with characters - making it very hard to keep up with. Constant twists that keep you guessing throughout.

Loved this one!! Loved how it was set out, loved the story, especially loved the twist at the end did not see that coming!!

I was eagerly anticipating reading this novel that had been generating a lot of buzz online. However, when it came to reviewing and rating the book, I found myself facing a bit of a challenge. I dithered between three and four stars for some time.

That being said, the plot was enthralling, filled with suspense and drama that kept me engaged from start to finish. The characters were all deeply flawed, which created a dynamic and tense group dynamic that added to the overall appeal of the story. The ending was a complete surprise, and I was impressed by the author's ability to craft such a well-rounded and intricate storyline, giving each character an equal amount of importance. Hunter's mastery skills are evident, making this book an ideal choice for a book club read, with plenty of discussion points to explore.

However, my main issue with this book is its format. I found the chapters in the printed version to be too lengthy, which made it a bit tedious to read at times. I believe that the audiobook version would be a better choice, with each character having their own distinctive voice, making it sound more like a documentary and adding to the overall experience.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book to fans of murder mysteries and thrillers. However, I would caution readers who struggle with complexity to approach this book with caution, and perhaps read with a notepad to hand, as it does require a bit of effort to fully appreciate the details of the story.

Another great read from Cara Hunter. Loved the storyline and it had me looked from the beginning. Definitely a recommended read.

Thank you Netgalley

I love Cara Hunter’s books, the Adam Fawley series is incredible.
Murder in the Family is very different in its layout and writing style, perhaps it was just that which threw me.
That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it, it has a fantastic plot which really grabbed me
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy, sorry I’m so late with my review.

Cara's Hunter's writing leaps off the page. The mixed media style really worked for the book, and the twists kept me guessing. I'll definitely read other books by this author.

A fantastic book with plenty of twists and turns. I recommend to thriller lovers! This is the first book that I have read by Cara Hunter but I would definitely purchase some of her others. Cara has an excellent style of writing that keeps the reader guessing!

Thank you to Cara Hunter and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This book was an instant buy for me, after absolutely loving Cara Hunter's DI Adam Fawley series. And I absolutely wasn't disappointed!

The format of the book was utterly fascinating to see. The story was told through the use of newspaper articles, scripts, emails, graphs, pictures, and various formats, and I absolutely loved it! It genuinely felt like I was part of the story, solving the crime. It was so much fun and just visually exciting. It helps that the story itself was also clever, gripping, and had me hooked from start to finish!

The twists never kept coming, and while there was a lot going on, I never once felt confused or lost. This book had me in it's grips and didn't let go!

Cara Hunter proves yet again what an INCREDIBLE writer she is, and I absolutely can't wait for her next!

I HUGELY recommend this one!

I thought this was just okay. I liked the concept more than the actual book. True crime shows are everywhere these days and the book drew on that really well but it wasn’t a particularly stand out read for me.

A very fun and unique read, I love anything that reads a bit differently and the story itself was interesting with lots of great twists!

I have had this book on my TBR for quite some time and it's one of those that I've really wanted to get to but have never quite found the right moment. Now was the right moment.

What draw me to this book initially was the mixed media as it's something I always find engaging. I really liked that the entire story was told via interviews, transcripts of the show, internet posts, articles; you name it, it was thrown in there. It made for interesting reading and was super immersive. I also liked that the story was based on a classic murder mystery locked room format. The murderer was amongst us the entire time and at some points, it was fair game and could have been any one of them. Although I was kept guessing throughout, there was a period of the book where I felt a little exasperated. There were so many coincidences and so many complexities that it felt like a lot of hard work trying to keep up. However that did pass once the truth started to spill out.

None of these characters were likeable. There was something that irritated me about each of them; some more than others. All of them had a secret that they held back that was inevitably going to come out at some point and it didn't feel realistic to me that they truly that they could keep their past involvement in the case hidden. I'm not convinced that any of their intentions were honest.

Overall this was a really entertaining murder mystery and I really liked the mixed media format. I do wish I'd read the hard copy as opposed to the kindle copy as I think it would have been even more immersive. There were aspects that I wasn't keen on but others that I loved so all in all, it rounded out as a book that I had a good time with.

Wow what a cracking thrilling book. It was one I couldn’t wait to get back to every night. Unexpected turns and dead ends and ultimately satisfying!! Thanks a mill