Luke Ryders lifeless body was found in the garden of an affluent home in West London in 2003. He had been murdered. The only person in the home at the time was his sleeping ten year old stepson. The Metropolitan police were unable to solve the case. Twenty years later and Netflix are making a documentary about the cold case. The producer has bought in his own Transatlantic team of forensic, legal, psychological, and policing experts. And so begins a twisted tale....excellently executed. What a brilliant book

This books was really well done in both the format and storytelling. It is written like a TV script and had my attention from the first page. There were some great twists and I found myself unable to put it down until I reach the end. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and any fans of Cara Hunter will love this standalone.

This read like a true crime documentary and it was so good, I was riveted!!. There was such a lot of information flying out at you from the pages that I was desperately trying to work out who the killer was!.
The characters were fantastic and battled amongst themselves to be the ones who had brought the best information on the suspects, finding clues to work out the identities of eye witnesses and further clues to proceed in the investigation. I was hooked from the start and thought this was very cleverly put together by Cara Hunter. Brilliant!!
I received a free arc book for an honest review.
#aNetgalley, #Harpercollinsuk. #carahunterauthor.

An unusual format for a book this one - written as a true crime TV series as presented live with further dialogue/interactions in between episodes. A clever and bold format for a book.
Unfortunately, to me, it felt a bit too much like reality TV (which I'm not a great fan of) and so I couldn't quite warm to it. As there were several characters to keep track of you never really quite get to feel for any of the characters individually involved in the show either. One final point to mention is that it didn't quite show up correctly at times on my Kindle (Paperwhite), when giving extracts of emails, telephone messages and the intro between episodes all lost formatting, which detracted a bit from the intended impact.
However, despite these three negative points, overall the book is good and recommended, not least on the back of the unusual format. Haven't read one like it before!

When Luke Ryder was murdered outside his home in 2003, the police never found out who was responsible. Now a true crime show hopes to uncover the truth about what really happened.

Murder in the Family is such an exciting story that I loved reading.

I absolutely adored the format of the book - interviews, TV recordings, voice note transcripts, newspaper clippings - it had it all. Sometimes I would even forget that it was fictional because it was so immersive and felt real. It actually felt like I was reading true crime.

As I found myself nearing the end I realised I that just didn't want it to finish because I was having too much fun with it. It is full of twists and surprises, with characters that I felt completely invested in.

This is one of those books that you just won't be able to put down.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Luke Ryder was killed in the grounds of his home but no-one has ever been charged with his murder. When his step son Guy, a wannabe film maker get together a team to do a TV docudrama, gradually facts unfold. Told as a TV script, the tale gradually unravels. As you would expect from Cara Hunter, there are many twists with a great ending.
Recommended

I love cara hunter. She is very brave to try a standalone novel in this format. The story is about finding out who killed Luke a cold case about a man found dead in the garden by his step daughter.. Told on the format of a show with txt nessages voicemail sms etc and script. It is very different and requires a fair bit of concentration.
As always the twists and turns are so engaging and unexpected. Each format is crafted together to offer various red herrings. I gueesed wrongly and loved the teists and turned. The format kept me entertained. The only thing i didnt like was only drips and drabs about the characters were revealed. However this was due to the format it had to be more about the murder than the characters. The skillful unwrapping of the characters in the documentary added to the tension. It was so different and it did work well.
Highly recommended as long as toy concentrate. Thank you netgallery and publisher for my arc

I am a huge Cara Hunter fan with the Fawley series being one of my recent favourites, so was very excited to get a copy of her new standalone!

In Murder In The Family we are taken through a revisit to a popular cold case via a reality TV show following Guy, a filmmaker who is still haunted by the unsolved death of his stepfather 20 years ago. He decides to enlist the help of a true crime documentary maker and a group of specialists to go over the case with a fine tooth comb to finally get some closure on what happened that night.

Told mainly via the show transcript, but also incorporating news articles, text messages and emails, the format can take some getting used to, but as Hunter uses a similar method with her series, and having a read a few other books in this format, I found it quite easy to get into. I really enjoyed the relatively slow build up, but the last 30-ish% was like an out of control rollercoaster, in a good way! I definitely needed a lie down at the end!!

Very highly recomended if you like you mysteries super-twisty in a fresh format.

Also, read the Fawley series if you haven't yet, thank me later!

The unsolved murder case of Luke Ryder is still a mystery 20 years later. Step son, Guy Howard, aged 10 at the time of the murder, wants to know the truth. He embarks on creating a Netflix docuseries with a group of experts to solve the case.

Cara presents this novel in an unusual format, more like a script. It is written well, but took some time to get used to it. As it was mostly dialogue, there was little description about setting and I didn’t really connect with the characters. However, it has a good plot with many unexpected twists and turns. I didn’t want to put the book down!

A good and interesting read, but not my favourite Cara Hunter book. I loved the DI Adam Fawley series and preferred that writing style to this one. I can definitely see this being an actual Netflix Series though.

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins UK, AND Cara Hunter for this book and the opportunity to review it.

I will read everything Cara Hunter ever writes - she never lets you down. I loved the format of this with the making of a true crime TV series being the vehicle for solving the crime. It's a riveting page-turner although I will take off one star for the fact that you can see the ending coming.

Unfortunately I couldn’t get into the way this book was written. I like Cara Hunters novels but not in this style.

This book is ‘novel’ in that the drama of the cold case plays out on live TV in the True Crime Netflix Series. Included in the book are scripts, interviews, emails, text messages, newspaper articles, maps & the CVs of the experts with photographs. The format of the book made it difficult to read especially on a phone. Unfortunate.
I received an Advanced Reader Copy from NetGalley & I am writing a voluntary honest review

Twenty years ago a murder occurred in Camden Hill, an exclusive, rich area in London. Now the murder is revisited.
And so, through the eyes of the sensational cold-case TV series, Infamous, we learn more of what the police discovered in 2003 ... but a whole lot more besides. The Director, the thirty-year-old step-son of the deceased who professes that he wants to know the truth whatever it may be ...
I loved this book. Lots of twists - some slightly predictable, several less so. The format, clips from newspapers reporting on the show as it progresses, clips from 2003 publications made this feel like a more accessible and engaging read than if it had just been written as a book. The only issue for me reading on a kindle was that some of these images couldn't be enlarged in the way the rest of the script could be and were a bit of a struggle to read - could just be an issue with an old kindle. I can't imagine it being an issue in a paperback.

4.5.

In her Adam Fawley series Cara Hunter is famous for using texts, emails, maps and diagrams, social media posts, and other forms of media to add realism to the story she’s telling as well as to keep things fresh and interesting. In her first standalone thriller, Murder in the Family, she takes things a step further, not only utilising all of the above and more, but also having the case unfold piece by pice, shock by shock (and boy were there some gasp out loud moments) in the form of an eight episode weekly true crime TV series. The reality documentary focused on an unsolved twenty year old cold crime, with a group of experts examining the evidence, interviewing witnesses and suspects, and hoping to uncover new leads in front of a live audience. And as mentioned by the producer in this novel, I also thought it an innovative and unique way to structure a crime plot. I was utterly immersed in the plot from the first page to the last, so much so that I found myself trying to expand the ‘comments’ on the reddit style message board pertaining to the case, to no avail since they were part of the layout – ha, ha. Okay, so maybe the format wasn’t a great way to grow attached to the characters, but unlike the loveable Fawley and his team, I don’t think these characters were supposed to be likeable or sympathetic, so I feel it worked.

I had to mark off half a point because I did guess whodunit, but I loved how we got there (so many twists and turns to relish), and that last reveal I didn’t see coming – so well played. I also loved the tie-in to And Then There Were None – kudos to the author for using that theme in the original way that she did. Cara Hunter never fails to wow me, and Murder in the Family was no exception. Look out for this title on the 20th July, 2023. I read the e-book but I’m sure it’d be amazing as an audiobook – in fact I’m tempted to buy myself a copy.

I’d like to thank Netgalley UK, Harper Collins UK, and Cara Hunter for the e-ARC.

I loved this format!
I was unsure at first as the graphics don't show so well on a kindle and you can't enlarge them. I thought I would probably give up initially but I soon got into it and once the story took hold it didn't feel a problem anymore.
I thoroughly enjoyed this way of recounting the events, so easy to understand and so up to date.
The storyline itself was gripping, especially with the cliffhangers at the end of the broadcasts and all the developments and twists.
Think this is my favourite book of the year so far.

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

I love Cara Hunter's books and this one was one of her best. So expertly written, intriguing full of suspense. Fabulous.

Thank you to Netgalley for gifting me this proof arc. This was my first time reading a Cara Hunter book and I liked the experience.
Wasn't sure what I was expecting since the format of the book is different but after a while I got used to it.
The book didn't keep me hooked as I wanted it to but a good, twisty thriller nonetheless.

I’d like to thank HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction and NetGalley for the opportunity to read ‘Murder In The Family’ by Cara Hunter in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

In October 2003 Luke Ryder is found dead in his garden and twenty years later his filmmaker stepson Guy Howard who was ten at the time decides to reopen the case, examine the evidence and use it for one of his ‘Infamous’ true crime shows. He brings together a group of investigators including a police officer, a retired detective from NYPD, a lawyer, a freelance journalist, a criminal prosecutor and a forensic investigator in an attempt to do what the police were unable to and identify the murderer.

I don’t think there are any books by Cara Hunter that I haven’t enjoyed and although the initial description of ‘Murder In The Family’ caught my attention I struggled to get involved with the plot. The story is written in the format of text messages, newspaper articles, emails and interviews which didn’t translate easily onto my Kindle and I had to squint at times to read the print which was small and often blurred. It’s evident a lot of work has been put into the writing of this standalone thriller and although I so wanted to love it I didn’t find it gripping or interesting enough to want to continue reading and skimmed over a lot of the content. I’m so sorry I can’t be more positive but this is purely my opinion and I’m sure there’ll be lots of readers who’ll enjoy it but unfortunately I wasn’t one of them this time.

Back in 2003 Guy Howard's stepfather was murdered. The murderer has never been found.
Twenty years later Guy is now a film director and is collaborating on a true crime series to find out what happens. The producer has collected to together expert witnesses to help with this and the investigation will form a 6 part netflix series. The book is written in the form of episodes of the series, audience reaction and clippings.
The team look to Australia where Luke Ruder, the stepfather was from. The journey takes them to Beirut, Alabama, New York and Greece, There are a series of reveals and the team find that the producer seems to know more that he has revealed at times.
A twisting tale with lots of red herrings in true Agatha Christie style. I did not want to put this down.

I was so excited to read this after reading and loving all Cara's previous books, and I'm glad to report that this one didn't disappoint.

The book is well written and includes various media extracts scattered throughout the book, which is something you may need to get used but it is a format Cara has used through all her books and something I have grown to love, as it makes the story feel more realistic and believable. The story is gripping, but the plot itself felt slow-moving, but I still raced through it.

Again, I did work out "who dunnit" earlier in the book, but with plenty of twists and turns in the plot, I did question if I was missing something.

The characters are also well-written, but I didn't find any of them particularly likeable.

I've not gone into too much detail about the plot or the characters as it would lead to spoilers, and also, you need to go into this knowing as little as possible.

This is a great standalone, and I can't wait to read more from Cara soon.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publishers HarperCollins UK for my digital review copy (eARC).

These are my honest and unbiased thoughts, and I am sharing them voluntarily.