A stand alone thriller from the writer of the excellent Adam Fawley series. This book has an interesting original format. It is mainly written as a transcript of a "true crime" documentary series about the murder of Luke Ryder.
Over the course of eight episodes a group of handpicked experts revisit the twenty year old crime, with a view to uncovering new evidence.
As each episode is “aired”, astonishing new details come to light that leave the “viewer” with a cliffhanger. There are plenty of twists and surprises to satisfy the readers.
I found the format to be difficult to access at first. The idea that the reader is following a television performance put up a barrier and I felt one step removed from the action. There is no “normal” narrative at all in this book. The documentary transcripts are supplemented by emails, phone messages, whatsap messages and group forum chats. As such the story took some time to flow.
Because of the lack of narrative, the characters are fairly indistinct and lack depth. We only experience them from their spoken word.
It becomes apparent that the producer of the television series is manipulating the contributors and the action, and indeed the reader. There are too many contrived situations. The police apparently did a thorough investigation at the time but now twenty years on the television researchers are able to produce so much new evidence and witnesses that it does beggar belief. When the murder was finally revealed it did not come as a surprise. In true Agatha Christie style, everyone had at some point been in the frame. The ending after all that seemed a bit rushed. The overall feel of the book was of an investigation that was invasive, insensitive and inconsiderate. It left me feeling rather voyeuristic.

Unfortunately I'm unable to read this book at the moment. The images are blacked out and I feel as if I'm missing a chuck of the story if I can't view them. I will probably buy the book and review at a later date.

What I could see from the ebook was the book looks to be in a great format, mixing various ways to tell the story. I love this idea

A standalone crime mystery from the author of the DI Fawley series of books. At first the format of the novel was a bit disconcerting but none the less enjoyable and I liked the twists and turns of the well plotted narrative. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

Well that was good! I must admit when I first started this I was doubtful about the format; texts, transcripts from the television series; emails. (I’m a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to books). But after a very few pages I was hooked and I could see why the format was just so right. With the popularity of True Crime series on TV at the moment the way Murder in the Family is set out makes it so much more true to life and believable. The main characters are introduced with brief background information on each of them and this is very useful as you progress through the book - and as more is revealed about them (!!!!). There are many twists and turns in the story and new “what the….” moments occur at unforeseen moments. (Warning: Many cans of worms were used in the writing of this book!) It’s safe to say that you really don’t know how it’s all going to end; you may think you do and then another twist hits you full in the face.
The writing is excellent and you really get a feel for all the characters. It’s very clever; it’s very exciting and I loved it.

Cara Hunter is one of my most favourite authors and I have read and re read all of her novels so was waiting with great anticipation for this book. Although I was somewhat disappointed and apprehensive that it wasn’t a continuation of the Adam Fawley series.
Luke Ryder was killed 20 years ago in an expensive part of London and no one was ever prosecuted for his murder. His stepson Guy who was 10 at the time is now a well known film maker and wants to solve the crime so he makes a true crime documentary to try and crack the case. There are twists and turns with this story which is why I love Cara’s books so much and I was gripped right until the end.
My only negative is I found the layout of the book quite hard to get to grips with as it is written as a transcript although I did feel like I was watching a tv show. I had a digital
Copy and I think it was a physical book I would have preferred the layout as I could had flocked between the pages easier to re read parts or look at the characters etc.
Thank you to Netgalley, Harper Collins Uk, Harper Fiction and Cara Hunter for an advanced copy in exchange for an unbiased and honest review.

Mixed review. I have loved all of Cara Hunter’s previous novels (DI Adam Fawley series), but this is her 1st stand alone novel.

It focuses on a team of ‘experts’ who come together to solve a 20 year old cold case murder but it all filmed into a 8 part reality tv series with the audience also trying to work out who dunnit.

It feels like a cross between an Agatha Christie and Cluedo!

The things that spoilt it for me was the layout of the book was more like a script for a play and therefore it took a long time for me to feel comfortable reading it. Also, there were no chapters. Saying that the plot was great and I absolutely loved the ending and the last 25% of the book I read in one go as I couldn’t put down!

A big thank you to HarperCollinsUK and NetGalleyUK for providing me with an ARC copy of this novel.

Cara Hunter has always been an auto-buy for me, her novels have NEVER missed the spot. With this being her first stand-alone I was a little nervous it wouldn’t live up to expectations, but I needn’t have worried. Hunter’s master storytelling knows no boundaries. The way that the clues were weaved so intricately through the true crime documentary was so clever, I couldn’t put it down. I absolutely loved it!

I am a big fan of Cara Hunter's Adam Fawley detective series and for true crime fans this stand alone mystery will be a must read.
It's written as a series of episodes for a TV true crime cold case series-although with lots of detail (often too much/unnecessary) about the screen colour/ song being played/camera angle etc. Each episode is told through interviews and updates with the expert panel who are trying to solve the case. It took me a while to get to grips with the format but I'm glad I stuck with it. Unfortunately the final denouement is totally ruined on a kindle as it is some newspaper articles which you CANT READ!! The whole kindle read is very frustrating as there are lots of text conversations and god knows what else that I just couldn't read. The text can't be enlarged enough to read. Maddening.

I have been a fan of Cara Hunter's Adam Fawley crime series for some time. So naturally I was curious about her upcoming stand alone novel "Murder in the family" which I just finished,  thanks to the early netgalley by Harper Collins.

"Murder in the family" drew me in straight away and almost reads like true crime. A team of experts has been chosen to reinvestigate a cold murder case for a TV series, that of 26 yrs old Luke Ryder who was found dead in 2003 by his step daughters.  He had been brutally beaten up,  his murder had never been solved.  The case drew attention since he had been married to a socialite 10 years older than him.  

What makes this mystery so fun is how the experts, (journalist, two former crime cops, psychologist, lawyer etc ) go about picking the case apart and needless to say it takes numerous twists and turns until the killer is finally identfied. I had several "hold on, who was that again" moments but other than that really liked this crime novel. Perfect beach read...

This is a really intriguing concept for a novel and I've never read anything like it - it definitely wins points for originality and really pushing the boundaries when it comes to format. Written as transcripts of a true crime documentary, TV reviews, emails and texts, it tells the story of a televised reinvestigation into the death of Luke Ryder, back in the 90s, with his stepson and a host of experts taking part. I've read some of Cara Hunter's other books before and she is really adept at writing gripping, page-turning prose.
Where this concept came apart though was that - especially reading it on Kindle - it was very difficult to keep track of exactly what was what. I couldn't read all the text as well. Instead of being immersive, it actually kept me from getting too involved in the action.
I also - without seeming heartless - found I didn't really care who killed Luke. It was very low stakes. Why did it matter? No one seemed that bothered and he was never very alive to us, even through what is found out about his past. I also, fairly early on, got an inkling of what was what.
Really torn with this review as it was very original but something stopped me from truly loving it!

A very different format - told in the manner of a tv script with newspaper articles and text messages interspersed. I found this a little difficult but overall did enjoy the book which had plenty of twists and turns. I can imagine it would make a good tv series

Firstly, thank you to Netgallery, Harper Collins and Cara Hunter for the ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

Cara Hunter is queen of thrillers! I’ve read all her books so I was ecstatic about getting my hands on her latest one! Wow what can I say this book was amazing, it was a fast paced and kept me guessing throughout a perfect book for psychological thrillers fans alike! The ending wow and I did not see it coming!

Overall I throughly enjoyed this book and all the plot twists that it presented! Cara Hunter definitely should be on everyones shelf!

Twenty years ago Luke Ryder was killed in the garden of his upmarket London home - no one was ever prosecuted. Now, his stepson, TV director Guy Howard, decides to revisit that fateful night in the form of a six part docu-drama as part of a Netflix true crime series.

The investigation and evidence is presented in the form of text messages, emails and old newspaper clippings, together with specialists sifting through the material, debating each and every point, and though complex, it was fascinating the way one thing led to another, until finally we get to the truth.

Author Cara Hunter proves herself yet again with this terrific standalone, it’s cleverly written, with smoke and mirrors coming very much into play, blinding the reader to the actual perpetrator of this crime. Very enjoyable.

Murder in the Family is a standalone psychological thriller by bestselling author, Cara Hunter. This author was new to me.
The format of this book is very unique and it took me quite a while to get into it for this reason. The story is told entirely through transcripts, articles, text messages, maps, charts etc. The premise involves a podcast show delving into a cold case in an attempt to re-examine the evidence and see if the mystery can be solved once and for all. Overall, it read like watching a tv-show and took me a little while to get used to this style. It felt immersive in that you felt like the audience listening to the podcast, rather than the reader and we go along for the ride as the producers tell the story in the most suspenseful way possible. Each ’episode’ often leads up to a big reveal which then gets unpacked in the next episode. As there were quite a few experts and interviewers as well as interviewees, I found it difficult at times to keep track of who was who, especially if I put the book down for any lengthy period before picking it up again. I loved how the author managed to tie everything together and the shocking ending left me guessing. I think it all came together in a really creative and interesting manner. I feel like this one be the last Cara Hunter book I read.
Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review an arc of this one.

Cara Hunter is one of the best crime writers around, I love her books. I was over the moon (and very grateful!) to receive an advance copy of Murder in the Family. Her writing pulls me in completely and I am a HUGE fan of her police procedurals, the DI Fawley series.

Hunter’s first stand-alone book is an absolute blinder. It had all the things I want in a crime read - gripping plot, twits and turns, mystery and intrigue, good characters (with lots of flaws) - a real page turner!

I absolutely loved the concept of this book and Hunter pulls it off amazingly. Murder in the Family read like a true crime documentary or podcast. The multimedia elements really helped you dive into the story; newspaper articles, reviews, comment threads, images, maps - it was all there to help you piece together the action,

Cara Hunter always manages to nail her characters. They all felt like real people, with quirks and flaws - totally relatable. The whole plot comes together seamlessly and it all starts clicking into place towards the end, brilliant storytelling.

The only downside for me with this was reading it digitally. I feel like it is one you need to read a hard copy of to get the full experience of the multimedia elements. It didn’t take the star rating down though!

I cannot wait for Book 7 in the DI Fawley series now!

*I received an ARC of Murder in the Family in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

Oh my goodness what a totally marvellous concept. It plays out like a tv show in your mind with brilliant cliffhangers at the end of each episode - but what truely makes it a great read is the 'newspaper articles' text exchanges, voice notes and emails that follow. It made me feel like I was truely part of the gang of sleuths!
The premise is solving the murder of Luke Ryder - a 20 year old cold case - by a number of specialists, recorded and released as 7 (and then a bonus 8th) episodes. At first it seems rather marvelous that the sleuths are able to uncover so many important points that were missed by the orginal dectective team in 2003...or is it!
This book is plot twist central and I challenge you try and solve this case before they do - I didn't manage it! A really riverting read.

In December 2003, Luke Ryder was found dead on the estate of his wealthy new wife while babysitting her ten year old son, Guy.
Twenty years later, Guy is making a Netflix documentary about what really happened that night and why the case was never solved.

I’ve been a big fan of Cara Hunter’s DI Adam Fawley books for a number of years now so when I saw she had a stand-alone coming out I was very intrigued! This book was so different from anything I’ve read before and while it took me some time to get used to the format of the book, once I got the hang of it, I was hooked! It was twisty and atmospheric and I had no idea where it was going. Filled with eccentric interesting characters, any one of them could be the killer! I would definitely recommend.

I absolutely adore Cara’s series featuring DI Adam Fawley and I was super excited to see she has a new standalone crime thriller being published in July 2023.

Once again Cara has written a clever and gripping thriller and this time she uses Netflix to tell her story. Set within a true crime series documentary over six episodes a cold case is reinvestigated with the aid of some of the key players in the original case and some new experts in the fields of Crime Scene Investigation and Forensic Psychology.

Luke Ryder was killed in 2003 and his murder has remained a mystery until twenty years later when his stepson Guy Howard, now a british film maker decides to revisit the murder and try to uncover the truth as a 6 part Docu-Drama with Netflix.

Once again, Cara Hunter uses the press to pop little nuggets of information amongst the chapters using newspaper articles of a TV critic analysing each episode and emails between family members and the film directors.

The story is told through each Netflix episode and reads exactly like a transcript which can take a little longer to get use to but there is a very helpful guide at the beginning of the book telling you who the main characters are.

Throughout the book we find out more about Luke Ryder and who he was and each episode leaves the readers with a cliff hanger of an ending turning everything you think you worked out upside down.

If you enjoy the DI Adam Fawley series (and if you haven’t I can’t recommend them enough), then you will thoroughly enjoy Murder In The Family.

Absolutely loved this new innovative whodunnit from Cara Hunter. A huge fan of her Adam Fawley police procedurals (really one of the best), Murder in the Family, a stand-alone story takes us bang up to date with a 21st century spin. Hunter uses a blended media approach similar to Janice Hallett, where the story of an unsolved murder is told through the contemporaneous making of a Netflix true crime series and the real time reporting and media debate on it. A group of “experts” are brought together by the producer to discover the truth directed by the victim’s step son. More twists and turns then a hot chilli through a digestive system!

The first standalone psychological thriller by the author of the Oxford-based DI Fawley series.

A cold case is re-examined 20 years later by a group of specialists for a true-crime programme produced by the murder victim’s stepson. Will the experts uncover the truth?

The story is told through newspaper articles, social media posts, emails, text messages and transcripts, which made me as a reader feel as if I was a spectator of the true-crime show. The format is a little tricky at times to read on an ebook, but it is well worth fiddling with the font size etc as this is a very addictive read!

Creepy, compelling and very clever!

For fans of Janice Hallett