Not A Happy Family by Shari Lapena

 

                                                   

Paperback:  452 pages

Genre: Crime Thriller, Murder Mystery

Publisher: Penguin Paperback 2022

Source: My own bookshelf

First Sentences: There are many expensive houses, here in Bracken Hill, an enclave of Aylesford, in the Hudson Valley.

Setting: North of New York, USA

Favourite Quote: “But all fairytales are tinged with darkness.” 

Review Quote: Dramatic, tense and satisfying murder mystery ― My Weekly

Literary Award: Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Mystery & Thriller (2021)

My Opinion:  I read this as it was a recommended Richard and Judy Bookclub choice. As I have not read anything else by this author I was not sure what to expect, so a little disappointed as expecting a psychological thriller, incorrectly, as it is a ‘whodunit’.

The very unhappy, mainly unpleasant and dysfunctional Merton family, three adult children and their partners get together for their annual Easter Sunday dinner with their parents at the family home, which does not go well. The next day the housekeeper finds the elderly parents brutally murdered and the children are all prime suspects. The protagonists, though all are unlikeable, are well portrayed and the various scenarios, motives and alibis will certainly keep you guessing.

A quick read and worth while picking up if you are a fan of the genre. 

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads: 

In this family, everyone is keeping secrets - even the dead.

In the quiet, wealthy enclave of Brecken Hill, an older couple is brutally murdered hours after a tense Easter dinner with their three adult children. Who, of course, are devastated.

Or are they? They each stand to inherit millions. They were never a happy family, thanks to their vindictive father and neglectful mother, but perhaps one of them is more disturbed than anyone knew. Did someone snap after that dreadful evening? Or did another person appear later that night with the worst of intentions? That must be what happened. After all, if one of the family were capable of something as gruesome as this, you'd know.

Wouldn't you?

Author Profile:         

                                                               

                              Photo Courtesy of Goodreads Profile                                                                        

Shari Lapena is a Canadian novelist born in 1960, she was formerly a lawyer and a teacher before becoming an author.

Photographs, Trailer and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Goodreads Profile   Amazon Author Page  Shari Lapena - Facebook Page

Shari Lapena - Official Website   Instagram Profile    Twitter Profile

The Couple at the Table by Sophie Hannah

 

Hardback:  358 pages

Genre:  Contemporary Murder Mystery

Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton 2022

Source:  Tywyn Public Library

First Sentence: Dear Whoever Killed Jane Brinkwood, Dear Jane's Murderer, Which do you prefer?

Review Quote: 'A wise and witty portrait of modern marriage and murder' THE TIMES

My Opinion: 

Although I prefer Sophie Hannah's psychological thrillers, I have read some, but by no means all of her Spilling CID series which this latest 'The Couple at the Table' is number 11. Detectives Simon Waterhouse and Charlie Zailer are on the case again and it was interesting to catch up with them and see how their relationship has developed. As with the previous novels in the series, this can be read as a stand alone story.

A murder that seems impossible to solve and is certainly taking a long time to do so, because everyone seems to have something to hide. As the mystery unravels it seems to become even more confusing with every page, I really needed to concentrate as the author keeps us guessing.

I did enjoy this and it certainly held my attention, as I think it will all fans of the genre as it is such a complex mystery with an ingenious theme.   

Previous Reviews:   Haven't They Grown  Little Face  Hurting Distance  Point of Rescue  

The Other Half Lives

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads: 

You're on your honeymoon at an exclusive couples-only resort.

You receive a note, warning you to 'Beware of the couple at the table nearest to yours'. At dinner that night, five other couples are sitting close by, but none of their tables is any nearer or further away than any of the others. It's almost as if someone has set the scene in order to make the warning note meaningless. Why would anyone do that?

You have no idea.

You also don't know that you're about to be murdered, or that once you're dead, all the evidence will suggest that no one there that night could possibly have committed the crime.

So who might be trying to warn you? And who might be about to kill you, and seems certain to get away with it?

Author Profile:         

Sophie Hannah is a Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling writer of crime fiction, published in forty-nine languages and fifty-one territories. Her books have sold millions of copies worldwide. In 2014, with the blessing of Agatha Christie’s family and estate, Sophie published a new Poirot novel, The Monogram Murders, which was a bestseller in more than fifteen countries. She has since published two more Poirot novels, Closed Casket and The Mystery of Three Quarters, both of which were instant Sunday Times Top Ten bestsellers.

In 2013, Sophie’s novel The Carrier won the Crime Thriller of the Year Award at the Specsavers National Book Awards.  She has also published two short story collections and five collections of poetry – the fifth of which, Pessimism for Beginners, was shortlisted for the T S Eliot Award. Her poetry is studied at GCSE, A Level and degree level across the UK. Most recently, she has published a self-help book called How to Hold a Grudge: From Resentment to Contentment – The Power of Grudges to Transform Your Life.

Sophie has recently helped to create a Master’s Degree in Crime and Thriller Writing at the University of Cambridge, for which she is the main teacher and Course Director. She is also the founder of the DREAM AUTHOR coaching programme for writers. She lives with her husband, children and dog in Cambridge, where she is an Honorary Fellow of Lucy Cavendish College.

Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Sophie Hannah - Official Website  Twitter - Sophie Hannah  Facebook Profile

Goodreads - Author Profile   Amazon Author Page