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Introduction
Author Name: Shari Lapena
Genre: Horror
Language: English
so I predicted who the killer was, but I still had so much fun reading this one! This is a thriller about these rich parents who have their kids over for Easter, but these parents are kind of assholes to their kids and they put all kinds of ridiculous expectations on them, and on the morning after Easter, the parents are found brutally murdered in their home.
Author Name: Shari Lapena
Genre: Horror
Language: English
so I predicted who the killer was, but I still had so much fun reading this one! This is a thriller about these rich parents who have their kids over for Easter, but these parents are kind of assholes to their kids and they put all kinds of ridiculous expectations on them, and on the morning after Easter, the parents are found brutally murdered in their home.
The only suspects are the three adult siblings who all will gain a big inheritance from their deaths, and who argued with their parents the night before.
This is a quick read, I flew through the pages because I had to know who did it and what happened. Even though I was able to predict who did it, I think it was a very entertaining read and one of Shari Lapena’s best! It had the same vibe as Knives Out in a way, but not as complex.
This is a quick read, I flew through the pages because I had to know who did it and what happened. Even though I was able to predict who did it, I think it was a very entertaining read and one of Shari Lapena’s best! It had the same vibe as Knives Out in a way, but not as complex.
About the Author:
Shari Lapena worked as a lawyer and as an English teacher before writing fiction. Her debut thriller, The Couple Next Door, was a global bestseller, the bestselling fiction title in the UK in 2017, and has been optioned for television. Her thrillers A Stranger in the House, An Unwanted Guest, Someone We Know, and The End of Her were all Sunday Times and New York Times bestsellers.
Shari Lapena worked as a lawyer and as an English teacher before writing fiction. Her debut thriller, The Couple Next Door, was a global bestseller, the bestselling fiction title in the UK in 2017, and has been optioned for television. Her thrillers A Stranger in the House, An Unwanted Guest, Someone We Know, and The End of Her were all Sunday Times and New York Times bestsellers.
About the Book:
The title of Shari Lapena’s latest domestic thriller is an understatement. Not A Happy Family takes place in the days following the brutal murders of Fred and Sheila Merton in their mansion on Easter Sunday.
The title of Shari Lapena’s latest domestic thriller is an understatement. Not A Happy Family takes place in the days following the brutal murders of Fred and Sheila Merton in their mansion on Easter Sunday.
Their three adult children, who stand to inherit a great fortune, are immediately deemed suspects by investigators. And Catherine, Dan, and Jenna begin to suspect each other as well. Lapena throws in a few other likely suspects for readers to consider in this fast-paced whodunit.
While Sheila was a loving, kind, and gentle parent, she was never able to defend her children against their hard-hearted and cruel father. Fred seemed to enjoy inflicting emotional pain on his children --- from withholding affection to expressing his disappointment to backing out of financial promises.
Catherine, Dan, and Jenna are not surprised or affected by his death, though they mourn the loss of their mother to some extent. Their concern rests with their inheritance and demonstrating their innocence. However, even Ted and Lisa, the spouses of Catherine and Dan, have their doubts.
Catherine is a successful dermatologist and the most conventional of her siblings. She was not close with her father but did covet the mansion. Having set her heart on inheriting the house, she was dismayed and angered to find out that he planned to sell it. Dan has been struggling in business, and his father’s hostility only made matters worse.
Catherine is a successful dermatologist and the most conventional of her siblings. She was not close with her father but did covet the mansion. Having set her heart on inheriting the house, she was dismayed and angered to find out that he planned to sell it. Dan has been struggling in business, and his father’s hostility only made matters worse.
After the discovery of their bodies, everyone eyes him as the perpetrator. Jenna is the youngest of the Merton children --- a bohemian artist living on an allowance. Though she seems the least likely culprit, she has asked her new boyfriend to lie to the police about her activities on the night of the murders.
Each of the three siblings had motive and opportunity, but others would benefit from Fred’s passing. His sister, Audrey, believes that she stands to inherit his fortune. And what about Rose and Ellen Cutter, and their secret relationship with Fred? Of course, there is always help. Cleaning lady and de facto nanny Irena Dabrowski knows as much about the family as they do about themselves and would do almost anything to protect the children.
Each of the three siblings had motive and opportunity, but others would benefit from Fred’s passing. His sister, Audrey, believes that she stands to inherit his fortune. And what about Rose and Ellen Cutter, and their secret relationship with Fred? Of course, there is always help. Cleaning lady and de facto nanny Irena Dabrowski knows as much about the family as they do about themselves and would do almost anything to protect the children.
My Review:
Yeah. This family sure has mine beat. I mean – we had some interesting discussions about money and all that when the folks passed, but thankfully it never went this far.
Yeah. This family sure has mine beat. I mean – we had some interesting discussions about money and all that when the folks passed, but thankfully it never went this far.
Then again, in our case, it was all-natural causes and the inheritance was never really going to lead to the kind of, how should I put this, *complications* that seem to plight the Merton family. What a bunch. And I mean that in a completely derogatory, hope I never meet anyone like them kind of way. This is one Easter they won’t forget in a hurry.
This is a complex and yet completely engrossing story which looks into the difficult and twisted familial relationships of the Mertons, father Fred, mother Sheila, and their three adult children, Catherine, Dan, and Jenna, and the extended pool of family of friends that inhabit their world.
This is a complex and yet completely engrossing story which looks into the difficult and twisted familial relationships of the Mertons, father Fred, mother Sheila, and their three adult children, Catherine, Dan, and Jenna, and the extended pool of family of friends that inhabit their world.
As a lesson in psychology, this would be the unit ‘Dysfunctional Families 101’, and if I’m being honest I would struggle to name one redeeming quality about any of them, with the very possible exception of the poor saps who married into the family, Ted and Lisa.
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Yes – at a push you could argue that the children are a product of their environment, and the more we learn about the victims, the more understandable their ultimate destiny becomes, but still … They are merciless, often cold, definitely capable of dark deeds.
Shari Lapena has done a superb job of creating a kind of tension, a situation in which you may find yourself despising each person in turn and yet still be completely one hundred percent invested in the story, in need to find out what happened. To be privy to the gossip, the speculation. The suspicion.
This is a brilliant study in character. The murders themselves are almost secondary to the dissection of the very complicated lives of the Merton family. The book shifts in point of view between all of the children, and their Aunt, their father’s sister, in turn, and with each chapter we learn something new, some startling revelation, about the siblings and the lack of trust that exists between them, emulating the lack of trust that grows between them and the reader too.
This is a brilliant study in character. The murders themselves are almost secondary to the dissection of the very complicated lives of the Merton family. The book shifts in point of view between all of the children, and their Aunt, their father’s sister, in turn, and with each chapter we learn something new, some startling revelation, about the siblings and the lack of trust that exists between them, emulating the lack of trust that grows between them and the reader too.
It’s very clever, very addictive, and very complex plotting, keeping the reader in suspense and drip-feeding new bits of vital information at just the right time. You can feel the tension ooze from the page, the pacing just right to keep you alert and to move the story on.
No matter what you know, there will be a new surprise just a page turn away, and whilst there is a resolution, and we do find out what happened, it still might not be quite what you were expecting.
If you like to read a strong, family/character-driven psychological thriller, full of tension and with the ability to make even the most fractured of families seem normal (and bear in mind we are talking levels of dysfunction here that even the Royals might struggle to emulate) then this book is recommended.
If you like to read a strong, family/character-driven psychological thriller, full of tension and with the ability to make even the most fractured of families seem normal (and bear in mind we are talking levels of dysfunction here that even the Royals might struggle to emulate) then this book is recommended.
I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Ellen Archer, who did a brilliant job of bringing out all the nuances in the characters and the growing tension between them. I’m off now to look up more of the author’s books. She has found a new fan right here.
My rating for this book is 5/5
My rating for this book is 5/5
You can easily get this book from Amazon: Not a Happy Family
Written By – Prachi Mann
Written By – Prachi Mann
Edited By - Anamika Malik
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