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Not a Happy Family: The gripping Richard and Judy Book Club 2022 pick, from the #1 bestselling author of THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR

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This one kept me up late reading last night. I had a busy week but this book had me thinking about it whenever I had to put it down. Just who killed Fred and Sheila Merton? One of their three children? All their children? Someone else? And was it about inheritance, a lifetime of crappy parenting, sheer retribution or possibly that murderous propensity that seems to run through the generations on Fred's side? Something else? And everyone, EVERYONE, is lying. Big lies. Little lies. Weird lies. Stupid lies. Always, no matter the instance, they can come up with more lies. It's quite stunning. It's the Merton family's most broadly consistent characteristic. Followed closely by the money-grubbing and persecution complex. Synopsis: In the Merton family, everyone is keeping secrets–especially the dead. Even all their money can’t protect Fred and Sheila Merton when a killer comes to call. Truth is.... everyone here lies. I couldn't figure out who killed Fred and Sheila Merton after Easter dinner. The Mertons are dead inside their home and their bodies were found the next day by the housekeeper. All three adult children are interested in the big inheritance so they sure have the motive and are being untruthful. They also don't trust one another which adds another layer of suspense. Readers, along with Detectives Reyes and Barr, work to fit the pieces of this puzzle together and bring the murderer to justice.

The killer will not be the only cold-blooded character that you will encounter. Many of the suspects are unlikable, but it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the story. The downside? Since there are only so many characters to choose from...I felt I could eliminate the 'obvious' suspects at about 60-70%. I had a very interesting ending in mind that I was hoping would somehow be accurate (and provide me with the crazy twisted ending I was looking for) but it didn't come to pass. I rarely DNF books, and I almost never do it when I get a review copy, but I completely understand why one would chose not to finish this novel, as it was too repetitive with all the he said she said parts that it became boring. Yes! Unfortunately knives are not out! Because the poor caretaker Irena already washed away the murder weapon, cleaning the traces of blood and fingertips of the murderer. She has good intentions. She literally raised those kids and she truly knows how they suffered from controlling monster a.k.a real psychopath father of the year with a big ugly secret.She keeps you guessing the whole way through as to who may or may not be guilty. Let's face it, ALL those kids had good reason to finish the old man off, it seems !! Loads of secrets 'n' lies abound among the whole bunch of them as well. I loved the ending, too ! That was terrific. Three traumatized children: one of them or all may have inherited the genes of their father, suffering from same psychopathic tendencies to commit such a brutal crime! Short, snappy chapters kept this moving along at a brisk pace! You never knew when another revelation might be dropped in a casual conversation so it was important to pay attention to ALL of the secrets and lies being exposed! The Mertons, a wealthy couple from upstate New York, are brutally murdered in their palatial home after hosting a contentious family Easter dinner. The book gives readers the limited perspective of each character as they respond to the news of the murders, try to put together a united front for investigators, harbor doubts about each other, and dream about the huge inheritance to which they all believe they are entitled. Lapena’s narrative is purely descriptive and written with an almost clinical detachment that mirrors the bloodless and unfeeling responses by those who knew Fred and Sheila best. The Merton family is troubled, dysfunctional and more than “not happy,” yet Lapena offers no real insight into their lives, content instead to drop readers into this moment of violence and paranoia.

Yeah, their father was big bad wolf and their mother were mostly silent to his terrible actions against his children. She didn’t do anything to protect them and now that’s how she got paid for herself: being strangled to death!The book was written in third person and it followed too many perspectives. I think all of the characters got their POV at some point. The housekeeper. After all the Easter dinner arguments, she left the house. She found the bodies, and the carving knife that killed Fred. Shari Lapena is the internationally bestselling author of The Couple Next Door, A Stranger in the House, An Unwanted Guest, Someone We Know and The End of Her. She was a lawyer and an English teacher before turning her hand to fiction. She lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Catherine Merton– the oldest child, is married to Ted. She is a physician who has retained her maiden name. She is conservatively elegant and dresses in a classy manner. She aspires to one day inherit the beautiful family home when her parents pass away.

A well developed cast of characters were delightfully malcontent and rotten to the core which meant that I was on board with any one of them being held culpable for the misdeeds happening here. She’s hiding some family secrets, including the fact that Fred killed his own father and staged it to look like suicide. As she’s snooping around about the murders, someone breaks into her house and tries to poison her. Jenna was the last one to leave the dinner, about an hour later than her siblings. During that time, her father told her he was changing his will.

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Filled with Porsches, Persian rugs and deadly passion, this is the kind of suspenseful mystery you read in one sitting.”

Now, my only little gripe was that one conversation I REALLY wanted to be party to between Audrey and Ellen she didn't let us in on. I was greatly looking forward to that but we only rejoined the story for the aftermath of it, sadly. Ellen Cutter, Rose’s mother is worried about her daughter. Ellen is a good friend of Audrey Stancik. Not a Happy Family is a perfect description for Shari Lapena’s latest thriller. Whew!! “Not happy” is putting it mildly.

About Fictionophile

Each of the three siblings had motive and opportunity, but there are others who 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 to Fred? Of course, there is always the 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.

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