Not a Happy Family

Conflicted on the ending of this book. On one hand, of every Shari Lapena book I've read (all of them), I think this was the most captivating. I frantically turned every page desperately trying to figure out what the heck happened. The twists and turns came at me from every angle to the point I was mentally exhausted in a good way to make sure I was following the story correctly. The main problem I have with the book is the final twist/reveal, it just didn't live up to everything that had been built up in the story. I think the final solution could have been a little more intriguing/surprising. However the last paragraph of the book delivered one final twist that left me so desperate for a continuation of the story that it makes up for the not that surprising ending. Overall a good book and I'm glad I read it, but not the best I've read by Shari Lapena.

I thought my family had issues. HOLY MOLY!?! LOL. Some of the twists were so predictable ope going to blame this sibling, ope next up the other sibling, ope I suddenly have a half sister lol. Ope daughter that was having issues with conceiving finally gets her moment. Giving it a three star cause most of the twists were me shaking my head and said I KNEW IT. But the level of drama and suspense to find out who really did it was like holy crap to me. Will i ever pick this book up again nope. Will i recommend this book if someone is looking for something quick yeah definitely took me less than a day to get through and I'm the slowest reader around. Did i feel like I was watching a episode of rich people issues absolutely but that ending I was laughing cause i had this gut feeling there was going to be 3 final twists in the last 40 pages of the books and definitely called it. If you like a crazy bendy book check this one out. I'm thankful for the local free little library for having this one in there.

I always find Shari Lapena's books so easily bingeable, and this one was no different! I love a good twisted family drama so sped through this one in a day on audio.

This is a story of a family that consists of spoiled brats. Plain and simple. Really, I could barely tolerate any of the characters. The father is a class A asshole, the mother is useless, the children are self-absorbed, entitled spoiled brats, the aunt is a wacko, the mistress is clueless and the mistress' daughter is pathetic. Did I miss anything?

The story kept trying to put doubts on every single character as to who the murderer is. But the writing is sloppy and lazy. Dan the son is such a little bitch - whining and complaining like a sissy all the time despite being a married man. No wonder the father picks on him all the time. The whole family is mentally disturbed, to be honest.

A no-no for me.

Really enjoyed this book! It could have done without the foul language, as it was unnecessary, but otherwise clean. ⚠️

this was just a fun and easy to read book. i enjoyed every second of it what more can i ask for? the short chapters were so so good and the writting style was so easy to get through! definitely gonna read more from shari lapena because i absolutely loved this and rich people drama is one of my favorite tropes

I did enjoy this book, but I really thought I was going to like it more. It started off really strong, I was fully invested. About halfway through I found myself getting kinda bored. I love how fast Shari Lapenas' books read, they are definitely addicting. I did not figure out who the killer was, I was predicting everyone else. I enjoyed reading from multiple different people, we had a whole cast of characters. I felt that halfway through is where I started to get bored and just wasn't fully invested in the story. I didn't really care who the killer was or why they did it once we found out the reveal. This was just an okay read for me. I will definitely keep checking out Shari Lapenas' books because for the most part, I do enjoy them.

4.80 stars!! WOWW this book was literally so good and i wasn't even expecting it to be—to be completely honest i was sort of dreading it when i picked the title randomly from my tbr shelf, i think the cover has a lot to do with that HAHA! but yes towards the end of the reveal i was on edge so much i thought i start full on panicking, i loved the family drama and dynamics and at one point i didn't know what to believe! crazy work, this book. all in all i was debating on giving this book 5 stars but i think the ending was just a tad bit unsatisfactory for me, just enough to be close to a 5 but not quite. i would definitely recommend giving this one a read!

Wow, family dysfunction doesn't even begin to explain... but a good read overall lol

There was a lot of repetition: of whiny Dan and Rose (who btw had the exact same trouble, zzzz), of the spouses who do not trust their own (Ted and Lisa), of Jenna repeating what had happened two pages after it hadbeen explained... it felt like there wasn't enough for a book and people had to stuff it.

Whew...let me try to get my thoughts together once my head stops spinning

Read this one in two nights! So good! Great characters, fast moving plot.

Mantiene en vilo de principio a fin.

Una familia, una muerte y todos sospechosos.

Quizás en algún momento algo lento, dando vueltas a lo mismo. Esperaba más giros.

Aún así, lo recomiendo sin dudarlo.

Todos tienen razones para hacerlo.

Me ha tenido enganchada hasta la última página.

3.75 stars this book was insane but the ending fell flat for me.

This is my second book by Shari Lapena and I have to say, I am definitely impressed. Lapena definitely has a gift for manipulation in her books because in this one, I kept changing my mind about who the killer was until the very end. And when I finally found out who it was, I realized I'd been looking in the wrong place all this time. I am sure that if I went back and reread the book, knowing what I know now, I'd be able to pinpoint bits and pieces, little clues that were there to lead you to the answer as to who the killer really was all this time. I am definitely planning on reading all her other works and have one on my shelf already.

To begin with, Not a Happy Family is about a rich, prestigious family and all the secrets that go on inside it. When the parents, Sheila and Fred Mercer, get brutally murdered on Easter Sunday, after their grownup children leave Easter dinner at their house, the police suspects one of the three children did it because they all stood to gain a lot from their horrible parents lives. I thought that the premise of this book was very intriguing and I was definitely interested right off the bat. However, I wasn't always on the edge of my seat because the book dragged for me at some points and I wish it would have progressed a bit quicker. I do love me a good domestic thriller and this one's definitely above average. Also, I didn't care for the ending all that much because it was a bit open ended and left me wanting more.

Secondly, the characterization in this book was above average as well. There are times when in certain thrillers that are full of action, the characters get a bit overlooked and we don't get a good sense of who they really are at their core but in this case we definitely got a good look into them and what makes them tick. They were definitely all very unlikable but if done correctly I don't mind that and I thought it was executed pretty well here. I feel like we started discovering their psyches but didn't quite get to see into their very soul and I would have liked a bit more on that front. However, in all I really thought the characterization was done well and some thought had been put into it, no question about that.

Finally, the writing style is classic Shari Lapena and even though it definitely stands out and make for a very quick and easy reading experience, sometimes it feels a bit too simple for me. I would like a little more description when it comes to her setting the scenes and depicting how her characters look at certain points in the story. I can, however, appreciate how accessible her writing style is to many different kinds of people and I am certain that even beginners of the genre will not find it hard to get hooked into her books.

In conclusion, this book was above average for me in terms of where it stands to all the other thrillers I have read but it definitely wasn't one that completely took my breath away and knocked my socks off. I enjoyed the plot, characters and writing style but feel that certain aspects of each were lacking for me. With that being said, I would definitely recommend this book to thriller lovers and even beginners because it's a quick read and it definitely has some good twists and turns that you won't see coming.

Murder, intrigue, gossip and lies. This book has it all, and with three likely suspects who constantly lie and obstruct the investigation the question is: whodunnit?