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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! 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 chapters are short and sweet, making it easy to pause if you need to...but propelling you to continue. The police are investigating the murder of Fred and Sheila Merton, a wealthy couple in their 60s with three grown children. Fred and Sheila spent Easter Sunday having dinner with their three children. Sometime between that dinner and the following Tuesday morning, Fred was stabbed to death and Sheila was strangled. Going into Not a Happy Family, I will admit to being apprehensive. I've had a hit or miss relationship with Lapena, so had no clue how this one would be for me.
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. You’ll love to hate the flawed, spoilt characters in this addictive, fast-paced drama… This is a well-plotted whodunnit with twists and turns in every chapter to keep readers on their toes.” This was just great entertainment. It’s a book I wanted to find as many hours a day as possible to listen to. I tore through it. I had no clue who committed the murders. Such a great ending! Fred and Sheila Merton are rich-rich and live a very nice life in upstate New York—until they’re gruesomely murdered in their home, after a disastrous Easter dinner with their three grown children. Now, each of the siblings has millions coming their way in inheritance, and an unspeakable sense of relief—Fred Merton was an emotionally abusive father and Sheila a neglectful mother. The problem is, the three siblings have never gotten along, and the police need someone to charge. Layer by layer, as we get the rotating perspectives of all three children, their increasingly suspicious spouses, the devoted housekeeper, and a meddling aunt, you’ll question who is framing whom, and what each person might be capable of. This was an extremely unique narrative tone for me. The story is told from a distant third person perspective, yet I felt fully connected and engrossed within this twisty and suspenseful tale. I loved the short chapters of this family drama that always left me on edge wanting to read “just one more”. My suspicions flew all over the place, suspecting every single character at one point or another.
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. She has no alibi for the night of the murder. Her aunt Audrey suspects Jenna was the murderer as she remembers her as being violent when angry as a child.
Somewhere around 50% mark we all thought we figured out who the killer was, but I am glad to say we were wrong. Lapena’s latest another chilling thrill ride…All those clichés about being unable to put down a book, for once they’re true.” The short, alternating chapters, made it an incredibly fast read and I was fully engaged. After each perspective, I was sure I had it all figured out. However, I am also sad to say that the big revelation didn't come with a bang and it felt like it was just mentioned and done. I listened to this one as an audiobook, and from the beginning, I just couldn't stop listening. It is divided into short sections, which made me compulsively keep listening as more clues were uncovered.
Filled with fast dialogue, tense pacing and twists upon twists, Not A Happy Family is an immersive read you won’t want to put down.” 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. Filled with Porsches, Persian rugs and deadly passion, this is the kind of suspenseful mystery you read in one sitting.” Not a Happy Family is a dysfunctional family whodunit mystery. I'm really digging these plots right now. No, this story isn't very original and reminds me of the movie "Knives Out", but I'm still entertained from start to finish. 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 housekeeper. After all the Easter dinner arguments, she left the house. She found the bodies, and the carving knife that killed Fred.The Mertons, a wealthy couple from upstate New York, are brutally murdered in their palatial home after hosting a contentious family Easter dinner. I loved how the lead detective thought everyone he interviewed was the killer. There is a lot of scrambling, a lot of lies, a lot of secrets, a lot of trying to protect others while protecting oneself. There are a lot of liars with their pants on fire in this book. Not all that glitters is gold. Sometimes those who look like they have it all don't have much in terms of common decency.
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