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The Happy Family: The gripping new psychological crime thriller from the No.1 Kindle bestselling author of The Perfect Couple

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Predictable. Barely anything happened the whole book, suspense wise. Them all pointing their fingers at each other got tedious and played out. Barone's greatest strength, however, was her characters. Her characters are strong and complex creatures, not unlike the ones we are and know. Only in a well imagined world (or the real one) can a religious and language professor have a past life of an NYC, NRA gun wielding cop, and be the daughter of a doctor and wife to a documentary director. Her characters are so vivid, you'll break down alongside them. The Merton family puts the word FUN in the word "dysfunctional"; making this "whodunnit" mystery challenging to solve.

a Happy Family - Happy Families - Redbook How to Be a Happy Family - Happy Families - Redbook

That’s not to say however that this is a book without any redeeming features. If it had been that bad I wouldn’t have read to the end. Shortly after Alice arrives Beth begins drinking quite a bit and starts shutting out her friends and neighbors. Alice tries extra hard to be the supportive mother that Beth has always wanted but Beth begins a downward spiral which is affecting all her relationships especially with her own children and also imagines a man following her everywhere and feeling that someone is out to get, her although soon after an unforseen and unbelievable event occurs that shatters Beth world where she may lose her job and also the custody of her children unless she can discover what is causing her life to rapidly fall apart.The police want to know if they had any enemies, if anyone saw anything, and who has a motive. Umm, everyone!! Somewhere around 50% mark we all thought we figured out who the killer was, but I am glad to say we were wrong. 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. I’m not a huge consumer of psychological crime novels or thrillers but I do turn to them whenever I need to give the brain a break after reading a string of powerful or immersive books. But they still have to deliver something more than just the entertainment value of thrills and suspense. A protagonist with a complex personality is a must. A strong evocation of a specific location or time period is important. Ideally I want both to be matched with an interesting issue or a theme.

Happy Family by Saumya Dave: 9781984806178 What a Happy Family by Saumya Dave: 9781984806178

Having read her previous thriller "The Perfect Couple", I had high hopes for this book...and I wasn't disappointed. Addicted pretty much from the beginning, THE HAPPY FAMILY is anything but a happy family. But oh how it's dysfunctionality worked! I have read countless stories centered around adoption, and Happy Family is my new favorite. Sol and Cici Matzner, the adoptive parents of an infant girl, make an unusual and often hilarious couple. The marriage of a Jewish doctor to a beautiful Italian, Catholic child bride, almost unheard of in the 1950s, wreaks havoc on the newlyweds' families. Sol converts to Catholicism in a futile attempt to assuage Cici's family, but he is disowned by the Matzner clan. How ironic that Cici becomes the stereotypical Jewish mother! They name their daughter Cheri, dropping the 'e' from their favorite term of endearment.This was a fast-paced read, centered on divorced mom of two, Beth, whose mother walked out on her 30 years ago when she was just 10 years old. Beth lives a happy and fulfilled life, but always felt like something was missing due to the absence of her mother in her life. One day, out of the blue, her mother appears at her door. Now available from Pamela Dorman Books. I thank my local library for providing me with a copy through the drive-up window. 🤣 In all honesty to start with Beth's relationships all seem a bit to perfect even with her ex husband and his girlfriend. So the fall out during the book is great to read.

Happy Family Books - Goodreads Big Happy Family Books - Goodreads

The truth is, happy families have cranky kids, messy houses, and money struggles, just like everyone else. But underneath it all, they have a core of contentment that sustains them through all of life's ups and downs. "Being happy as a family is something deeper than simply having fun together or feeling the immediate euphoria of a joyful event like opening presents on Christmas morning," explains REDBOOK Love Network expert Scott Haltzman, M.D., author of the new book The Secrets of Happy Families. "A happy family is a family that has a deep sense of meaning and purpose in their lives." When you have that, he adds, the lows feel more manageable, because you can put them into perspective — and the highs are more memorable. Here, your keys to building a family life that will make your guy, your kids, and you truly happy. My life has always revolved around the written and spoken word. I worked as a journalist for nine years then in international corporate communications Cheri's adoptive family was rolling in the dough, and when the father died, she was left with such a great inheritance that she'd "never have to work again." But she refuses to touch the money. She hates her adoptive father, in his death as she did in his life, because of how he treated her mother—which makes little sense at all, because Cheri treats her mother far worse, and cannot even manage any sympathy for her when she is grieving her husband. The night ends early, with everyone leaving a bit disgruntled. Ahhh, dinners with family, am I right? Watching Beth’s life come tumbling down, I felt really sorry for her. As I have seen with many characters in similar stories, Beth turns to excessive amounts of alcohol, in the attempt to numb the pain of what is happening. However, this just leads to distorted memories and that Beth no longer trusts what she believes. It’s a terrible cycle and I was desperate for Beth to find the answers to why she thought someone is watching her.The Mertons, a wealthy couple from upstate New York, are brutally murdered in their palatial home after hosting a contentious family Easter dinner. Certain values fall into place naturally; if you're married, you and your husband probably committed to each other in the first place because of values that both of you share. However, Haltzman insists on not simply letting your values evolve on their own, but rather deliberately shaping and naming your core principles. "Defining your values together cannot only reinforce a lot of the qualities that brought you together, but it can also help steer you in times when you feel conflicted," he says. Knowing that you prioritize new experiences, for example, you might decide to pull the kids out of school for a special family trip, while another family who values education over everything else would never consider scheduling a vacation during the school year. If you could do that, even for a moment, you’d get God’s sense of humor. You’d know your story is perfect. That your terribly imperfect parents were perfect for you, that your life could only have been written by and for you.’ This book was not for me. First, it had body shaming in it. That is a big no-no, and I really, really wish the character involved would have said, "I'm a real woman. I've had children. This is what a real body looks like." Instead, the character just felt guilty and self conscious. Second, the portrayal of the MC was nauseating. She was acting entirely silly and non-sensical, ignoring perfectly obvious signs and things that were wrong. She also let her ex run all over her, allowing him to take the kids, yell at her, burst into her home when he felt like it. That's not how things work these days. One parent cannot just unilaterally terminate a parent's rights. The MC talks about how she and her ex get along great. If that is the case, he should respect some boundaries. Third, the book was so entirely predictable. I guessed the ending very early on. Fourth, the pacing was really off. Typically, I tend to enjoy slower paced books, but this was just too slow even for me. The storytelling just was not there. The Happy Family did not seem to build in anticipation, and there was far too much foreshadowing.

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