'Cause there is so much wrong going on outside: NOT A HAPPY FAMILY.

Not a Happy Family by Shari Lapena
My rating: 3.75 of 5 stars

NOT A HAPPY FAMILY is the twelfth book in my author challenge. Fred and Shelia Merton live in a fancy house in a wealthy neighborhood. They have three children, Dan, Catherine, and Jenna, whom they have spent most of their life emotionally abusing and neglecting. As such, the kids hate them. After a disastrous Easter family dinner, Fred and Sheila are murdered. If they had to be honest, the kids are a bit relieved: they will now inherit millions and their hateful parents are gone. But their meddling aunt is convinced one of them murdered her brother and she's out to prove it.

"Something awful has happened here."

FAMILY is a compelling, quick read. Told from multiple POV across our many characters, it's snappy and intriguing. Despite my instant dislike of Fred and Sheila--and, honestly, their children too--I wanted to know what happened. The kids turn on each other nearly at once, as predicted by the family's housekeeper and former nanny. The book is packed with unlikable characters, but in this case, it's almost where the joy of the novel comes from. Which terrible person committed this heinous act? They are all almost competing for the award of "worst person."

Lapena tosses in some good twists and turns and family secrets to keep us surprised. There are certainly some dark secrets buried here. I was not a fan of the ending and felt like it left too many things unresolved, knocking my rating down to a 3.75. Still, this a quick and enjoyable thriller and worth a read.

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