Not a Happy Family: the instant Sunday Times bestseller, from the #1 bestselling author of THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR

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My favourite part was the show of how a thing as murder can shake and change relationships that seemed strong before. How one can stop trusting a person and question their intentions, even though prior the big event they would swear on their life for them. 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. I previously read another book by this author called "The Couple Next Door" which I enjoyed, I thought it was very good, and although parts of it were a little predictable (only cause I was thinking of every possible scenario) and the characters were not super likeable, I still enjoyed it, as I felt it was a fun, fast-paced thriller and it kept me on edge. So after reading that, I was excited to read this one, and I have to say I was very disappointed. 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!

Maybe you have too much to drink. Maybe everybody has too much to drink. Comparisons between you and your siblings come up. Maybe even the dreaded political discussion and the next thing you know, you're throwing on your favorite wool peacoat and storming out into the night in a huff of thinly-veiled rage. 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. They have three children. All of them were at Easter dinner. Two of them were with their spouses. One was with a random “boyfriend”. The former nanny and current cleaning lady was there too. One guest couldn’t make it. 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. The Mertons, a wealthy couple from upstate New York, are brutally murdered in their palatial home after hosting a contentious family Easter dinner.Poor Dan, is the mentally and emotionally weakest link of the trio. He reminds me of Successions’ Kendall a lot. His father targeted him from the beginning, abusing mentally and psychically, selling the company he’d worked hard for and left him penniless and unemployed. And his last unfortunate business investment left him high and dry. The father of the year rejects to borrow him money, humiliating him in front of everyone, pleasing to watch him squirming in pain. Being middle child and only boy must be toughest. He’s none of his parents’ favorite, left excluded and has every right to reflect years long boiled anger in different ways. Could he be the killer? Why not? Good thing is that it was easy to read, but a bad thing is that it was too repetitive, so many things that were already said were mentioned again and again... And their vindictive, extremely irritating auntie Audrey knows their secret, already pissed off to be excluded from half share of the wealth, smelling blood, coming after them. She thinks one of them killed her brother. Is she right?

The family in this story, the Mertons, although wealthy, are not a happy family. Their holiday dinners get very messy indeed. On the upside? Lapena always keeps her character list short, which I honestly appreciate. Too many thrillers and suspense novels get cluttered with a bunch of people who either don't matter, aren't interesting, or seem to exist only to serve as potential suspects. This tightly-knit family provided just enough options without a bunch of filler. 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. A new thriller that willgive you serious Agatha Christie vibes . . . if you’re one of the many people who counts [ And Then There Were None] among their favorite books, you will love An Unwanted Guest. . . . Adeftly crafted and expertly paced thriller that will keep readers guessing (and terrified) until the very end.”The many never-saw-them-coming twists and questionable characters . . . will keep you on the edge of your seat. First-time novelist Lapena’s writing is spare and tense, and it makes The Couple Next Door a compulsive read. The last line is absolutely a killer.” WHO KILLED THE MERTONS AND WHY? Was it one of the couple's unlikeable adult children? All of the adult children would have inherited millions from their parent's death. Or was it the housekeeper/nanny, a friend/colleague......or someone else? She didn’t call the police because she thought her brother Dan killed her parents. Cameras at the neighbors suggest she left her house around 11:00 pm and returned at 12:40 am. She also stole a favorite pair of earrings off her mother’s body. 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.

When the family comes together for this particular Easter dinner, things get especially uncomfortable. Good thing about this book is that it is easy to read, so we all finished the book faster then we planned, excluding one girl who DNFed it. 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.

Success!

Congratulations for being nominated as one of the best thrillers for Goodreads Choice Awards! This book was definitely one of the best reads of the year! Lisa (Dan's wife) would make sense, because of Dan's financial problems, but I never believed Dan was the killer, as like I said, that would've felt too obvious. Even when they kept trying to point to it being him, I never believed it was. Dan might be a weirdo, but I never thought he was a killer. 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.