This dark thriller kept me invested in the story from the get-go! It is the first book I've read by this author, and I really enjoyed trying to keep up with all the twists and discover where things would go. The characters are well-developed and easy to connect to, which makes for an easy and enjoyable read. I will look for more from this author and continue with the series for sure!

This was a fast and clever book, it kept me guessing until the end. Gytha has an amazing ability to weave together a twisted book that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

This one fell short for me. I had a really hard time getting into the story and I just never really got into it. I honestly had a hard time finishing it. Just wasn't for me,

When I originally requested this book, I did not realize it was part of a series. That being said, it could be read as a standalone. This book follows a police procedural in which we are looking for a serial killer who burns his victims in bonfires and a woman who is searching for her lost father might just learn that his DNA matches that of the serial killers.

This story is told from multiple points of view, which seems to be in these days. The book starts a bit slow and there are definitely sections that are dragged out, but overall, it's not a bad read.

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read A Killer In The Family.

This is a police procedural about a woman named Aisling, who is a single mom of two teenage boys and is looking for her long lost father.

Detective Jonah Sheens and his team are looking for a murderer they have dubbed as the Bonfire Killer. He seems to be an active serial killer who has the town on edge.

When Aisling decides to use a ancestry website to help her find her father she is in for a surprise when Detective Jonah is brought right to her doorstep... as it turns out, her DNA is a close match with The Bonfire Killer!

This is my first book in the DCI Jonah Sheens series, i didn't realize this was not a stand alone book, so I will be going back to read the others! I really enjoyed this book! I read it in a day! I couldn't wait to see WHY the detectives found a close relation from Aisling to The Bonfire Killer! thought the idea of using an ancestry site was a new and exciting concept. I loved the character development and the suspense. After reading the blurb on the book I knew this book was for me. My only complaint was the book was a little dragged out in parts, but overall a great read.

4 stars

A Killer in the Family by Gytha Lodge is the fifth book in her DCI Jonah Sheens series. This book can definitely be read as a standalone though. The beginning murder scene drew me in quickly and I couldn’t wait to get into the story. I enjoyed how genetic genealogy was worked into the solving of the Bonfire Killer case. That is something that you hear about all the time in the news, so it was fun to read about. I also liked how I thought I knew who the killer was several different times, but was proven wrong. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Slow burn suspense with some mystery since we don't know who the killer is until the very end. Bonfire killer is an interesting concept. The horse being killed is rough.

This book really just took me for a ride. I loved the build up, the character development, and the writing. I would definitely read more from this author!

A Killer in the Family will have the reader going down multiple rabbit holes trying to uncover the true identity of the "bonfire killer." Disturbing, tense, suspenseful - this book has everything a thriller needs. I really liked the characters, especially Aisling and her boys. I loved that among all the suspense and thrill, there were real characters with depth and strong relationships. I would definitely recommend this book!

This ambitious police procedural features a serial killer who destroys his victims in forest bonfires, a woman searching for her long-lost father whose DNA matches the serial killer’s, and the Detective Chief Inspector and team who attempt to capture the killer. Multiple points of view, including the killer’s, are also featured in various chapters. A very busy novel, it held my interest well enough without any specific negative features. But at 416 pages it did feel a bit drawn out to me.

This is book five in the DCI Jonah Sheens series. I read book one and then this one so it definitely works as a standalone. While I thought it started a little slowly about halfway through it picked up quite a bit and was a pretty fast paced police procedural. I like the characters and the fact that you get to see the story from so many perspectives. I do think the beginning might have moved a little faster if I had been familiar with all of the police perspectives at least, it was a bit hard to follow at first. New Years Eve is a new beginning, but for one woman it is an ending as well when she gets into a car with a killer. As the police begin to investigate they find blood at the scene that is not the victim and when it doesn’t show up on any of their searches they decide to try a new science for their laws and enter the DNA into a geology site. I liked the red herrings and found the story to be interesting. The twists were nice.

I went into this not knowing it was a police procedural. I usually do not read them, but I took a chance on this one, and I had a ball with it. Figuring out the case along with the cop was a fun thing to do, and the book grabbed my attention from the start. I would recommend it to anyone that wants to branch out to read a police procedural.

A Killer In the Family is an interesting read. I liked the multi pov and appreciated the twists. It has a few red herrings that helped create tension and suspense.
It was, however, a rather slow paced read and several sections seemed to drag a little. I also never felt a real connection to any of the characters so the family interactions and revelations didn’t give me the emotional connection to the book that would make me rate it higher. It was an enjoyable detective mystery overall.

This book is Book 5 in the Jonah Sheens Detective Series. It does read well as a stand-alone.


I have posted this review on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cv_F0jELhCi/?igsh=dm5nbnQxenZlZ3hk

Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5743205005

And Amazon

📖 Book Review 📖

🎧📱 "A Killer in the Family" by Gytha Lodge

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Backlog of Netgalley

So here is a @netgalley ARC from earlier in 2023. Thank you and I am finally getting around to reading and reviewing. 🤦🏼‍♀️

I read this as a standalone, but it is #5 in the DCI Jonah Sheens series. DNA has come along way in helping solve crimes and the plot showcases how after uploading DNA online searching for her father a woman gets more than she bargained for and opens a whole police case. First a body is found, burned in a bonfire in an empty field, and when a second burned body is found the police believe they have a serial killer on their hands. Set in Southhampton, a single mother of 2 teenagers is searching for her long-lost father, and her DNA is a familial match to this possible "bonfire killer". All in all a dark, intense, and well-written novel, making me want to go back and read the first 4 in the series. 

#bookstagram #letsread #somanybooks #bookreview #bookrecommendations #readersofinstagram #readmorebooks #booklover #bookishlove #readersgonnaread #bookishaf

A Killer in the Family is book five in the DCI Jonah Sheens series. In this 2023 installment a killer is targeting women in their 40’s and burning them on funeral pyres in the woods. Detective Sheens and his team will need to find the killer before he strikes again. But when using the new DNA ancestry database Jonah finds a connection to Ainsling Cooley, a single mother with two teenage sons. Ainsling cannot imagine her sons being capable of murder but she’s also struggling with the possibility that the father that abandoned her thirty years prior is also a suspect. As the team digs into Ainsling’s family and other possible connected crimes they uncover the dark family secrets that have been hiding a killer.

A Killer in the Family is a twisty police procedural and a crime thriller. There is a nice balance between the crimes and details about the personal lives of the investigators. I found the explanation of how they used the DNA database really interesting and I could see how even with it there still needs to be a lot of solid police work. This book kept my interest and there were a lot of good twists and turns. I look forward to reading more from this series.

This was a very slow burn read hat took me two attempts to get through. The first time I got to 42% and DNF’d it for a little while. The second time I got through it, but almost DNF’d it again.

I don’t say this with the purpose of saying the book is bad. It’s not, the plot is pretty good and there were some aspects that I did find interesting throughout. However, I do not believe this series was meant for me.

I could not get into the storyline and there was no excitement for me. I have not read the previous four books in this series and it is possible, had I read these previously, that my opinion might be different, but I won’t be going back to read them.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for providing me with an advanced readers copy of this novel.

Okay let me just start by saying I did not realize that this book was part of a series. I highly recommend reading the whole series if you are going to read this because as a standalone it was a little confusing but I will get into that.

I really enjoyed this book! The plot was great and super engaging. There were twists that I did not see coming and that was huge for me!

I read this book as a standalone so for me some of the characters were a little confusing as they were introduced briefly at the beginning and their first and last names were used interchangeably.

If you are reading this as the fifth(?) book in the series, then I would probably prefer this as I hate an extended explanation of who someone is after reading about them over multiple books.

This book can 100% be read as a stand-alone and only has one SMALL plot line connected to the previous books (that I could tell not having read them).

Honestly I’m going to go back and read the first 4 now because I really enjoyed this!

I really liked this one. It kept me guessing. This is a fast paced, easy read. The advances in DNA bring used for forensics is fascinating and a little scary!
Gytha Lodge has penned a rollercoaster of a read in this title.
Thank You to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group, and Gytha Lodge for the opportunity to enjoy reading this ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for my copy of this book! This was my first Gytha Lodge book, I found out halfway through it was a series… This one had me from the minute they announced that Aisling’s DNA was a match for a serial killers! It was a wild ride! I also really appreciate the research the author did to create all the twists and turns! 4⭐️/5 and I will definitely be reading all the other books in this series!!

This is the first book I have read by Gytha Lodge. I didn't realize this was part of a series but I managed to follow along. I will be going back and reading the book before this just to get all the information I missed. This was a well written book with really good characters. I was on the edge of my seat with this book and couldn't put it down. I can't wait to read more. I would definitely recommend this book. P.S. I also loved the cover!


Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for allowing me to read this ARC for my honest opinion.