I was intrigued by the synopsis of A Killer in the Family by Gytha Lodge. However, the book was slow in parts, making it hard to get invested in the story. There were a lot of characters, and, at times, it was hard to remember them all and how they fit all together.

I kept reading because I wanted to find out how this all resolved and how things would be wrapped up, but aww, man, there was a cliffhanger ending, which bummed me out.

I rate this a 3.25 out of 5 stars (3-star rating).

#AKillerintheFamily #NetGalley @randomhouse

"A Killer in the Family" by Gytha Lodge is a gripping and intricately plotted crime novel that delves into the chilling world of a serial killer hidden within a family. With its clever twists and suspenseful narrative, this book will keep readers on the edge of their seats, questioning the true nature of familial bonds and the lengths individuals will go to protect their own.

I enjoyed reading this book - it was fleshed out well and all the mysteries were neatly resolved. I didn't realize though that this book was a series - there were several references to past issues that the main characters (cops) were dealing with. The book intrigued me enough to go back and flip through the entire collection

The synopsis for this book is more intriguing than the full story. The first 30% of the book really drags and I truly contemplated not continuing. While this has suspenseful elements, this is more of an investigative mystery to me than a thriller. After the 50% mark it did get much more interesting and I finished it that day. I did enjoy the characters and the end result. Overall it was a good book, but the beginning really tests your endurance to keep reading, hence the 3 star rating.

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted ARC.

This was an okay police procedural but it was a little too many characters and storylines to keep up with and feel it could have done with more editing because it really dragged in middle . It was just ok
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book

Thanks so much to the publisher and to Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC copy of this book!

I have scheduled promotional posts around release day for this book and I will provide a full review on my Instagram once I am able to get to this read.

Rating 5 stars on Netgalley as a placeholder for me to update later once the review is complete.

Will also complete a review on Goodreads once read.

Thanks again!

I didn't realize that this one was apart of a series, but I am still thankful for the access to this digital installation and look forward to the publication day celebrations to come on August 8, 2023. I am so thankful to the publisher and our lovely author for the consideration.

Thank you Random House Publishing and Netgalley for my ARC of A Killer in The Family. I’ll be honest, I haven’t read any of the previous books in the series and I think that is a disservice to my review. There are A LOT of characters in this book and it got kind of confusing to keep track. I think if I had knowledge of the detectives from the previous books it would help. Anyways, this book definitely kept me reading to figure out the whodunnit. Aisling was likable as a main character but I feel as if her back story could’ve been fleshed out more. The ending was convoluted and that is why I give it 3/5 stars ⭐️

Spooky and thrilling! What a good story by Lodge. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Four stars. Families are complex and this book shows that off!

This was a pretty interesting police procedural, with a combination of stories about the personal lives of the detectives and one family's complicated history as they might be related to an active serial killer. It is part of series but easily can be read by itself. And it leaves the door open for the next book.

I was so excited when I heard that there was a new Jonah Sheens novel being written this year. I was even more excited when I was given an ARC of it! Gytha Lodge has done it again! I absolutely loved A Killer in the Family. This series is one of my favorites. Always such a good a good mystery that grabs you from the start. I really enjoy with each novel getting to know more about the lives of Sheens and his team. And as with the end of each of the previous novels I can’t wait to read the next one!!! Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC!!

DCI Sheens is back for a fifth installment. Is Aisling the killer or a damsel in distress?

If you’re a big fan of a detective procedural, in a small UK town, you’ll love this – handles all the tropes skillfully with believable characters. The DCI is growing on me and I found the main character relatable as a mother and a daughter.
Sheens is becoming my favorite police procedural series- if you haven’t read these before please check them out!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an e-ARC of A Killer in the Family, available in August 2023.

In the latest installment of the DCI Jonah Sheens series, the Detective and his team are tasked with solving a series of brutal murders committed by The Bonfire Killer, a serial killer lurking in their midst. With little to go on at first, they're thrilled to find the murderer's DNA on one of the victims. While there's no positive match in their criminal database, they're able to successfully connect it to Aisling Cooley, a single mom with two teenagers, using an ancestry website. For Aisling, the DNA she uploaded was meant to reunite her with her long-lost father. For the police, they now have three potential suspects: two teenagers and a middle-aged man. When Aisling gets a call from the police, she's happy to help with the investigation. That is, until she realizes her help could incarcerate a family member. Can she really be related to a serial killer?

While I wasn't a fan of the previous novel in the series, I wanted to give this one a try since I've enjoyed the author's other books. Unfortunately, I think I'm going to call it on reading more novels in the series. Despite an intriguing beginning, the rest of the novel didn't keep my attention. There was too little focus on solving the murders and instead, focusing on the character's personal lives. Second, I thought the author tried too hard to squeeze in all the red herrings and twists and turns.

This was my first book by Gytha Lodge, but I have always heard good things about her series. This book did not disappoint! While it was a little slow at the beginning, the later half of the book made up for the slow start. I was also pleased to actually like the majority of characters for once (I haven't had great luck in finding likable characters lately), so I'm looking forward to revisiting some of them by reading more in this series. Originally, I didn't realize that this was book 5- but it works well as a standalone if you haven't read books 1-4 like me. Overall, this was a good, fast read and I'd definitely recommend it if you like police procedurals.

.Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I've enjoyed the series so far, hence why I requested this, the fourth book in the series. Wait, I'm being told this is the fifth book. Anyway, whatever number this is--the fifth--it's my favorite so far. The previous books weren't bad, of course, but something about this storyline grabbed me more than the rest.

My first Gytha Lodge book but definitely not my last! This was well written and kept me flipping pages. Lots of great tension and twists.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The last four chapters were the best of A Killer in the Family by Gytha Lodge to me.
To me the book just meandered along without catching my total attention until toward the end.
The ending just blasted away the slow storyline for me.

A police procedural involving the use of DNA to find a serial killer. It was a slow start for me, but once it got going I was totally hooked. Likable characters, lots of twists and turns, and good dialogue with smile provoking humor thrown into the mix. The only nitpick — intermittent diversions into the lives of a couple of the detectives that seemed to have no relevance.

Overall I really liked this book and recommend it to lovers of crime mysteries. My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this advanced copy.

A Killer In The Family is Book 5 in the Jonah Sheens series, and as the title implies, DCI Sheens and his team are trying to find a serial killer using familial DNA testing. The first part of the book is a bit tedious, but the action (and interest) definitely picks up and turns the book around. However, due to all the intermingling players as a result of the DNA aspect of the plot, things can get a little muddled without a scorecard, and the resulting twists and turns feels a bit overdone. However, the characters on Sheen’s team shine through on this one, and that’s enough to propel the story and keep you hooked, and the ending ensures loyal readers of a continuation of this series. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A Killer in the Family was a suspenseful, yet heartfelt read. Gytha Lodge kept me guessing til the very end. As soon as I "knew" who did it, she would prove me wrong and I'd be off on another wild goose chase trying to figure out who the killer was. She also explored the complicated feelings and dimensions that come with family past and trauma. I find using DNA in criminal cases to be absolutely intriguing and this was my first work of fiction seeing this used to catch a killer. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

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