I'm a reader of romance novels and women's fiction. I rarely read murder mysteries, and when I do they tend to be packaged along with romance or women's fiction, like A Family of Strangers. I'm smart enough to realize that these books are fiction, but when I finish reading any book, I like to think that once I accept the premise that these people lived at a certain time in a certain place, the rest of the book could be true--even if it is stupid self-published romance about aliens--once I accept that those aliens exist, I like to be able to consider the story plausible.



This book begins with Ryan, who is a true-crime podcaster, getting a phone call from her much older sister. The sister has been out of town on business, and is afraid she is going to be framed for a murder. She needs to disappear for a while. Can Ryan watch the kids--she had left them with the grandparents, but Grandpa just had emergency heart surgery and Grandma can't handle everything. Ok, so far, so good. Maybe not the smartest move on the sister's part, but hey, I've never thought I'd be accused of murder, so who knows what was going through her mind.



Over the next few months, Ryan's sister, Wendy, drops some clues and Ryan does some sleuthing and finds out not only what likely happened to her sister, but also learned that some things about her own life weren't what she thought. At the end, my only thought was "really?". None of it made any sense. Ryan followed this trail of clues but I just don't think that if the initiating incident had happened to the characters Richards drew that the rest of the story would have gone down that way. Honestly the only halfway realistic part of the story was the romance plot and yes, surprisingly enough, she and the guy ended up together.



While Emilee Richard's books are usually favorites, I'm afraid this one just wasn't.



Thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy via NetGally. Grade: C+

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. I found this book to be a page turner, and although it's noted as a mystery, I'd almost place it in simply fiction. This is a family story, and I liked the background of the main character being a podcaster, which is very much current. I liked the twists, the interaction from the family members, and interestingly, seeing how people perceive their past as one thing, when sometimes it's entirely different. The only reason I didn't give this a five was because I felt that some of the reactions to one sister missing weren't realistic. The characters are well developed, and I enjoyed it a lot. These characters almost lend themselves toward a series. I usually don't care for that, but in this case, I think it would work.

Not what I thought it would be, I found this book too slow moving for me and didn't like the style of Emilie's writing.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

“A Family of Strangers” was a story that had a lot going on in it. The twists and turns really took me by surprise. I went through many emotions while reading about Ryan Gracey’s adventure into figuring out what is going on with her sister, Wendy, and in their family dynamics which is full of complicated issues. The authors writing style flowed well.
Altogether a story with mystery, family loyalties, humor, family secrets...a little of everything to keep you wanting to read to the last pages.
I received this book from NetGallery in exchange for a honest review.

I enjoyed this book because of the characters. The two main characters were interesting, they kept me reading so that l could find out what happened to the sister who turned out to be a murderer. It was a believable story.

This book was a long, slow-moving "mystery" (more fiction than anything) that did not hold my attention very well although I trudged through until the end. The book is more about the relationship between two sisters, Ryan and Wendy, than it was a murder mystery. It was likable enough, I didn't dislike it, but it was wordy and i felt like I was missing something important so I had to double and triple back to make sure I hadn't missed something.
Thanks to Emilie Richards, Harlequin and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Wow this book was a real page turner, I couldn’t put it down. It was lighthearted and happy in parts and in others so much emotion I was brought to tears. The best part is there are several twists that you don’t even begin to suspect until you’re about to get to them, I love when the book leaves you with so many questions you have to keep reading rather than being predictable., this book does just that. Another great part of the book is the characters, they’re inspiring, they’re resilient and so relatable.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good mystery that keeps you guessing.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ryan is an adventurous reporter who is summoned home to care for her perfect sister's children. After her arrival, she discovers that her sister is not the person that she thought she knew. Ryan also comes to a deeper understanding of her parents and her nieces.

Great storyline about family dynamics and the labels that we attach to ourselves and others.

This one is mostly about familial relationships and the complexity involved. Wasn't exactly what I expected from the blurb. The mystery isn't really a main focus. It was a good read, just not what readers may think it is. I will definitely try others by this author. I enjoyed the writing style.

What an amazing thriller! Absolutely loved it; every roller coaster moment of it. This book was full of surprises, and there was no boring moment. I highly recommend it.

I have read quite a few books in the past written by this author. This story held my interest, but just barely. Occasionally, it was too wordy and drawn out. Family secrets, family relationships are at the heart of this story. This family is complicated mostly because they avoid situations and truth. Mysteries to solve and some unexpected happenings will help hold interest. Thank you to the author, publisher, and Net Galley for the opportunity to read the advance copy.

This book was one I really wanted to absolutely love. I liked the writing, but the story itself just wasn’t great. There was so much that could have been omitted in order to make the story move more quickly in order to hold my interest better. I’m interested in seeing some other books by this author bc I think this book had good potential and I did enjoy the writing.

Although this book was intriguing, I felt it did not live up to its' premise. I loved the concept of sisterhood and the mystery of having to figure out the ending. I did find it a bit lengthy due to the fact I thought the book dragged on and on in parts. I honestly have to rate this one 3 stars because although it wasn't my favorite of hers, it did make me want to finish reading it.

A Family of Strangers by Emilie Richards. Family relationship drama between sisters. A bit of mystery and an abundance of descriptive writing. All together an entertaining read.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

I tried so hard! The writing was great but it just couldn't hold my interest! I really wanted to like this book but I just didn't . I am encouraging others to give it a try though

The description of this book does not do it justice! I started it expecting a simple story about the under-dog sister learning to appreciate herself and her role in the family, but it was so much more than that.

Wendy was the perfect daughter with the handsome important husband and two adorable daughters. Ryan was the change-of-life younger sister who never quite lived up to her older sister. However, when Wendy calls Ryan for help, afraid she’ll be accused of murder, Ryan steps up, even more than Wendy expects. She moves in to watch her nieces, keeps tabs on her parents (including her recently sick father) and digs into a mystery that spans a lot farther in time and scope than anyone knows.

There were a lot of unexpected twists and turns in this story, and I loved every minute of it. I’m not quite sure how Ryan managed to do everything she did, act as substitute mom for two scared little girls, and still do enough work on her podcast to justify her paycheck. Happening to have wealthy parents and an ex-cop ex-boyfriend didn’t hurt. So there were definitely some convenient points. But ion the whole, the story was terrific and well told. I’m looking forward to trying some more books by this author.

The e-book ARC I received did have some formatting issues that were a bit distracting, but I expect that will be fixed in the final version.

The difference beteeen sisters. Do you really know each other. What if your sister possibly did something wrong
This book explores the complex relationships that we call family

A Family of Strangers by Emilie Richards

Pub date: June 25,2019
Mira - Harlequin
Fiction
Rating: 4/5

I received a digital copy of this ARC from NetGalley and Mira/Harlequin in exchange for an unbiased review.

3-1/2 stars I rounded up to 4, the writing and story structure were solid although somewhat wordy at times. Parts of the story seemed to drag before it all pulled together.

It can be lonely to feel like the odd one in your family. Sometimes difficult to grasp that your somehow don’t fit it. You can be made to feel like a stranger in your own family.

Ryan Rose Gracey lives in a duplex in Del Ray, Florida managed by the Gracey Group where she produces a podcast series called, Out in the Cold, based on investigations into unsolved crimes. She had started her career as an intern working for the Seabank Free Press doing an investigation following the murder of Becky Drake. It was a frightening confrontation with the alleged murderer, John Quayle, that motivated her move 4 hours away from her hometown.

She maintains an awkward relationship with her family which seems to suit her until she receives a disturbing phone call from her older sister, Wendy. Ryan had never felt close to her family especially her sister given her earliest memory was receiving an alligator nightlight when she was 4 years old. Wendy was living at college and eventually married Bryce Cartwright and settled in Connecticut when Ryan was a child.

Wendy calls Ryan asking her to resume care of her daughters, Holly and Noelle, who are being cared for by their parents. Wendy has been working to eventually take over the family real estate investment firm when her father needed open heart surgery.
She happened to be “waiting out a situation” while her husband, a Naval Officer, worked on a secured submarine and unable to fly home. Their mother, Arlie, was a nervous wreck after Dayle’s surgery and caring for two young kids so Wendy begged for Ryan’s help.

This was the first time her family seemed to reach out to her for assistance so she packed up and drove to the Gulf Sands gated community in which her parents lived. Ryan would soon learn more about her family and secrets that lay hidden for years as well as new ones which seem to be preventing her sister from coming home. With the help of her podcast co-producer and administrative research assistant, Sophie, she begins to unravel more than just cold cases for their new podcast season. Soon, Ryan reunites with Mateo “Teo” Santiago who was the K9 officer and his dog, Bismarck, who saved her life back when she an intern. She was hopeful to resolve the pains and guilt from the past.

This story explores a complicated family who chose avoidance as a manner of coping with difficult situations. Avoidance and denial have never made reality cease to exist or for the truth to be ultimately unfurled. When does family loyalty cross the line into protecting a criminal? How does one come to terms with the reality of who people are and not what we want them to be?

What a wild ride. One sister disappears because she may have committed a murder, while the other has to take care of her children. Throw in your family dynamics and you have a great read! When Wendy calls her sister Ryan to tell her she's not coming home from a business trip because the police thing she may have murdered someone, the twisted tale begins. It just so happened to be the same day that her mom was to bring her dad home from the hospital after a heart attack. Good thing for Wendy her sister is a investigative reporter who will stop at nothing to find out the truth. Too bad she can't tell what is the truth or just an elaborate lie. This was a great read!

A Family of Strangers explores the dynamic between two sisters who lead seemingly different lives. When one is scared she’ll be framed for murder, the other is forced to intervene and re-examine their relationship, history and complicated present.

While the premise is promising, it’s nothing ground breaking and the writing isn’t magnetic enough to overcome the commonly used theme.