Firstly got to say this book wins the award for the ‘most times I have clicked the blue dictionary spot’ on Kindle in a book, ever.....surprisingly this did not niggle or annoy in the slightest and enjoyed learning new words...
Now the book
And what a book
Without doubt the most terrifying book I have read in a long long time, graphic in parts yes BUT psychologically terrifying!
Becky was on holiday with her family when they are murdered, horrifyingly and she manages to escape, she wants revenge ( rightly so ) and so starts 400 plus pages
of her, via the internet, the dark web, subterfuge, hacking ( and the rest ) finding out who the killer is and what he is part of, to call it an adventure would be to underplay it, its massive! And what she discovers will leave you shuddering and recoiling...
Becky should be bitter, and she is but with such a wry sense of humour, dark and sometimes inappropriate you cant help but love her ( and guiltily laugh at times ) she is as my Nan would say ‘ a caution’, I loved her
Other characters are just as strong, you will like some and DESPISE others!
The writing is fast and frentic but holds together a complex story so well it doesnt feel it
The ending(s) are too spectacular to be called twists, they are breath taking and so so unexpected
Rare I have to stop reading, just for a few seconds, to take stock and continue, this book is THAT good, that bad and that powerful I had no choice
10/10 5 Stars

Becky Morgan is the lone survivor after her entire family was murdered by a sadistic, mask wearing serial killer. Working as a journalist, Becky chooses to go on sabbatical so she can investigate the unsolved crime. From the beginning, it seems like this will be good.
I really wanted to love this book and I feel like it had loads of potential. Unfortunately, it seemed like the story went all over the place and at times just way too much going on. Even worse, with so much going on, none of it really held my attention. This book very nearly went unfinished.
The identity of the killer wasn't much of a twist in my opinion. I can see how it would catch some off guard, but even so I don't feel like it's enough of a twist to read almost to the end for. There was a small twist that I didn't see coming. I knew this person wasn't what they seemed, but I hadn't anticipated the whole story. Even so, it didn't really add to the story line, just made things more unbelievable.
When I finished reading and started working on this review I realized the author has a lot of good ideas. There are like three or four that could have been eliminated from this story, built on and made entirely their own, I just don't feel like they all worked being in the same story line.

The ordeal that Rebecca Morgan has to go through is one that I would hope I would never have to go through as it is one terrifying act of brutality. Some of the murders described are gory and violent and shocking. As wrong as it sounds I enjoyed these bits in the book as these bits were straightforward. You knew what you were going to get. Other times in the book I did get confused about where in Europe Becky was. She always travelling and I didn’t know where. There were also shock galore with the big reveal too! I did not seem them coming!

It was also quite scary to think that there was someone out there committing these ritualistic murders all over Europe! Makes you not want to leave your front door.

How Becky is able to function in the morning I will never know. She has had it hard, a lot of therapy, a lot of seeing the end of a bottle and a lot of false names. That is not a life, so by taking her revenge, she is able to start living again. She is strong and she very much likes to take risks and think of the consequences later! I do have to do a shout out to Rupert, loved that guy!

It was quite a rollercoaster of events spreading across Europe, infiltrating the politicians, police and just your average Joe Bloggs! The opening chapter will give you chills, something out of a horror film! The rest is a scary game of cat and mouse and a lot of revelations to be uncovered.

The Family is a book I struggled with due to the graphic nature that was at times very heavy and found it leaned more towards horror than thriller.
The book blurb I read I thought it was going to be right up my street but unfortunately wasn’t. Becky Morgan is the main character, twenty years ago her family were killed whilst holidaying in France, Becky survived and now wants to find the murderer and make him pay for her loss. The book for me is split into two parts, the first part sets the scene and all the background information needed for this to have a strong base then part two, which is much more action packed as Becky closes in on the killer.
Unfortunately due to the violence, not quite liking the main character, ritual killings and at times being very far from believable this book wasn’t for me but maybe it’s up your street so give it a go.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Aria for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

Becky is the lone survivor of a pretty horrific murder, that saw 3 members of her family butchered at the hands of a sadist.

20 years later and the case has gone cold and Becky is out to uncover the truth once and for all.

This book started out really strong, in fact I had started it late at night and the first chapter gave me the chills so bad, I had to put it down or else I would never have to sleep that night. However for me, the story seemed to wane a bit after this. Becky was incredibly unlikable and I really struggled to get on board with her, despite her tragic past. The story seemed to jump about a bit and there were characters being introduced left, right and center and I often had a hard time trying to remember who was who.

However, the second half of this book dramatically picked up pace and a lot seemed to be happening, which pulled me into the story and I found myself enjoying the story once again. I did not expect it to end the way it did and the author did a really good job of keeping me guessing throughout!

Twenty years ago Becky Morgan’s family was killed while they were on holiday in France. Becky managed to get away and now that it is coming upon the twentieth anniversary of their murder, she wants to find the killer and make him pay. Revenge sets Becky down a dark and twisty path where every turn she makes could be her last.

The Family by P.R. Black is definitely not what I first expected. I thought the story would verge more on a serial killer with more of a slasher movie type vibe, but it is so much more than that. Between ritual killings, the dark web, politicians and the like, the story takes many turns I never ever imagined. The first half of the story really delves into the details and builds the story through a strong foundation. The second half is where most of the action is as there is a race to the finish line t catch a killer. The second half was definitely my favorite part of the story, but I will warn you it does get pretty gory. Which does not both me in the slightest, but many readers may be a bit squeamish

Becky is a pretty badass character even after all she has been through. She does not sleep at night and has dreams of her family being murdered and drinks just to get through the day. Did I find her a little bit too much badass-y? Sure, but this is fiction afterall and sometimes you do have to suspend disbelief especially in some of the scenes she is in. But, Becky is definitely a character you can feel some empathy for.

The Family definitely holds a lot of mystery between its pages and there are some twists I did not see coming. Some of the twists were actually quite shocking. All in all I enjoyed the story and trying to figure out the mystery/killer.

4-5 stars! This book grabbed me from the beginning and I had a hard time swapping to my other books! Very chilling, intense read, which is sure to elicit all the emotions us thriller lovers seek out like a drug! A must read for those who love dark, disturbing reads!
I’m going to use in a challenge and highly recommend to the members of Chapter Chatter Pub!

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for my advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This is a fast psychological thriller about the only survivor of a gruesome ritual killing and her struggle with this memory and the fact that they have never found the guy who did it. When Becky begins to make some serious connections with similar crimes across Europe her hunt for the killer begins and we're along for that ride.

I struggled with this book for many reasons. Were it not for Black's, as I said, fast-paced writing, I might've DNF'ed this novel. I didn't enjoy any of the characters. They were either bland or not relatable. The killer was probably my favorite because at least he had a real agenda and an interesting personality. The premise of the book sounded intriguing but ended up being nothing novel or unique. We've seen ritualistic killings. We've seen secret societies that enjoy said killings. And most of all, we've seen the "I trusted you but then you turned out to be the killer" tropes a million times in this genre. The only thing I believe the author did well (and the reason why this book earned any stars) was how he portrayed the cascading effects of such a murder: the frustration of the police officers for not being able to crack this case, the emotional turmoil of the boy who found Becky back then when she escaped the killer, and of course, Becky's struggles to fit into society and have a normal day-to-day life. If Black would've expanded on that and left out many of the unnecessary plot events, this would've been a far better book. And that brings me to the actual plot line. Jeez, were there too many unbelievable plot revelations. How can so many things happen and it be real? I just could not get into that plotline. I could not suspend disbelief. Most of all though, the ending was such a letdown. That plot twist could not be more overdone.

Becky Morgan is the only survivor of a horrific ritual killing which killed the rest of her family. The killer was never caught, and twenty years later Becky is set to seek her revenge. Should she avenge her family’s deaths or should old wounds be left sealed.

This is the first book I have read by this author. One of the things that attracted me to this book was the front cover, which gave the book a slightly creepy feel to it. The blurb also sounded just like the type of book I’d like to read. The book started out well with Becky, the main character, working on how to avenge the deaths of all her family some 20 years before. To say it’s been difficult for her over those years is an understatement! I did, however, really like her character and loved the fact that despite her emotional problems, she was still a gutsy and ballsy young woman who took no rubbish from anyone.

The book starts off at a fast pace and if you take your eyes off the action for a second you may find it easy to lose the plot of what’s happening. It does however have a good suspense theme running through it, although for me it did seem to verge on the side of horror at times as opposed to thriller! A word of warning for the squeamish, it is quite gory and gruesome in parts and it’s also quite scary, so if these aren’t your things then it may be best to give this one a miss!

Personally, if I had known it was as graphic as it was I probably wouldn’t have chosen to read it and it was just a little too much for me at times. But on the whole, the story was a gripping read (even if it was from behind the cushion!!) and there were plenty of heart stopping and nail biting moments!! If blood and gore and being scared out of your wits is what you like in a book, then I would definitely recommend it!! Just don’t read it on your own and keep the lights on!

I really struggled with this book. It was overly graphic and at times unbelievable. The main character was not at all likeable. I just could not get excited about it at all. I liked the sound of the book but it did not live up to expectations for me.

Dark and twisted throughout! I loved this book so much that I immediately want to start reading it again. The characters felt real enough that I could be talking to them and getting the story in real life instead of just reading it. I cannot wait to read more from this author.

The protagonist was funny the story shocking and the culmination a bit unbelievable. A must read but not a repeat read.

After I have finished a book I always like to check what other reviewers have said.
I am shocked, did they read the same book as me ????
THIS BOOK TICKED ALL MY BOXES!!!!!
Intense, chilling,scary and absolutely gripping. I could not put this book down. Lots of blood and gore.
It made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck, packed with tension and suspense. This is definitely my type of book. This is a book you read with all the lights on. The climax was shocking but SO GOOD and did I mention twisted.
A new author for me and they have now gone to the top of my reading list. A psychological thriller par excellence. I loved loved It. A tour de force of a read A MUST READ an easy five stars and so Highly Recommended. Definitely left me wanting more from this author.
I would like to thank the author, Aria and Netgalley for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

This is a standalone novel following Becky, a young woman who survived a famous crime many years ago involving her family. She has never fully recovered mentally and isn't stable. She suffers from depression and guilt. There is an authenticity to the anguish felt by Becky that many readers will be able to identify with the anxiety and guilt that she feels over her life's downward spiral.

The author includes intriguing plots that are woven together, however something in this novel just didn't work for me. I found some of the actions hard to believe and the characters failed to engage me. It wasn't a total disaster and there was still plenty that I enjoyed but for me it fell short on the usual high standard of writing that I have enjoyed previously. I prefer books that at least invite me to read them again someday. For this reason, thrillers are not my favorite. They're fun for the twists and turns, but once those have all been discovered, there's no reason to revisit. With that being said, this book was a page-turner and an easy read.

I do still recommend it because it's entertaining and the end result will satisfy your thriller needs.

Incredibly intense, heart racing and twisted .
I found this a truly gripping read.
It's a bit more on the horror side of mystery and thriller for me though. It was graphic, gruesome and spine chilling .

I have to say I had a few sleepless nights after this!

Superb twist in the end that you could never see coming.
Well written too.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Arc of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview The Family by PR Black.
Twenty years ago and terrible event occurred - An entire family was murdered - but there was one survivior, Becky.
The murders were not solved, and now Becky is trying to find out who did this to her family. Will she get what she is looking for - comfort in finding the killer(s), or will she continue to struggle with no satisfaction.
This is a tough read - explicit and scary. Good twist at the end.
3 stars.

Becky is the lone survivor after her parents and two siblings are the victims of a ritualistic killing. Now an adult, Becky suffers permanent emotional damage because of her horrible ordeal as a child but she’s determined to find their killer and get her revenge.

All in all I did like this book. It definitely had the mystery aspect going for it. There were some heart-pounding scenes. And there were was a good twist.

The story started off great. The problem for me is that it quickly became a complicated story that was all over the place which made it hard to keep track of the details. And dialogue! There were so many clumps of long dialogue between two, and sometimes three, characters that it got challenging to keep track of who was speaking. I found myself thinking, “ok let’s get to the point” many times. The dialogue just needs to be more broken apart and less detailed.

I really did like Becky. She was a sarcastic and headstrong character. She took no crap and was tough as nails.

The big chunks of detailed dialogue and the story becoming so complicated is what took a lot away from it for me. I really wanted to love it. But everyone is different when it comes to what they like or dislike in a book. Still, give this book a shot!

Enjoyable and a fun read!

The story caught my eye from the moment I read the blurb, and I just knew I wanted to read this book. I was not let down and can recommend this to everyone!

The Family is a great creepy thriller with a twist that will keep you flipping the pages. Well written and a interesting plot.

“The Family”is Haunting, spine-chilling and terrifying. A thrilling roller coaster of a book! It had me gripped from the start. I literally could not turn the pages fast enough. I highly recommend it. My thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for an advance copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.