Another solid book by Lapena, and will recommend to fans of psychological thrillers. My only issue with the book is an abrupt ending that left me slightly unsatisfied.

This is a very well designed whodunnit, in which just about everyone in the book had a motive and opportunity to do it! In the end, though, I sort of felt that the choice of who the murderer was seemed a little arbitrary, and things got wrapped up too quickly. Overall however, I enjoyed this book very much. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The best thing about picking up a Shari Lapena book is that there is NO waiting for things to pick up the pace. It's like being shot out of a cannon from the first page and doesn't stop. Lapena has created a cast of characters that make even the most dysfunctional families seem tame. Every member of the Merton family has the power to be guilty- and that's what keeps the stakes so high throughout the entire book. The way things quickly began to unravel for each of the siblings kept me changing my opinion on who was culpable with every chapter. The only thing that left me slightly underwhelmed was the ending. I felt it was a little too obvious and closed up a little too cleanly. Even after it was revealed who the killer was, I kept waiting for one final twist or turn that would add more shock value. But overall, it was another strong domestic thriller from Shari Lapena!

I was super excited to read Not A Happy Family by Shari Lapena. I’m a huge fan of her books and she is another author who never lets me down! Everything I read from her is so darn good. Another author whose books I’m excited to read no matter what they are about.

Here’s the scoop:

Brecken Hill in upstate New York is an expensive place to live. You have to be rich to have a house there, and Fred and Sheila Merton certainly are rich. But even all their money can’t protect them when a killer comes to call. The Mertons are brutally murdered after a fraught Easter dinner with their three adult kids. Who, of course, are devastated.

Or are they? They each stand to inherit millions. They were never a happy family, thanks to their vindictive father and neglectful mother, but perhaps one of the siblings is more disturbed than anyone knew. Did someone snap after that dreadful evening? Or did another person appear later that night with the worst of intentions? That must be what happened. After all, if one of the family were capable of something as gruesome as this, you’d know.

Wouldn’t you?

The kids were all pretty unlikable, they each had their own reasons for being upset with their parents. I loved the way the book set each character up so that they could very well be responsible for the brutal murder and I was guessing until the end.

This would make a really good miniseries or TV show! It comes out on July 27, pre-order and clear your calendar!

A page-turning classic whodunnit. Wealthy parents Fred and Sheila are murdered in their own house after a very fractious Easter dinner. All three kids have motives and all are lying. The reader is left to wonder which one of the kids is responsible or whether it could it be an outsider. Well written, kept me engaged until the end.

I just don't know what it is with Shari Lapena's writing style. I feel like first graders could put together a better sentence than what she writes.

I have pretty consistently enjoyed Shari Lapena’s novels, rating The Couple Next Door, An Unwanted Guest, and A Stranger In the House all four stars. So I had four-star expectations when I picked up her latest, Not A Happy Family (thanks to Penguin Group Viking and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for this honest review).

The premise suggested a cast of characters that weren’t exactly relatable: a very wealthy couple is murdered on Easter night, after a contentious family dinner at their home, with all of their children present (well, almost all - but that’s a plot twist I won’t spoil in a review!)

Fred and Sheila Merton lived in a rich area, with two of their three adult children nearby. The eldest, their daughter Catherine, covets their big house and expects to move there after they are gone...their son Dan is married to Lisa, who is “...his first experience of unconditional love. Unless you count the dogs.” He worked with his father in the business, which he expected to take over when Dad retired...but then Dad sold it and Dan is out of work. “His father has ruined him, and he’s enjoyed doing it.”. The youngest, Jenna, is an artist who creates sculptures of female genitalia -- all these young adults stand to inherit millions, and none of them really cared for their father. Then there is Irena, “...the former nanny, now cleaning woman, who has been invited to dinner. And to clean it lll up afterward...She can’t stop thinking about them, those children she brought up while Fred and Sheila couldn’t be bothered.”

At the family dinner, Fred was his usual nasty, vindictive self, while Sheila was typically neglectful and vague. Once the bodies are discovered, the truth starts to come out, and the fact that all three of them lie about their locations and activities following the dinner makes the police wonder if there is anyone they could believe or trust.

It was never a happy family, and “...relationships and patterns are established early; they don’t change. Family dynamics play out again and again.” I’m one of those who rarely (if ever) figures out whodunit before the end, but I saw this one coming...and didn’t really care, since I didn’t like ANY of the characters. Victims, suspects, cops, lawyer -- none of them were appealing. Doesn’t mean it isn’t a fun read -- and the unraveling of the family drama is well done. I’m going three stars on this one, just because it doesn’t seem like I’ll remember much about this one for long, and seriously, if I figured out the plot, I would guess anyone could.

Not a Happy Family
by Shari Lapena
Published July 27, 2021

I read this one over the Memorial Day weekend! This is one of my favorite Shari Lapena books and I am highly recommending it. The ending was not what I expected but what an adventure to get there. Every family member had a motive for the killing. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. Great book!

5 star

Fred is a mean, sometimes cruel father in Not a Happy Family by Shari Lapena. He who puts down his children at every turn, and his wife Sheila seems to be afraid of him. With considerable wealth, Fred originally planned to leave the bulk of his estate to his children – all his children, including the one not born of Sheila. But his sister Audrey insists he was going to leave half of his fortune to her.

On Easter evening, someone slays both Fred and Sheila in their home after their three children have gone home after a Not a Happy Easter meal where Fred had told them that he and Sheila are selling the family mansion. Not only are they murdered, but many of their expensive items are missing.

Not terribly upset about the death of their parents because of their father’s hateful ways and their mother’s lack of a maternal gene – she left their upbringing to their beloved nanny Irene – the three legitimate children, Catherine, Dan, and Jenna, are quickly under suspicion since it seems obvious that they will inherit the family millions. Did the illegitimate child also expect an inheritance that would further expose Fred for the disgusting man that he was?

Shari Lapena has filled this page turner with any number of possible murderers including children, spouses, a boyfriend, an aunt, and the mother of the illegitimate child. The possibility of suspects just keeps changing until the very end. This author never fails to keep me up at night finishing her latest.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting May 31, 2021.

I would like to thank the PENGUIN GROUP Viking for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

Shari Lapena never disappoints and if her previous books are not proof enough this read is sure to persuade!! I couldn’t put this book down I simply needed to find out what happened and the last few pages left me in utter disbelief!! Absolutely will recommend this book and continue to be stunned by Lapena’s novels!

Another fabulous book by Shari Lapena. She knows how to write suspenseful novel . All characters all have reason to do the murder but who did that’s the question and as always you can’t figure it out until the end .so good

This was more of a murder mystery than psychological thriller. It was an interesting look at a highly dysfunctional family and all the characters surrounding the murder of the parents. I would've liked there to have been a little more to the plot, specifically one or two twists. I felt that the ending was a bit predictable and nothing really surprising happened.

Three children, their significant others and their old nanny/ maid have dinner with their very wealthy parents Easter Sunday. As usual their father is an absolute nasty bully and they all leave before dinner is finished. That night someone brutally murders both parents and the children become the main suspects because according to their parents’ wills, they’re going to inherit the bulk of the fortune, along with a few others.

I read The Couple Next Door and thoroughly enjoyed the suspense, so I knew I would probably enjoy this one too. It really reminded me of a combo of “Knives Out” and the HBO show “Succession”. Both of these have crazy dysfunctional families at the center of the stories. The back and forth in this book made it all the more exciting. This family loves lying! The author injects red herrings, pulling the reader into solving the mystery. Lapena does a great job of building suspense and taking the reader through endless lies and suspects. I have recommended this book to others within a few days of finishing it. This is truly a dysfunctional family without a redeeming quality among them and you realize anyone of them could be the killer. The author did a great job of keeping the suspicion nicely going from character to character. A short wonderful beach read, this is perfect for July reading. Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin for an eARC!

Though not entirely without flaw (primarily some editing mistakes involving misnamed characters that will hopefully be worked out pre-publication), I'm willing to suggest this is Lapena's best yet.

This author has a gift for writing a twisty, turny story! I think I suspected every single character of having committed the crime. I went back and forth until the end. This book goes between several different narrators, but it isn't confusing or hard to keep track. The siblings are all pretty horrible and I felt myself cringing at parts, because of their thoughts. I am eagerly awaiting to see what this author comes up with next!

If you like thrillers and mysteries, this is a great one! It had interesting characters, while flawed, they were still worth rooting for. There were twists and turns, and it really kept moving. I could not put this book down!

What an amazing domestic thriller! Shari Lapena's books get better with each new story. This is by far my favorite novel of hers! Once I started this, I literally could not put it down until I finished. What a screwed up family! I absolutely adored the ending...karma!! I will definitely be recommending this book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy. 10 stars if I could!!

I honestly think that Shari Lapena is the true queen of domestic suspense.....she does it SO DAMN WELL. It’s addictive. You get into her books and at one point you totally think that everyone is guilty. In her new novel NOT A HAPPY FAMILY out 7/27 from Viking, there’s two elderly dead bodies, a 26 million dollar fortune, an embattled family, and everyone looks guilty. Who did it??? I literally sped read through this book. It’s phenomenal. It moves at a break neck speed it’s such a page turner. Every single one of the characters practically is awful and unlikable....but it SO works in this novel for me. The Mertons are the epitome of a truly dysfunctional family, and Shari Lapena crafts it so beautifully. She’s absolutely an auto-buy author for me now, I look forward to her thrillers every summer. Even if you can predict a couple of her twists, [I had a hunch who did it all along], it’s worth reading just for the wild ride.

4.5 ⭐️

I'm a big fan of Shari Lapena. I'm thankful to #Netgalley for letting me read this one.

If you love a good psychological thriller, then this book is for you. As the title says "Not a Happy Family", is what this book is about. We have a family of secrets. Lots of twists and turns on what is going on. Loved it.

My only issue was how it ended. It was good, but I wanted more. I read this book in a day it was that good.

I honestly don't know when I've read such a great psychological thriller with a totally deranged and screwed up family. I've just read 2 thrillers by Shari Lapena back-to-back and I cannot get enough of her books! I like her books because she doesn't dwell on details. She dives into the story and keeps the reader turning pages until the very end.