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I had a hard time with this story. Mainly because I never really cared about any of the characters. Yeah I kind of wanted to know the secrets they were all hiding but then I was a bit disappointed in what they were.

I used to read Staub but hadn’t read one of her books for a while so I was interested to see if her writing appealed to me anymore. And I was sad that I was not wowed by the story.

There were parts of the story I found that caught my attention but mostly I was just rushing through the story.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

The Other Family is an engaging, quick read told from three points-of-view. The storyline is well plotted, but the twist at the end could leave readers underwhelmed and wanting more.

A fast paced story but the foreshadowing made the plot predictable and the ending left me hanging.
A family of four with a dog move from California to New York for the husbands job with the hopes the move would help their troubled marriage. A house that holds secrets, overbearing neighbors, an unreliable narrator and multiple POV's should make a compelling story but this one falls short. Nora, the wife has secrets of her own but I figured them out rather quickly. The same with Jacob's involvement with the secrets the house holds. The daughter, Stacey's chapters are filled with teenage angst but the shadowy stalkers identity is revealed early on so there's no real mystery there. The short chapters do make this a quick read, one that for me was just slightly enjoyable and underwhelming. I'm sure there's an audience that will gravitate towards this one but unfortunately it didn't do it for me.

The Other Family is my first book by Wendy Corsi Staub. This is a great book if you are looking for a page turning mystery/thriller that is so hard to put down. It is a haunting mystery that will keep you on your toes. This is a spooky mystery/thriller that definitely keeps your interest. It will take you on a fast paced wild ride that will leave you hanging after each chapter you read. You will not be able to turn the pages fast enough to find out what is coming next. Told in multiple point of views it also deals with other sensitive issues. Mental health issues, drug, addiction, abuse and manipulation are just some touched upon in this one. I really liked this book and definitely will look for more by this author.

Thank you NetGalley, Scene of the Crime, William and Morrow and Wendy Corsi Staub for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
#netgalley #sceneofthecrime #wiiliamandmorrow #theotherfamily #wendycorsistaub. #arc

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow and Custom House for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

This one starts off really intriguing and mysterious, which is always fun with a thriller. We have 3 POVs and I actually enjoyed the way each of them complimented each other. Sometimes multiple POVs can make things complicated and messy, but I thought each one was really well done in this story.
This really had me second guessing everyone and everything. I was always trying to think of what was going on and I love that it had me stumped.
My biggest complaint and why I didn’t rate it higher is, nothing happens. It’s all a lot of build up for nothing. There’s all these secrets and mysteries, which is usually fun. However, there has to be some type of conclusion and climax. This doesn’t really have that. Plus the ending is just lame in my opinion. I don’t know why the author chose to go in the direction they did, but I didn’t really care for it.
I think this could’ve been an amazing thriller, but it just didn’t have all the pieces of the puzzle for me.

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC. This was a quick read and the story kept me interested. It was told from 3 POV and I do like stories from different POV. A family that moved into a home to find out that something terrible once happened there. I liked the twist at the end - however I was not satisfied with the abrupt ending and som many unanswered questions.

I received a free e-copy of The Other Family by Wendy Corsi Staub from NetGalley for my honest review.

A fast paced, psychological thriller! A Howell family move from California to New York for a job. Their luck just can't get any better when they find this beautiful, large rental home. This home, however, has secrets. Secrets from a family that previously lived there. Now, they are being watched by someone who is hanging around their home. Who and why is someone watching them and what secrets does this home hold?

Thank you to William Morrow for the advanced copy of The Other Family! I know Wendy Corsi Staub is a popular author but this is my first of her books. Upon reading the summary, I was very excited to read her newest thriller.

The story grabs you right away and gives off a mysterious vibe that makes you want to keep reading. The story follows a family—Keith, Nora, and their two teenage daughters, Stacey and Piper—from California to New York for Keith’s job. The book is written where each chapter is a different characters perspective and early on there are hints of marital problems, teenage mental health, and some oddities with their new home. As they join their new Brooklyn neighborhood, the Howell family is immediately befriended by a neighboring family. As you get into the story, the relationship between the Howell’s and the neighbors becomes very…interesting. When the Howell’s find out from the neighbors that their brownstone was the site of a family’s murder 25 years ago, things really get intriguing. But then it’s like the same hints keep being dropped but the story doesn’t really go anywhere. The climax was really kind of anti-climactic and then the story just ended with no resolution for most of the plot lines. After an intriguing premise, this story just fell short.

I will leave a review on Amazon or Barnes and Nobles on Feb. 8th

The Other Family by Wendy Corsi Staub is a book in a genre that I love, but I had such a hard time connecting with the characters in this book. I am not a huge fan of dual narrators, and this one seems to compound it more by adding in several more than I am use too. The book certainly had lots of twists and turns; I had figured out the plot well before I was halfway through the book. I always recommend that others read a book and make their own opinion of the book because not everyone enjoys the same style of writing.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher William Morrow, I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to William Morrow for an advanced copy of The Other Family.

This is the second book I have read by Staub and ended up liking this one more! A family moves into a home in Brooklyn that has been vacant for years because a family was murdered in their sleep years ago. A man is seemingly stalking the daughter. Slowly things start unraveling and secrets are revealed.

The chapters switch perspective between characters, but I found it easy to connect with each character and quickly became invested in the story. The end was pretty shocking!

i think my biggest issue with this book is that nothing really happened in this book. like, i feel like they kept bringing up these plots and these different plot points, but like nothing ever really happened. i can fully see where staub tried to bring the suspense and that she really did try to have some mystery, but there honestly was nothing. like, so much of this book was just everyone waiting around and watching/stalking. and i feel that it was just missing the mark. like, you could have made this book so suspenseful had all these great plot points, but it just wasn't, which was super disappointing.

i also think that this book was just so all over the place. like, so much was happening, like i feel like the author tried to make it be this tangled web, but instead it was like one pull and you can untangle the whole thing, which was honestly kind of disappointing. and like the characters were all over the place and that i think the reasoning for these plots / actions were just so stupid and i mean it was just not good.

and like i feel like the povs should have made it so cool and good. but, i feel like the three povs never really did anything, like it was just kind of boring. like, you'd think having three povs would add some spice and to see the three different views on these things would be cool, but instead, it was boring. like, there was only really two characters that added anything, and the other one was just there to take page count, which got to be so annoying and that he could have been cut, and the plot would still work the same way.

I live me a good thriller! Nora finds the perfect home for her model family. Except the house comes with a haunted and deadly past. With some great twists and the family becomes obsessed with the past and the house is bei go watched - you will keep turning the pages

I am terrified that someone can see me in the window at night even though the house was made so that people can't see in from the road but this book makes me want to try harder to convince my cat to let me close the blinds at night.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC which I received in return for an honest review.

Thank you for the opportunity to read an ARC of The Other Family. I unfortunately had to DNF this book. I found it to be overly descriptive when it came to the house, what the characters wore, the park, etc. It took me out of the story and made me just not care about the plot or the intrigue.

The Other Family is a fast moving, twist filled psychological thriller. I really enjoyed it and actually held my breath at times! I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys this kind of book.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and William Morrow and Company for the opportunity to read this ARC.

It’s release day for The Other Family and you’ll want to be sure and give this one a read! It’s a smooth, easy read that a flew right through.

The Howell family move to Brooklyn and quickly realize that their street and especially their home are far from ordinary. By the last quarter of the book I was on the edge of my seat wondering how it would end. There were a few aspects that I wish had been tied up a little better but for the most part it was all very neat and well thought out.

This thriller will keep you up past your bed time. If you like books that keep you guessing, you’ll love this one.

Twenty-five years ago Stanley, Lena and Anna Toska were murdered in their beds. The murderer was never caught. In present day New York Keith and Nora have moved from California with their two daughters and settled into their new home. It isn’t until a dinner with Heather and Jules, their new neighbors, that they learn of the murders that took place in their home. Their daughter Stacey has an interest in true crimes, but knowing what happened is unsettling. Her parents had talked about sending her to a psychiatrist in the past. Now she has seen someone watching her from the neighbor’s shed roof and a man confronted her, calling her Anna. She is afraid that if she tells her parents they will not trust what she says.

Jacob was a mobster’s son who befriended Anna. When he spies Stacey he believes it is Anna, but he saw Anna’s body. As he haunts the neighborhood hoping to confront her, Nora recognizes him. She has been hiding her connection to the murders and the neighborhood. Keith met her in California and has no idea that she came from the area. You can’t hide the truth forever and Nora knows that if she is to keep her family safe she has to confront her past.

Wendy Corsi Staub’s thriller moves rapidly to its’ conclusion with short chapters that alternate between Nora, Stacey and Jacob. Nora and Keith’s move to New York is a temporary transfer from his employer and a chance to repair their relationship. He suspected her of having an affair back in California and in New York they can start over. Stacey is now dating Lennon, Heather and Jules’ son. She is unsure of her feelings and he monopolizes her time, which puts even more stress on her. Jacob is obsessed with seeing Anna/Stacey and begins to stalk her. As each chapter switches between characters, Staub reveals slightly more of the events in the past until reaching the final surprising twist. I would like to thank NetGalley and William Morrow/Custom House Publishers for providing this book for my review.

It’s the perfect home for the perfect family: pretty Nora Howell, her handsome husband, their two teenage daughters, and lovable dog. As California transplants making a fresh start in Brooklyn, they expected to live in a shoebox, but the brownstone has a huge kitchen, lots of light, and a backyard. The catch: its previous residents were victims of a grisly triple homicide that remains unsolved.  
Nora seems to be hiding something from her family. Her daughters seem to be finding trouble. Her husband seems to be distant and not trusting. New neighbors seem to be very overwhelming in their attentions to the family.
It takes some time but the story comes out. Enjoyable, though a tad slow moving. Still a great book!

3.75 stars

From the first page and a quote from The Shining by Stephen King to the huge twist at the end, The Other Family by Wendi Corsi Staub is a fast-paced domestic thriller that kept me engaged from cover to cover.
Told from multiple POV, the story centers on the Howell family--Nora, Keith, Stacey and Piper—who move from L.A. to 104 Glover Street in Brooklyn, NY, for Keith’s 1 year corporate stint. There are early hints that this family is not really alright, and that Nora has reasons to yearn for a fresh start. Of course, it turns out this house has a dark, unhappy past, including a family’s triple murder 25 years previously. The neighbors include a peeping Tom/stalker Jacob and an overly inquisitive intrusive family a couple doors down the street.
The cast of characters, including the house, is a real mix, but I found the Howell family, especially teen Stacey, engaging and likeable. There were a few times that it felt like the characters’ actions were unnecessary and the dialogue forced, but overall, the story was intriguing enough to overcome that minor drawback. The action was fast-paced, with plot tension that mounts nicely through the book, and includes a great twist at the end!
I recommend this book to mystery readers who like domestic thrillers with plenty of drama and past secrets in the characters’ lives. I will definitely seek out more novels by this author.

Thank you to William Morrow/Scene of the Crime and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my unbiased review

TL; DR : twisty, creepy, murdery family drama

Nora, her husband, and her two daughters have moved from California to a lovely Brooklyn brownstone… which just happens to be the scene of an unsolved triple murder 25 years before. Someone knows what happened that night, but secrets can’t be kept forever.

The story is told by three narrators: Nora, her teenage daughter, Stacey, and Jacob — a man who has been watching the house for 25 years. There’s a real sense of dread throughout the book — from the creepy AF memento mori photograph on the staircase, to the overly friendly neighbors, to Stacey’s smothering relationship with the neighbor boy, to the weird dude lurking around the house with his binoculars. There was a lot to unravel, and Staub did a great job ratcheting up the tension and keeping me guessing. This was a fun one, and I clearly need to read more of her books.