The Other Family by Wendy Corsi-Staub was a good, solid read. I was engaged from start to finish, though it was totally creepy with a strange painting hanging in the house of a dead girl. Apparently, this kind of photo was common back in the 1800s and it just gave the house an extra weird vibe especially as a reader, imagining it hanging on the wall.

Nora and her family move into a haunted house in Brooklyn, an unsolved triple homicide took place there over 25 years ago. I would never move into a home where a murder took place, NOPE. But Nora moves her family into it and soon becomes convinced someone is watching the house.

The premise was dark and suspenseful and this did keep me wondering what was going to happen next.

Synopsis:

The watcher sees who you are…and knows what you did.

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.

Soon, peculiar things begin happening. The pug is nosing around like a bloodhound. Nora unearths a long-hidden rusty box in the flowerbed. Oldest daughter Stacey, obsessed with the family murdered in their house, pokes into the bloody past and becomes convinced that a stranger is watching the house. Watching them.

She’s right. But one of the Howells will recognize his face. Because one of them has a secret that will blindside the others with a truth that lies shockingly close to home—and to this one’s terrifying history.

This author has written an astonishing amount of novels but this was my first entry into her work. Venturing into the world of psychological thrillers it’s a good one too. Full of ominous incidents and memories we are treated to a West Coast family relocating to New York for a year, ostensibly for a job transfer but also to heal a frayed marriage teased to us throughout the story. Nora is the mother and main character with husband and two teenage daughters. Staying in a renovated, but vacant for many year, rental we learn of the previous family who lived there and the tragedy of what happened in that home many years ago. The new family befriends a delightful lesbian couple with two children who begin to spill the houses secrets but are they really secrets to Nora? Redemption, love and betrayal are the themes of this intelligent, well written novel with well defined characters including the house itself.

Yikes! This was a book that made me rush through pages to find out what happened. What a thrill! Loved it! I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Oh wowwwwwwww, y'all... 100% get to reading this book! Such a great thrill and honestly I was so impressed with the characters and plot. Excellent writing and the drama was outstanding!

California family the Howells arrive in New York for a year-long job assignment. They lucked into a large rental house and can't believe it. Only they soon find out that the previous family had been murdered there and the case was never solved. Oldest daughter Stacey is determined to solve the case, but there are others who don't want their secrets revealed.

This was a fast-paced book, where you definitely do not know who is being truthful and who is trying to cover something up. The characters are well written and interesting and the storyline kept me guessing all the way through. I recommend you check this out in January!

Available January 18, 2022.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Weird book. A family moves to Brooklyn, in a house where 3 murders had occurred. A strange guy stalks the house. What’s the real story behind the mystery. I thought I had it figured out, but then the story turned out to be completely different. It was ok, but there were a lot of pieces to the story, perhaps too many.

WOW!

This is the first book I have read by this author, and it won't be the last. From start to finish this was the equivalent of being on a reader's favorite book roller coaster with twisty turns and breathtaking plunges. The author did a spectacular job of characterization, showing a few cracks in people's personalities and giving me little nudges about what was going on. Wendy Corsi Staub neatly added in a few clues along with red herrings. It wasn't until the end that it was made clear, and all the loose ends were neatly wrapped up.

Another really great thing about this book that will make it appeal to a much wider audience is the fact that it doesn't have cursing and sex scenes proving that a five star book does not need things like that.

I LOVED this domestic thriller. I was totally engaged with the story of this family who has moved to New York (Brooklyn). from California. The story is told mainly from the point of view of Nora but includes chapters from her daughter Stacey. The family is reeling from drastic changes and try to adapt to a much smaller home and a completely different East Coast culture as they heal their own wounds.

It’s a perfect home but has a grisly past, and strange goings on seem to hint that the past has come to haunt this small block. Nora is keeping a secret from her family -- you will have to read more to find out what!

I really enjoyed this and mostly because the characters were so likeable and engaging. It's so important to have people to root for in a thriller isn't it? If you like domestic thrillers, heroines, and an interesting thriller with the added benefit of a school age story woven through, then this is a novel for you! #TheOtherFamily #NetGalley

The multiple POVs dragged the book's flow. And the mystery was not really one. The whole book was just not that interesting. And the reasoning behind some of Nora's decisions was baffling.

"The Other Family" follows Nora Howell and her family as they deal with a recent move from California to New York. Nora is hoping that the move helps her family. She and her husband have become a little distant due to an event that is referred to, but not spoken about. Her two daughters are like night and day and she worries over them. When the family hears about a triple murder that took place in their rental home more than 20 years ago, Nora starts to worry that someone is watching them.

This was all over the place. And it’s really easy to figure out what’s going on. The mystery of Teddy took longer. But other than that this was a pretty by the book (and boring) thriller. Nora is all over the place in this book and her reasoning behind some things makes zero sense. I didn't get the sense that Nora loved her family at all by the way. They just seemed to be there.

Stacey and her love of true crime started to get on my nerves. Probably because she acts like other true crime people out there and deciding to make linkages that don't work. I just started to get annoyed at the chapters showcasing her and started to read them quickly.

Jacob's POVs and the reveal about him and everything made no sense to me. I just felt like he was not written very well or consistently. He's used for a while to make the book move along and then just gets dumped out of the blue and I went so we are not going to wrap that little thing up? No? Okay.

The flow of this book was so slow. I kept checking my progress and wishing it go faster.

The setting of New York is not really present while reading. Most of the action takes place at the house. The house though doesn’t feel real enough while reading.

The ending was just an okay that happened. Very abrupt.

Thank you NetGalley for providing this book for an honest review. This book was full of suspense. I was suspecting motives and characters throughout the book. It was hard to trust any of the characters. I did the mystery surrounding the murder in the house so long ago. Everything went together well and it was a solid read. I did have some loose ends that I would have loved to seen close.

The premise of this book, moving into a house where three homicides had occurred, should make for an endless number of possible directions to go. This story, however, doesn’t really get past the fact that these people died, a new family moved in an someone may be watching the house. It falls flat at the end and nothing in between seems to be developed well. Too much time was spent on the relationship between Stacey and Lennon, though it never progresses beyond the fact that he is possessive, and she doesn’t like it. I keep reading, waiting for something powerful to occur but nothing did. It is an enjoyable book and an easy read but does not arise to a high-quality mystery. The end was confusing and it too me several times to understand who Nora really was.


I received an ARC from William Morrow and House through NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion or rating of this book. I am voluntarily submitting this review and am under no obligation to do so.

Life in a New York brownstone will be a huge change for the Howell family, one they're not all entirely confident about. But it's only for a year, a temporary relocation for Keith's job. They'll get used to sharing a bathroom and having less space to spread out in. The neighbors are welcoming, the girls have been accepted into a great school, and things are looking good. Until the neighbor's son let it slip that there was a triple homicide in their new home. Until the neighbor herself pointed out the post-motem photograph hanging in the stairwell. There've been multiple tragedies in the house over the past century. And strange things are happening now.

I enjoyed this one. The characters were three dimensional and interesting. Some things that really didn't make sense were explained by the end. The plot went in directions I wasn't expecting and kept me entertained.

Wow. What an interesting story. I really liked the characters and the twists and turns of the plot. It kept me thinking the whole way through. There were some things I figured out before I got to the end, but I didn't see that ending coming.

California family consisting of husband, wife and two daughters, relocate to New York and find a home beyond their expectations in Brooklyn. New school for the girls, new job for the husband and new worries for the wife. Neighbors are friendly and quickly befriend the family and schedule many activities with them. During dinner together one night, it's revealed that a murder happened in the newcomers home 25 years ago that killed a family of three. What would you do if you moved into a home that has a dark history? What would you do if you felt someone following you?

Excellent book in my opinion. Love the different perspectives of reading which usually confuses me but was easy to follow. Had some out loud "what?!" Moments throughout and book hangover after completion.

Possible trigger warnings: gun violence and stalking.

Thanks to William Morrow for a free ARC of this book in exchange of my honest opinion. Super excited to recommend this book once released.

<b>Note:</b> I received an advanced copy of this book from William Morrow and Custom House via NetGalley.

2.5 Stars

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.

Soon, peculiar things begin happening. The pug is nosing around like a bloodhound. Nora unearths a long-hidden rusty box in the flowerbed. Oldest daughter Stacey, obsessed with the family murdered in their house, pokes into the bloody past and becomes convinced that a stranger is watching the house. Watching them.

She's right. But one of the Howells will recognize his face. Because one of them has a secret that will blindside the others with a truth that lies shockingly close to home--and to this one's terrifying history.

I was surprised by this book. Originally I was very intrigued by the mystery and concept surrounding the Howell family moving into a house where a triple homicide had taken place but towards the end of the story, the mystery fell flat. Along the way, the story was confusing in some aspects like the author was just trying to fit the narrative in. The only saving grace in my opinion was the character of Stacey, she had more depth and realism than any of the other characters combined.

I could not put this book down!!! Between the short chapters, alternating narrators, and building of suspense, I just couldn't flip the pages fast enough!

When Keith gets a year long promotion in NYC, his family picks up and leaves their LA home to start over. Once in Brooklyn, the family quickly settles and becomes friends with their neighbors down the street. Over dinner one night, the family learns about the sordid history of the home they now live in. A murder happened 25 years ago and an entire family was wiped out. The murderer was never found. With peeping Toms hiding in the shadows and their new neighbors becoming a little too friendly for comfort, the family worries the murderer may still be around.

This novel had so many elements that I love in a good mystery/thriller. From cheating spouses, mama drama, teen drama, a possessive boyfriend, controlling and manipulative friends to mafia ties and hitmen, there was just so much to love about this plot. There were lots of breadcrumbs and head scratching moments, I couldn't trust anyone, and I constantly questioned the reliability of the narrators.

While not totally unpredictable, even though I had a good idea where the story was going, I was impressed with how everything pieced together. There were some potential loose ends that some readers may note, but overall, I liked that they existed to keep me guessing.

If you love a page turning mystery, this one is definitely for you!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this novel.

A cloudy past, multiple storylines, and unreliable characters make The Other Family an intriguing read, and the last chapter twists will keep you begging for Staub to give you just a few more pages. Though psychological thrillers/suspense novels are typically not my cup of tea, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Staub's latest work.

A family has moved into a house after the Father has to relocate for a job. Unknown to them 3 people were brutally murdered there years ago. The store is told from multiple view points, a format I am not wild about. There was suspense and I was interested enough to finish it but for me it wasn’t a page turner. I didn’t think the ending provided closure. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

This psychological thriller sadly didn't do it for me. The storyline in general wasn't appealing enough and a couple of the characters were a little frustrating. The character development itself isn't compelling either. Thank you, NetGalley.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Nora and her family are moving to the east coast duecto her husband's job. A family was murdered many years ago in their new house. Nora's daughter Stacey wants to learn everything she can about the house. This book grabbed my attention from the start.