Victoria Jenkins' The New Family is the story of Brooke and the story of Christina who are leading separate lives. Only when Brooke gets to know Oliver, a man who mysteriously shows up in her town with his son, do the stories start to connect. This well-written thriller about secrets, obsession, suspense, intrigue, the past, and murder will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end. Outstanding read!

The New Family by Victoria Jenkins is another gripping read that had me fully invested from beginning to end. Ms Jenkins has very quickly become one of my favourite authors, and her latest is every bit as wonderful as I had hoped.

Told in a dual narrative we first meet Brooke, a woman who is renting her family home to the mysterious Oliver and his three year old son Finley. Something is clearly off with her new tenants, and Brooke is determined to find out why. At the centre of a seemingly unrelated storyline is Christina, a mother of twins who has been receiving anonymous threats possibly connected to her infidelity. Understanding how the lives of these two women will intersect will keep you turning the pages of this clever and craftily spun tale.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for an ARC.

Thanks to Bookouture, Victoria Jenkins and Netgalley for the review copy of The New Family.

Set in a remote seaside town, this book draws you in with a slightly unsettling atmosphere from the outset.

Told in two different timelines, with different characters that only being to intertwine in the later stages of the book, The New Family at times felt a little like reading two books in one. At times this could be a bit confusing, but the merge of the story and its impact is both clever and impactful.

The first character Brooke is an artist who lives alone and runs a small B&B. Most of the time the B&B is empty apart from the odd short term booking, so when Oliver and his young son Fin ask for a 3 month rental, Brooke is over the moon. However when her house is subjected to what appears to be an arson attack, Brooke is left wondering if Oliver's arrival is a coincidence. How well does she know this man and why is he here?

On an unrelated timeline we meet Christina - a mother of twins who is cheating on her husband Matthew. Soon the unwelcome gifts and threats start appearing. Someone knows what she's up to and time is running out.

As the book progresses, more hints are dropped about how the two lives intertwine, and I didnt see it coming. The book however is quite long, and at times there was so much going on that it almost felt like there were too many storylines in one book.

I enjoyed it, but found myself being relieved once it was over, so a mixed bag all in all!

The story goes back and forth with two characters - Brooke and Christina. Brooke meets Oliver and his little boy Finley by chance and upon learning they are looking for a place to rent, she ends up leasing her family home to them. She finds it odd that they hardly have any belongings with them, but she's happy to be getting rent money. As she gets to know Oliver more, she can't help but be concerned about Fin's odd behaviors and the picture he drew of a house burning in flames. Oliver is quick to shut down her questions, but she's determined to find out what he's hiding, not realizing the danger she's putting herself in.

I thought this was a really good read. Going into the story I was a bit confused as to how these two women, who lead different lives, are somehow connected. There are little hints here and there and I was guessing my way through. I love how a story has twists that I didn't see coming, so the ending was a surprise to me. A good read and I look forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read this book.

Victoria Jenkins is one of my favorite psychological thriller authors. When I received an ARC of The New Family, I knew I was in for a treat. What I love most about the way Jenkins writes is that I’m always immediately hooked, and that is exactly what happens in this book. It’s full of great characters, amazing plot twists, and a surprise ending I never saw coming. I highly recommend this book!

Well, what a clever and totally engrossing read this book is!

At first the pace is slow, but there’s an unsettling feeling of tension running throughout, and you just know that this is all going to come to a head somehow. The remote coastal setting provides the perfect atmospheric backdrop to this chilling plot.

The story is told from the point of view of two characters, Brooke and Christina, and with a slightly different timeline to each story. I had no idea how these two stories were going to intersect, and even though as the book progresses there are a few aspects that they have in common, it still doesn’t make sense. Then all of a sudden, about three quarters of the way in, wham! it all begins to come together in a twist that I absolutely didn’t see coming.

This book really kept me guessing, and after the first revelation, there was no putting it down. A really masterfully written thriller, it’s an absolute must-read for anyone who enjoys a totally gripping novel.

I thoroughly enjoyed this gripping psychological thriller that kept me on the edge of any seat and wanting to read on. I found it hard to put this book down.

I didn’t know what I was expecting going in but I was pleasantly surprised! This is one of those plots where the build up is slow and the beginning is confusing but you will be shocked once you get to the end.

This story follows two narratives - Brooke, a woman who runs a BnB in a small town she grew up in. Her newest tenants are a pair of father and son, Oliver and Finley, who are eager to move into this small town for no reason at all. While Brooke likes them, she is curious about how they ended up here. Oliver seems like a man too good to be true and Finley seems to have trouble speaking. Why can’t Finley speak and what is Oliver running away from? The other narrative, Christina is a mother of twins and is cheating on her husband, Matthew. She felt guilty about the whole affair and breaks it off but soon, she starts receiving threatening gifts and messages. Who is threatening her and why? How does Brooke and Christina’s story intertwine?

Although some of the twists were predictable for me, I love how the characters were connected and how their lives intertwined with each other in the end. As I was reading, it felt like I was reading two different stories cause both POVs are so different and I didn’t know where the story was going. Even the connection in the end seemed a bit forced but overall the plot is still good.

I still enjoyed reading this despite the ending. I love how the tension slowly built up with a plot that didn’t seem like much but still managed to caught me off guard. If you enjoy this kind of plot, do give this a go!

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for the arc.

This was a thrilling read with lots going on. There was plenty of twists and turns which kept the story interesting.

Another fun, well written, thrill ride by Victoria Jenkins! She has the thrill genre down, like a pro, which makes for the book to be absorbing, intriguing, and thrilling as heck! Lots of fun twisty turns, made me feel as though I was on a roller coaster full of thrills, chills, and gasps! Highly, highly recommend this one.

The New Family by Victoria Jenkins was another brilliant book by Victoria. I was gripped from the very first few pages. then, again I am with all her books. She has a way of bringing you into her books and will hooked. This latest book was full of twists and turns and very hard to put down and differently a great page turner

Another brilliant psychological thriller that will shock you and surprise you when you read this book. I love this book!

I highly recommend this book and all Victoria's book. They have all been great reads!

Big thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review

I enjoy Victoria Jenkins books and this one certainly didn’t disappoint. It is the story of two women, told in different timelines and leaves you wondering how they are connected. Brooke lives alone in a small seaside village and she is still suffering with grief after losing her family. She meets Oliver and his young son Finlay on the beach and offers them her holiday property to rent. She grows close to them but when someone sets fire to the house she becomes very frightened as it could be someone from her past. Christina is married to Matthew and they have twins. She is keeping a secret from Matthew, as she has been having an affair with Joel and is desperate for him not to find out. But events escalate and Joel starts threatening her. This book is a gripping read and as the tension mounts, all the secrets are revealed and the stories start
connecting you will be completely hooked. A highly recommended read.
Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

I really loved this book!! It had so many twists and turns. It kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next!! This was my first book by this Author, and it won’t be the last!! Quick read!! Highly recommended!! You won’t be disappointed!!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a free ARC of this book. I have chosen to write this honest review voluntarily.
I do not intend to deliver any spoilers so I have tried to be guarded in my feedback, making some of my comments a little obscure.
This book is written along 2 timelines approximately 18 months apart with a different female lead character and different locations and supporting characters for each 'section' which was delivered in alternating chapters. Secrets and lies abound in each relationship, right from the start. I felt as though I was trying to read 2 books concurrently, and I think it made the story difficult to follow. I persevered to the end and the conclusion shows the links, but I would have preferred to read the stories along the dateline. I thought some of the outcome shows a lack of realism around the events with Brooke: she lives in a very small town where any strangers stand out but it was impossible to find any clues about the fire, and Jean's behaviour towards Brooke over a number of years seems to lack credibility. The loose ends about Ollie and Joel were not completely resolved.
I have to conclude that whilst the plotline was good I disliked the narrative style so strongly that I would not choose to describe the book as gripping or addictive.

I loved this book! It was so interesting and the ending blew my mind. I'm literally running to go read Victoria Jenkin's other books because this was everything a psychological thriller should be!!

The New family is a dual point of view storyline that works well and with a very good plot line.
The two main characters are Brooke and Christina, the two women have very different lives and I hadn’t a clue why they possibly had something in common. Brooke lives in a small village by the sea and has done all her life, her family home she rents out for holidays to bring in extra money to support her painting. She meets Oliver and his young son Finlay and they arrange to stay at the holiday house for a few months. Oliver and Brooke start to get close but after her returning to her small home and finding it in flames she becomes wary. Christina is a high earner and a husband who isn’t far behind, they have young twins but Christina is having an affair. When she ends it he doesn’t take it well and weird and horrible things start to happen.
This book is well written and will make you question who is in more danger and how the heck does all this connect!!
I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

Great book kept me gripped throughout, throughly recommend 4 stars. Brilliant author look forward to more from you

Just wow. Thrilling. Tense. An addictive, rollercoaster of a read. This author never disappoints. Very highly recommended.

This is gripping and enjoyable which starts with an unsettling incident. I have been completely pulled into this one. This is an intriguing read which is filled with suspense and mystery.

This is a book with some sensitive themes, but these have been handled delicately. The author has created an interesting mix of characters in this one.

This is cleverly crafted with you guessing till the very end. I love Victoria Jenkins and already cannot wait to read more from her.

The New Family is an inventive piece of fiction told from two different points of view, whose characters do not overlap until many chapters into the story.

First, and who I would consider the main character, we have Brooke. In an effort to pursue her passion of painting, Brooke rents out her family home to a man named Oliver and his son, Finley. While they both seem nice, Brooke does question why Oliver is without Fin’s mom and also why Fin is SO quiet, barely speaking.

The other storyline follow Christina. She is a married mother of twins, currently wrapped up in an affair. When she breaks it off, her former lover is not happy.

Who is really the most in danger, and how do these characters’ stories cross each other?

I was very engaged with both story plots, and perhaps would have actually enjoyed separate books centering around each one! It took quite a while to piece together the puzzle, and I was left still wanting more details.

Overall, this was an easy and fun book that has well depicted characters.