With thanks to NetGalley, Christopher Huang, and the publishers at Inkshares for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I read a lot of books, moreover I read a lot of mysteries, and this book has had a greater hold over me since I began reading it than any other I’ve read this year.

I was actively thinking about this book long after pausing for the day. The writing was visceral in its imagery, the characters wildly infuriating and lifelike - even the ones who make up the background to the story. This attention to depth doesn’t, however, add unnecessary bulk to the work - at no point does the story ramble or go on at length for no reason. I can see the style not resonating with some readers, but for those whom it does - they are in for a literary treat.

There’s no denying it deals with some nasty philosophies and world beliefs - racism, xenophobia, misogyny - the violent realities of many people - abuse of differing types and degrees, suicide, and murder. Vitally, though, at no point does it feel targeted, callous, or gratuitous in detail.

It is a curiously written, engaging, horrible story full of strange, off-putting, and sympathetic (if not necessarily likeable) characters.

In short, this book is a truly remarkable thing. I will be keeping an eye out for other work by Huang.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m always enthralled by murder mysteries. Documentaries, films, podcasts, you name it. So when I read the premise of Unnatural Ends, I was quite sure that it would be my cup of tea.

At first, It was going well and I was interested in getting to know the siblings’ personalities and their histories. I liked how we jump between different POVs to get a glimpse inside everyone’s heads and know how they’re feeling in specific moments. Huang really went all out in creating an entirely fictional location, Linwood Hollow. I really thought all the places were real until I read the historical notes at the end of the book. So I was really impressed by how he paid attention to every detail.

The book was very slow-paced, and somewhere along It just felt very flat, if that makes sense. I struggled to maintain interest and I found myself just itching to skip through a few pages to get to the point. Maybe it’s because i’m not used to very lengthy descriptions in books, it didn’t work for me, but that’s just my opinion.

3.5 stars!

It felt very posh and verbose???

Like, I get that it is set in 1920 London but the sentences were wayyyy too long and complicated. Definitely not an easy read. Which is why it took me a WHILE to get into it and relate with the characters.

Otherwise, the plot was good and deep. The motives were clear and the end honestly kind of unexpected for me.

I wish there had been a bit more depth to the characters from the start but we slowly got to see it over time. Which was fine. Not spectacular or anything.

I did enjoy it though. Quite a FAIR bit I did.


*** I recieved this book as an ARC from NetGalley ***

Wow! This book had twists and turns the whole way. Wonderfully written and certainly keeps you guessing. We follow the story of three adult children, Alan, Roger and Caroline and their controlling father Sir Linwood. In the back ground there is their mother, a once strong woman, now meek and totally dependent on her husband’s whims. This feels like a true gothic mystery with all of the bumps and creaks that will keep you reading with surprise upon your face.

Well written mystery of 3 siblings that return home to the family estate after their adoptive father is murdered. The story unfolds by moving from their different perspectives and the dysfunctional childhood that they experienced. Twists and turns make this an enjoyable read.

Unnatural Ends is the story of three siblings who are summoned home after their father’s death, only to learn that he has been murdered. There is a clause in his will that whomever discovers his killer will inherit the estate, so the siblings begin sleuthing.
I was pleasantly surprised at this novel. I thought the author did a wonderful job slowly revealing family secrets throughout the novel. There was suspicion thrown on multiple characters, which all seemed plausible. My only criticism is that I thought there were too many POVs. I understand the POVs of the three siblings, but to have 1 or 2 chapters from the POV of the police inspector or the pub proprietor seemed unnecessary and excessive. 4.5/5, rounded up.

Sir Lawrence Linwood is dead. More accurately, he was murdered—savagely beaten to death in his own study with a mediaeval mace. The murder calls home his three adopted children: Alan, an archeologist; Roger, an engineer; and Caroline, a journalist. But his heirs soon find that his last testament contains a strange proviso—that his estate shall go to the heir who solves his murder.

To secure their future, each Linwood heir must now dig into the past. As their suspicion mounts—of each other and of peculiar strangers in the churchless town of Linwood Hollow—they come to suspect that the perpetrator lurks in the mysterious origins of their own birth.

Not bad, in and of itself, but just not something that came together for me. The resolution is on the silly/implausible side.

I really enjoyed this, it was unique breaking up into the three siblings' segments and having them have to solve their own fathers' murder. It took me a while to get through initially, but pacing picked up partway through. There were some parts and longer descriptions I skim read because I didn't feel it added to the overall plot.
The family dynamic was interesting -- not something you read about in most books.

Unnatural ends was a good surprise as it's the first book that I read by C. Huang. It has a dark aura throughout the story, and a good plot full of deceit and mystery. The lack of emotion among the member of the Linwood family and the stoic posture they were expected to have throughout life is really frightening, as a South American, feelings are shown on all occasions! Thre are beautiful descriptions of places, however, sometimes, although beautiful they were too long and made me bored - but not enough to stop reading!
I downloaded a free copy of this book through NetGalley and this is my honest review.

Alan, Roger, and Caroline are the adopted children of Sir Lawrence Linwood and his wife, Rebecca. Now adults in early 1920s Yorkshire, theirs hasn't been an easy life. Sir Lawrence was a harsh father and their mother, a former physician, was totally committed to carrying out his every whim, especially where the children were concerned. But now Sir Lawrence lies dead, murdered with what appears to be a medieval mace. And his will stipulates that in the event of his murder, his substantial estate will go to whichever of his children first identifies his killer.

It's a dark story, played out in alternating chapters devoted to each of his children and a few other supporting characters. And it is an intricately-laid-out mystery, sometimes playing the siblings against each other, sometimes compelling them to work together. All have rejected their father's lifestyle and rigid expectations. but they know it is important to solve the mystery while hopefully finding out more about each of their origin stories.

After the first few (slow) chapters, the suspense begins to mount, and I thoroughly enjoyed the journey with the three main characters, even though I guessed one of the twists. References to secret passages, eugenics, World War I, early aviation, London theater, Asian culture, archaeology, and Shakespeare keep the plot interesting.

My thanks to NetGalley and Inkshares for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this book.

First, I’d like to thank the publishers and Netgalley for providing the opportunity to read this ARC.

Unfortunately, I could not get into this book. It did not grab my attention and I was unable to read it. By reading the description, I was very intrigued but the writing was slow and a little dull. I attempted to read it several times but could not find the drive to keep reading.

The story had an interesting premise, however I found it difficult to get into this book. It felt like I was reading it through a telescope - distant and not engaged. None of the characters grabbed me and it took three attempts to finish it. I thank the author and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book as a complimentary copy in return for an honest review.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for the ARC. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #UnnaturalEnds #NetGalley

I get vibes from Netflix's Haunting of Hill House, Knives Out, and Netflix's The Umbrella Academy.
You've got siblings growing up and growing apart centered around an medieval castle, essentially.
You've got a murder-mystery with twists and turns.
You've got a family of highly successful adoptive siblings under a strict and mysterious patriarch.

I agree with other reviews that it was a slog to get into the book; it wasn't very engaging and so many characters to keep track of and all their various backstories. Also, there's so much detail that felt superfluous. And maybe it's just me and the Kindle edition I was reading, but the time jumps forward and sometimes back are really jarring because there's no indication structurally/format-wise that time has moved. And just when one protagonists story was picking up, we'd shift to another perspective. It was a hard book to get through. Very easy to get distracted and stop reading. Interesting premise though. And then the plan to trap the villain in the end was so outlandish and unrealistic and didn't fit with anything in the story so far. And all the trauma the mother character endured was reduced to like a single sentence reveal was frustrating. It was a disappointing read, but it had potential.

Sir Lawrence Linwood is dead. More accurately, he was murdered—savagely beaten to death in his own study with a mediaeval mace. The murder calls home his three adopted children: Alan, an archeologist; Roger, an engineer; and Caroline, a journalist. But his heirs soon find that his last testament contains a strange proviso—that his estate shall go to the heir who solves his murder. Set in the early 1920's, this story portrays the era nicely and with much of the secrets and the mystery shrouded in the past, that time period is well portrayed too. While I knew who did fairly early on, it did not detract from the mystery at all. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkshares for providing me with an E-Arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Everything about this book caught my eye, the name, the stunning cover design and the intriguing plot.

Let's break it down:

Set in 1921, we soon meet our main characters: Alan, an archeologist, Roger, an engineer, and Caroline, a journalist – the three Linwood siblings return to their family estate in Yorkshire for their adoptive father’s funeral. Their father, the late Sir Lawrence Linwood, had been bruttally murdered in his study with a medieval mace by an unknown attacker.
Upon the reading of Sir Lawrence’s will, the siblings learn that there's a clause in their father's will that states that in the case of an unnatural death, the one who can solve his murder inherits his estate.

The novel it's crafted with multiple threads that does require a bit of patience on the part of the reader, specially if your not into historical novels, but the author does a brilliant job in bringing all the characters and their stories come alive.
This is a lengthy novel, written with meticulous attention to detail, in terms of the historical and physical setting of the story as well as descriptions of the dysfunctional dynamics within the Linwood family.
It shows how much work the author has put into the story and the setting to make us feel for the characters, whatever emotion that maybe be, even when they do questionable things.
The twists and turns as well as the character dynamics kept me hooked until the very end, wanting to turn the page to know what was going to happen next!

Unnatural Ends by Christopher Huang is a smartly crafted murder mystery set in 1920s England with an interesting and diverse cast of characters. An intriguing look at family, identity, and betrayal. Each of the main characters is well fleshed out, even the most unlikable ones.
I would definitely recommend this book if you like historical novels, as well as gothic and atmospheric novels, also Agatha Christie and Daphne Du Maurier fans might enjoy this book!
I'm looking foward to read more books from Christopher Huang in the future.

Unnatural Ends by Christopher Huang comes out July 5th 2022!

Set in 1921 and related by various narrators, each with their own point of view, UNNATURAL ENDS takes the reader into the twisted machinations of Sir Lawrence Linwood and his continuing effect on his three adopted children – Alan the archeologist, Caroline the journalist and Roger the engineer.

It seems Sir Lawrence was bludgeoned to death with a medieval mace and his heirs have returned to the dilapidated family mansion that overlooks the town of Linwood Hollow to pay their last respects. Sir Lawrence’s last will and testament holds a surprise for the three prospective heirs. It is they, not the police, who are charged with investigating his murder and solving the question of “who done it”. The one who is successful will inherit. Oh, and did I mention that Sir Lawrence was a great believer in eugenics and suffice to say that Alan, Carolyn and Roger must battle a variety of individual demons in confronting the origin of the Linwood family power.

By the time readers have stood in the shoes of the various narrators the turn from well- mannered mystery to aberrant tale of horror will seem as inevitable as the oft dreaded logic one experienced when reading the Brothers Grimm or more recently Stephen King.

I was not a fan of this book mainly because I feel as if I have read this type of story in other books. It is a personal problem because I can feel myself being burnt out on this type of story and so I feel if I read it in a different time I could've enjoyed it more. The writing style was good and the way the author set everything up was done well. This is the reason I gave it three stars.

When the Lynnwood children are called back home and told him not only was the father murdered but they must solve the murder and whoever does get the inheritance. Not all is as it seems though and the competition and discord so Lawrence Lynwood wanted to create between his adopted children isn’t happening. While growing up with the abusive certain warrants all they had was each other and they’re not going to turn their backs on each other now. This is toll from different points of view and I thought it was a smartly written book I also thought the author did a great job with character development and I must admit I didn’t see the end turning out the way it did it was clever and well put together the part moves along nicely it’s easy to read and as far as mysteries go it’s one I highly recommend. I was given this book by Net Gally for free but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review but all opinions are definitely my own.

A fun read with twists and turns embedded within a historical fiction setting. The family is weird, the murder happens before the will can be changed, and the setting is a spooky manor. Perfect read for a stormy day with some tea