📚 Book review 📚
Keep it in the family
John Marrs
5/5

Wow what a read, if you like psychological thrillers then you don't want to miss this one.
The suspense just carried on from the beginning right to the very end. The story is based around the bodies of children found in the attic of a home that a couple has just bought to renovate. Suddenly their present seems to be linked to these past crimes. I don't want to tell anymore of it and give any spoilers away but the twists just kept going throughout. This was a five star read for me and I have to say probably one of the best thrillers I've read so far. I was so lucky to recieve an early copy of this on netgalley. Sometimes I feel like some books deserve six out of five stars, this is one of them.

An unforgettable thriller! One of the best twisty crime novels I’ve read for a long time, I could not put this book down!

Mia and Finn are trying to get on the property ladder and are desperate to move out of Finn’s parents house. When a run down house goes to auction they decide to take the plunge without viewing the property and having no idea what state the property was in and what is inside… After moving in they make a gruesome discovery that will rip their family and marriages apart forever.

I really don’t want to write more about the story line in this review, it was so so good you’ll just have to read it! I loved the multiple POVs and timelines it added to the tense mystery in this book and kept me guessing until the end!

I’m a huge fan of John Marrs, with The One being one of my favourite books I had high hopes. Keep It in the Family did not fallen short and was an easy 5 star read for me! Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this!

Absolutely brilliant! Just when the story has reached what seems the pinnacle of twisted, another dark turn is taken and it is done so credibly and cleverly. John Marrs never disappoints and this is another sterling example of his work.

This author never fails to disappoint. What an interesting plot, well rounded characters, and that ending is just superb. Well done!

Thank you Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. IYKYK, my reviews are always honest.

Disclaimer: if you like popcorn/commercial thrillers, this will probably work for you. Still give it a try. I think it could work as a mindless vacay read, or if you're new to the genre.

THE PLOT

Mia and Finn buy a spooky abandoned home with hopes of turning it into their dream abode. But things quickly become a nightmare when they discover something unsavoury in the attic.

MY OPINION

I could hardly contain my excitement when I saw this was Read Now on NetGalley. I snatched it up (it has since disappeared...) and dove into it ASAP. After loving [book:The Good Samaritan|35451741] and [book:The One|40670312], I was looking forward to what the sick af mind of John Marrs whipped up this time. And well... it's one star, so you know the vibes.

My streak of highly anticipated ARCs turning out to be the stankiest dookies of all time continues. So what went wrong?

Let's start with the writing. This was the laziest first person narrative I've read in awhile. I call this "dear diary writing" where the character tells the reader directly wagwan like they're writing in their diary. Ie: "Today I went to the store and saw John. I really like John. He has nice hair. He makes me feel special. Hopefully he likes me too." Instead of writing a narrative that immerses the reader in the story so they're living the experience (and feeling all the feels too), this was written with the intent to just tell you what's happening as if you're an outsider looking in. BLEH.

As usual when I'm reading a book with shockingly bad writing, I compare it to a previous work of the author to make sure I'm not trippin. I checked out The Good Samaritan again, and yep, still bangs. So this was just... off.

Next, I knew I was doomed when they found child skeletons that somehow had hair attached to the skull?? TO. THE. SKULL. HAIR. ATTACHED. TO THE SKULL. CMON. Oh and these skeletons were from the 80s. So either someone GLUED a lacefront wig onto these bebe skeletons, or no one did a simple Google search while fact checking this book. Hair does NOT grow out of the skull.

All the characters were particularly unlikeable and obtuse. The ending was contrived. The twists were thrown in there for pure shock value only. There was no expertly crafted red herrings dropped along the way... it was painfully obvious what was coming coupled with a few random reveals that held no bearing. It felt like the author was shaking a magic 8 ball while writing this: should I add a twist here? Magic 8 ball says: YOLO! Go for it!

Anyways, I'm going to cut myself off. It's one star. I HIGHLY recommend [book:The Good Samaritan|35451741]. An absolutely unhinged banger of a psychological thriller. It truly puts the psycho in psychological. Thank you, NEXT.

PROS AND CONS

Pros: I got this while it was still available as a Read Now on NetGalley

Cons: don't make me say it again...

I was so excited when I saw Marrs’ new book available for request on NetGalley because I loved THE ONE! Unfortunately, there was something missing for me in his latest thriller. I kept expecting it to come full circle for me, and it sadly never did.

Synopsis: Mia and Finn are a young couple who take a leap of faith and purchase a home that basically needs a head to toe makeover. They take on the challenge and while in the middle of renovating, Mia finds a disturbing message scratched into one of the bedroom walls: I WILL SAVE THEM FROM THE ATTIC. They soon discover that their home used to be a literal house of horrors. The history of the home quickly becomes national news and an obsession for Mia, and as she works tirelessly to uncover the truth about what took place within the walls of her now home — and the truths she will uncover will be devastating.

The book started off with a lot of promise, but for a book centering the plot on such strong, intense content (TW galore in this one ⚠️) — it was really lacking that ominous inner dialogue of a really deranged serial killer. I felt that this book could have really soared if it wasn’t lacking in that way. The characters were really underdeveloped (even at 60-70% through) and I had a hard time connecting to the story.

The overall plot was GOOD, but there was a lot missing for me to make it GREAT. 😕

That being said, I literally hate writing negative reviews even though it’s part of reviewing books (I can’t five star everything shockingly 😂) so I think you’d enjoy this book if you enjoy any of the following:

🗝 dysfunctional families
🗝 serial killers
🗝 alternating past/present timelines
🗝 multiple POVs and short chapters

A dream home becomes a nightmare for a young couple expecting a child in this thriller. Finn and Mia have their hands full restoring a crumbling house and dealing with an unplanned pregnancy. Mia finds a creepy message carved into a mopboard “I will save then from the attic”, that sends the couple to the attic where they uncover the horrific truth about their new homes past. When the baby comes, Mia becomes obsessed with the horrors that occured in her home in the past, she becomes distant with Finn, who believes she’s overreacting. But Mia is right to be scared, because the danger in her home is very much in the present

Keep it in the family by John Marrs.
 A young couple’s house hides terrible secrets—and not all of them are confined to the past.
Omg what a jawdropping read. This blew me away. Twisty and dark and tense. Absolutely brilliant. Definitely recommend. 5*.

finished this in a little over a day. I did enjoy it and I thought the story was dark and interesting. the only reason it doesn't get 5 stars is because it was super predictable I guested every twist with ease

I love John Marrs...and this book definitely deserves all the praise!!!
I dropped everything to devour this book.
I heard myself gasp a few times outloud.
Great execution...great characters..
And fantastic storyline.
Wow maybe he should dteam like this a bit more.

Thank to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for an early release of this book.

This is probably John Marrs darkest book,as always it is a good story but this time we meet a couple who move into their newly acquired home only to discover their attic has a secret room….what they discover in that room is so hideous it changes their lives….forever
This book is full of twists and turns and the nearer to the conclusion it gets the cleverer the fooling of the reader is until we realise just exactly what has happened and how the effects of it will last….. for a long time…..I want to say more but wont,trust me it will make you shudder!
Great characters to love and hate and a fantastically woven story make this as always with this author a book you wont forget for a long time

10/10
5 Stars

What a fantastic book! The twists were mind bending; I was literally going “wait, what?!” And rereading parts in disbelief. Such great storytelling. The characters were well developed and some were pure evil. Highly recommend!

I bumped this one up to the top of my reading pile as I just love John marrs books, the one and the passengers being favourites. I love the way he writes I really get invested in the characters and he always write a gripping read. This was also exceptional what a family of twisted minded individuals. I loved Mia’s characters and I enjoyed all the twists and turns. Trying to figure out who were the baddies and who were innocent. I do recommend you read this book. I could not put down and devoured in one sitting. I absolutely recommend this book. Be ready for an afternoon or evening of completely neglecting any chores as this one will have you hooked within the first chapter. I live for books that leave me speechless and this book did just that. I actually feel quite sorry for the next book that I read because there is no way it be able to compete with this twisty gem.