Harriett gets a little more than she bargained for when she agrees to marry her rich boyfriend, Edward. Edward is kind, thoughtful and generous, but he’s apprehensive of her meeting his family and she doesn’t know why. When she finally meets them, Harry finds that not only are they rich and powerful, they’re kind of strange. They play extremely weird games around the holidays that have even crazier prizes and some pretty steep consequences- some that could even mean life or death. Harry is now being blackmailed about something horrible she did many years ago by her soon to be father-in-law and has to play the game to find out the secrets the family is keeping, keep her own secret safe, and escape with her life.

The Family Game had me going back and forth on who I thought it was and how it was going to end. If you enjoy a slow burn thriller, pick this one up! The Family Game will be published October 18th. Thanks to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for my review copy.

Get your popcorn ready to enter the crazy world of the Holbeck family where everyone seems more mysterious and weirder than possible. Harriet falls in love with Edward, the prodigal son and heir of this rich family that seems to control a piece of the world by itself. She is anxious to meet his family and every meeting things become crazier than the previous one. But it keeps haunting her why her fiance is not helping or preparing her when facing these absolutely bizarre situations.

Then the ultimate game is played by this family which is definitely obssessed with weird games, and this game is literally endgame for a lot of family members as it invovles reveeal of all intimate secrets murders and revealing of true identities! This is juicy, bizarre, intriguing and wild without a doubt!

Oh, I am such a fan. This is my fourth read by the author, and time after time, Steadman produces the exactly perfect popcorn thriller: exciting, completely absorbing, fun.
Is it hyperbolic? Is it over-the-top at times? Well, yeah, sure, but that’s just part of the fun.
It never insults your intelligence, never panders to the lowest hanging fruit of the audience, instead it just reaches out from page one, grabs you, and takes you on a wild ride.
It’s the best possible version of the beach thriller, albeit one good enough to actually make you forget where you are.
Some of Steadman’s book have been summery, this one is definitively wintery. In fact, so much of it is set around Christmas that it almost made me wish I’d held off reading it until then. But of course, by then I had read the first chapter and wasn’t going to put it down.
So, true to its title, this story revolves around family. A very particular very wealthy kind of family that our young albeit not so innocent protagonist is about to marry into. And true enough, this family likes to play games. Dangerous, dangerous games.
And our protagonist didn’t sign up for that. She’s a humble English orphan who has found some measure of success with a best-selling debut novel when she meets her Prince Charming. Edward.
Edward proceeds to literally sweep her off her feet and into a New York fairy tale. Edward’s family is insanely intimidatingly old world moneyed, but one can only put off meeting the (future) in-laws for so long and now it’s time.
The family is welcoming, excited, but also complicated, secretive, and manipulative. And then of course, their penchant for games.
The novel’s first pages find our protagonist desperately trying to survive one of those games, then rewinds in time to see how she got there. And then, of course, how she gets out of it, complete with a delicious ending plot twist for genre connoisseurs.
And is it far-fetched? Sure, somewhat, but who cares. It’s so fun. Original. Mostly unpredictable. Riveting. Magnetic. Unputdownable. All one can ever want in a thriller, really. And all, most of the thrillers out there are aspiring to and failing at being. In other words, very, very good.
Popcorn thriller, sure, but gourmet popcorn, all the way. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.

"The Family Game", by Catherine Steadman, centers around the Holbeck family: a wealthy, mysterious, and highly disturbed group of individuals. Harriet falls in love with Edward Holbeck and imagines a happily ever after. However, when she gets pulled into the Holbeck's (literal party) games, she has to fight to survive.

I had a hard time really liking much of anybody in this story. I wanted to root for Harriet, but she was foolhardy and kept putting herself into harm's way. However, I thought this book was very suspenseful and did a fairly good job of keeping your attention. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballentine Books for an eARC of The Family Game by Catherine Steadman in exchange for an honest review.

CW: suicide, murder, drug misuse, violence, blood, fire, death of a parent, pregnancy, see growing list on StoryGraph

Cozy mystery author Harriet "Harry" Reed is in a long-term relationship with American royalty, Edward Holbeck, first born and heir to the family fortune. When they get engaged and subsequently find out that Harry is pregnant, she is finally permitted to meet the rest of the family. However, meeting the family also means being invited into their strange and horrifying traditions. Soon, Harry finds herself embroiled in the family secrets and trying desperately to keep her own.

This was exhilarating! I was so intrigued by the mysteries at play here and was engaged from start to finish. However, the ending is where things started to fall apart for me. I thought the author was leading us in one direction, and then within the final few chapters flipped the script 180 in a way that I found less interesting than where I thought we were going. The final scenes were kind of a mess, honestly. I was left feeling unsatisfied. Despite its intriguing nature, there were several aspects of this book that I found extremely cringey, namely the sexual tension between Harry and her soon-to-be-father-in-law and Harry's pregnancy. The former never came of anything, but I think it would have made for a more interesting story if it had. The latter raised the stakes and was intended to be an integral plot point, but we truly didn't find that out until the end. I would have preferred that the pregnancy have been left out all together, as I don't think it would have significantly changed the dramatic outcome.

Overall, this was alright, but not the most cleanly constructed domestic thriller. I recommend to fans of Ruth Ware and Lucy Foley.

Isn't the cover amazing?! You know it is going to be a creepy yet thrilling novel with an electric cover like that. The inside of the book was even better! Great writing and top notch characters. Super suspenseful and the ending really surpised me!

Another excellent and absorbing twisty thriller from Catherine Steadman who is a superb plotter and always offers up intriguing, complex characters.

This was my first book by Catherine Steadman, and I will definitely read more! “The Family Game” really kept me guessing all the way to the very end. This reminded me of “Ready or Not”, a horror/comedy movie that I really enjoyed. I also love a book with an opulent lifestyle at the center. It just always makes things more interesting. Catherine Steadman's writing allows you to really know and understand the characters. I felt like I knew them all, and I felt like I was in the book participating in everything. I will be recommending this to my friends who enjoy a good thriller. It kept me highly entertained and engaged to the very end. I would have never guessed the ending. She gives just enough information throughout the book to make you think you know what will happen, but you don't. The whole time I wanted to know what was coming next. I thought the pacing was really great except at the end where it felt just a bit rushed. Steadman is a fantastic writer. I could see this being adapted as a movie on Netflix or as a theatrical release. I look forward to her next book! Thanks to Catherine Steadman, Ballantine Books and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my thoughts. I look forward to reading what she writes next.

This book held my interest right up until the last quarter. Then it veered off the rails. I didn't enjoy the last minute "twist", which ultimately left me feeling a little "HUH?" about the whole thing. Sometimes I think authors throw in last minute twists because they feel they need them, but the plot as it was originally presented to the reader (Crazy rich family puts future daughter-in-law through a series of miserable tests to prove her worth) was a much better story. It's too much work to try to wrap your mind around a completely different way of thinking in the last few chapters of the book.

This book was what I could classify as 'Fine'. I didn't dislike it by any degree, but I did find it to be fairly predictable, not as imaginative as it wanted to be, and a little boring when it came to the ending. I think anyone who might enjoy this book would be better off watching "Ready Or Not", as I think the movie is much more interesting and entertaining. I can't tell if everyone in this book is severely underdeveloped, meaning the book should've been longer, or if the book should have been shorter, and more novella length.

Either way, the writing wasn't bad, and I can see the appeal, it's just not something I would necessarily be recommending for people to read. But as a relatively short thriller-type piece, it definitely gets the job done, and I didn't hate reading it.

5 Stars!!

I love, love, loved this book!!!! All the elements for a fun filled ride : hot, rich fiancé, Christmas time in NYC, and a mysterious adventure via micro cassette tape. I couldn't put this one down!

I loved Harriet and her Cinderella story.....I think the secret that she was hiding was not quite as bad as she thought, but it played into the story well. I also loved Edward's crazy rich family.

Harriet is from London and uproots her lift to be with Edward. She's just written a best selling novel, she was just proposed to in Rockefeller Plaza, and now she has to meet her crazy future in-laws that he fiancé has been hesitant about introducing. Dun, dun, dunnnnn! Buckle up and enjoy!!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballentine, and Catherine Steadman for providing me with an ARC.

This one actually surprised me. I’d never heard of this author and wasn’t completely sold on the premise either, but it was actually pretty good. This was definitely a twisty thriller with plenty of suspense. Its a tale of cat and mouse involving dysfunctional in-laws. If you like thrillers this one is for you.

The Family Game has everything that I look for in a book. There was mystery, character development, murder, laughter, pregnancy, etc. The list could go on! I finished this book a couple weeks ago but I find myself still thinking about it which is how I know I liked it.

The character development was good & I found myself second guessing everyone involved until the end. The details were descriptive that I could really picture myself as part of the family and involved & interactive in the game.

I'll be recommending this book to friends as I think there's something for everyone. I'm looking forward to reading more by this author as well.

Thank you to NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book for an exchange of my honest review.

This book pulled me in from the beginning and it was hard to put down. The author did an amazing job of introducing us to the Holbeck’s through Harry’s eyes.

Harry is a novelist from London who gets swept up in a love affair with Edward, heir to the Holbeck family (rich Americans a la Rockefeller). As Edward and Harry get drawn further into family traditions and secrets, Harry’s own dark past threatens to resurface.

The family was completely weird and evil. I absolutely loved it.

The twists will turn the pages for you.

I’ll tell you what this book isn’t..It isn’t a book to read at night when you cannot sleep. It isn’t a book to read when you only have a few minutes.

I’ll tell you what this book is..it is a heart palpitating, edge of your seat, cannot catch your breath, unable to put down kind of book. This book got me from the very beginning and never let up.

It is my fourth book by Catherine Steadman and she has become a must read, automatically buy author.

5 stars.

So absolutely bizarre and twisted, but I was totally roped in from the start. Edward & the Holbeck family definitely sound too good to be true, and once the games begin, their weirdness is truly unleashed. The way this story is written and unfolds leaves so many places for the mind to wander. You never know who a person is until you meet their family...

Thank you NetGalley, Ballentine Books, & Catherine Steadman for the chance to read this book! I can't wait to share when it's published! Another winning read!

The cover is what drew me into this book, and it didn't disappoint! I felt as though I was on the edge of my seat for the whole book. One of my favorites this year!

I was really excited to read this book, I immediately thought it would be similar to the movie READY OR NOT which I loved. This book was not really that, but I wasn’t disappointed because THE FAMILY GAME was more twisty, had a mystery writer having to solve a mystery, and nothing was quite what it seemed.
Harriet Reed is writes thriller novels and has just become engaged to Edward Holbeck, the son and heir to the Holbeck fortune. Their impending marriage mends some wounds between Edward and his family, and Harriet is drawn into their world. But when Edward’s father Robert gives Harriet a tape to listen to, ostensibly of a book he is working on, she is shocked and horrified. Is this a confession to murder?
Harriet has to unpack whether this is a test, or a confession, and what role she is playing in this increasingly dangerous and confusing game.
I found this to be unputdownable! It was farfetched and high-concept of course, but honestly, sometimes that is what we are looking for! Fun, full of twists and surprise reveals, this one does not disappoint.

I was not prepared for this book. It’s a fast paced and an unpredictable story.

Full review coming soon!

This book had a lot of entertainment, and the premise seemed great. The novel, however, seemed far-fetched, especially compared to other domestic thrillers. I still did enjoy it overall and would recommend it!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review,