I wanted to love this book because the idea is full of potential and there's a lot of weirdnessin this family.
I wanted to love but I found it very slow and didn't keep my attention falling flat.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

A family of psychopaths? Count me all in. This one didn't just use that as a gimmick though. No indeed, it was a deep dive into a psychologically twisted family. Note - you should study the family tree very carefully as you read the book.

I thought I had The Family Bones figured out. I was wrong. I absolutely loved this suspenseful, twisty latest from Elle Marr. The concept of a family of psychopaths on a family retreat is just so mind-boggling that it's virtually a given that something is going to happen. I was initially curious how the two interesting storylines were going to converge, but it happened seamlessly and perfectly. Thanks so much for the opportunity to review!

Such a unique twist on a locked room mystery. Fast-paced page turner that really shed light on the psychology of killers. The novel is from the POV of Olivia, Birdie, an unidentified writer and newspaper clippings. I wish it had been a little more clear at the beginning how these would all tie together. With there being so many characters, I feel like we really only got to know Olivia and a little bit about Birdie (anyone else want a birdie spin-off book?) I could see someone getting confused on who is who.
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Overall, the book was twisty, dark and brought forth questions of nature vs. nurture / family dynamics. You can tell the author spent a lot of time researching for this story.

"The Family Bones" is a dark and twisty thriller centered around Olivia, an influencer who is studying mental health issues. Her family has a tendency of developing mental health problems in their early 20s. Since Olivia is 23, she's trying to work through the issues and research them. The other POV in the book is from a podcaster, Birdie. I wasn't quite sure how she was involved in the beginning, but Marr did a great job of weaving the two POVs together. While I wasn't completely shocked by the ending, I think it was a great ending to a great story.

Birdie, the podcaster. She’s made it her mission to seek justice for those folks who can’t speak for themselves anymore. Enter her research into what happened to Li Ming Na. Her research takes her to many forums on the internet, one of which led her to a retired police officer, who shared information with her, redacted though it was, because he, too, believed in justice and this case always felt off to him, which also led her to Horsefly Falls.

If you like a bit dark, twisted tale of bizarre family dynamics, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this one.

Thank you to NetGalley, Elle Marr and Thomas & Mercer for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

I hadn’t read anything by this author but the description makes this one hard to pass up! It’s fairly quickly paced and leaves you wondering which of these literally psychopathic family members is killing everyone else. So addicting.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

I have mixed feelings about this book. It reads good and has an interesting plot line, but it was too slow for my liking. I just could not get into it.

When psychology student Olivia decides to delve into her family history for her dissertation, she knows that accepting the invitation to her family reunion is the first step into getting more information. Although estranged from her family, Olivia is also engaged and her fiance is keen to meet his future in-laws. But then Olivia's cousin is found murdered and another family member disappears. With a deadly storm brewing, the family are stuck indoors.....with a murderer.

I don't know if it's because I read so many thrillers or if this one just missed the mark for me but I managed to figure most of this one out. There were a ton of family members too, who I struggled to keep track of. If you enjoy locked room thrillers, you might want to give this one a go. I hope you'll enjoy it more.

Thank you Netgalley, publisher and Elle Marr

This was such a brilliant plot. It was twisty and suspenseful the whole time. I could not trust the narrators and felt the whole way the story was told through news reports/podcasts plus in first person was very refreshing.

Addictive, devious and shocking

I really enjoyed this read!

The family bones is about a dark family reunion in a forest secluded away from everyone else. And this family has some... interesting characters. I enjoyed this book but found myself having a difficult time keeping up with all the characters and remembering who is who. Still would recommend though as I did enjoy it.

The Family Bones was an interesting read. This was my first book by Elle MArr, and I will read another one. I loved the podcast character and how she tied into Olivia's story.

Elle Marr, you just destroyed my soul and I loved every minute of it !

The Family Bones, is one of the best written thrillers to date . Filled with twists and turns and a plot that was so well thought out you can literally feel the hard work that dripped from Marr’s fingers onto the pages.

Elle Marr is new to me but I have no doubt she is about to take the internet by storm.

Teaser :

Psychology student Olivia Eriksen’s family is notorious among true-crime buffs. Faced with a legacy of psychopathy that spans generations, Olivia has spent much of her academic life trying to answer one chilling question: Nature or nurture?

Although she’s kept a safe distance from her blood relatives for years, Olivia agrees to attend a weekend reunion. After all, her fiancé is eager to meet his future in-laws, and the gathering may give her a chance to interview her elusive grandfather about the family traits.

But nothing is ever peaceful among the Eriksens for long. Olivia’s favorite cousin is found dead in a nearby lake. Then another family member disappears. As a violent storm isolates the group further, Olivia’s fears rise faster than the river.

And an uninvited guest is about to join the party. True-crime podcaster Birdie Tan has uncovered a disturbing mystery in her latest investigation—and she’s following it right to the Eriksens’ mountain resort. There’s a deadly twist in the family plot that even Olivia doesn’t see coming.

Favorite Quotes:

Nature or nurture? Is it genetic that so many of my family members seem to fall along the spectrum of personality disorders? Or simply circumstantial because we’ve been swimming in the same toxic fishbowl our entire lives?

It struck me as unusual and a little scary, but the rest of the household went right on eating cake.

Strange to think you could grow up knowing someone, yet know only the life they chose to share with you.


My Review:

This toxic collection of relatives was all kinds of creepy and had a family tree that was rotten and diseased to the roots. The storylines were taut with tension and populated by vile and disturbingly black-hearted human beings. I was on edge yet deeply intrigued and unable to let the story go, even when I put my kindle down and went about my day. I also found that I was so invested in the story I was occasionally fretful during perusal. Elle Marr is a sly minx, her tale sucked me in, tossed me around, and spit me back out all disheveled and exhausted. Her word voodoo is strong and held me captive. I now need a spa day and a vat of wine to relax my shoulders from my ears. I’m running back to check her listing to see what else she has conjured.

Olivia has a unique family, well known among the true crime generation. She has spent most of her life distancing from them, to prove that blood isn’t necessarily thicker than water. But when she joins them for a family reunion, people end up dead and missing. Cue the podcaster, here to solve the mystery, or so she thinks.
I enjoyed this book, but there were a lot of characters to try and keep straight, making it difficult to fully enjoy. But a solid story nonetheless.

I've seen a lot of praise for Elle Marr's books so was eager to try one.

The Family Bones is a locked-room mystery, a family reunion, a remote location and a family history of dark secrets, mental illness and psychopathy. Reading the ingredients list this sounded very tasty.

There's a lot of characters, a lot of background, sadly I found it a little too slow to really get dragged along by it.

An interesting idea which didn't quite hit for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer

Here we have a great example of how decent writers, armed with creative juice to spare, can take a well-worn plot and rework it to make it seem fresh. Just when you think you've got the next twist figured out, you're surprised!

3.5 stars

The Family Bones by Elle Marr is a thriller about a family of psychopaths.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Thomas & Mercer, Beata Garrett from Wunderkind-pr, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


My Synopsis:    (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
Olivia Eriksen is a psychology student.  Her family history is why she decided on psychology as a career.   She fears that she will soon inherit the traits that her family is known for.

The Eriksen's are notorious among law enforcement agencies and true-crime buffs.  They have a higher than normal number of psychopaths in the family, spanning generations.  A number of them are in jail at the moment, Olivia's father Ephraim among them.

Olivia, is writing her dissertation on neurodivergent cognitive conditions and is, for her own sanity, concerned with the nature vs nurture theory of psychopathy.  She reluctantly agrees to attend a family reunion at a mountain resort so that she can speak directly to her grandfather.   This will help her school-work, introduce her fiancé to her family, and hopefully set her own mind at ease that she will not become like them.

But on the first night of the reunion, during a wicked storm, her favorite cousin Alfred is found dead in the lake.  Then another member of the family is missing.  All evidence is starting to point toward Olivia.  Is she being set up, or is mental illness taking over?

Eventually, true-crime podcaster Birdie Tan ends up at the resort as well, where she followed a lead in the cold case of a missing woman.


My Opinions:
First, there are a lot of characters.  It's a big family, and although there is a family tree at the start of the book....it is much too small to read on an e-reader.

The atmosphere was quite interesting.  A family of psychopaths get trapped in a mountain resort when a storm hits.  Tensions and attitudes are bound to collide.

The book is about nature vs nurture.  It is about strange family dynamics, where anger, selfishness, attention-seeking, and lack of emotional understanding seems to be normal.  It is, above-all,  about mental illness/cognitive disorders.

The story is told from both Olivia's and Birdie's perspectives, as well as that of an "unknown" diarist, and the occasional newspaper article.  Even with a red herring, I did guess the author of the journal.   However, that didn't really detract from the information gleaned.

The characters were really "out-there".  I had some early suspicions about Olivia, was rather surprised (although I shouldn't have been) about Howard, and most of the other Erickson's were just strange, and often scary. I also didn't like Birdie's story...who kept professing her love for her little girl, but seemed to ignore/forget about her much too much.  I don't think she was necessary to the plot, unless the author was saying she may be a psychopath too.  I didn't really relate to any of the characters....which in hind-sight is probably a good thing.

Overall, it was a rather dark book, with a rather sad look at mental disorders.  It was, however, a rather fast read, and it did hold my attention.  So overall, better than average.

Elle Marr has done it again. The Family Bones is a dual POV following Olivia as she is trying to understand her family's psychopathic ways. You see, she comes from a family of killers and as she approaches her 23rd birthday, she is wondering if she will also "snap." Birdie is a podcaster who is interested in finding out what happened to Asian-American, Ming Li Na. She disappeared 10 years ago, leaving behind her young daughter and hasn't been heard from since. On her quest to discover what has happened to her, she may have just solved the greatest mystery of all.

This book had me on the edge of my seat trying to figure it all out. Withing the 2 POVs, there are also journal entries and new articles related to both the missing woman and the Erikson family. At about 50% in, I thought I had it all figured out...but I was completely wrong.

Definitely read this one if you enjoy family drama. I mean, who doesn't? The Erikson's are known for their psychopathy and are having a family retreat...but people are popping up dead! The drama of trying to uncover the killer is well-done. At one point, I didn't trust anyone.

Overall, this was a solid thriller and my second from Ms. Marr. A definite 4.5 stars out of 5 stars.

I highly recommend going into this one knowing as little as possible. I think it would make the thrill of it all much more enjoyable!

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this one. It was okay. I have a hard time reading Agatha Christie retellings of ' Then there were none" but this one was full of psychopaths. It kept me reading but that retelling makes my skin scratch. It just too drawn out for me and I really do not want to know the end.