Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Canada for the advance reader copy of The Family Inside by Katie Garner. This was a great thriller! From the start, the story pulled me in with its eerie tone and family dynamics. The characters were intriguing, each with their own secrets that kept me guessing. Just when I thought I had it figured out, the book threw in a twist I did not see coming. The suspense built up well, and the ending wrapped up nicely, tying everything together in a satisfying way. If you love psychological thrillers with unexpected turns, this one is worth the read! 4⭐️

Wow! This was such an addicting, twisty, fast paced read. There was a twist in almost every chapter, and I was hooked! The narrator was great and I enjoyed listening to this on audio.

Domestic thriller. Entertaining listen that was easy to get into. I was able to figure out the twists but still enjoyed the story overall.

What a twist! This book had so many layers that weave together to make an unforgettable story. The complications of each tragedy move to create a seamless dance that is impossible to predict. Even the ending doesn't let up, giving readers even more deception to traverse. This book was a master class in writing, thank you so much Katie Garner! The audio was also flawless, fantastic narration to set the scene.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author Katie Garner, and Harlequin Audio for my advance copy of this audiobook.

3.5 for "The Family Inside"! The book is a whirlwind. I really thought I had the plot twist nailed down and I was completely wrong, which turned out to be a good thing because the ending was better than I expected! I love a good psychological thriller and this book was full of mental mind games. This book gave spooky vibes with the haunted house on the hill feel and was screaming unreliable characters with hidden motives. If you think you know what's going to happen in this house, think again.

Iris is down on her luck. She is trying to survive in the wake of her husband's unsolved murder while supporting her teenage daughter with a waitressing job. When her job and home are swept out from under her feet, Iris takes up an offer to stay her boyfriend Hugh's family home with several other members of his family while they try to get back on their feet. Expect this home is notorious for devastation, missing persons, and most shockingly: murder. As Iris discovers more about the house and the people inhabiting it, she questions the intentions everyone around her, including Hugh.

If you're a fan of the tropes such as dysfunctional families, creepy houses, untrustworthy narrators, betrayal, secrets, and deceit, this book is for you.

This audiobook was great! The narrator did a fantastic job; I was not the least bit disappointed. The story was just as great. I felt all feelings while reading - that's how you know they did a great job! The twist was amazing and EXACTLY what it needed, without being predictable. The ending had me absolutely reeling in the best way. Thank you to Netgalley, Katie Garner and Harlequin Audio for this ARC.

Pretty decent thriller. Lots of twists and turns that you won’t see coming. Only missing that fifth star because I found myself not overly invested in the main character.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of Katie Garner’s dark and twisty new novel, The Family Inside. Iris is raising her teenage daughter Ellory on her own after the unexpected death of her husband. When she meets Hugh, he seems almost too good to be true. He invites Iris and Ellory to stay with him at his mother’s house while he helps her with renovations, and Ellory is less than thrilled. Things take a twisted turn when Ellory disappears and Iris is left with Hugh and his mysterious, creepy family. Iris has to come to terms with secrets from her past as she navigates the disappearance of her daughter and the deeply unsettling behavior of her fiancé’s family.

The Family Inside is unpredictable, original, and filled with shocking reveals. The narrator of this audiobook expertly built up the tension and brought the characters to life.

This review contains some spoilers….



Narration:
⭐️⭐️⭐️
I am not a huge of fan of breathy, meek sounding narrators which is why I wasn’t the biggest fan of Iris’s narrator. I did like Ellery’s narrator.

Story:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Katie Garner has officially been added to my “auto author” list and will now be an author I don’t even need to read the blurb of the book- if her name is on it, I’m reading it! So many things I loved in this book- an unreliable narrator, shifting perspectives, out of order timeline, and a twisty ending that I didn’t see coming!

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of The Family Inside!

I'm still not sure how I feel about this one, and I've given it a little time to gel in my brain... 😮

Iris is a widower. Her husband (Jack) died 3 years ago. She has an 18 year old daughter who is a bit rebellious...especially since she's started dating again... and Hugh has asked her to marry him!

Also, Iris is drowning in debt. Her home has gone into foreclosure, and she's just lost her job!

So, when Hugh asks them both to move in with him, she happily agrees. What she does NOT know is that she will be living with him, his Mom, his brother and his sister...all under one roof! She is not happy about this, but her daughter Ellory is even LESS HAPPY!

Also, Iris has nightmares...pretty much every night. She sees 3 dark figures...lurking in the yard. At home, at Hugh's... everywhere!

And then, her daughter goes missing... and no-one seems to care!

My thoughts now: I feel like this book went on FOREVER... and, not in a good way. Yes, they had to put a lot of information out there, but could it have been done differently? I'm not sure... 🤔

Also... the fact that there are actually two timelines going on in this one... but you are never told this...anywhere along the line...

The last hour or two of the book was wonderful. Really kept you on your toes and invested throughout! BUT... I can't tell you how many times I wanted to put it down and just put it in as a DNF....

That being said, I am giving it 3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️... because the ending was phenomenal! I just wish the whole book could've been the same way!!

#TheFamilyInside by #KatieGarner and narrated nicely by #EmilyLawrence and #AshleyKlanac.

Thanks so much to #NetGalley and #HarlequinAudio for an ARC of the audiobook which has already been released. So, if it sounds like something you'd like, you can look for it now!

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I love a good psychological thriller. This story, however, did not sit well with me. I give props to the author for writing an action packed plot. The protagonist ignored too many red flags and I didn't care for that. The twists were a little far-fetched for my liking and it wrapped up too easily. It is a story to entertain though, and I'm sure there are others who will enjoy it.
The narration was fantastic! I'd love to hear more audiobooks from the narrator(s). I'm thankful for the opportunity to review this audiobook and wish I had a better review.
Thank you to the publisher for an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you HTP Hive and Harlequin Audio for the complimentary DRC + ALC

1.5 stars

Unfortunately, this did not work for me at all. The main character consistently overlooks obvious red flags and makes the worst decisions, which made it hard for me to care or root for her. Disaster seemed to follow her relentlessly in a very short space of time, so everything felt sudden and overly dramatic. While there were several twists in the plot, only one felt well-executed and took me by surprise, while the others, particularly the final twist, seemed extremely far-fetched.

That said, the narrators, Emily Lawrence and Ashley Klanac, did a great job with their performances. Unfortunately, despite that, I just couldn’t fully get into this story.

"People can be the scariest things on earth."

Widow and mom Iris Blodgett believes she's found love again with a mysterious man named Hugh Smoll. When Iris loses her home and job, Hugh invites her and her teenage daughter to come live with him in his family's sprawling home in the country. But they'll have housemates -- Hugh's mother and siblings. There's something off about them, and the house too. And then, Iris' daughter disappears. Did she run away (again), or was she kidnapped?

Wow, what a rollercoaster ride this book was, with hints of horror thrown in along with all the mystery and suspense. Lots of jump-scare moments, and Hugh's family definitely gave me the creeps -- especially his mom. Alas, I felt like this book dragged a bit and could have ended several times. The very ending of the book was a stretch, but I guess it made certain events feel less coincidental and more calculated. Just suspend all reality when you read this one, because it's pretty out there.

I did love the house setting. It felt almost unreal in a magical realism type of way and was a bit inspirational for some of the writing that I want to do.

The audio narration was great and evoked a lot of emotion and dread.

3.5 stars.

I wanted to like this a lot more than I did, but it just kept getting crazier and crazier. There were some good twists I suppose, but overall it was just very exaggerated and out there.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #HarlequinAudio for the book #TheFamilyInside by #KateGarner. This book was filled with of suspense, secrets and murder inside more secrets. Iris has had a pretty rough go of it lately. Her husband was killed and left her raiding her daughter alone, and now she has lost her job and house. The one good thing going for her is her new boyfriend, Hugh, who has just asked her to move in with him. She has no clue what she is in for as she moves in with him and his “family”.

Thank you Netgalley for this advanced audio edition of The Family Inside by Katie Garner.

I'm honestly tiring of books like this. They're just SO overcooked, so out there that it makes it hard to care, it's that unbelievable. I also have to offer feedback for one of the narrators. Like, could you be any less emotional. People are straight up getting murdered, and you're reading it with about as much inflection as if you were reading a menu.

This was a story about a widowed woman, who is so freaking broke that she's about to lose her house. But as fortune would have it, she also has a handsome and super rich boyfriend who offers to take her in to his family's home. Turns out, it's crazy there, and so is literally everything that happens there.

The one thing I liked about this book was how cleverly one of the twists was done. I was pleasantly surprised at that. The rest was straight up annoying.

Wow, I don't know where to start with this one. I picked this up because I was obsessed with Katie Garner's debut novel. I went in completely blind and was hoping for the dark academia type setting similar to the first, but this was WAY different. It was very slow for a good chunk of the book and it felt very predictable. Only it didn't end up being very predictable at all.

The first major twist was a bit jolting, but once I was able to put together that we were looking at 2 different timelines, it all made sense. There were a lot of twists and turns after that based on lots of coincidences and .the story lines started to become difficult to follow. Also, there were a couple of events that occurred that relied on people not seeing each other (Ainsley and Hugh for example) in order to not be recognized and it seemed to be a bit of a stretch.

Overall, there were a lot of twist and turns and a story that turned out to be completely unpredictable, but I think if you aren't able to suspend disbelief, this won't be a winner. I can also see why a lot of people would enjoy it! It was a good listen!

This cover is fantastic! I love all the colors and the Erie vibe! The story jumps right in with Iris, a stressed, widowed mother that’s about to lose her house.… a young daughter, full of attitude and already knowing everything but she has her own troubles that she she’s battling alone. Iris‘s night and shining armor, Hugh comes to their rescue, but there is something definitely strange going on with his family! So many twists and turns and they were all delicious !This book is out now and it was such a blast from page one right to the end!

It’s been three years since Iris’s husband, Jake, was murdered. Three long years. Iris is down and out, losing her home and her job simultaneously, she’s not sure what to do next. Her teenaged daughter, Ellory, isn’t too happy with her either. Iris has just begun a new relationship with Hugh. When Hugh suggests they move in with his family, Iris jumps, but Ellory isn’t onboard. Iris had no idea his mother’s home is a dilapidated old mansion in the woods. The family has secrets, so many secrets, but Iris has a few of her own. When Ellory goes missing, Iris dives deep to find out just what is going on in the house all while trying to find her daughter. No one is safe, and things really heat up when Iris decides to leave. This was a page turner, but had too many coincidences. It had a great plot twist, but the there were a few holes and overall story left me in a state of disbelief. As a dual read:listen, I enjoyed the voices of the narrators, but they didn’t have the plot. Thank you to Harlequin Audio and NetGalley for an ALC of this book.

Iris Blodgett's life feels like it's falling apart. After her husband's unsolved murder three years ago, she's struggling with grief and debt and is facing eviction. She has no idea how to provide for her unruly teenager, Ellory. With nowhere else to turn, she goes to her new boyfriend, prominent architect Hugh Smoll, who invites Iris and her daughter to move into his mother's centuries-old mansion. It seems like a great solution, but Iris quickly finds out that the family living in the mansion she's just moved into is not what she expected. The mansion and its inhabitants soon start revealing dark and chilling secrets.

This one was a slow burn for me. Normally I enjoy a slow burn mystery, but this one felt like it was really dragging at times. I didn't really feel much of a connection to the characters and I felt their dialogue was stiff and unnatural, especially the teen daughter's. There were some twists and turns that were fun and surprising, but I feel like they didn't really happen until the later half of the book. I also had a difficult time keeping the characters and timelines straight, but I was listening to the audiobook. Perhaps a written format would be easier to follow. The second half of this book was full of suspense and craziness which definitely made up for the slow start. Overall, not a bad book, just wasn't my favorite. But this would probably be a good choice for fans of Jeneva Rose or Frieda McFadden since it has a good domestic thriller/mystery vibe.

Thank you Harlequin Audio for providing this audiobook for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.