A Twisty Psychological Thriller That Keeps You Guessing
One Big Happy family
Sam Vickery

If you're a fan of psychological thrillers that keep you on the edge of your seat, then this book is a must-read for you.
In summary, one big happy family is a brilliant psychological thriller filled with unexpected twists that will keep you guessing until the very last page. If you're looking for a book that combines suspense with psychological depth, be sure to pick this one up. You won’t regret it!

Read and reviewed in exchange for a free copy from Netgalley. This was a gripping read. I was invested in the story throughout, and the characters were very well-written (although some were quite obnoxious) with great character development. The story was well-paced and the twists carefully crafted. I'm looking forward to reading more by this author.

As a busy hospital doctor and a single mum, Carrie is pulled in all directions. A rare day at the beach ends in disaster when she leaves her daughter, Maisy, watching her toddler to check on her son, for less than a minute, but it's enough. Her 2 year old, Ava, is gone and Maisy won't say a word.

There were several potential suspects and I could easily believe that any of them were guilty, at different points throughout the book. Carrie's ex, Jimmy, was particularly slippery!

The fast pace and the suspenseful writing kept me hooked throughout, although I did work out who the culprit was.

3 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Sam Vickery and Bookouture, for an ARC in return for an honest review.

I've read a few missed child thrillers lately but this one hits differently. I really enjoyed how it unfolded and didn't predict the way it woud go. I always enjoy Sam's novels and this is another one that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Carrie and her husband Jim are separated. Jim is living with his new gf Leah, who really wants Carrie’s kids. When Carrie takes them to the beach one day, Ava disappears. When Carrie sees a clip, she becomes convinced that Leah’s mom took Ava. While Carrie takes things into her own hands, she discovers so many secrets. Why is jimmy never home or answering his phone? Why is Tommy so angry at his mom? And what did Maisy see that makes her mute? I did have this one even close to figured out. Great book

First Things first, thanks Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC!

Another book with a plot revolving around a missing child.... I swear I have not planned this! But, I also do not regret it, either, seeing it was a pretty good read.

Even when I am no mother myself, I felt bad for Carrie Losing a child like this - losing a child in any way - is for sure the worst that could happen to anyone. And Tommy, her son, blames her for everything. And then there is also Leah, the new girlfriend of Carrie's ex-husband Jimmy, who is taking care of Carrie's children like they were her own. Pretty suspicious, if you ask me....

If you want to find out more, you if course need to go and read the book. I promise it is worth it. 4.5 stars from me for this one.

A day at the beach turns traumatic for Tammy and her family when her toddler Ava goes missing. What follows is extraordinary. What happened to Ava and why?

This book starts with a lovely day at the beach. Carrie had some rare time off from her job as an emergency doctor to take her kids Tommy, Maisy and Ava out for the day, and things were going great…with the girls. She and Tommy had gotten into an argument earlier in the day, and he is spending his time with his friends instead of his family. Carrie took a moment from watching Maisy and Ava play by the shore to see what Tommy and his friends were doing, and when she looked back, Ava was gone and Maisy was in shock. Carrie jumped in the ocean, tried to find her toddler, but she was soon pulled out as the police and coast guard arrived to start searching.

Eventually, the police made her go home. Without her youngest child. Tommy is angry, blaming his mother for not watching his sisters more closely. Maisy is almost catatonic, unable to speak or react to what happened. Carrie is wishing her husband Jimmy was there, but they are in the middle of a divorce, and he now lives with his much younger fiancée, Leah - and Leah is quite the character. She is only 24, but still excited to be a stepmother and raise Carrie’s children as her own.

The rest of the story is of course about finding Ava, but this isn’t your typical missing child thriller. This dove much deeper into the dynamics of these two women, and how much pain they intentionally cause each other. Carrie doesn’t care that Jimmy wasn’t faithful - he never had been, and she’d made her peace with that. She DOES care that Jimmy actually left her for one of his mistresses, and that are already engaged and living together. Being a single mom with a high-pressure job is difficult. Being a single mom with a high-pressure job and a missing child is impossible.

This book was definitely a page turner; I wasn’t able to finish it in one sitting, and I was dying to get back to it as soon as I could! I also liked that this didn’t follow the clichés of a missing child book. I did figure out the ending, but there were many ways it could have gone, so reading it was still exciting. There were also several surprises throughout the book that made it quite suspenseful, and the ending was really good. 4.5 stars, rounded up.

(Thank you to Bookouture for inviting me on this book’s tour! “One Big Happy Family” is slated to be released on May 28, 2025.)

What a great read. We meet Carrie a nurse with three young children who is struggling to compete with her soon to be ex husband and his new much cooler girlfriend. When she tries to give the kids a lovely day out at the beach things take a dreadful turn when her youngest child goes missing. Did Ava go into the water or has someone taken her. As the days go on she finds her life falling apart but even those closest to her don’t believe she didn’t do something and her other daughter won’t speak of what happened will she ever see her baby again. This is a dark story which kept me on the edge of my seat.

When you go somewhere with young children, you should have eyes in the back of your head. A moment of distraction can have serious consequences. Something bad might happen to them, or someone could snatch them from right under your nose.

In either case, you'll end up blaming yourself and beating yourself up over that one moment of inattentiveness. But parents are only human and make mistakes, and it doesn't help if your ex-partner rubs your nose in it as if you don't already feel guilty enough!

I can't imagine what I would do in such a situation, and luckily, like so many others, I've never had to go through it—but unfortunately, it does happen. What I can imagine is how desperate and helpless I would feel, just like Carrie.

The author created very interesting characters, all of whom have something to hide, making it impossible as a reader to know who to trust. It’s like they’re in a competition to see who can throw whom under the bus the fastest, which makes it a very fun and thrilling book.

“The lie may be fast, but the truth will catch up with it” is a saying that fits this story perfectly, in my opinion. You might be able to hide the truth for a while, but eventually, everything comes to the surface.

Sometimes people try to discredit others by highlighting their negative sides, making themselves look better and pulling the spotlight toward themselves. This might work up to a certain point, but eventually, everything will come crashing down like a house of cards...

I really enjoyed searching for clues, but I could never have predicted this ending. I thought it was a fantastic book. 5 stars.

Thank you.