This book was so fun! It's geared as a YA book as the MC is a teen, however you definitely don't have to be a YA to read it. I poured through it. It was a fun read with unique and quirky characters and a lot of twists and turns. There were so many great literary references.

Ruth is on a vacataion at the family's farmhouse. There is little to no cell reception, so when her step-grandmother is murdered by typewritter, Ruth has nothing to do but recruit her kinda step-cousin to help her solve the murder. I loved their banter and I actually enjoyed how Ruth woud stop to tak to us (the readers).

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I will be looking in to other books by this author. I would love to see this crime solving duo again.

Thank ou to NetGalley and Random House Children's Books for this ARC.

3.75 stars

This is billed as a Young Adult mystery, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. The breezy style of the 14 year old narrator was fun. Light-hearted despite the murder scenario but with a decent mystery. Ruth's family is definitely quirky. She has divorced parents, an aunt with a squirrelly boyfriend and a son, another possible aunt with a comically accident-prone boyfriend, and a step-grandmother. They are all holed up in the old family farmhouse in Australia.

The family interactions and Ruth's garrulous asides are humorous. A fast and fun read. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for giving me this E-ARC!

3.5⭐ It was a really funny and fun read. I enjoyed it but it was lacking some details. It's a murder mystery, but the plot twist was kind of easy to figure out and wasn't very unexpected in my opinion but it was still a very good read. If you need something cozy and funny, read this.

A regular old Sherlock and Watson mystery! This book follows teen sleuth Ruth and her half cousin Dylan when their sweet GG winds up dead on their family farmhouse vacation! This book reminded me of my family vacations growing up with my crazy aunts and lots of chaos! Overall Ruth is a favorable narrator who mind will keep you guessing with a rag tag list of suspects! Pick it up today and see if you can solve what really happened to GG.

Apparently family vacations can be murder. I enjoyed this YA contemporary mystery that involves a murder on family vacation. I loving seeing YA mysteries making a comeback. Even though I've outgrown YA in some aspects. The mysteries still kept my attention and in many cases have better mysteries than adult mysteries.

This YA mystery follows 14 year old Ruth as she tries to piece together what led to the death of her grandmother- or actually, step-grandmother. As she searches, family secrets are exposed and re-exposed as she and her half-cousin Dylan try to live up to their self pronounced Sherlock and Watson namesakes.

This novel had plenty of references to iconic mysteries both contemporary and Golden Age. The use of Ruth's first person narration is humorous and allows for the use of plenty of mystery tropes while acknowledging that some are cliche. This book is a perfect fit for YA audiences that want a mystery that isn't necessarily dark and gory.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this novel!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 Stars
I loved this e-ARC from NetGalley! Ruth was hilarious, and her internal monologue made the whole book such a joy to read. I always thought my family was a bit eccentric, but hers takes the cake.

Her relationship with her dad was so sweet, and I loved that her crush on Dylan can finally continue now that they’re not sort-of-cousins anymore. The mix of humor, banter, and suspense made this the perfect 5-star combination for me—it even surpassed my expectations going in. I read it in a single day if that says anything about the pacing and tone.

I would love to see this become a series, with Ruth and Dylan solving mysteries together in future novels. Highly recommend this one if you love your mysteries with a heavy dose of humor and heart.

This was a quirky book but in a good way. This was a humorous story and I loved every minute of it!!! I would highly recommend this book if you are looking for a good time.

This was a fun read that kept my attention from start to finish. A dysfunctional family’s guide to murder, it delivered exactly what the premise promised—though I found myself a little underwhelmed overall. I really appreciated the humor woven throughout and how authentic the family dynamics felt. However, I struggled to fully connect with the characters, which kept me from becoming truly invested in their journey. Still, it’s an entertaining and witty story that fans of quirky, dark family drama may enjoy. Thank you to the publisher for the ARC.

Death by typewriter! Who knew this would be my new favorite way to commit murder? If you like a smart, yet awkward teen sleuth (yes, I’m looking at you, Ruth!), fun, quirky characters, and a mix of comedy and crime, this book is for you. 14-year-old Ruth is determined to find the step-grandmother's murderer. With help from her sort-of-cousin, a Watson to her Sherlock, she wades through the clues to unravel the mystery.

Two slight critiques. First, Ruth breaks the fourth wall to talk to the reader. I didn’t hate it, but sometimes it would throw me out of the story. The second is the narrator’s age. Ruth never felt 14 to me as she reads much more like an older teen, 16 or even 17. Other than that, this book is a fun crime-solving romp I’d recommend to any YA mystery fan. This ARC was provided by the publisher, Random House Children's Books | Knopf Books for Young Readers, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. #TheDysfunctionalFamilysGuidetoMurder #NetGalley

How much I loved this mystery!

The Dysfunctional Family’s Guide to Murder is the story is about a family whose grandmother passes way. Ruth and Dylan investigate trying to see what they can figure out. It was fun seeing the mystery through the younger eyes.

There were a lot of characters and a lot of secrets to uncover.

I really enjoyed this and looked forward to more stories from this author.

The Dysfunctional Family’s Guide to Murder is about a family at their grandmother’s house when she suddenly passes away. The story then follows Dylan and Ruth as they follow the clues to see if they can find out what happened. During their investigation they uncover a lot of family secrets and turn their suspicions from person to person through out the book.

This story has a lot going on at one points of the book and I did get lost in some of the story telling and what was happening with what character but overall Kate kept the story moving and kept you guessing on who committed the murdering. By the end of the book, I finally had everyone figured out and what happened with everyone. Ruth like most may characters in a mystery does things without thinking of the consequences. Overall this is a good fast past read. I just wished I got the characters down before 1/2 way through the book.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children’s Books for the ARC copy.

Witty whodunnit with a lovable narrator and plenty of turns and well-placed (but not too obvious) clues. a unique setting and constant progression of events make an easy read for those looking for a hilarious mystery novel. If you loved Ebola Holmes (actually mentioned in the novel), you would enjoy this female detective’s case in the modern-day Australian countryside.

Going into this the writing style really threw me off, however I grew to like the quirky style clearly meant to come from a teen POV. This novel did a really good job of having you slowly piece things together until ultimately all the twists come together. It mentions Enola Holmes and it really truly does have those vibes. Overall this was a f̆̈ŭ̈n̆̈ read and a great choice for YA readers! Thank you random house children’s books and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Kate Emery does a fantastic job in writing this whodunnit book, I enjoyed that it had that humor element to it and still was suspenseful in this. It had that feel that I was looking for and enjoyed that each suspect was a relative to the main character. I was hooked from the first page and thought it was a strong mystery to it and had me guessing until the end. I enjoyed the way Kate Emery wrote this and had that character development that I was wanting.

This was a fun read but man there were a lot of characters and it took a while for me to figure out who was who. Ruth along with her hot not cousin Dylan are trying to figure out what happened to her step GG and figure out which of her family members might be the culprit. In the midst of investigating, they uncover some family secrets that GG had as well as discovering that everyone might have had a motive to kill GG. This was very fast paced and Ruth of course does a stupid thing when she figures out what actually happens and confronts someone alone with her not cousin and almost gets hurt but it all works out in the end.
Thanks to Random House Children’s Books and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

The Dysfunctional Family’s Guide to Murder is a quirky and clever mystery filled with chaotic charm and unforgettable characters. Ruth, the 14-year-old narrator, brings a cheeky, insightful voice to the story—dropping hints, keeping secrets, and keeping things fun from start to finish. The eccentric family dynamics made me laugh, and I especially enjoyed watching the relationship between Ruth and Dylan begin to grow.

This was such an enjoyable read, and I’d love to spend more time with these characters in future books!

quirky and fun book that i would definitely think of as kinda similar to Good Girl's Guide to Murder: the settings, the ties, all of that feel vaguely similar, but it all also feels new and great. 5 stars. tsym for the arc.

A hilarious, twisty, and totally offbeat YA mystery!
Ruth is 14, obsessed with Agatha Christie, and stuck on a remote family vacation with a house full of relatives she mostly can't stand. When her sharp-tongued step-grandmother is murdered—by a typewriter, no less—Ruth decides it’s up to her to crack the case. With a notebook full of clues, a maybe-cute/maybe-cousin sidekick, and enough family drama to fuel a reality show, Ruth dives into her very own whodunit.

This book is fast, funny, and full of heart. Ruth’s voice is chef’s kiss—awkward, smart, and very relatable. If you love A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, Truly Devious, or just messy families with murder sprinkled in, you’ll eat this up.

🔍 Murder mystery
😂 Dark comedy
🧠 Smart, awkward teen sleuth
📖 Total binge-read

Set against the bucolic backdrop of rural Western Australia, this deftly constructed young adult mystery novel offers a delightful fusion of comedy and crime. The narrative unfolds at a secluded farmhouse, where 14-year-old Ruth finds herself ensnared in an unexpected homicide investigation following the sudden death of her step-grandmother, known simply as GG. What was intended to be a brief family gathering swiftly devolves into a locked-room-style mystery, complicated by the arrival of unannounced visitors, contradictory alibis, and buried family secrets.

The novel positions Ruth—an ardent admirer of Agatha Christie and self-styled detective—as its central investigative force. Though still an adolescent, Ruth proves to be a remarkably perceptive and quick-witted narrator. Her incisive commentary, delivered with a youthful blend of snark and sincerity, anchors the narrative with both levity and intelligence. The prose convincingly captures the interiority of a teenage girl navigating not only the complexities of crime-solving but the awkward terrain of familial relationships. Ruth is joined by her half-cousin Dylan, who, though initially reluctant, assumes the Watson role with charm and understated humor.

From a structural standpoint, the novel adheres to classic mystery conventions—an isolated setting, a finite suspect pool, concealed motives, and a series of red herrings—while also subverting them through comedic timing and the uniquely adolescent lens of its protagonist. The tone, while consistently light-hearted, does not shy away from the emotional resonance of grief and the disillusionment that can accompany familial revelations. The author balances these tonal shifts with admirable precision.

The pacing is brisk without feeling rushed, and the plot sustains its momentum through a series of cleverly plotted twists. Crucially, the resolution is both surprising and satisfying; readers are likely to find themselves misled in the best possible way, as the story plays fair with its clues while preserving the pleasure of a final reveal.

This novel is a rare accomplishment: a genuinely funny murder mystery that neither condescends to its young audience nor sacrifices narrative complexity. Its greatest strength lies in the voice of Ruth herself—a protagonist whose intelligence, humor, and emotional candor are sure to resonate with readers of all ages.

Recommended enthusiastically for readers of contemporary young adult fiction, classic detective narratives, and lighthearted crime novels alike.