The Favorite Child
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- Create Date：2022-08-21 21:21:38
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Cathryn Grant
- ISBN：B0B8SKV2PH
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Summary
Annie’s sister has gone missing。 Why doesn’t anyone care？
Annie feels like she's at a good place in her life。 Happily married， expecting her first child， enjoying a vacation with her extended family at their beautiful coastal home。
But then her sister， Sunday， suddenly goes missing。
Annie is immediately concerned， but the rest of the family assure her that everything's fine， this is the kind of thing Sunday does， she'll be back…
But Annie knows in her heart that something is very wrong。 And she won't rest until she sees her sister safe and well。
As Annie digs for the truth， she realizes that some of her family are not what they seem。 And as she draws closer to uncovering their horrifying secret， Annie finally understands that she and her unborn child are in terrible danger…
The Favorite Child - the gripping psychological thriller from the best-selling author of The Other Couple and The Guest
Annie feels like she's at a good place in her life。 Happily married， expecting her first child， enjoying a vacation with her extended family at their beautiful coastal home。
But then her sister， Sunday， suddenly goes missing。
Annie is immediately concerned， but the rest of the family assure her that everything's fine， this is the kind of thing Sunday does， she'll be back…
But Annie knows in her heart that something is very wrong。 And she won't rest until she sees her sister safe and well。
As Annie digs for the truth， she realizes that some of her family are not what they seem。 And as she draws closer to uncovering their horrifying secret， Annie finally understands that she and her unborn child are in terrible danger…
The Favorite Child - the gripping psychological thriller from the best-selling author of The Other Couple and The Guest
Reviews
Gillian Odom
，
What a creepy thriller this was！ If you like a twisty story with crazy family members and gaslighting， this is the book for you。 Where has Sunday gone？ Did she run away or was she met with foul play？ A story that kept me guessing what exactly was going on here？ For me this book was a solid read。 Definitely worth picking up。 Thanks to netgalley and inkubator books for this ARC
Denise
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Special thank you to NetGalley and Inkubator Books for the advanced reading copy of this psychological thriller。 “Jealousy is ugly。 Jealousy means wanting things other people have。 It means not being happy with all the good things you have。 It means always looking at the other person instead of looking at yourself。 Other people are none of your business。”I quite enjoyed this psychological thriller that involved a highly dysfunctional family and daughter that was gaslight like no other。 I found t Special thank you to NetGalley and Inkubator Books for the advanced reading copy of this psychological thriller。 “Jealousy is ugly。 Jealousy means wanting things other people have。 It means not being happy with all the good things you have。 It means always looking at the other person instead of looking at yourself。 Other people are none of your business。”I quite enjoyed this psychological thriller that involved a highly dysfunctional family and daughter that was gaslight like no other。 I found the book engaging and was pleased with the happier ending that the author provided。 I would recommend this book to those who enjoy psychological thrillers and murder mysteries。 。。。more
Elizabeth
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I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for a review。 Annie’s sister， Sunday， has gone missing。 Aside from Annie， no one in the family seems concerned。 Sunday had an argument with her parents shortly before her disappearance。 Sunday is supposedly the favorite child and yet her parents were very harsh with her and acting quite strangely。。 Annie speaks with her family about Sunday’s disappearance and yet they are not concerned， not he I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for a review。 Annie’s sister， Sunday， has gone missing。 Aside from Annie， no one in the family seems concerned。 Sunday had an argument with her parents shortly before her disappearance。 Sunday is supposedly the favorite child and yet her parents were very harsh with her and acting quite strangely。。 Annie speaks with her family about Sunday’s disappearance and yet they are not concerned， not her parents nor her siblings。 They all feel that Sunday did not get her way and just left for a while。 They say that she will be back， for sure。 Annie is not convinced and is determined to find out what happened to her sister。 She feels that something is very wrong。 Annie takes it upon herself to contact Sunday’s friends via social media。 She also contacts Sunday’s ex husband。 She wants to know if anyone has seen or heard from her。 She is determined to find out what has happened to Sunday and she will not rest until she has answers。 I highly recommend this book。 It was very well written and engaging。 I will definitely be reading other books by the author。 。。。more
Faith Hurst-Bilinski
，
This book seemed to have everything I would want to read。 A family of secrets and lies， for example。 Annie has always known that her parents favor Sunday， her sister。 She is the only of her siblings to remain un-bitter about it。 Suddenly， mom and dad are treating Sunday unkindly and Annie is the only one to seem to notice。 Then Sunday disappears and no one else seems to care。 I would have thought I would be unable to put this down。 But the book itself was kind of repetitive and slow， so I kept s This book seemed to have everything I would want to read。 A family of secrets and lies， for example。 Annie has always known that her parents favor Sunday， her sister。 She is the only of her siblings to remain un-bitter about it。 Suddenly， mom and dad are treating Sunday unkindly and Annie is the only one to seem to notice。 Then Sunday disappears and no one else seems to care。 I would have thought I would be unable to put this down。 But the book itself was kind of repetitive and slow， so I kept setting it down。 The whole thing ramps up at the end， so there is a satisfying conclusion。 。。。more
Tonya Owens
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It is a slow read， but it is good。 Keeps you guessing on what if anything happen to Sunday and if who had anything to do with it and why。 Keeps you reading to find out more。
Rosie Bray
，
I must admit to not liking any of the characters in the book， although that's not necessarily a bad thing， but none of them made me feel anything particularly strongly。 Other than Annie， who I could quite cheerfully have grabbed by the scruff of the neck and given a good shake。 She insisted on staying on at her parents' property， even when there was every suggestion that at least one member was a murderer！！I liked the premise but for me the author didn't deliver the "thriller" aspect。I received I must admit to not liking any of the characters in the book， although that's not necessarily a bad thing， but none of them made me feel anything particularly strongly。 Other than Annie， who I could quite cheerfully have grabbed by the scruff of the neck and given a good shake。 She insisted on staying on at her parents' property， even when there was every suggestion that at least one member was a murderer！！I liked the premise but for me the author didn't deliver the "thriller" aspect。I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review。 。。。more
Patricia
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Annie and her husband are on their annual three week stay with her parents and siblings。 When one of her siblings， Sunday， goes missing， Annie is the only one who seems concerned。 I loved the last ten percent of this book and wish that the rest of the book had been as fast paced。 But up until the last few chapters， the book was slow and repetitive。 We are told over and over that the "family principles" are what make for a happy family， that putting family above the individual self is the glue th Annie and her husband are on their annual three week stay with her parents and siblings。 When one of her siblings， Sunday， goes missing， Annie is the only one who seems concerned。 I loved the last ten percent of this book and wish that the rest of the book had been as fast paced。 But up until the last few chapters， the book was slow and repetitive。 We are told over and over that the "family principles" are what make for a happy family， that putting family above the individual self is the glue that binds them。 Annie's family is anything but happy and there is a current of secrecy throughout her vacation with her family that she is not privy to。 The family is overly solicitous of Annie because of her pregnancy， and she becomes a replacement for their obsession with Sunday。 I would like to have seen more character development for Michael， Annie's husband。 He did not seem to be as supportive of Annie as I expected him to be。 I just wanted them to get the heck out of that treacherous household！Thanks to NetGalley， Inkubator Books and Booksprout for an advance reader's copy。 。。。more
Billie
，
Wow！！！ What a gripping read。Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start。Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable。Great suspense and found myself second guessing every thought I had continuously。Can't wait to read what the author brings out next。Recommend reading。I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review。 Wow！！！ What a gripping read。Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start。Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable。Great suspense and found myself second guessing every thought I had continuously。Can't wait to read what the author brings out next。Recommend reading。I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review。 。。。more
Marie
，
“The Favorite Child” gripped me from the start and maintained a feeling of suspense through the end。 While the Ledgers seem like an idyllic family， it is quickly revealed that they are a family full of flaws as Annie begins to unravel the mystery of her sister， Sunday’s disappearance。 Cathryn Grant does a wonderful job describing the characters’ personalities which have been shaped by the family’s bizarre “principles。” I could not put this book down as I could not wait to find out what happened “The Favorite Child” gripped me from the start and maintained a feeling of suspense through the end。 While the Ledgers seem like an idyllic family， it is quickly revealed that they are a family full of flaws as Annie begins to unravel the mystery of her sister， Sunday’s disappearance。 Cathryn Grant does a wonderful job describing the characters’ personalities which have been shaped by the family’s bizarre “principles。” I could not put this book down as I could not wait to find out what happened to Sunday and why Annie’s family did not seem to care about Sunday’s disappearance。 。。。more
Carol Werner Harris
，
The Favorite Child is a gripping psychological thriller about a dysfunctional family。Annie， one of the family members is happily married， expecting her first child， enjoying a lovely vacation when she gets news her sister， Sunday has gone missing。 Annie is of course devastated， worried and concerned but for some reason the other family members shrugs it off stating she's done things like this before， she'll be back。One thing Annie knows is there is something wrong and her sister is in danger。 Th The Favorite Child is a gripping psychological thriller about a dysfunctional family。Annie， one of the family members is happily married， expecting her first child， enjoying a lovely vacation when she gets news her sister， Sunday has gone missing。 Annie is of course devastated， worried and concerned but for some reason the other family members shrugs it off stating she's done things like this before， she'll be back。One thing Annie knows is there is something wrong and her sister is in danger。 The more Annie digs for answers the more she realizes her family is not what they seem and could she and her unborn child be the next ones in danger！This book was really a good read！ I was not prepared for the twists and turns。 It definitely gets 5 stars from me！Thank you #NetGalley， #TheFavoriteChild and the publisher #InkubatorBooks for this ARC in exchange for my honest review。 。。。more
Sue Wallace
，
The Favorite Child by Cathryn GrantAnnie’s sister has gone missing。 Why doesn’t anyone care？Annie feels like she's at a good place in her life。 Happily married， expecting her first child， enjoying a vacation with her extended family at their beautiful summer home。But then her sister， Sunday， suddenly goes missing。Annie is immediately concerned， but the rest of the family assure her that everything's fine， this is the kind of thing Sunday does， she'll be back…But Annie knows in her heart that som The Favorite Child by Cathryn GrantAnnie’s sister has gone missing。 Why doesn’t anyone care？Annie feels like she's at a good place in her life。 Happily married， expecting her first child， enjoying a vacation with her extended family at their beautiful summer home。But then her sister， Sunday， suddenly goes missing。Annie is immediately concerned， but the rest of the family assure her that everything's fine， this is the kind of thing Sunday does， she'll be back…But Annie knows in her heart that something is very wrong。 And she won't rest until she sees her sister safe and well。As Annie digs for the truth， she realises that some of her family are not what they seem。 And as she draws closer to uncovering their horrifying secret， Annie finally understands that she and her unborn child are in terrible danger…A really enjoyable read。 Twisty。 I liked Annie。 How she wouldn't give up。 Recommend。 4*。 。。。more
julie
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Annie’s sister has gone missing。 Why doesn’t anyone care？Annie feels like she’s at a good place in her life。 Happily married。 Expecting her first child。 Enjoying a vacation with her extended family at their beautiful coastal home。But then her sister， Sunday， suddenly goes missing。Annie is immediately concerned， but the rest of the family assure her that everything’s fine， this is the kind of thing Sunday does， she’ll be back。But Annie knows in her heart that something is very wrong。 And she won’ Annie’s sister has gone missing。 Why doesn’t anyone care？Annie feels like she’s at a good place in her life。 Happily married。 Expecting her first child。 Enjoying a vacation with her extended family at their beautiful coastal home。But then her sister， Sunday， suddenly goes missing。Annie is immediately concerned， but the rest of the family assure her that everything’s fine， this is the kind of thing Sunday does， she’ll be back。But Annie knows in her heart that something is very wrong。 And she won’t rest until she sees her sister safe and well。As Annie digs for the truth she realises that some of the family are not what they seem。 And as she draws closer to uncovering their horrifying secret。 Annie finally understands that she and her unborn child are in terrible danger。Really gripping psychological thriller totally enjoyed I read in one sitting totally recommend Thank You NetGalley and Inkubator BooksI just reviewed The Favorite Child by Cathryn Grant。 #TheFavoriteChild #NetGalley 。。。more
Natalie "Curling up with a Coffee and a Kindle" Rampling
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After having loved several of Cathryn Grant's previous books， I couldn't wait to see if this latest one lived up to the hype。 This one didn't seem to have the same 'wow' factor I've come to expect。 The suspense around Sunday's disappearance felt more intrigue to me， and I got frustrated with noone trusting Annie and her concerns。 I wish she had an ally to bounce things off。 The first half was more slow-burn than I'm used to， but I loved the second half。The family all had great characters and I d After having loved several of Cathryn Grant's previous books， I couldn't wait to see if this latest one lived up to the hype。 This one didn't seem to have the same 'wow' factor I've come to expect。 The suspense around Sunday's disappearance felt more intrigue to me， and I got frustrated with noone trusting Annie and her concerns。 I wish she had an ally to bounce things off。 The first half was more slow-burn than I'm used to， but I loved the second half。The family all had great characters and I didn't trust anyone， which I love。 The internal battle of trying to predict the big reveal is part of the thrill for me。 I did love the ending。 Whilst I predicted some of it， i enjoyed it playing out and I can't wait to see what GrNt comes up with next。 。。。more
The Book Booth
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Whew！ The Favorite Child was a great thriller！ It kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end。 I loved the storyline and watching this book unfold， with each chapter you got a deeper look into lies， deceit and betrayal。 With family like this。。。。。who needs enemies？！
Paloma
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Annie was lucky to be blessed with material fortune but she was not so lucky when it came to her family。 I really enjoyed all the characters， they were hard to like which made the book even more interesting and fun because I suspected everyone to be Annie’s sister’s murderer。 The build up was slow but fun and very interesting and the going back and forth between the past and the present， plus Annie’s memories that were unreliable made this whole book so thrilling and kept me hooked。 And wait unt Annie was lucky to be blessed with material fortune but she was not so lucky when it came to her family。 I really enjoyed all the characters， they were hard to like which made the book even more interesting and fun because I suspected everyone to be Annie’s sister’s murderer。 The build up was slow but fun and very interesting and the going back and forth between the past and the present， plus Annie’s memories that were unreliable made this whole book so thrilling and kept me hooked。 And wait until you find out who did it and why， so juicy and so scandalous。 。。。more
Matthew Gold
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Thank you Inkubator Books and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review。 To start， I want to say that this book was good。 It had good characters， good writing， and an overall good plot， it just did not have the great wow factor for me。 But I have more detail into why that is。The Favorite Child revolves around one specific family with the main protagonist， Annie （the youngest daughter） as the one we follow along with throughout the book during a vacation at the family’s coastal home Thank you Inkubator Books and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review。 To start， I want to say that this book was good。 It had good characters， good writing， and an overall good plot， it just did not have the great wow factor for me。 But I have more detail into why that is。The Favorite Child revolves around one specific family with the main protagonist， Annie （the youngest daughter） as the one we follow along with throughout the book during a vacation at the family’s coastal home。 This family follows ideals that the dad believes to create the perfect family， but this family is hiding secrets that even these ideals are struggling to contain。 The title comes from Annie’s sister， Sunday， who was treated better than the rest of the siblings during their entire lives。 Sunday， who was extremely upset about something unknown to readers and Annie， did not get her way when she wanted to talk to her dad。 The next day Sunday is missing and no one except Annie is concerned， and no one except Annie is concerned throughout the book。 The book goes through Annie’s struggle to understand why no one else is concerned about Sunday disappearing and her “mission” to figure out what happened and why。As I mentioned earlier， the plot was good。 It fit everything that made me want to keep reading， but it was just that。 I wasn’t surprised by the main climax or any of the revelations that happened throughout the book， yet I kept reading because I wanted to know if I was right with my initial thoughts and the ending was also one of the unexpected parts。 Something that does stand out from this book is that it felt like I was actually in Annie’s mind and understanding her fears and worries， rather than just reading about Annie’s thoughts。 Something I didn’t love about the book and why I am struggling with a rating is that it just felt like the story was there， it didn’t jump out at me。 The writing was excellent and as I said， I felt like I could feel Annie’s thoughts， but other than that it just felt like the story took too long to develop and it needed an even bigger twist to make it a fantastic book。 。。。more
Liz
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I loved to hate most of the characters in this wild suspense novel， The Favorite Child。 Annie， the youngest daughter of four， is pregnant and visiting the family home in northern California。 The visit is part of the family's annual three-week vacation。 When Sunday， Annie's sister， goes missing， chaos and craziness ensue。 I enjoyed this mystery and had to finish it in one sitting。 Much appreciation to NetGalley， the author， and the publisher for this e-ARC which will be published on August 14。 I loved to hate most of the characters in this wild suspense novel， The Favorite Child。 Annie， the youngest daughter of four， is pregnant and visiting the family home in northern California。 The visit is part of the family's annual three-week vacation。 When Sunday， Annie's sister， goes missing， chaos and craziness ensue。 I enjoyed this mystery and had to finish it in one sitting。 Much appreciation to NetGalley， the author， and the publisher for this e-ARC which will be published on August 14。 。。。more
Amanda
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I really liked this book。 It （mostly） kept me in suspense until the end。 I initially thought that I was annoyed by the “Then” segments by the other siblings but I see they were necessary to the whole picture。 My one major complaint was being reminded that Annie was pregnant every other sentence。 Like enough already！ We get it。 But overall， it was an enjoyable read。
TheBookwormBlog
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Review to follow
RK_reads
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Another 'holiday-from-hell' tale but this time accompanied by a monstrous family too。Annie and her husband Michael have gathered at her parents' home along with her siblings Jake， Collette， and Sunday for their annual summer holiday。 Growing up as the children of family wellness guru Dave Ledger， the siblings were expected to strictly adhere to the principles propagated by their father for a successful family unit and yet their family is as dysfunctional， bordering on creepy， as ever。 When her s Another 'holiday-from-hell' tale but this time accompanied by a monstrous family too。Annie and her husband Michael have gathered at her parents' home along with her siblings Jake， Collette， and Sunday for their annual summer holiday。 Growing up as the children of family wellness guru Dave Ledger， the siblings were expected to strictly adhere to the principles propagated by their father for a successful family unit and yet their family is as dysfunctional， bordering on creepy， as ever。 When her sister， Sunday goes missing， no one except Annie， is worried。 As she delves further into Sunday's disappearance， piecing together her fractured memory， Annie realizes that her family has secrets that are worth killing for。 Right from the beginning， the Ledger family comes across as quite problematic and so it's not that much of a surprise that there was not a single likeable character in the book， except for Annie。 Though it is implied that older brother， Jake was the vile one of the lot， it was his wife Bella who gave me the heebie-jeebies with her words that were more morbid than soothing。 Despite a family full of creeps， it did take a bit to figure out who was the actual rotten one among all the bad apples。Owing to a memory riddled with potholes and thanks to a family that gaslights like nobody's business， much of the book reads like the hysterics of an unreliable narrator。 Most of the time， I wanted to shake Annie by her fictional shoulders and yell at her to get the hell out of that home， family be damned。 The ending， while totally justified， IMO， was way too tidy。 On a lighter note， thanks to this book， I now have a new pet peeve - toothpicks at the dining table。 Overall， a quick-read thriller with a decent plot twist。 Thanks to Inkubator Books and Netgalley for providing a digital copy of the book in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
theliterateleprechaun
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I remember it like it was yesterday - the anticipation of my mom cutting into my birthday cake and reaching me the first slice！ I’ll never forget the summer she made me a Raggedy Ann cake and iced it with the skill of a professional decorator。 Mom’s cakes were always made from scratch and the inside was consistently as delicious as it looked。 The ominous but beautifully simple birthday cake on the cover of this book perfectly represents the Ledger family。 On the surface they appear a perfect fam I remember it like it was yesterday - the anticipation of my mom cutting into my birthday cake and reaching me the first slice！ I’ll never forget the summer she made me a Raggedy Ann cake and iced it with the skill of a professional decorator。 Mom’s cakes were always made from scratch and the inside was consistently as delicious as it looked。 The ominous but beautifully simple birthday cake on the cover of this book perfectly represents the Ledger family。 On the surface they appear a perfect family; any imperfections are iced over and the familial unit is precariously held together by family principles。 However， should one ‘cut into’ this mirage， they would be shocked to discover what’s on the inside！ Wait， doesn’t that drippy icing look like…。Did you ever believe that one of your siblings was your parents’ favourite？ It probably wasn’t true， but in the mind of a child， it’s often a reality。 Sunday Ledger is treated differently than the other Ledger siblings。 Very differently。 It’s no surprise that there’s deep-seated animosity。 When Sunday goes missing from the legendary annual 3-week family holiday， the concern arises when nobody seems to care…not even the parents。 Why？！ Grant explores the slights and favouritism that often arise in dysfunctional families and gives us a peek into a family whose lives are torn apart by secrets。 You’ll turn over the last page convinced that the Ledgers have been dragging more psychological baggage than suitcases to each summer holiday！ Cathryn Grant hasn’t successfully published 14 psychological thrillers without knowing what keeps readers glued to the pages and she proves it yet again。 I felt compelled to find out what was going on behind closed doors and what really happened to Sunday Ledger。 I was gifted this advance copy by Cathryn Grant， Inkubator Books and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review。 。。。more
Carrie Shields
，
This was one creepy， sinister， Gothic-infused read with one of the most dysfunctional families I have read about recently！Annie is happily married， expecting her first child， and is dutifully reporting to her childhood home on the coast for a vacation just as the rest of her siblings and spouses do。 The family meets a few times a year， always for several weeks at a time， and there are rules in place that most adults would find laughable。 The rules come from Annie's father， a best-selling author This was one creepy， sinister， Gothic-infused read with one of the most dysfunctional families I have read about recently！Annie is happily married， expecting her first child， and is dutifully reporting to her childhood home on the coast for a vacation just as the rest of her siblings and spouses do。 The family meets a few times a year， always for several weeks at a time， and there are rules in place that most adults would find laughable。 The rules come from Annie's father， a best-selling author of books about successful parenting and family relationships。 While at her parents' house， Annie begins having either flashbacks or disturbing dreams， and she is convinced that her sister Sunday is in trouble。 Her fears rise when Sunday， the child who is highly blessed and favored by her parents， suddenly falls from grace for unknown reasons。 Annie can't understand why Sunday would just pack her things and leave， and her disturbing visions won't cease。 I don't want to give too much away about the family， but I was definitely getting some vibes from them that would have me telling my husband to pack our things because we were getting the hell out of that house。 THE FAVORITE CHILD was a thrilling exploration into memory that begs the question: just how reliable are the childhood memories we have of our family？ I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review。 Releases August 14， 2022 from Inkubator Books。 。。。more
Carisa
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First， a huge thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of this book！ This one was ok。 The first half was INCREDIBLY slow， the second have did pick up the pace a bit。 Most of the twists were VERY predictable， and I genuinely did not like a single character。 I rooted for one person， the sweet babe the MC was pregnant with。 The good news is， this book will be on KU so if you’re interested， there’s an option so you don’t have to purchase in case you’re not a fan！
KKEC Reads
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The Favorite Child by Cathryn Grant Published: August 14， 2022Inkubator BooksPages: Genre: ThrillerKKECReads Rating: 4/5I received a copy of this book for free， and I leave my review voluntarily。 Cathryn Grant is the bestselling author of fourteen psychological thrillers， including ALWAYS REMEMBER， THE OTHER COUPLE， and THE GUEST。 She is also the author of the ALEXANDRA MALLORY series， featuring a sociopath you can’t help but love。 Her psychological suspense fiction reveals the motives and desir The Favorite Child by Cathryn Grant Published: August 14， 2022Inkubator BooksPages: Genre: ThrillerKKECReads Rating: 4/5I received a copy of this book for free， and I leave my review voluntarily。 Cathryn Grant is the bestselling author of fourteen psychological thrillers， including ALWAYS REMEMBER， THE OTHER COUPLE， and THE GUEST。 She is also the author of the ALEXANDRA MALLORY series， featuring a sociopath you can’t help but love。 Her psychological suspense fiction reveals the motives and desires that lead to suburban crime。 She’s obsessed with the “why” behind human behavior。 In real crime， too many times， the why is left unanswered。 Cathryn’s fiction tells the stories of ordinary people driven to commit murder。 Cathryn also writes ghost stories—The Haunted Ship Trilogy and the Madison Keith series of novellas。 When she’s not writing， she’s usually reading fiction， walking on the beach， or playing golf， trying desperately to avoid hitting her ball in the sand or the water。 She lives on the Central California Coast with her husband and her cat， Cleopatra。“Maybe we overthink the bad memories because we keep retelling those stories， and they bury all the happy moments。”Annie is in her childhood home with her family for their annual summer vacation。 Three weeks of family time。 The difference now is Annie ad her husband Michael are expecting their first child， and everyone is extremely focused on that。 Annie starts having vivid nightmares again， something that always seems to happen when she’s at her parent's house， and suddenly she feels like the secrets of the past are going to suffocate her future。 With more than just her life to fight for， Annie needs the truth。 Wow。 This family was bananas。 While I understand why Annie felt compelled to stay and find the truth， I would have taken my husband up on his offer to leave early。 This was a fast-paced， circular thrill ride from start to finish。 The characters were all so well developed。 I loved that there was a heavy cult-like shadow cast， despite the adamant claims that this wasn’t a cult。 I couldn’t put this book down， even when I was frustrated with the logic Annie was operating。 I would have bailed， saving myself and unborn child。 But boy， was this a doozy！I enjoyed the complexities of the storyline and the way past perspectives were carefully dropped in at the right times。 This was a well-executed house of cards until it wasn’t。 。。。more
alex
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A secret-packed thriller that will leave you guessing at every turn…The Favorite Child by Cathryn Grant is a speedy， plot-focused family thriller that I’d recommend to anyone wanting to pick up a quick yet satisfying read。 I ended up finishing this book in a day。 Needless to say， it kept me turning the page！Even though I was gripped by the novel’s plot， I would’ve liked to have seen a bit more character development from each of the core family members。 Some of the siblings felt a bit lackluster， A secret-packed thriller that will leave you guessing at every turn…The Favorite Child by Cathryn Grant is a speedy， plot-focused family thriller that I’d recommend to anyone wanting to pick up a quick yet satisfying read。 I ended up finishing this book in a day。 Needless to say， it kept me turning the page！Even though I was gripped by the novel’s plot， I would’ve liked to have seen a bit more character development from each of the core family members。 Some of the siblings felt a bit lackluster， and I found most of their conversations with the main character to be repetitive。 If you’re into reading for the love of character growth， I would advise taking a pass on this one。 Thank you to NetGalley for gifting me an eArc of this book in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Intriga WH
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A twisty thriller about a dysfunctional family and secrets kept hidden。 Annie is pregnant and discovers that her sister is missing and she’s the only one that seems concerned。 The family believes that Sunday is always doing things like this and just writes it off。 Annie feels differently and searches for the truth。 She finds that there are deeply hidden secrets and it might just put her in danger。 The story was slow to start， but it picks up and worth staying until the end。 I throughly enjoyed t A twisty thriller about a dysfunctional family and secrets kept hidden。 Annie is pregnant and discovers that her sister is missing and she’s the only one that seems concerned。 The family believes that Sunday is always doing things like this and just writes it off。 Annie feels differently and searches for the truth。 She finds that there are deeply hidden secrets and it might just put her in danger。 The story was slow to start， but it picks up and worth staying until the end。 I throughly enjoyed the twists。 Disclaimer: Thank you to Inkubator Books for this ARC， I received an advance review copy for free， and I am leaving this review voluntarily。 。。。more
Jen
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This book was ok but didn’t really hit the mark for me。 It centers on Annie， who is spending a few weeks with her parents and grown siblings （and their spouses） on an annual summer vacation。 One of her sisters goes missing and no one else is taking it seriously- Annie is pregnant and they all keep accusing her of being hysterical， but she knows something is wrong。 The thing that made me struggle the most with this book is the fact that while Annie’s whole family acted like horrible people， I did This book was ok but didn’t really hit the mark for me。 It centers on Annie， who is spending a few weeks with her parents and grown siblings （and their spouses） on an annual summer vacation。 One of her sisters goes missing and no one else is taking it seriously- Annie is pregnant and they all keep accusing her of being hysterical， but she knows something is wrong。 The thing that made me struggle the most with this book is the fact that while Annie’s whole family acted like horrible people， I didn’t have any background about whether this was in character or not。 We knew the older siblings had been mean since childhood but I couldn’t get a sense of what the parents were usually like。 Were these annual holidays always horrible or were people acting differently this year？ If they were always horrible， why did she keep coming？ No character， including Annie， was all that likable; she went about doing the right things in the wrong way。 Her husband didn’t seem all that supportive， but again I didn’t know if this was out of character or not。 On a good note， the mystery was a slow burn that contained some good twists and I kind of liked the end because it felt unexpected。 One random thing I thought was kind of weird is that the sister that goes missing is named Sunday， but the other 3 siblings have more traditional names。 I spent probably too much time wondering what the story was behind naming Sunday in a different style than everyone else。 This could just be me though :）Overall， ok book but didn’t really do it for me- there was just too much background info missing for me to truly understand the characterization。 Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Aria Harlow
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A slow buring read that was well written with a compelling story and well developed characters - some of which were detestable。 This was a very characters driven book which I liked
Mark
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A slow build up to this family based drama，and what a family they are，I have to admit to not liking any of them…。but that isen’t always a bad thing，as long as a book brings some feeling/emotion it is doing it’s job even if for the reader they are all unlikeable folk and you wouldn’t want to know them in real life…。There is lots of mystery and secrets in this story，why is no one worried or bothered except Annie when her Sister Sunday goes missing？，why is she told ‘not to worry and all will be wel A slow build up to this family based drama，and what a family they are，I have to admit to not liking any of them…。but that isen’t always a bad thing，as long as a book brings some feeling/emotion it is doing it’s job even if for the reader they are all unlikeable folk and you wouldn’t want to know them in real life…。There is lots of mystery and secrets in this story，why is no one worried or bothered except Annie when her Sister Sunday goes missing？，why is she told ‘not to worry and all will be well？’ Annie is determined to get to the bottom of it but as she does she realises there is，of course， a dark reason for what is happening…。。but has she left it too late？As say a slow burner for me but well written and held my interest throughout 7/104 Stars 。。。more
Anne
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I wanted to love this one but I did not。 The main character was so annoying！ I’m sure this will be a favorite for some but it wasn’t the book for me。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Favorite Child
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Favorite Child&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Favorite Child&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0