Mystery

Not a Happy Family

Not a Happy Family

  • Downloads：7761
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-04-23 00:51:40
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Shari Lapena
  • ISBN：0552177040
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

The chilling Sunday Times bestseller perfect for fans of Knives Out。

'In this fast-paced， twisted family saga， Shari Lapena keeps you guessing until the very last page。。。' PAULA HAWKINS

The new unputdownable thriller from the multi-million-copy bestselling author of THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR。

In this family， everyone is keeping secrets - even the dead。

In the quiet， wealthy enclave of Brecken Hill， an older couple is brutally murdered hours after a tense Easter dinner with their three adult children。 Who， of course， are devastated。

Or are they？ They each stand to inherit millions。 They were never a happy family， thanks to their vindictive father and neglectful mother， but perhaps one of them is more disturbed than anyone knew。 Did someone snap after that dreadful evening？ Or did another person appear later that night with the worst of intentions？ That must be what happened。 After all， if one of the family were capable of something as gruesome as this， you'd know。

Wouldn't you？

'Nobody does a vicious family circle like Shari Lapena。 Highly recommended' Cara Hunter

'Queen of the modern crime novel， Shari Lapena， is back with another tale of murder。。。 Shari will keep you guessing until the very end' Sunday Express

'A cross between Big Little Lies and Miss Marple' Woman's Weekly

'[A] dramatic， tense and satisfying murder mystery' My Weekly

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Reviews

SheLovesThePages ，

Title: Not a Happy FamilyAuthor: Shari LapenaGenre: Whodunnit•Deets•Wealthy familyEaster DinnerMurderAll the suspects•Rating•⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4 StarI recommend this book。•Review•This one is definitely attention grabbing and it'll have you turning the pages。 If you enjoy those Agatha Christie type whodunnit books。。。then this one is for you。 They just aren't my jam。 I don't enjoy books where every single person is a suspect and then the reveal at the end。 Having said that， this book did keep my attention and Title: Not a Happy FamilyAuthor: Shari LapenaGenre: Whodunnit•Deets•Wealthy familyEaster DinnerMurderAll the suspects•Rating•⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4 StarI recommend this book。•Review•This one is definitely attention grabbing and it'll have you turning the pages。 If you enjoy those Agatha Christie type whodunnit books。。。then this one is for you。 They just aren't my jam。 I don't enjoy books where every single person is a suspect and then the reveal at the end。 Having said that， this book did keep my attention and I enjoyed the story。 。。。more

Becca ，

Fun， fast-paced mystery

Brigid Hanley ，

Quick， entertaining mystery！ Legitimately listened in two days

Vinita ，

3。5 ⭐️

Erica ，

3。5 stars

Sarah ，

What happens when three siblings grow up with a father that constantly pins them against each other and does what he can to hurt them？ Eventually， at least one of them will murder him。 Or so it seems from the unhappy family。 Loved the drama。 Shari Lapena threw in some great twists。 You honestly couldn’t tell until the end who had committed the murders of the Merton parents。 All three siblings would inherit millions。 The fourth unknown child as well - and she knew she was in the Will months befor What happens when three siblings grow up with a father that constantly pins them against each other and does what he can to hurt them？ Eventually， at least one of them will murder him。 Or so it seems from the unhappy family。 Loved the drama。 Shari Lapena threw in some great twists。 You honestly couldn’t tell until the end who had committed the murders of the Merton parents。 All three siblings would inherit millions。 The fourth unknown child as well - and she knew she was in the Will months before the murders！ Definitely recommend。 。。。more

Jane K ，

I found this book underwhelming。 The mystery was really drawn out and it took what felt like forever to reveal who the killer was。 By the time the reveal happened， I didn’t really care。 I do find that in Shari Lapena’s books that she has open endings to where you wonder what happened to the characters after the book ended。 Even though I didn’t like this book， I have enjoyed her other books and I will read her next book if she releases one。

Claudia Fillion ，

Nothing like a good thriller to change things up！！

Emily F ，

Definitely loved this one。 The story telling is very good and very intricate。 I debated a 5 star， but I think it needed a little more action to be truly plausible。 Definitely recommended。 4。5 should be a thing。

Sarah Dubas ，

Really is a one sit read。 Very captivating and surprising。

Shannon Nicole ，

It did keep you guessing the whole time。 However， I felt it was a bit drawn out and slow moving at points。 I didn’t love the ending - felt like It was a bit abrupt。

Carla ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Good in that I didn't figure out who did it - but it wasn't a satisfying ending to me either。 Good in that I didn't figure out who did it - but it wasn't a satisfying ending to me either。 。。。more

Shay Caroline ，

A really good thriller with a cast of stinky characters you won't like much but it won't matter--you'll keep turning those pages。 A really good thriller with a cast of stinky characters you won't like much but it won't matter--you'll keep turning those pages。 。。。more

marie ，

guessed who the killer was but DAMN THE DRAMA WAS GOOD

Veronica ，

My least favorite of her books so far。

Kyrstin ，

This murder mystery is fast paced and interesting。 It’s easy to read and the author makes you change your mind about who the killer is repeatedly。 Deep down I knew who it was from about the middle of the book but the story telling was engaging enough to keep me second guessing。

Alison ，

By far my least favorite Lapena book。 Terrible narration。

Laura Boone ，

very good book。 loved the short chapters and I really has no idea who the killer was。 I thought maybe Fred killed sheila and one of the kids witnessed it and killed him。 Suprised it was Jenna。 I thought there would be more of a twist at the end。 I am glad she did not get caught but also the ending was up in the air because Audrey was about to catch her by buying that property and digging up evidence。

Michelle Teravainen ，

Felt like it went on a little long， but I enjoyed it。

Stanjay Daniels ，

First of all， the book cover is very nice！ It was another good one from Shari。 I’ve always enjoyed her books。 The family and other characters in this book were all awful but what a great storyline。 I could see this being a movie。 The only thing that kind of let me down was the ending。 I was expecting the person whodunit to be more of a shocker to me。 I had someone in mind about halfway through but it turned out to not be that person。 I think the person who I though it would be would have made fo First of all， the book cover is very nice！ It was another good one from Shari。 I’ve always enjoyed her books。 The family and other characters in this book were all awful but what a great storyline。 I could see this being a movie。 The only thing that kind of let me down was the ending。 I was expecting the person whodunit to be more of a shocker to me。 I had someone in mind about halfway through but it turned out to not be that person。 I think the person who I though it would be would have made for a better ending。 But I was wrong。 But overall， good read！ 。。。more

Marcie ，

Finger pointing back and forth between adult siblings accused of killing their parents。 A slow read。 But I did enjoy the ending！

Gazmira ，

Nos encontramos en el escenario de un crimen。 Concretamente el asesinato a sangre fria de un matrimonio bien posicionado， adinerado y con mucho que esconder de cara a la galería。 En todas las familias cuecen habas dicen。Tres hijos。 Tres piezas en el tablero。 Y pueden hacer sido los tres porque， vaya， los tres tenían motivos de sobra para matar a sus propios padres。Novela entrenida， palomitera， pero sin más。 No hay mucho más que rascar。 Los personajes son planos， odian a sus padres y ya， tampoco Nos encontramos en el escenario de un crimen。 Concretamente el asesinato a sangre fria de un matrimonio bien posicionado， adinerado y con mucho que esconder de cara a la galería。 En todas las familias cuecen habas dicen。Tres hijos。 Tres piezas en el tablero。 Y pueden hacer sido los tres porque， vaya， los tres tenían motivos de sobra para matar a sus propios padres。Novela entrenida， palomitera， pero sin más。 No hay mucho más que rascar。 Los personajes son planos， odian a sus padres y ya， tampoco existe un desarrollo en ellos。 La trama da vueltas sobre si misma todo el rato y el final， a parte de ser poco claro， es muy apresurado。 No explica nada realmente y la sensación al final de leer el libro es que la autora le cargo el muerto， o los muertos en este caso， al primero que se le vino a la mente en ese momento。Sin más， un domestic noir para pasar el rato， como una película de un sábado por la tarde en antena 3。 Ni más ni menos。 。。。more

Lesly（booklover84） ，

I really liked this one。 It grabbed me right from the start and that ending！ Wow！ I do like this author and she didn't disappoint with this one。 I really liked this one。 It grabbed me right from the start and that ending！ Wow！ I do like this author and she didn't disappoint with this one。 。。。more

Jen B ，

A rich couple is brutally murdered after a disastrous Easter Dinner with their children。 Their children in their own ways need the inheritance and they are all suspects。 Lies， deceit， and family secrets are unearthed。 How well do you know your siblings？ Your spouse？ How much would you lie to protect them？ Who knew that the father was going to change his will and did that cause them to accelerate the time frame？ Definitely kept my attention for the whole 9-hour unabridged reading。 Fast paced and A rich couple is brutally murdered after a disastrous Easter Dinner with their children。 Their children in their own ways need the inheritance and they are all suspects。 Lies， deceit， and family secrets are unearthed。 How well do you know your siblings？ Your spouse？ How much would you lie to protect them？ Who knew that the father was going to change his will and did that cause them to accelerate the time frame？ Definitely kept my attention for the whole 9-hour unabridged reading。 Fast paced and I needed to know who dun it。 。。。more

Natasha ，

Title of this book was a understatement where this family is concerned。 I did not find myself liking anyone in this book but the nanny/housekeeper。 Families have issues but this one takes the cake。

Amanda Reagan ，

A classic “whodunnit”。 Drawn out at times but still a page turner！ The suspect wasn’t who I thought it was， a good sign of a decently written story。

Kt ，

I enjoyed this book。 I listened to the audiobook and the first few chapters were very confusing with so many characters， but as the story developed it obviously made sense as to why there were so many。 I thought the overall plot was pretty interesting and enjoyed the twist at the end。

Lacey ，

Listened to this one。 It kept me entertained， but repeated a lot of information。 I probably would have skimmed through a lot if I had been reading。

Priscilla ，

I didn't like any of the people in this book。 I didn't like any of the people in this book。 。。。more

Bell Of The Books ，

2。5 stars is all。 Not because it didn't have the foundation to be great， but the ending。。。 Argh。This is a wealthy family: a bully-father， a mousy-mom and three adult children and their spouses。It is Easter Sunday when both parents are found brutally murdered in their large （coveted by many） mansion。There is plenty of motive all around， from children who each wanted their share， to the only sibling who abhors them all， to the side lover and the illegitimate child， but who would do something SO sa 2。5 stars is all。 Not because it didn't have the foundation to be great， but the ending。。。 Argh。This is a wealthy family: a bully-father， a mousy-mom and three adult children and their spouses。It is Easter Sunday when both parents are found brutally murdered in their large （coveted by many） mansion。There is plenty of motive all around， from children who each wanted their share， to the only sibling who abhors them all， to the side lover and the illegitimate child， but who would do something SO savage？It is a great read that had me thinking of ALL kinds of twisted possibilities。Even if it was all THREE children that planned this and worked together to lay it out so well that even the police couldn't grasp it's complexity。But no， it wasn't anything exciting， at all。 :（ It seems as if the author just didn't know themselves who would be the killer， and opted to roll the dice and let it be whomever it landed on？？It was so。。。 anticlimactic。 So boring of a resolution。Nothing mind-blowing or head-spinning。Just like， "Oh yeah I did it。" Really！？I like domestic reads， esp when they involve some psychological issues with some of the characters。And this just didn't meet my bar for climatic expectation。Sad too， because it could have been a great ending - if it was thought out better。 :/ 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Not a Happy Family

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Not a Happy Family&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Not a Happy Family&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0