They have three children. All of them were at Easter dinner. Two of them were with their spouses. One was with a random “boyfriend”. The former nanny and current cleaning lady was there too. One guest couldn’t make it. Yeah, their father was big bad wolf and their mother were mostly silent to his terrible actions against his children. She didn’t do anything to protect them and now that’s how she got paid for herself: being strangled to death!

Not a Happy Family by Shari Lapena | Goodreads Not a Happy Family by Shari Lapena | Goodreads

Happy Family is full of anything but. Cheri Matzner is the middle-aged version of a child abandoned in an inner city health clinic. Her marriage is in shambles, and, to make matters worse, childless. Her relationship with her parents is, put nicely, complicated, and with little hope of repair as her father has recently passed. Those same parents were the ones who adopted baby Cheri, after suffering a hopeless tragedy that leaves one of them feeling ostracized from the family unit. Having read her previous thriller "The Perfect Couple", I had high hopes for this book...and I wasn't disappointed. Addicted pretty much from the beginning, THE HAPPY FAMILY is anything but a happy family. But oh how it's dysfunctionality worked! That is actually the case with the whole book. It seems like it was brought to us in such... passive way that the it was hard to be emotionally invested.But Cheri is used to chaos in her life, as she has reinvented herself more times than she can count, from the suburban adolescent to the multiple-pierced, blue-haired teenager, from the slightly radical Yale student to the tough-as-nails cop entangled in a relationship with her partner. Part of her restlessness seems innate to her, but she'll admit some of her transformations have simply been ways of angering her adoptive parents—her well-meaning but emotionally distant father and her smothering, insecure mother. She's never really understood why her parents treated her the way they always have, but while she's tried to shrug it off for most of her life, they've affected her more than she cares to admit. I’m not a huge consumer of psychological crime novels or thrillers but I do turn to them whenever I need to give the brain a break after reading a string of powerful or immersive books. But they still have to deliver something more than just the entertainment value of thrills and suspense. A protagonist with a complex personality is a must. A strong evocation of a specific location or time period is important. Ideally I want both to be matched with an interesting issue or a theme.

Happy Family by Saumya Dave: 9781984806178 What a Happy Family by Saumya Dave: 9781984806178

On the upside? Lapena always keeps her character list short, which I honestly appreciate. Too many thrillers and suspense novels get cluttered with a bunch of people who either don't matter, aren't interesting, or seem to exist only to serve as potential suspects. This tightly-knit family provided just enough options without a bunch of filler. Cherie had every promise of being a fascinatingly interesting character, unfortunately her story never fully came together for me, leaving sections of her life annoyingly unexplained in a way where I was unable to fill in the blanks as to how she got from point A to point B. I felt held at arm’s length, and thus was never able to fully connect or feel empathy for Cherie in the way I’m sure was intended. When Beth’s long-lost mother abruptly turns up on her doorstep, Beth asks no questions, instead seeking the relationship that she has craved for so many years. Keen to see her a part of the family, Beth encourages her mum to stay in the family home for the long-term so that she and Beth can catch up after such a long absence. Beth is delighted that her children respond so positively to their grandmother and when Alice announces that Beth also has a step-sister, it is like the dream of a properly family is suddenly coming true. Beth has a secret from her past that still haunts her. When strange things start to happen, Beth questions everything. Overall, I would recommend passing on this one if you like a strong main character and thrillers with a twist.All of the children were in line to inherit millions of dollars. But, would any of them kill their parents to hurry the process along?

Happy Families by Dr Beth Mosley MBE - Pan Macmillan Happy Families by Dr Beth Mosley MBE - Pan Macmillan

A wise and moving portrait of an Indian-American family. Saumya Dave renders the Joshi family with such warmth and tenderness — yet never shies away from the complicated truths. A full, big hearted novel.” —Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times bestselling author of Daisy Jones & the Six I had a lot of fun with this one as my mind kept changing through each of the different suspects and even through those who didn’t seem so guilty.There are a few others who had a stake in the early demise of the Mertons, giving us plenty of suspects to choose from, and what was really unique was that almost ALL of them were women!

Happy Family Books - Goodreads Big Happy Family Books - Goodreads

The family is nervous, anxious, untrusting. I don't believe any of them! They are all liars, maybe psychopaths too. Then there's the two other women we get to meet Robyn her housekeeper n nanny and a lovely homeless lady Nadia. Both women seem like ladies you want as friends so I just loved the part they play in Beth's life. Now available from Pamela Dorman Books. I thank my local library for providing me with a copy through the drive-up window. 🤣 Solid three stars. It was pretty predictable which was fine with me, but well written with a dark humor underlying it that gave a little edge. This is a classic messed up family story; no one communicates and the secrets have a tendency to eat everyone up. Written with considerable emotional intelligence and some very clever humor, it’s hard to believe this is Tracy Barone's first novel.Shortly after Alice arrives Beth begins drinking quite a bit and starts shutting out her friends and neighbors. Alice tries extra hard to be the supportive mother that Beth has always wanted but Beth begins a downward spiral which is affecting all her relationships especially with her own children and also imagines a man following her everywhere and feeling that someone is out to get, her although soon after an unforseen and unbelievable event occurs that shatters Beth world where she may lose her job and also the custody of her children unless she can discover what is causing her life to rapidly fall apart. The main character is Beth who’s mother walked out on her and her dad at 10. What unfolds is a story of a heinous childhood act, and an unraveling present. You know when Beths mother suddenly appears that something is amok, but how long will it go on before Beth figures it out. Man leidet mit der lebenslustigen und sexhungrigen Cici, die einen Vaterkomplex hat und die durch das panische und dumme Verhalten ihres Ehemannes daran gehindert wird, erwachsen zu werden. Doch das muss man bereits zwischen den Zeilen lesen. Ausgearbeitet wird es nicht. Ausgearbeitet wird gar nichts. Sondern es gibt jede Menge praller Szenen – wie im Film eben. Dr Beth Mosley MBE is one of the UK’s most experienced and respected consultant clinical psychologists, and she works with children, young people and their families every day. In this groundbreaking guide aimed at parents of children aged 4-21, she offers a comprehensive toolkit that will help you make sense of what your child is going through and give you the hope and reassurance you need to make a change.