Reviews

Murder in the Family by Cara Hunter

judy_jj_07's review against another edition

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5.0

HUH?! WHAT!? MY JAW IS ON THE FLOOR.
THE PLOT, THE CHARACTERS, THE SECRETS, THE TWISTS, ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS BOOK HAD ME IN A CHOKEHOLD. I SERIOUSLY READ THIS BOOK IN LIKE TWO SITTINGS IT WAS SO GOOD I COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN. 
I’ve never read a true crime before and this one did NOT disappoint! PLEASE READ THIS! IT’S THE PERFECT FALL READ AND WILL HAVE YOU ON THE EDGE OF YOUR SEAT. 
Not ONCE did it get boring or slow. 500 pages where?! I didn’t even realize it was over until I flipped the page and saw the acknowledgements

michellegrl's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious

4.25

bekieboo's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

melreadsandrecs's review against another edition

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medium-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I'm sorry, this really flopped. There was no character development and it felt melodramatic. It felt like a compilation of the "dun dun dun" moments from every cable cop show ever made. 

cjgillen's review against another edition

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medium-paced
  • Loveable characters? No

2.25

while i love mixed media books, this format just didn't work for me. i found the tv transcripts to be boring and all of the characters to be insufferable. i guessed who the killer was almost immediately so all of the twists just felt like pointless shock value things, which i suppose was the point. although if this was an actual tv show i probably wouldn't have even finished the first episode. 

overall it was an entertaining read, but i prefer my mixed media to actually be a mix of media. maybe i should have tried the audiobook instead  ...

cheryldptr's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

5.0

hannahkaitlynnn's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

brep23's review against another edition

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mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

lilbanne's review against another edition

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2.0

Murder in the Family is a book for those obsessed with true crime podcasts and TV mini-series featuring outlandish murder cases, such as The Staircase. The book is self-referential and refers to hit podcasts like Serial. Its format is unique and almost written like a script, and it includes text messages and newspaper clippings. They also include weird Reddit-style fan transcripts, which, for me, add nothing to the story. Where the uniqueness is there in the book format, the plot isn't. There are too many characters, and because of the format, I have zero connection to any of them. Overall, the book is boring, and besides how it was delivered, it isn't very memorable.

The plot is about a cold case about the murder of Luke Ryder, a young man married to a socialite. Luke's murder takes place 20 years before the events of the mini-series, where the producers bring in a large number of characters to review the cold case and hopefully solve the murder.

There were twists and turns at every point, some surprising and others not. Ultimately, the story was anti-climactic. Because there is no character development, the story is propelled by snippets of dialogue; you cannot keep track of any of the folks attempting to solve the crime.

When we found out the truth behind the murder, I just didn't care and couldn't remember half of the characters. Additionally, there is a ton of repetition in the story. It was okay, but the plot wasn't memorable at all.

krystalanddogs's review against another edition

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4.0

I really enjoyed this concept, and despite being a big fan of the cast narration, I think it works best with a physical book you can reference. It felt like it dragged on at times but overall I thought it was a fun way to tell a story and I was engaged the whole time, even if I didn't want to read too much in one sitting.