Reviews with content warning for Adult/minor relationship - Murder in the Family

Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

Murder in the Family by Cara Hunter

52 reviews

sophialib's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

SO GOOD! I really think listening to this helped me keep everything straight and made a huge difference; the audio cast was great. The writing format was super fun too. The only issue I had was there were so many red herrings and false conclusions, it definitely added to it like it was a real investigation and made it feel like reality tv, but it felt a bit like overkill at some points. Other than that I thought it was great!

Content Warnings

pikkumarja's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The book was definitely something. The concept was new to me and I believe it would have worked even better with my first language.

I did find out the murderer before the experts but not long before.

Content Warnings

minimicropup's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark funny mysterious fast-paced

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

2.5

The Energy: Accusatory, dogmatic, sensationalized

The Scene: 🇬🇧 Campden Hill neighbourhood and filming studio in London, UK

The POVs: The investigators cast by the true crime streaming docuseries, the producers and staff on the show, and the family and interviewees of people connected to the featured cold case.

🎬 Tale-Telling: No chapters, everything is presented as a screenplay/transcript of the show. It was structured almost like a movie or play, since each time someone spoke, we first got their name and any expressions or body language, as if directing an actor (even when they were filming and it wasn’t the edited episode). I enjoyed the more intimate peeks via email, texts, and articles.

👥 Characters: With this story-telling method I recommend a notebook nearby (not just for the clues). We are introduced to the investogators via their photo and CV/resumes, and that’s all we get to start. And no pictures for the producers, staff, or family, even as they appear on camera. It made those characters feel half-established. I didn’t get a sense for any of the characters because they all read the same, so I needed those headlines to know who was speaking and it affected the pacing for me.

🤓 Reader Role: Audience member Googling during the ad breaks. Since we are privy to non-Googleable insider evidence like text messages and emails, we usually have slightly more information than the cast or viewers.

🗺️ Ambiance: The book mimics a show, which I usually love, but it felt awkward and stilted for me. Title screens and occasional floor plans or autopsy reports (just listing what the investigators already said) were included but it made me more frustrated than if it had been excluded. The characters were discussing things I couldn't wait to see but we never get to!

🔥 Fuel: The mystery of who killed the stepfather drives the plot, introducing twists about suspects with each new clue and new theories. As the story unfolds, the investigator drama takes over.

🚙 Journey: Adjusting to the novel’s format took a moment, but once I got used to it and remembered who was who, it was an interesting story. I gave it my undivided attention, but it ended up feeling like I was watching a TV show with volume off, closed-captions on, on the worst internet connection. It started off feeling like a real Netflix or Discovery+ show, but by the end I felt like this show would have been cancelled if it wasn’t marketed properly.

----

🐺 Growls: The screenplay format should have been a tail wag. But it failed in the visuals. The author teased us by discussing documents and images I really want to see but instead we literally got things like a basic map of Canada. It felt half-assed in terms of the documentation and photos that were prepared for readers.

🐕 Howls: I had one prediction for the killer early on and was correct. The reverse red herring strategy made it obvious, as well as the epistolary ‘hints’, and the melodramatic distraction about people connected to the case that felt contrived (though I didn’t predict that). During the story I was curious, but by the end I felt disappointed.

🐩 Tail Wags: The investigatory pace and finding clues police could miss was an engaging way to build a story without diluting the mystery with unnecessary details.

----

Mood Reading Match-Up:

Metafiction true crime meets reality TV docuseries melodrama
Whodunnit cold case puzzle, sleuthing alongside investigators
Screenplay style writing where we are watching a TV show via novel
Light themes around secrets, true crime, family dynamics, money can’t buy happiness, ambition, and conceit

Content Heads-Up: Suicide (implied; off page). Murder. Violence (bludgeoning). Adult/minor relationship (recalled; off page). Theft (identity, money). Car accident (hit and run; brief recall, off page). Infidelity (recall, off page).

Rep: Heterosexual relationships. Black and White Brits and Americans. Cisgender.

👀 Format: Kindle

“Reviews are my musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶 refined by my AI bookworm bestie ✨”

Content Warnings

judassilver's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark informative mysterious tense medium-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

3.75

Content Warnings

hematthews's review

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Content Warnings

k_shimer's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

samepaige's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

I finally got my hands on this one and it was absolutely worth the wait. this wasn’t even on my radar until every bookstagrammer was hyping it up - the my library had a 20 person hold list. the hype is well-deserved!

I love the format of this book. It’s written in multi-media form; via tv transcripts, newspaper articles, and more. I also loved how many twists and turns there were. sometimes it did become a bit confusing to keep the story straight, but I caught on eventually. I read some SG reviews that said the ending was too predictable, but I didn’t predict the FINAL ending.. I thought it was the initial person (iykyk). I really enjoyed this one overall and finished it in under 24 hours!

highly recommend if you love a who-dun-it! I’d suggest checking out the content warning ahead of time!

Content Warnings

emmaline09's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Content Warnings

hollynyew's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

There were so many big reveals at the end of each chapter it was hard to keep up with everything. I did however love the formatting and the storytelling.

Content Warnings

toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I thought this was an unhinged ride and the format of the book was super interesting and engaging!! there's a lot of twists all throughout and just when you think you have it figured out, you don't. however, the ending was lacking for me so I docked a star.

Content Warnings

More...