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lilbanne's review against another edition
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.
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
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.
caitlinantonia's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
monchandtherats's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
edinadieerste's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
ivybean's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
dasha_n's review against another edition
DNF. I was so excited to read this book, especially since it has a unique formatting. Unfortunately, it just moved too slowly and after 115 pages, I decided to move on to something else. While this book wasn’t for me, I appreciate the hard work that went into it.
dadadu10's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
jessica_reading_writing's review against another edition
3.0
I bought this book because of the hype and the format fascinated me so was really looking forward to reading it.
Unfortunately, the format was just too complicated for me to follow. It took a huge amount of focus and I had to keep putting it down which made it hard to want to pick back up again. Yes, it's very clever and I applaude the author for writing it.
But a whole book laid out like this is difficult. And that's just my opinion because I've seen many readers love the format. So please don't let it put you off.
As for the story, it was intriguing but as I found it hard to follow, I got very confused. The big shocks and twists were very well done. But the end twist felt too far fetched for me and unfortunately I finished the book feeling a bit...meh.
I'd still recommend it though to anyone who fancies a unique read because I did enjoy the dynamics of the dialouge and the twists at the end of each episode.
Unfortunately, the format was just too complicated for me to follow. It took a huge amount of focus and I had to keep putting it down which made it hard to want to pick back up again. Yes, it's very clever and I applaude the author for writing it.
But a whole book laid out like this is difficult. And that's just my opinion because I've seen many readers love the format. So please don't let it put you off.
As for the story, it was intriguing but as I found it hard to follow, I got very confused. The big shocks and twists were very well done. But the end twist felt too far fetched for me and unfortunately I finished the book feeling a bit...meh.
I'd still recommend it though to anyone who fancies a unique read because I did enjoy the dynamics of the dialouge and the twists at the end of each episode.