Reviews tagging 'Cancer'

Not a Happy Family by Shari Lapena

14 reviews

avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.25

Book Rating: 2.25 stars

   I found this book hard to enjoy because I hated almost every character! They were all just dripping in privilege and entitlement. It made me honestly just scream at them and burn down our current inheritance policies. 

   Catherine was particularly unlikeable, as she didn't seem to have any redeeming qualities, she and Dan were the worst of the bunch. Dan was simply creepy AF. 

   The main mystery of the story wasn't too hard to solve by about halfway through the book. It was pretty obvious it was one of the kids. I honestly wish the author had gone another route as to who was the killer. I think Jenna's boyfriend would have been a good one to go with. But that's just me! 

   It wasn't terrible, but not nearly as good as I'd hoped with the hype. 

Narrator Rating: 2.0 stars

  This book just begged for a full cast audio, but instead, they just had one narrator which made it confusing, even in a 3rd person narration. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Stalking, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Cancer, Drug use, Gore, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Vomit, Medical content, and Abandonment

shaleen64's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

An upper class whodunit that encourages you to guess the murder from an unlikable and limited pool of suspects.

Whilst the multiple points of view meant the flow of the book was well paced the content was not, nor could it be described as thrilling. It read more like a crime drama and based on this book I can’t say I’d buy more by the author.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer, Infertility, Terminal illness, and Classism

Minor: Pregnancy

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

I liked this one, even though I had a suspicion about the ending

because there just wasn't enough info about the character who ended up being the perpetrator. They just seemed too absent from the narrative.

But this was very intense, and I really like Ms. Lapena.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Cancer, Chronic illness, Infertility, Grief, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

sophiemagill's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

This book was interesting enough for me to finish and find out who did it but it was terribly slow. I enjoyed the multi perspective story telling but at times it just felt a little choppy, like you were lurching between timelines. There were also 2 typos/misprints (?) in the book where they are talking about a character who isn’t there and the next line is that character saying something. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Blood

Minor: Cancer

bookedbymadeline's review against another edition

dark mysterious relaxing tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is the 5th book I’ve read from Lapena and I think it’s my new favorite from her! I love Lapena’s books and she’s definitely cemented herself as my one of my favorite thriller writers. 

I was immediately pulled in and I couldn’t put it down, finishing in 3 days! There were jaw dropping plot twists I didn’t see coming. Never guessed what happened, the storytelling was incredibly done making everybody seem guilty.

The characters were complex and well written! The pacing was well done, holding my attention the entire way through. I also thought the ending was perfect, leaving the story somewhat open ended which worked well for this novel. Highly recommend for anyone who loves thrillers and psychological family dramas!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infertility, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism and Child abuse

Minor: Cancer, Domestic abuse, and Infidelity

tspice24's review against another edition

dark 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Blood, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Cancer and Infidelity

chloe_may's review against another edition

dark 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Blood, and Death of parent

Moderate: Cancer and Terminal illness

hollymich's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.0

Overall, a decent read. Shari Lapena did a good job at developing the motives of the various suspects and shifting who the reader thinks is guilty. However, I didn't really care who did it because I didn't come to care for any of the characters. The conclusion felt rather rushed and unsatisfying. 

Ellen Archer was a fantastic narrator for this story. If you are interested in this story, I recommend listening to the audiobook.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, and Stalking

Minor: Cancer, Infertility, Suicide, and Vomit

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Classism

colettesjourney's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Minor: Infertility