Reviews

The Family Reunion by Karen King

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abi0188's review

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mysterious slow-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

2.0

This psychological suspense novel has readers guessing until the end who is creating havoc in Mary's life.

There is a lot going on in this book. Mary was raised by a strict father. She fell in love with Robbie and got pregnant at 16. When Robbie ends up in jail, she gives birth and leaves her newborn daughter, Hope, in a phone booth. Flash forward to the future where Mary is recently widowed and is still feeling guilty for this act of abandonment (she never told her husband of decades about Hope), she sends a message out onto the internet hoping to find her long lost daughter. Miracles upon miracles, Hope (now called Cathy) responds.

This novel follows the direct months after Mary and Cathy reconnect. We get to watch the two get to know each other, or so they think. Cathy is rather suspicious, the readers knows she is lying and keeping secrets from Mary. Mary is also now strangely now losing things, becoming forgetful and worrying for her safety. Is Cathy to blame? I thought this was a great set up and was suspicious of Cathy from the beginning. The dark secretive vague information available about her father, Robbie, was also very intriguing.

However, Cathy is not the only suspicious character. Mary has two grown children from her happy marriage: Joanne and Jason, who are both married (neither happily) with two children each. Joanne resents Jason (and now Cathy) and she seems to have a drinking problem. Jason's wife is cheating on him and he seems to be constantly pushing his mum to downsize her home to get money from her (he has past money issues - and maybe current ones).

My main issue with this book was that I didn't like a single character. All of Mary's kids were really annoying and I felt like every single one clearly just wanted money from her. I think the vulnerable forgetful older woman role was a little too played upon, I would have liked this to have been more subtle. The push from all three kids to make Mary move into a smaller home started to feel repetitive. The intrigue and dark past of Robbie also fell a little flat for me when the truth came to light.

The epilogue was a total curveball and kind of random, but the best "wtf" moment of the book.

whataverysreading's review

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3.0

Unfortunately, I found THE FAMILY REUNION to be boring. Maybe it’s because it’s an ARC, but there were SO MANY TIMES in this book where sentences were literally repeated word for word. This book was very repetitive and boring. The author makes reader wait until 80% of the book is done for the “big reveal” and it was disappointing.

I didn’t like any of the characters. They were all terrible and had no redeeming qualities.

Below I’ll go into more details but SPOILERS AHEAD

I did not like Mary at all. I felt like she abandoned her two children for Cathy at a drop of the hat. I did not like how she treated them at all.

I also hated Cathy so much. Everything about her sucked.

This book actually just made me mad.. but like?? Good job to the author for evoking emotions like that out of me.

goyvonreads's review

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Really enjoyed this book! I thought I had figured out the plot very early on, but I was so wrong! The story kept twisting and turning and had me captured until the end.
Awesome plot twist at the end.

Content Warnings

leona_omahony's review

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mysterious tense medium-paced

5.0

Oh my word what an absolutely fantastic and gripping read this was. This is a psychological thriller that is full of twists and turns and one you need to read. This is one of those reads that you have no clue who to trust or who is telling the truth. This is a book that I can assure you that you will not want to put down until you have read the last word. From beginning to end this was one of the best psychological thrillers I’ve read in a long time.

lottevanderpaelt's review

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dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Another ARC by Karen King! A few months ago, I read the ARC for The Mother-In-Law, which I absolutely loved, so I was very excited to receive the The Family Reunion from NetGalley. Once again, Karen King did not disappoint!

In The Family Reunion we follow Mary, a retired nurse who recently lost her husband. Apart from her husband's death, there's only one thing on Mary's mind: finding her long-lost first-born daughter, Hope. Just having ended a whirlwind relationship with a boy who didn't turn out to be who he said he was, 15 year-old Mary was forced to abandon Hope in a phone-booth merely hours after she gave birth to her. She never told anyone, not Hope's father, not her husband, not her children, Joanne and Jason, who now both have families of their own. At first, Mary is delighted to reunite with Hope, who now goes by Cathy. But not everything is what it seems at first glance. When more and more suspicious things start to happen, Mary must face the truth. Does she truly know Cathy? And can the family trust her?

I thoroughly enjoyed The Family Reunion. Throughout the book I had a few suspicions of what could be happening and while I did get one part right, the other parts of the plot came as a surprise. Once again, King managed to get some great twists into her book. Every time you think you might know what happened, there's another twist to get you to rethink everything. King's writing is gripping. This may be a personal preference, but I love that she writes short chapters. I'd much rather read 300 pages split into 70 than 20 chapters. When the story was almost finished, I still felt like something was wrong, but the last twist solved it for me. I did think we started off a bit slow. I wouldn't have minded to go a bit faster in the first half, but especially once we get to the cabin, the ball really starts rolling. I read those last 100 pages in one sitting. Definitely recommend to people who enjoy slow-burning domestic thrillers.

Content Warnings

bookstacks_and_coffeecups's review

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

Family Reunion was a well written slow burn with a final unexpected twist that made you want to keep reading!

After the death of her husband, Mary reunites with Cathy, the daughter she gave away when she was 16.

As she forges a new relationship with Cathy and Cathy gets to know her new brother and sister strange things begin to happen and lies, greed and sibling rivalry take an unexpected turn.

I really liked that this was an interesting book with a lot of tension, some unlikeable characters and some you just flat out can't trust.

The only thing I would say that is a bit of a negative is that it is marketed as "an utterly gripping psychological suspense novel with an ending you'll never see coming"

I definitely felt this book was more of a tense slow burn family drama then psychological drama and the end twist was interesting but in my opinion didn't really add to the story at all.

Thank you to Bookouture, NetGalley and Karen King for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

corinne82's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Another gripping read that I couldn’t put down from the first word. A quick, fast paced read that’s full of suspicion. Told from several characters point of view with one particular one being the one you wanted to give you all the goods but your kept at arms length. Really well developed characters that all have their own stuff going on along with the family dynamics. Great storyline that is never as it seems… One to read for sure but prepare to get nothing else done 😜…

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read #TheFamilyReunion

andshe_reads's review

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mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

I expected some pretty thrilling plot twists, but honestly, although there were some omg moments, I felt that the book was based more on family drama than a thrilling storyline.

The most shocking twist being in the epilogue felt that it needed to happen sooner to captivate readers a little more.

The premise is intriguing and the author tries to pull it off throughout the book however I felt due to the book being loaded with family drama and so many strong personalities I felt it wasn't carried off as well as it could have been turning it into more of a suspenseful / mystery novel rather than a thriller.

However, I did read to the end, and I did appreciate the characters. They were well developed and indeed led the storyline in the right direction. It definitely kept me guessing throughout - I actually love to solve a mystery.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to review this book.

kayleighcurtean's review

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4.0

This book will have you on your toes from start to finish! Karen king does an amazing job hooking her readers! If you are ready for a boom you Absouletly cannot put down this is the ONE!!!

jonannlovesbooktalk's review

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reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

The Family Reunion by Karen King
- Book Review - A twisty tale of family drama.

Synopsis:
After her husband Paul dies, Mary decides to search for a child she abandoned years earlier. Despite having two adult children, she has never told them that they have an older sister, a child she had at sixteen and abandoned in a telephone booth. After finding her oldest daughter Cathy, Mary introduces her to her siblings, much to their shock. It takes all parties involved some time to adjust, and tension is high.

Strange things begin happening in the family since Cathy joined, sudden fires, broken windows, money disappearing. Everyone appears to be keeping secrets and chaos soon ensues.

On January 23rd, the Family Reunion will be available. It is a slow burn with a shocking conclusion that I never saw coming.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for sharing this book with me.

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