Member Reviews
Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Nora and her family are moving to the east coast duecto her husband's job. A family was murdered many years ago in their new house. Nora's daughter Stacey wants to learn everything she can about the house. This book grabbed my attention from the start.
This was an exciting read and kept me guessing as to the outcome. It seemed to have some elements of the supernatural initially, but everything was explained in the end.
Holy man . This book was absolutely brilliant. My only complaint would be that I didn't feel satisfied with how Stacey ended it with Lennox ! I wish there was some closure on it.
Would you buy a home that had been the scene of a triple murder? Even at a substantial discount in a supremely desirable and very expensive neighborhood you couldn’t otherwise have afforded? Would you?
The Howell family decided to take the price break and move into a sizeable house in Brooklyn though the previous owners had all been murdered there. The past is the past, right? Well, of course, very creepy things begin to happen to the Howell’s immediately after they move into their dream home. Their house and their neighbors are weird, and no one seems…genuine.
The Other Family is told from different POVs and was a slow build for me. Wendy Corsi Staub is a well-established author with a long list of back titles, and she skillfully penned this story. Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing an ARC to read and review. *NetGalley Top Reviewer.*
How well do you know a new house that you've recently moved into? This book makes you think twice! A family moves from LA to NY and finds out AFTER they moved in that a triple homicide happened there many years ago. The kids freak out, heck, I would freak out too!! I enjoyed this as it was told in different POV's and it's very fast paced. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest opinion.
"New York Times bestselling author Wendy Corsi Staub makes her trade paperback debut with a fast-paced thriller in the vein of Lisa Jewell's The Family Upstairs and Megan Collins' The Winter Sister. Here, a family making a fresh start moves into a house which was the site of an unsolved triple homicide--and are watched by an unknown person...
The watcher sees who you are...and knows what you did.
It's the perfect home for the perfect family: pretty Nora Howell, her handsome husband, their two teenage daughters, and lovable dog. As California transplants making a fresh start in Brooklyn, they expected to live in a shoebox, but the brownstone has a huge kitchen, lots of light, and a backyard. The catch: its previous residents were victims of a grisly triple homicide that remains unsolved.
Soon, peculiar things begin happening. The pug is nosing around like a bloodhound. Nora unearths a long-hidden rusty box in the flowerbed. Oldest daughter Stacey, obsessed with the family murdered in their house, pokes into the bloody past and becomes convinced that a stranger is watching the house. Watching them.
She's right. But one of the Howells will recognize his face. Because one of them has a secret that will blindside the others with a truth that lies shockingly close to home--and to this one's terrifying history."
This was an excellent read. So many twists and turns. Thank you so much for the ARC..
I loved the unique story line in this book.
Californians transported to NYC - what? Despite their previous life of privilige, all the members of the Howell family settle into the quaint neighborhood where all the houses are similar, and the neighbors seem pretty nice. It helps that the first person Nora meets has kids around the same age as her own. Parents and kids become fast friends.
And then things start to go a little sideways. Are the friends a little too pushy? Is someone watching? Why is the creepy photo at the top of the stairs? And who is keeping secrets?
The story was told with some beautiful language: "Nora turns away from the forget-me-not sky." and just the right amount of suspense. Staub's descriptions of the Brooklyn neighborhood are easy to visualize, as are the scenes of the sometimes harrowing subway rides. I will definitely be checking out some of her other books.
Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow Paperbacks for an advance reader's copy.
The Other Family by Wendy Staub is a good psychological thriller. Nora, her husband and their two teenage daughters move into a new house. They are shocked to find out that the previous owners were the victims of a triple homicide. What they don’t know is one of them is hiding a huge secret. If you love thrillers I recommend you read this book there are plenty of twists. Thank you Netgalley for this arc for my honest opinion.
Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
The Other Family by Wendy Corsi Staub is an unputdownable domestic thriller that will appeal to fans of Kiersten Modglin and B.A. Paris. The story revolves around Nora, who has just moved to a new home with her husband and two daughters. Unfortunately, it turns out that the home's previous owners were the victims of an unsolved triple homicide. Later, the family notices that there is someone watching and hanging around their neighborhood. Is the watcher the murderer returning to the scene of the crime?
Here is an excerpt from Chapter 1 that sets up the setting:
"The next day, they took a cab to 104 Glover, the second address from the corner on a block lined with tidy and welcoming redbrick nineteenth-century row houses. All had three tall windows on the top floor; two alongside the front door a level above the street, and smaller, iron-barred basement windows. All had corniced roofs and stone stoops atop twelve steep stairs bordered by ornate black grillwork...
The property manager, Deborah, greeted them with a warning that it was brand-new to the rental market and they’d have to jump on it if they wanted it. Nora already knew that she did, but she wanted Keith to want it, too. She needed him to want it."
Overall, The Other Family is a domestic thriller with plenty of chills and thrills. The story is told from multiple 3rd person points of view: Nora, a housewife, Stacey, a daughter, and a "watcher," whose identity I won't spoil here. I took off 1 star, because I felt that the plot was extremely slow-moving for most of the book. Also, considering how much build-up there was, the ending was rather anticlimactic. I know that a lot of readers won't mind that though. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of domestic thrillers, you check out this book when it comes out in January!
Nora and her family have temporarily moved from California to Brooklyn, NY, due of her husbands job. She found a brownstone that she claims is perfect. While talking to neighbors, the family learns that the apartment has been unoccupied for 25 years because a family of 3 had been murdered in in their beds. Strange things begin to happen and Nora seems to know more than she is letting on. This is a unique domestic psychological drama that keeps you involved.
Wendy paints very vibrant and realistic characters.
The mystery unfolds with lots of delicious twists and turns. This ending left me speechless. What more can I say? I couldn't put this book down.
I was captivated by the very first chapter and it stayed steady throughout the entire book!
She has a true gift for storytelling, unique plot developments, amazing character development.
Legit had me on the edge of my seat wanting more!
This is definitely one of those books it is best to go into with as little knowledge of the plot as possible. Just start reading and let all the fabulous little twists and turns reveal themselves. I was honestly gripped by the characters in this involving thriller.
The ending was great, the storyline was beyond phenomenonal and the overall book was spectacular!
There are no words wasted in this book, it’s polished to perfection!!
William Morrow
Thank You for this ebook copy!
I'll post and tag to my Social media platforms closer to pub date!
Now if I could just get Insomnia and Dark Objects oh my goodness my year will be made! 😘
This was an interesting read and it definitely went a different way than I thought when I read the summary and it was told in 3 pov Nora the Mom, Stacey the eldest daughter and Jacob who knew the family who were murdered their previously and it was still pretty easy to follow along and it keep the story moving. Nora and Keith move to New York from California for Keith’s job and move into a townhouse where a family was executed and they don’t know about this until they go to dinner with neighbors who let them know about the history of the house. Meanwhile you know that Nora is keeping secrets and lying to her husband and there are using this move as a way to repair their marriage. They have two daughters Stacey and Piper who couldn’t be more different and Stacey gets involved with the neighbor’s son Lennon who turns out to be more intense then she can deal with. While this is happening Stacey gets accosted by Jacob who thinks she is a reincarnation of Anna the girl who was murdered in their house and starts stalking her. So there is a lot of stuff happening and Stacey starts figuring some stuff out about the murders and breaks up with Lennon while Nora just keeps being secretive and when Stacey figures it all out the book just ends there. There is just no closure and no consequences for Nora lying this whole time and while the plot was interesting I just really wanted to know what happened next.
Thanks to William Morrow and Custom House and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book in e-book form. All opinions in this review are my own.
The Other Family may be fast-paced but it really isn't compelling, and it doesn't entirely feel like anything but the main plot was very well thought through. Keith and Nora move their daughters Stacey and Piper to New York City from California for a year after Keith receives a transfer. The house that they live in was the scene of a grisly execution of a couple and their daughter decades ago, which further sets the off-balance Nora and Stacey. Nora's been keeping secrets in her marriage, and is checked out a majority of the time, but no one in her family seems to mind. And everyone seems to think Stacey needs therapy, even though she sounds like a relatively normal teenager. Oh and by the way, Stacey is being stalked by a man that thinks she looks just like the girl that was killed in the home several decades ago. Staub creates a relationship between Nora's family and that of Heather and Jules and their kids Lennon and Courtney. In many ways this feels like filler, because it really doesn't contribute anything to the story beyond Nora feeling like they're bugging her all the time and Stacey developing a relationship with Lennon. If feels like there are a lot of family dynamics that never get explained, Keith and Piper have almost no development, there's really no explanation for why Stacey's parents think she has "issues", and the books just ends. Nothing feels resolved. It read quickly, but never felt like a page-turner. The twist felt predictable from the very beginning and there really wasn't anything else holding the book together.
Nora, her husband Keith, and their two daughters are making a new start in Brooklyn. Having moved from LA for Keith's job, Nora hopes that her daughter. Stacy will finally fit in and that her marital problems will be fixed. She also has a secret reason for being in New York, one that she has hidden from everyone she has ever known.
The Other Family is a story about a family trying to reconnect, a woman trying to make peace with her past, and a mystery of a family that had been murdered in their home. It is a quick read that slowly reveals the secrets of Nora. There is tension in the book as you try to figure out what is going to happen next but the overall plot is easy to figure out.
I enjoyed reading The Other Family and would recommend it if you like family drama and mystery. Thanks to Netgalley, William Morrow, and the Scene of the Crime Early Reads for the advanced copy of the book. The opinions are my own.
This was an enjoyable book for me, though I didn't feel truly connected to the characters. It had such an interesting premise and I really enjoy when books are told in multiple POVs. The characters were flawed and unreliable, but it made for a very compelling read! Once the book ended though, I was searching for more.
Thank you so much to the publishers and Netgalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow books for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was my first book by Wendy Corsi Staub and I didn’t know what to expect. For the most part I enjoyed reading this book. I found it to be I intriguing with all the twists and suspense throughout the story. However, I found there were loose ends amongst the characters and I’m not sure how they all tied in together.
Synapse :
Nora Howell and her husband and two teenage daughters move to New York to get a fresh start. They move into a house where they soon discover that a triple homicidd had occurred. The family members all have different reactions to this discovery. Soon family start to unravel, as a watcher lurks amongst the shadows. One of the Howell’s will recognize his fave and they will have to come to terms with their secrets which may destroy their entire family.
I liked this book. It was different. A family moves to NYC for an year. The wife has some secrets. Found the neighbors Jules and Heather overbearing.
This book starts out similarly to others of this type, a family with secrets, neighbors with secrets and a troubled son. But it soon evolves into so much more, with bits of foreshadowing with begin to see there is so much going on beneath the surface, some slowly becomes clear and then rushes to a strong climax. I wished the ending was a little slower as it got complicated and a bit confusing, but i read it twice to make sure I got it all. Overall a very suspenseful ride
I was provided an advanced copy of The Other Family by the publisher via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
The Other Family by Wendy Corsi Staub is a riveting domestic and psychological thriller that is guaranteed to make your head spin.
The Howells have found the perfect home for their temporary relocation to Brooklyn – or at least so they thought. Soon after they move in, the family discovers that the home had been vacant for over 20 years after the previous family had been killed in a shocking triple homicide. Things only become more and more peculiar after this discovery – Matriarch Nora digs up a mysterious box in the garden, the old family portrait in the front hall turns out to have ghoulish history, and eldest daughter Stacey becomes obsessed with the murder that occurred in their home, as well as the mysterious stranger that seems to be watching them.
I wanted to go into this book blind, so after receiving the eARC, I waited a few months before starting it – and boy, do I recommend it. I had long forgotten about the details we were given in the synopsis, making every new discovery shocking. I found myself flipping back to previous chapters trying to connect the dots, my brain becoming the obsession board in that popular Charlie Day meme. This book is extremely fast paced, thanks to short chapters and multiple storylines. Unreliable narrators keep you guessing and wondering what the true story really is. The big twist completely threw me, but I found the ending to be very abrupt. I was left a little unsatisfied, with a lot of questions.
Overall, The Other Family is an excellent dark thriller that speaks on the critical role family plays in shaping our lives – for better or worse. I definitely recommend adding this one to your “To Be Read” list. 4.25/5 stars.
If you liked books like The Good Marriage, The Perfect Family, or The Wife Upstairs, I think you will enjoy this one.
I enjoyed the story, twists, turns, and suspense. I think the reveal was done really well. I didn't guess much ahead of it being revealed. I also liked the different points of view because we knew some things from certain characters while others were still in the dark. The only thing that bothered me was the teenage daughter, Stacey's relationship with Lennon. It's definitely not healthy, though, I see why the author wrote it the way she did. It does add a bit to the suspense of the book. I also felt like the book just....ended. There was no real closure and it left it somewhat open-ended for the reader to guess where the family ended up from there. I would have liked to see an epilogue.
Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.