TL; DR : twisty, creepy, murdery family drama

Nora, her husband, and her two daughters have moved from California to a lovely Brooklyn brownstone… which just happens to be the scene of an unsolved triple murder 25 years before. Someone knows what happened that night, but secrets can’t be kept forever.

The story is told by three narrators: Nora, her teenage daughter, Stacey, and Jacob — a man who has been watching the house for 25 years. There’s a real sense of dread throughout the book — from the creepy AF memento mori photograph on the staircase, to the overly friendly neighbors, to Stacey’s smothering relationship with the neighbor boy, to the weird dude lurking around the house with his binoculars. There was a lot to unravel, and Staub did a great job ratcheting up the tension and keeping me guessing. This was a fun one, and I clearly need to read more of her books.

The Other Family, by Wendy Corsi Staub, is a fast and fun read of a somewhat macabre mystery-thriller. While I thoroughly enjoyed the ride, I am a novice in this genre. When I can predict the resolution, it simply is too easy. Nonetheless, the New York setting had an authentic feel, and the characters were well drawn and very believable. However, there were several characters that were intriguing, and yet, didn’t really contribute much to the propelling the story forward. The real problem is the plot; it draws you in quickly, leaves you to wander and wonder for far too long and then wraps in warp speed with several mysterious loose threads left hanging.

I had fun reading this novel, and I would recommend it to many people I know. The rating is 3.5, rounded up to 4. Thanks so much to NetGalley and William Morrow and Company for the opportunity to read a digital ARC.

A fast read told in multiple perspectives with several surprises along the way! More mystery than thriller, this novel kept me intrigued and guessing until the end. At first, I was slightly disappointed in the ending because I felt like there were loose ends but then I realized that the loose ends were just successful red herrings. After all, in any city (especially NYC), you will find your share of eccentric characters! Nowhere near as creepy or full of triggers as most thrillers, this is a great option for readers who like their mysteries/thrillers on the tamer side.

A special thanks to NetGalley, William Morrow, and Custom House for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book wasn't bad by any means I just really didn't click with any of the characters. I did like them but they just weren't relatable for me. I liked the writing of this book and will read more from this author.

I was very intrigued by this book with the description, but unfortunately the thriller mystery element fell short. We have a family that has located to NY from LA for a job opportunity. They're moving into a house that has a lot of history, including a triple murder and we realize early on that one person in the family is keeping a secret. I think the author did a decent job keeping us in suspense by having several characters look suspicious but I think that some things were also very obvious. In the same vein, by the end, a lot of the characters introduced ddn't serve any real purpose so I felt a little confused by the way we left the story.

The Other Family publishes on Feb 1, 2022.

Thanks to William Morrow and Custom House and netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.

4 Stars!!!

I got sucked into this book and could not put it down!!

The perfect family transplants itself from LA to Brooklyn only to find out their new perfect home was the sight of an unsolved triple homicide. The story is told from 3 perspectives : Nora, Stacey, and Jacob flipping back and forth in time, filling in the gaps.

Super suspenseful and will have you on the edge of your seat flipping pages to find out what happened. I did not have this one figured out, at all.

A special thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow and Custom House, and Wendy Corsi Staub for providing me with an ARC.

Love the story. When I thought I knew who the killer is. there is a twist and I was completely surprised. Wendy Corsi Staub's books are always thrilling and full of suspense and this book definitely delivers. I would recommend this book.

Thank you to HarperCollinsPublishers and NetGalley for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily. Nora Howell and her husband and two girls have moved from the west coast to the east coast because Keith has gotten a new job. The house they are living in has not been occupied for more than two decades. The last residents of the home (a mother, father and daughter) were killed in their sleep. The scary part of the mystery is that the killer was never apprehended. Nora's daughter, Stacey, thinks someone is watching her and they are. This story is broken down into parts and each chapter is written from the viewpoint of the characters in the book. The characters in the book are all very complex and have complex relationships with one another and each has secrets as well. Wendy Corsi Staub knows how to write a suspense filled mystery with lots of smoke and mirrors. The watcher, you will soon learn, is a very disturbed individual. This is a great psychological thriller with twists and turns that you may or may not see coming. If you like a good mystery filled with suspense and intrigue, you will enjoy this thriller by Wendy Corsi Staub. Prepare to take some time for yourself without any responsibilities (work, household work, etc.) because once you start reading, you will not want to put the book down! You will be immediately transported into the pages of this mystery which is as intricate as a spider web with all of the twists.

This book completely sucked me in. The mystery, flawed characters, secrets, lies with short chapters made this psychological thriller perfect. The tension built throughout was so well done that I didn’t want to put this one down. The ending was the only thing I wasn’t happy with. I needed a bit of closure and it was kind of left open ended.

I have enjoyed many of this author’s previous novels and this one did not disappoint. I guessed at the main character’s true identity fairly early on but it was still a fast moving suspenseful thriller. The end does leave one a bit hanging as since Nora’s daughter now knows her true identity, will her lies unravel? Plus given her ability to murder family and her former boyfriend, leaves the reader with a bad taste if her life goes on as normal.

I really liked this book. Told via 3 alternating characters, it kept you (or, at least me) guessing until the very end. I had suspicions throughout but ended up not being correct. Also, love the short chapters.

Nora and her family (husband, Keith, 2 daughters, Stacey and Piper, and dog Kato) move from California to New York City for her husband's job. They quickly make friends with a couple down the street, Jules and Heather. Their son, Lennon, and Stacey start hanging out.

Stacey feels as though she's being watched and has seen a suspicious man watching her but she doesn't tell anyone. One night, Nora's family finds out about a horrific murder that had taken place in their home and remains unsolved.

Someone in Nora's family knows the person watching their house...and why.

This was a typical, run-of-the-mill suspense novel. The characters felt two-dimensional, and the mystery wasn't very compelling.

Thank you NG and and William Morrow for the ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

I requested this book because I LOVE WENDY CORSI STAUB! Sadly I did not LOVE this one. For most of the book there were too many ppl with "secrets" and I'm a little put out by not having closure on one main character. I also didn't really connect to ANY of the characters and found some of the "surprises" quite predictable. The ending was pretty good but again predictable to me. Overall it was just an ok read for me. I had hoped for more.

Keith and Nora and their two teenage daughters temporarily relocate from California to Brooklyn, New York for Keith's job. The house they are renting was the scene of a triple homicide in 1994, and it seems like the past may be repeating itself. 

The book is told from three points of view - Nora, her older daughter Stacey, and Jacob, who is watching the house. I love the premise, but unfortunately a lot of characters were really unlikable. I was able to predict some of the plot twists, but was intrigued enough to want to keep reading to find out more. It was obvious that Nora was keeping secrets, but I was very surprised when the whole story came out. I like that there were so many elements of the story that I was unable to guess. 

The ending is very dramatic, but then I found myself trying to turn the page for a couple additional chapters or at least an epilogue. After a major reveal, the book just abruptly ends and several loose ends remain. This was very disappointing, and I felt let down not being able to see how the final revelations play out with the main characters. This brought the book down from 4 stars to 3.5 stars for me. 

I received this ebook from NetGalley through the courtesy of William Morrow. An advance copy was provided to me at no cost, but my review is voluntary and unbiased.

Nora and her family have just moved from a huge home in Los Angeles to a small apartment in New York City. Nora's husband's job transfer is temporary for only a year so they will just have to get used to the hustle and the bustle of the crowded city. Nora's hope for a fresh start dissolved overnight when her two daughters discoverd their new home had been the scene of a triple murder thirty years ago. Stacey the older daughter now feels someone is watching and following her but she is afraid she won't be believed by her parents so she says nothing. Nora also has been keeping secrets and wonders if this move was a terrible mistake. The family's harmony is quickly breaking down. The girl's are changing and and not being truthful, Nora is disconnected more and more from her family and her husband is suspicious of Nora's aloofness plus the new neighbors have become way too friendly, almost smothering at times. Nora promised herself not to trust anyone or let anyone get too close but everything safe and secure seems to be crumbling apart day by day. Why, oh why did she think this would be the perfect time and place to confront her fears when she has spent almost half of her life running away from her haunted past. Nora will soon learn that she has compromised the safety of daughter Stacey while trying to face the demons from her own past and if she doesn't act quickly it may be too late for any of them.

I have always been a fan of Wendi Corsi Staub's books so I was so excited to read this new ARC. The writing drew me in from the first page and I just couldn't stop reading. The plot twists were inconceivable and unexpected although somewhat outlandish for what I'm used to with enjoying her books. Nora's character was not too likeable, warm or motherly to her children and just a cold and distant person in general, if this was the author's intention she hit the nail on the head otherwise it was a complete miss. The storyline itself was exciting and extremely mysterious so it was a fast read but I just didn't feel that the book was written by the same writer that I was always used to so I was left feeling puzzled and somewhat disappointed. So, with that said, I'm still a WCS fan and am looking forward to her next book while recognizing that all books can't realistically meet my expectations 100% of the time.

I want to thank the publisher "William Morrow And Custom House" and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this exciting advanced reading copy and any thoughts or opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

I have given this book a rating of 3 MYSTERIOUS AND INTRIGUING 🌟🌟🌟 STARS!!

I've read other books by this author and enjoyed them. It's been quite some time since then. I enjoyed this one as well. Loved the premise and some of the characters.
Told in the point of view of Nora, daughter Stacey and Jacob.
The Howell moves to New York for a year due to the Dad's job.
The house has been uninhabited for many, many years.
A murder happened there 25 years ago. Actually three murders. Teenager Anna and her parents were killed.

While I enjoyed the book, I did feel the middle part sort of dragged. Then boom along comes the ending. And it's a good one.

I will read more books by this author.

Many thanks to netgalley and William Morrow and Custom House for the advance copy.

This was my first book by this author, and I will definitely be reading more. This is a nice, twisty thriller that I did not want to put down. The only complaint I have is that the characters were written a little shallow for lack of a better word, so I didn’t feel very connected to any of them for some reason. Other than that, I enjoyed the setting of New York And the authors writing style.

When the Howell family relocates from California to New York, they find a roomy and beautiful brownstone for a steal in an otherwise expensive real estate market. Soon after moving in, it becomes clear why the house was so cheap – it was the scene of a grisly triple murder many years ago. As if this isn’t bad enough, the killer was never caught. And one of the Howells knows more than they are telling… a lot more. Not to mention, a stranger from the past is watching the family intently.

Told from three viewpoints – mom Nora, daughter Stacey, and Jacob (the watcher?) – this story has all of the elements of solid suspense: a mysterious violent crime, family drama, some secrets, the threat of a stalker. It starts off really strong and is well-written, but seemed to taper off in the middle without much action before wrapping everything up in a hurry toward the end. As a seasoned suspense reader, I was able to guess some of the outcomes but not all of them, which is always nice. The characters are relatable; Stacey’s chapters are particularly good and her teenage voice feels realistic. That said, there are a few too many extraneous characters that don’t really add to the forward motion of the story or subplots that weren’t very relevant, which probably contributed to the loss of momentum in the middle of the story.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an advance copy of this book.

This book kind of felt like a mess. There were developed characters that ended up not contributing anything to the story. While it's nice to have developed characters, there was a lot of time spent on learning about them and interacting with them. Subsequently, it made large portions of the book feel like a waste of time.

The end felt very rushed. It was almost as if the author was told to wrap it up, so she just ended it. There was no real build to the big reveal, so it just felt unnatural.

The plot of the book was such a great page turner. The plot of the book was very well written. I truly cannot wait to read another wonderful book from this truly wonderful author. This was a truly great book.