UNNATURAL ENDS read like a modern take on a Golden Age mystery blended with a psychological thriller topped with a splash of gothic setting. 

The pacing keeps us on our toes, waiting for the next clue to lead to yet another horrible realization—and every clue does! From the beginning, I detested the antagonist. “Father’s” parenting makes him as horrible a villain as anything Daphne du Maurier ever wrote, and I kept hoping Alan, Roger, and Caroline would realize that everything they’d been taught about life was wrong. 

Overall, the type of mystery that classic mystery lovers enjoy. The only thing keeping it from being a five star read is that I figured out every twist about ten pages before it happened.

Thanks to NetGalley and Christopher Huang for this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. This was a thorough, well written and interesting golden age mystery! Huang’s depth of research is evident and I really enjoyed the characters. His portrayal of the female characters especially felt realistic for the era while also highlighting their character and agency. I wasn’t surprised by the outcome, but I thought the motive/resolve was unique enough that I didn’t mind. While it held my attention the whole time it also felt a tad slow, which is my only knock down in rating.

I have mixed feelings about this one. The plot is interesting and not something you typically see in thillers but unfortunately, this book dragged at times.

This was so good. It reminded me of an Agatha Christie movie / book mixed with a touch of Downton Abbey . Right from the start it draws you in trying to solve the mystery yourself. I loved the era and location of the book ,a real golden age mystery. Highly recommended.

Unnatural Ends
Christopher Huang
Alan an archaeologist, Roger an engineer, and Caroline, a journalist, were called home by their father’s death. Sir Lawrence Linwood was murdered. The reading of the will left all three siblings surprised. “In the event that my death should be due to unnatural causes, I charge m children with the task of identifying the killer. If one of them finds the killer, to the satisfaction of the police and the courts of law-I rescind previous statements and leave the entirety of this residuary estate to that child.” The deceased was bludgeoned to death in his study with a medieval mace.
Sir Lawrence Linwood was not an easy man; he ruled with an iron fist. Linwood brought up the children to obtain successes in their own way; he insists they be tough devoid of sentiment. Linwood was well thought of in the village for he helped enhance agriculture and gave prosperity to most. Who would kill Sir Lawrence Linwood?
The narrative shifts between different perspectives: the siblings, Inspector Mowbray, Lady Linwood, their mother, and Iris Morgan, Robert’s fiancée. Much can be gleaned from the siblings’ perspective. The reader gets glimpses of their childhood. The atmosphere is well done, Linwood Hall comes across as an striking old house looking over the parish and the moors. Sir Lawrence emerges as such a strong presence through it all; he played his children against each other, and they can never escape him. I enjoyed the dynamics of this tale. I was about 30% into this book before the plot grabbed me.

I flagged this on NetGalley because one of the main characters is an archaeologist -- I had to read it! It's a murder mystery with "Knives Out," Agatha Christie, and Kate Morton vibes (love a house full of secret passageways).
I loved the three main characters: Alan, Roger, and Caroline, and their personal journeys of self-discovery. Some of their flashbacks were a little disorienting but important to the story, so OK. I *hated* their father, Sir Lawrence Linwood (who we meet in flashbacks), and would have liked to see more vengeance inflicted on him, but at least I was engaged.
CW for animal and child abuse

Sir Linwood was brutally murdered on his estate, causing his three adopted children to return to the family home. In life their father was controlling and constantly pitting them against each other. He treats every situation and disciplinary action as some sort of cruel experiment. His habits continue beyond the grace through his will. The child who solves his murder will take all assets. Alan, Roger and Caroline uncover dark secrets hidden within their own lives while attempting to solve the crime.

This book captured that early 1900’s gothic feel very well. I couldn’t really connect to any of the characters that much but the plot was decent. I do feel like the content was good but the delivery was boring at times. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the read!

2.5 rounded down (somewhere between it was okay and I liked it). I was super excited to read this one based on the premise, and the author did a really nice job with creating a historical atmosphere. But overall it was hard for me to get engaged in the story and its characters. It did pick up after the first 100 pages or so, but I still found it to be generally slow moving with a hurried ending. It felt like more a family drama than a murder mystery, which is all good, it just wasn’t what I expected! Read if you like: gothic novels, Agatha Christie, family dramas.

Thank you Inkshares and NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for my honest review. I’ll be interested to see everyone’s thoughts on this as pub day approaches-- hopefully you all love it and I’m just weird!

Soul chilling. My heart bled for the main characters and at times I wished I would have been able to jump into the story to rescue them and poor all the warmth I have in me in their battered minds

Masterfully crafted and mesmerizing mystery which compelled me to read it in one day.

NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME

This had the bones of a really good murder mystery.
But it’s not there yet. It needs to be tightened up. The book would need lots of editing,
cuts, and rewriting to be a good read.

I was not engaged at all until about the 25% mark, which is when the story gets more interesting.
So a lot of the first quarter of the book could be cut.

Afterwards, the pacing and my level of engagement was erratic.

The characters were ok, but not compelling. We learn little about them beyond what’s relevant to
their roles in the story. Alan Linwood, in particular, seemed a complete cipher. Roger and Caroline Linwood could at least be differentiated: Roger by his engineering and mechanical expertise and Caroline by her love of theater. But Alan was never more than a paper cutout for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Inkshares for providing an an ARC (Advanced Review Copy) of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

#UnnaturalEnds #NetGalley

Thank you NetGalley and Inkshares for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

So when I was eleven years old I discovered Agatha Christie. I would scour thrift stores to find titles I hadn't read yet and ruin my school days by reading whodunnits by flashlight late into the night under my blanket. So upon reading the synopsis of Unnatural Ends I knew I was down and was hopeful it could deliver the golden age mystery vibes I was hoping for. I'm so happy to say it did!

Sir Linwood is dead, bloodied beyond recognition by a mace taken from the grip of a suit of armor that stands by a fireplace in his large major estate. His adopted children arrive home for his funeral and the reading of his will. His will urges his children to compete against each other to find his killer and in turn the one who does will inherit the manor house and all else. OK, so not the most original idea for a mystery novel, I do feel like I've read that story before, multiple times in fact. That said, I think it was a deliberate choice to set up a very classic mystery with all tropes included.

This book felt like a love letter to the Golden Age mystery novel. Huang writes beautifully and it was apparent that he had himself read and truly loved this genre of mystery. The way he writes and the words he chooses made me forget at times I was reading a modern novel. That being said though, the author found a way to talk about trauma and dealing with its subsequent echoes in a very modern way, yet somehow keeping the historical vibe and aesthetic he set out for. Now, it's not a perfect book. I had the mystery figured out fairly early, which bummed me a bit, but overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It kept my interest and had enough twists, turns, red herrings and macguffins to keep the mystery moving right along. I would consider this a 3.5 star read.

This was an interesting read, but dragged on a bit at times. I liked the atmosphere and the characters, and overall had a good time reading it - just felt it had some pacing issues.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review! I ranged between giving this a 3.5 and a 3.75, but I ultimately went with a 3.75 because of how much I loved the siblings in this book. The murder mystery was a bit lacking, but I enjoyed seeing each sibling's POV and their family dynamic was so sad and interesting that it made up for the fact that I'm a bit disappointed by the murder mystery plot. Huang is a really talented writer and it shines through in this book, even though it was a bit slow and I wished the pace would pick up a bit at times.

Unnatural Ends is a whodunnit with some really interesting twists and a great backstory. Set shortly after WWI, it’s the story of the three Linwood siblings who return to their family estate in Yorkshire for their father’s funeral to find he was murdered. Oddly, Sir Linwood’s will includes a provision that, if murdered, the one of his children who can solve his murder will inherit his estate. During the course of the ensuing investigation, the stories surrounding the adoptions of the three siblings in infancy emerge. I found this element to be the most interesting aspect of the story.

The sections of book centered around the protagonists’ childhoods were intriguing and a great mystery on their own. The plot surrounding the murder mystery, though, felt a bit hard to follow. It ultimately all came together in an unexpected way, though, that made me glad I’d hung on for the ride. The character development is interesting, especially the examination of the ways in which the siblings were shaped by their domineering father and the ways in which he was unable to control who they became. One of the most tragic elements of the story includes physical, mental and emotional abuse, so sensitive readers be warned.

This was a doozy but so good! Highly recommend to others! New author for me and I look forward to other books by them.

Sir Lawrence Linwood has been murdered.

It is up to his three adopted children, Alan, Roger, and Caroline to discover who has killed their father, and whoever does will inherit the Linwood estate.

But it turns out that Sir Lawrence Linwood is an extremely manipulative man and that what his children may have believed about him alive is not the whole truth. And to begin it turns out that Sir Linwood is actually their natural father, and that’s just the beginning.

It took me over a hundred pages before I really felt that this picked up. The pace did get better, but I wasn’t crazy about how it dragged in the beginning.

I choose to read Unnatural Ends because I remember reading the author’s debut and I did like it. I don’t remember it being as long as this one was, or maybe it just seems that way. I wouldn’t really call this a mystery. I didn’t connect with any characters and I just wanted to finish this really long story. 2.5 stars

Honestly I went into this book without high expectations and I was pleasantly surprised. Unnatural Ends follows the three Linwood siblings as they work to uncover the mystery of their father’s murder. A rather simple plot but not necessarily a simple story. Unnatural ends it’s filled with so many twits and turns and unexpected surprises that it will leave the reader speechless. Overall a very enjoyable book, however I do have a few issues with it. Many scenes and interactions I was looking forward to reading occurred off page and the ending was very underwhelming. But I would still recommend this book as the pros outweighs the cons in my opinion.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved traveling back in time and being a fly on the wall off classic detective story. I found myself trying to guess where the story might be going a few times and was pleasantly surprised whenever it was not as I thought.
While it could be a little slow at times, I don't feel it distracted from the story. Sometimes the detail with which the author set the stage/tone really helped me feel like I was there just advice it all experiencing the chaos alongside the Linwood children.
This is a great read for anyone interested in historical fiction, psychology, familial relationships. I would recommend this book, and look forward to reading other titles by this author.

I had no idea this was going to turn out to be historical fiction from the description, and frankly it took me a fair bit of reading before I actually realized the time frame... I'll be honest, while I enjoy historical fiction, I didn't like being caught off guard by the time. And for some reason didn't feel like it fit the story despite the obvious nods to Dame Agatha (actually more than nods - more like full-body hugs). I found there to be way too much description and not nearly enough investigation, and the story moved at a glacial pace that didn't feel appropriate to its billing and that really dragged things out, especially in a novel this long.

Had I gone into this one utterly cold I might have had a better time with it, but I was expecting Knives Out only to find myself instead with A Farewell to Arms by way of any Agatha Christie... It was a disjointed feeling and left me a bit flummoxed. I figured out the big secret early on, and the other secrets that led up to it were presented in heart-wrenching - and sometimes gut-wrenching - detail that I had a hard time with. Huang is a talented writer, but the story just didn't deliver what I expected it to and as a result I struggled with it from start to finish.

All in all this one just wasn't a good fit for me...

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a free review copy in exchange for an honest review.

I have mixed feelings with this one! The story and the plot were okayish, good at times, but dragged too at times.
About the plot - Sir Linwood is brutally murdered and it is upto his adopted children - Alan, Roger and Caroline to find the suspect as it was their father's last demand, he made a strange will to leave all of his estate to the heir who solved his murder.
The premise is exciting but that's about it. I could guess how things were going to unfold and that doesn't makes it a good mystery, right! But kudos to the author, his writing if not brilliant but is still very very remarkable. It had all the 'Agatha Christie' vibes and that is a big achievement.
The first half dragged but it regained it's pace back in the second half. I personally enjoyed the perspectives from all the characters, it gave a complete picture.
This book touches some common and recycled tropes and hence I won't say it as a standout but the writing is good enough to enjoy and I'm willing to read more of the author's work in the future.