Thank you to NetGalley for the review copy of Keep it in the Family.

This is the first novel by John Marrs that I’ve read but it definitely won’t be the last. I loved this book. It was a quick read and full of twists and turns. It was exciting and kept my attention throughout.

None of the characters is particularly likeable and it’s hard to decide whose behavior was the worst

I would definitely recommend.

ohhhh John Marrs, how you sing to my soul with your murderous deceit.

Marrs is an author that has delivered back to back 5 star reads. I have obsessed over this man since the first book I read of his, What Lies Between Us.

Keep It in the Family, is at a level all its own. No book will ever be able to compete with this one.

Teaser :

In this chilling novel from bestselling author John Marrs, a young couple’s house hides terrible secrets—and not all of them are confined to the past.

Mia and Finn are busy turning a derelict house into their dream home when Mia unexpectedly falls pregnant. But just when they think the house is ready, Mia discovers a chilling message scored into a skirting board: I WILL SAVE THEM FROM THE ATTIC. Following the clue up into the eaves, the couple make a gruesome discovery: their dream home was once a house of horrors.

In the wake of their traumatic discovery, the baby arrives and Mia can’t shake her fixation with the monstrous crimes that happened right above them. Haunted by the terrible things she saw and desperate to find answers, her obsession pulls her ever further from her husband.

Secrecy shrouds the mystery of the attic, but when shards of a dark truth start to emerge, Mia realises the danger is terrifyingly present. She is prepared to do anything to protect her family—but is it already too late?

I enjoy John Mars very much and I have to say this book was excellent. That being said there is a bit of heavy content here with child abuse and abduction. I think it's important to know that in case you are sensitive to the subject. This is the story of a man and woman who buy their dream home only to discover it was more of a nightmare. I couldn't imagine myself in that situation. How can you go on in a home that you know has seen such tragedy? But that's what makes John Mars such a great writer. I really enjoyed this story although difficult to read at times. The story sucked me in and I found myself sitting there for hours reading and not eve realizing how much time had gone by.

Enjoyment: 5
Total rating: 4.93

How is this for a prologue teaser? "Everyone except their families soon forgets about a missing child. And me. I remember every one of them. Because I am the bait that lures them here."

Twisty, unputdownable, entertaining, mixed media banger of a book. I absolutely love John Marrs, and he never fails to pull me right into his narrative and never disappoints. I open his books, suspend all disbelief in my body, sit back and enjoy the ride.

I find his narrative thrilling and compelling. His pacing is impeccable, and he executes the end-of-chapter cliffhanger so well I call it "to pull a John Marrs" when other authors do it.

Just when you think the title will give it away, he surprises us with a couple and their families and another family later on... You get the gist. The web is cast wide. And as one would expect, every narrator is unreliable. I loved the effective use of mixed media entries to fill in the gaps and offer the reader a more neutral context.

Even though the prose is compelling, the content is dark in all nuances that range from sad to disturbing. Keep it in the Family plays with how far one would go for and from family. Marrs always plays fair, and with the sinuous journey he lays for us, some readers might predict some of the twists. This doesn't bother me at all. I read books for entertainment and look for well-developed characters I can see as real people, an atmosphere that makes my heart pump faster, and a satisfying ending guaranteed to put a smile on my face. I got all that on top of a tightly plotted fair play puzzle.

I can't wait for his next novel.


Disclaimer: In exchange for an honest review, I am thankful to the publishers and NetGalley for providing a copy of Keep It in the Family.

I rarely read horror books as thrillers are more my style but this has a great blend of both genres. Once I got past the underlying crimes of stolen and murdered children, the storyline really captivated me. I thought I was figuring out what or who was responsible for the crimes, but then I tripped over a stumbling block that changed my mind! It loved both the expected and unexpected twists in this book!

Mia and Finn know they've probably bitten off more than they can chew whe they by a house that's been empty for decades. But they are determined to make it work. Then Mia falls pregnant unexpectedly, and there's a new urgency in getting the house family ready. Nor least because Mia can bear the thought of living with Finns overbearing mother for another minute, let alone when the baby arrives. But just as things come together, they discover their house has been hiding a gruesome secret. Mia can't shake the trauma of the discovery or the fear the horrors aren't over yet....

I'm a great fan of Marrs' more futuristic works, but this is a very enjoyable if rather disturbing story. The main outcome is quite easy to guess, but then Marrs comes in with some excellent sucker punches. I can't actually say my issue with the book without giving a major spoiler other than to say misplaced loyalty much!

Definitely worth a read, would make a great holiday read this summer

This is John Marrs’ 9th novel and what I have liked about each one that I have read so far, is that John Marrs hooks you in from page one.

Keep It in The Family was no different and I had to stop reading the prologue in bed, worried about ensuing nightmares.

John Marrs has the knack of creating both likeable, and unsavoury characters, and has a clever and twisted imagination that ensured that Keep it In The Family was a great read and he kept me guessing until the last page.

I give Keep It In The Family 5 + stars.

I went through a serious John Marrs phase at one point and then forgot about him. Shame on me because Keep It In The Family is probably the best book I read so far this year.

It had everything I wanted. A intriguing plot. Twists and turns galore. Likeable characters. Horrible characters. I just love a book that keeps me guessing and I couldn’t put it down.

Let’s go into more detail. This is definitely a dark book. Be prepared for that. In fact, it could be a bit triggering for some readers. While I wouldn’t say the descriptions are very graphic, I don’t think they need to be to be upsetting. The author does such a great job of building an atmosphere and getting into the heads of the characters that he doesn’t need to resort to shock value to get the reader turning the pages.

I found the twists in the story great. While I admit that I saw one or two of them coming, there were others that caught me off guard. I love when that happens in a book. It’s nice to be surprised but it’s also nice to have enough clues to help you figure out the outcome yourself. Without these clues, sometimes the ending can be too unbelievable.

Finally, I found the characters interesting. Although I can’t honestly say they had amazing character development, they certainly don’t end as the people you perceive them to be in the beginning. Besides what happens with the main plot, I like how they all have their flaws. Characters in the grey area always make for a better book.

Honestly I love anything this author puts out! I had such a good time reading this. It’s perfectly paced and I would highly
Recommend it to anyone :)

OMG. The master of Thrillers strikes again. This book is magnificent and I honestly could have devoured it in one sitting but I like to savour my books.

The ending sucker punched me so hard 🥺😮😮😮

This one certainly kept me on my toes and guessing, its a little creepy. I enjoy his Sci-fi thrillers more I think than his thrillers. but I did actually really enjoy this one.

Lots of misdirections and I dont really know what was happening and then bam! The charatcer development was very good, i was invested to find out what happens next. Highly recommend if you love a strong character driven book

Have you ever opened an old attic door and wondered what kind of mysteries lay hidden within it? This is the concept that author John Marrs has explored in his new psychological fiction novel, Keep it in the Family. In this story, Mia and Finn take us through a journey filled with suspense and remarkable plot twists as we uncover the forgotten memories housed in an attic in their new house. It's guaranteed to keep readers up all night eagerly turning pages to find out the answers hiding above their bed!

Mia and Finn were so excited to finally make their dream home a reality - only for an unexpected development: Mia's pregnancy. Little did they know what horrors lie beneath the surface of this seemingly perfect property; upon further investigation, hidden in the attic was unspeakable evidence from dark past events that left them with sleepless nights. As they pieced together clues leaving intentional messages throughout the house, it slowly started to dawn on them just how close danger lurked around every corner as more secrets unravelled before their very eyes...

I am usually a big fan of John Marrs books but this one feels a little short for me. The premise was a good one, Mia and Finn buy a house unseen, never a good plan but especially so in their case. They don’t have much money but embark on the renovation project as best they can until things become more rushed when they find out Mia is pregnant, think Grand Designs and almost every project on there! They go through many twists and turns as they piece things together and there is danger at every turn.

I guessed where the book was going fairly early on and I did enjoy it but it didn’t hold together as well as Marrs’ usual books. The concept felt a little too far-fetched but not in a fantasy-type way, just unrealistic. Perhaps it was a little flirt with horror, but it wasn’t quite there for me, and not quite dystopian either.

I didn’t like any of the main characters, but I did enjoy the bits of podcasts, interviews, and news clippings which added to the story well.

A good book but not the best I've seen from John Marrs.

Another brilliant novel from John Marrs! With twists at ever turn, I couldn’t put this down! John Marrs is the master of the thriller!

Wow it just keeps getting darker and more twisted with every chapter. An addictive read that will keep shocking you till the very end. I loved it!

John Marrs never misses in my opinion! I much prefer his crime thrillers over sci-fi and this was another knock out the park!

I did work out the twist however I was expecting another one which didn't happen so if other people read this and think along similar lines who aren't frequent JM readers this might throw them off the scent!

This was an enjoyable read, but certainly not one of Marrs' best work. It felt fraught with cliches and was very predictable.

Mia and Finn are a young couple who buy a beautiful but worn down house for a shockingly low price. Whilst working on the house, they find a disturbing message carved into a skirting board. It reads "I WILL SAVE THEM FROM THE ATTIC". From there, suitcases are found in their attic containing horrifying contents.

After Mia gives birth, and unable to sell the house, she becomes hyper focused on the crimes committed within the house. Something is incredibly off about the family she has married into, but what? Does her mum in law have something to do with the crimes? Or maybe it's her father in law? Or could it be her husband?

My main issues were that everything was incredibly predictable, from the way that the characters are described as "unsuspecting" to the dialogue between characters and the events that took place. There wasn't anything that left me particularly horrified because they were all plot points that have been written about before, and that have been featured numerous times on television shows and in films.

Having said that, there were a few twists and turns and it was an enjoyable read. It was just also an average read.

However, if you're not someone that reads a lot of thrillers, I would definitely recommend this! I am just very much both an avid John Marrs reader, and a thriller reader.

4.5 stars

My first read from John Marrs and what a great way to start off the year! This book is definitely a dark read with disturbing characters. It’s told through multiple POVs with great character development, past and present. So many twists! My favourite part of the book since this kept me wanting to read. Every twist but one surprised me!

My only reason for not giving this book five stars was the ending. I just felt it dragged a little too long.

Overall, what a well written dark and disbursing book!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this review copy in exchange for my honest
review!

The book started of slow i was going to DNF but i am glad i kept reading because as the book went on the speed picked up pace and the ending was great.
This book is a dark and twisted story just up my street.

Multiple POVs and timelines make this super creepy and disturbing thriller a page turner right until the end. Sinister and full of twists, a classic John Marrs read!

Full review to come.

Dark, twisty, gripping and disturbing. A multiple POV book that kept me on the edge and brought to very dark places.
There's some very disturbing part but, even if I was uncomfortable in reading, I didn't stop.
The rating could have been highter but I found the end a bit rushed.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine