I inhaled Keep It In The Family in a single day, I was completely drawn in to the pages, and didn’t want to leave the book until the last page had been turned.

From the very start, I thought it was an interesting, but yet a very familiar family dynamic. Mia and Finn are desperate to buy their first house together. Mia more so than Finn, so she can escape her overbearing Mother-in-law, who likes to demean her at every possible opportunity. Their dream house doesn’t turn out to be quite as they were hoping for, in fact, it is a deadly nightmare. The house has been keeping very disturbing secrets, within it’s run down walls.

There is so much tension within the pages. Not just tension from the story, but also from the fraught relationships between the characters. The Ted Bundy quote at the start of the book, should give the reader a clue that they are not in for a gentle ride.

This is a dark, intense and twisty thriller, that kept me totally gripped. I found myself so drawn in, I didn’t want to leave the book for even a moment. When you think the book has given away it’s secrets, it has more awaiting you. I have heard so much praise for John Marrs’ writing, and I now regret leaving it until now to read one of his books. I look forward to reading his back catalogue.
In case you can’t tell, I loved this 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ chilling read. I highly recommend reading it yourself, but maybe not if you are renovating an old house.

Wow, wow, wow. Evil as evil can be. This guy knows how to write a book that will keep you reading till it’s finished. So many curved balls, breathtaking moments. I loved it. Makes you wonder how nurture overtakes nature. If you want a good thriller this is the one to read.

Another solid read by John Marrs. I thought I had the whole thing figured out but I definitely did not. I like when a book keeps me guessing until the end. John Marrs never disappoints!

So happy to get to read the new John Marrs book so early and it did not disappoint.

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 have really enjoyed all the John Marrs books, I’m a massive fan so was excited to read this one. I find his books have really varied topics and story lines but always strong characters and a great plot that twists and turns and pulls you in. This psychological thriller really gets you thinking and wondering what happened back in the past and what is happening now. So hard to put the book down and sleep! Although not my favourite novel from him I feel the bar is really high and I still loved it.
I’d really recommend readers try all his books as they are fabulous – and all deserve to be made into films.

Thanks for NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
#KeepItintheFamily #NetGalley

As always with John Marrs, you’re in for a treat. One of the best authors out there now. Make sure you’ve not missed any of his other books. Brilliant!

4.5 Stars

‘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.’

John Marrs is one of our favourite Authors; he has been since picking up our first book by him, over five years ago. From then, he has continually wowed us with his compelling, future predicting, dark and thrilling stories. All very uniquely him and all somewhat dark, twisted, and disturbing. John Marrs is such a lovely bloke and family man, how on earth do these stories live in his head…. we’d be scared to fall asleep! But hey, we ‘re not complaining because this latest instalment had us up reading way past our bedtime, wait, strike that, readers don’t have bedtimes, right?! The prologue is one of the most powerful and gripping prologues we’ve read in a while, and we were filled with nervous anticipation at just what we were in for.

‘Even though I haven’t set foot under the roof in decades, I am forever part of its fabric. I’m the mortar that binds the bricks together, the pipes linking each tap, the wooden beams that hold up the roof. I have never truly been able to escape it. I am it and it is me.’

We could not put Keep it in the Family down, such was the grip it had on us in all its horrific, manipulative, twisted and macabre glory. Complex relationships, a history of horrors, mounting dead bodies and a huge emphasis of the nature versus nurture debate running commentary in the background. In some respects, we felt as if we were watching a true crime documentary on Netflix. This one felt a bit different to what we normally experience with a John Marrs novel. The writing style seemed more simplistic in its execution. This is not a negative though as we feel it suited the narrative and ensured a sense of the ordinary which is anything but. A seriously messed up family dynamic and characters we didn’t like very much, but then we’re not sure we were meant to.

‘I’ve grown to realise that when I don’t have blood on my hands, they are uncomfortably dry.’

The twists…. oh, the twists!!!!!!! You know the Author has nailed it when you have to reread the same sentence a few times to make sure you read what you think you read and then loudly exclaim…” now that’s bloody clever John!” John Marrs did it again. What a wonderfully gifted storyteller!

I love John marrs books, he is such an amazing writer. He creates stories and characters that keep you captivated from start to finish.

A great family-based thriller with well-developed characters and lots of twists - some which I saw coming and some I didn't.

Very enjoyable, but slightly too long for me: I could quite happily have had a different (shorter) ending to the book with 1 or 2 fewer twists. By the end it felt vaguely like a fable passed down through the generations, with people adding their own extra 'surprises' to the end over time... I think I just prefer John Marrs's brilliant near future thrillers (The One (book not terrible TV adaptation); The Passengers; The Minders) much more than these more domestic noir standalones.

When reflecting on the above, please do also hear me when I say it was engaging and fun to read, and I would certainly recommend it to other crime thriller readers.

I enjoyed this book. I can not wait for more by this author! Thanks to publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read this book!

I have been a huge fan of John Marrs' books. I tried with this one but I couldn't finish it. The writing style felt off to me and the story felt tedious.

I literally don't think that John Marrs can write a bad book.

I loved everything about this one, from the characters to the mind blowing events that happen throughout.

It's sick and twisted and will keep you up at night.

Keep it in the family is yet another dark psychological thriller by this fabulous writer. Mia and Finn have found their dream home and are busy with renovations in expectation of the arrival of their baby. However, Mia finds a message etched into the into the skirting boards “I will save them from the attic”. Then a gruesome discovery is made in the attic and life for Mia is turned inside out and she has no idea who to trust or who is telling the truth.
This novel had me both terrified and enthralled all at the same time and I could not put it down. John Marrs’s writing has you hooked from the moment you read the first page and leaves you guessing right till the final page .

Absolutely loved it! So many twists that I didn't see coming- it kept me guessing right 'til the end Definitely 5/5!!
**Thanks to the author and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book**

I have read several of the novels by this author, and have very much enjoyed them and this is certainly no different. The author has a real gift at coming up with a unique storyline, and this is difficult as for readers like myself who read a lot of books within this genre that is a real challenge. This book had me gripped from the first page and it was so cleverly done that it almost read like a true crime novel. I do not want to give too much away, however I would say read this as you won't regret it.

Mia and Finn, a married couple struggling to get pregnant, buy an abandoned house and start to do renovations. Shortly after they start the reno, Mia finds out she is pregnant. They think that everything is going to be amazing, a new house and a baby. What could go wrong? Until they discover a cryptic message etched into the baseboard “I will save them from the attic”. That leads to the discovery of 7 suitcases, each of which contain a terrible secret.

This was the type of fast paced, devour in one setting that i expect of John Marrs. I love the short chapters and the multiple points of view and time lines. The twists and turns will keep you guessing until the very end!

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Mia and Finn are remodeling a house to update, then Mia falls pregnant. When they think the house is ready Mia discovers a chilling message scored into a skirting board: I WILL SAVE THEM FROM THE ATTIC.. Mia and Finn find that their dreamhouse is a house of horrors. After Mia has her baby she gets fixated on what happened in the attic, the truths start to appear..
Great book, love John Marrs , this is considered to be another one of my favorite from him.
Thanks to Netgalley, Thomas and Mercer, and the author in exchange for a review.
Publishing Date: Oct 18, 2022.

Well this one was truly disturbing and not at all surprising for a Marrs book. To start off, I was struggling a bit to keep up with the timelines, the POVs and the little excerpts in between. If I was physically reading this I don't think it would have been an issue but as it was on my kindle...going back and forth is not easy without completely losing your place. But, even though it jumped around, it added so much extra depth to the plot. The reader was getting glimpse into things the MCs haven't experienced. AND there was the murderer POV which I always am a fan of. This allowed for such an awesome twist that literally left my jaw on the floor. I thought I knew who it was. Wrong. And there were so many other layers to just how effed up this family is. And boy does Marrs know how to write truly hateable characters. I didn't love to hate them. I truly hated them. Debbie. Dave. Finn. Even Mia was hard to get on board with. Again, each step of the way I thought I had it figured out and BAM something else was added. Ugh. And poor George. He deserved better. Was some of it far-fetched? Sure. Did I care? Absolutely not. Give this one a read if you want a disturbing read and be mindful of the trigger warnings.

John Marrs has done it again! Keep It in the Family (out October 18) was the twisty, turny thriller I hoped it would be! While it was a little long, causing the story to drag on a tad, this story still delivered the wild ride of intensity we have come to expect from JM.

Told via multiple POVs, timelines, and with the addition of articles/interview excerpts/etc., we meet the royally f*cked up Hunter family and are dropped into what appears to be a decades long murder spree. The Hunters are all very unlikable, and that’s what really drives this story because while you really want to know what’s going on, you’re not reeeeeally rooting for anyone. Mia, who I would call our main MC, was my favorite of the bunch, probably because I liked her snark and her sarcasm. 😂 My least favorite, for all the obvious reasons when you read this, was Debbie. A character has not given me such anxiety and unnerved me quite like her, lolol. While the characters move the story along, the actual plot was still awesome. It had my true crime sense tingling and I was hooked the whole time. Even though I did figure one of the twists out, it didn’t deter my enjoyment and there were plenty I didn’t see coming.

Big thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing for the advanced copy of this ebook because I’m am THRILLED that I got to read it early. At this point I will read anything John Marrs puts out. He has a forever fan in me and will collect my dollars with each new release. If you’re a JM fan, or even just a thriller fan in general, you’re going to love this. 🖤

4.5 stars, but I'm rounding it up to 5 because...well it deserves it! Frickity frack this was pure, delightful, full on crazy!! I thought my mind was a scary place to live, but if I was sharing space with John Marrs, I'd be casting him some serious side eye and sleeping with many weapons within easy reach - and I mean that all as a compliment!! The twists just kept on coming with this one. I suppose if you've read a lot of this genre, you might spot them coming a mile away, but it didn't change my enjoyment in any way. If you wish to be seriously creeped out and love a good mind @#$%, then pick this one up as soon as you can!!!

I love a John Marrs books and this one does not disappoint. The characters get under your skin, it twists and turns and keeps you reading ‘just one more page’. Highly highly recommended