This was such a wild ride from the first page to the last, and though it's a relatively common twist, I do have to say that I truly didn't see it coming. I think that's the talent and the sheer power of voice of Catherine Steadman shining through. I genuinely enjoyed the main character and her narrative, and following along as she connected the dots and played along with the "family games." She was strong, but in a realistic way, and she fought for herself and her future family in a way that made me feel like I was fighting alongside her!

This was such a quick read, I read it over the course of one 2.5 hour flight from Denver to Columbus! Such a good read, and I'm glad It's getting to recognition it deserves!

The family game was definitely a fun fast paced thriller. Everyone has a secret and winning the game keeps your secret safe. But whose secret is the worst. I’ve read books by Catherine Steadman and this by far was her best yet.

This book is the cure for any reading slump. If you enjoyed watching Ready or Not or Knives Out, then you need to pick up this book immediately. We follow our main character Harriet, who goes by Harry. She's recently engaged and planning a wonderful life with her fiance, a member of a very wealthy and odd family. She hasn't met them at the beginning of the book, but that changes quickly. What happens after that is a rollercoaster of quirky family events and danger. I cannot recommend this book enough. It is full of twists and turns, dark humor, and so many buried secrets. Fantastic book!

If you want creepy, old rich family secrets, murder, mystery, suspense and thrills…then I’m here to tell you, you have struck absolute GOLD!!

Rich people sure like their games, and they like em to be deadly and scary..that is what Harry is finding out. Engaged to Edward and expecting their first child, Harry is introduced to the Holbeck family and is not to thrilled after the first couple of interactions. This family is a powerful one. They can move mountains with a simple phone call. Edwards father Robert slips Harry a cassette tape and that’s when the crazy story of murder begins. What is true and what isn’t?

This story was soo good and had I not had school work to be completed I would have finished this ages ago. It’s one of those stories that will keep you up at night. A whodunnit filled with so much depth. I thoroughly enjoyed! Very well written and researched, I highly recommend this read! Five stars all the way!!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. Quick read that kept me guessing. The story quickly unfolds as an event that Harry has. The story then is told in a timeline that leads up to the event. It was hard to put the book down as I wanted to see what would happen next. Definitely recommend !

Oh how I wanted to love this one. I tried to pick it up several times but couldn't really get into it. My last attempt had me reading 50% of the book and realizing that I didn't want to finish it.

This book like many others pointed out reminded me the film Ready or Not. However overall this book wasn’t for me. Way too many odd surprises and plot points.

This one was not for me but i have seen plenty who love it! Was excited to see it as a BOTM pick as well.

I'm gonna keep this review fairly short because all anyone needs to know is that The Family Game by Catherine Steadman is a super fun, fast thriller. I have read all the book this author has written and they vary between 3 and 4 stars. This one is easily a 4 star read. I couldn't put it down. Mind you, there were times I was screaming at the main character's questionable judgements, but not enough to ruin my enjoyment of the story. This book screams "Lifetime Movie" which we can all enjoy for what it is. Catherine Steadman is a must read author for me and this book was no exception to her catalogue of hits.

This was my second Catherine Steadman book, and I will say it was my favorite so far. Let me just say, this is a WILD read but fun and really good!! Once the book fully gets going, you really don’t want to put it down because you have to know how it ends. If you enjoyed ‘Ready or Not’ this is definitely the book for you. I was truly wanting the best outcome for Harry (Harriet).
Thank you to NetGalley for the option to read it before it was released!

Oh my how to review with out giving things away. This was a fun wild ride but I can see why it has so many mixed reviews. This was a total BSC type of book that you have to completely suspend your beliefs and reality and just go with it. Felt like a cross of Knives Out and Ready or Not.

Harry a novelist is engaged to Edward who is part of a high society family that he is estranged from. His father contacts Harry and from that meeting she begins to get pulled into the family along with their family get togethers and traditions. This would make a great fun winter read in front of the fire when you need a break from heavy reading and want a crazy type thriller.

5/5
I had been in a bit of a reading slump and couldn't find something I could connect with until THE FAMILY GAME by Catherine Steadman came along.

The story follows Harriet Reed on the bring of literary stardom, newly engaged to Edward Holbeck a man that comes from a long line of generational wealth and a family with its own sordid history. As Harriet dives into the family a bit further she learns that the family is full of secrets that she learns from a tape recorder her future father-in-law gives her upon meeting her for the first time. Harriet however, is no angel, she has a secret of her own that is threatened to be exposed if she doesn't engage in playing the family fame that Christmas. a game where winner gets to keep their prize (secret) and expose the air the rest of the families dirty laundry.

On Christmas eve they embark on their game looking for clues in the mansion grounds where things take a turn and Harriet realizes just how far some people will go to win the prize.. Harriet however is a survivor and will do whatever it takes to protect herself and the future of her family.

Told in first person POV this book was fast paced, fresh and engaging. I really enjoyed the short chapters that made this seem like a quick read and the smaller paragraphs that kept the page dynamic (yes I'm a book nerd that enjoys the way the layout to a page looks lol) If you liked GOOD RICH PEOPLE, you'll also very much enjoy this. It's also set around Thanksgiving, Krumpus and Christmas it also felt very right now which was an added bonus.
OUT NOW!
Thank you Penguim Randomhouse for the galley/hardcover book

The Family Game by Catherine Steadman is a psychological thriller about an extremely wealthy, powerful family, The Holbecks, who have family secrets hidden. When Harriet, Harry, gets engaged to Edward, the eldest son and heir to the Holbeck fortune, she enters the fabulous and secretive world of the elite rich. When her fiancés powerful father gives her a tape of a book he has written, which discusses a crime that was committed, Harry is unsure whether this is true. Is the family trying to see if they can trust her? Or is this a sick game?

4 1/2 stars!

I very much enjoyed the premise of this book. I was immediately drawn to the family and curious about the secrets that they have kept hidden. I am always intrigued by families that are super rich and that dives into the secret world of the elite. I liked that you never knew who you should believe. I also really liked all the “games” that the family played in this book. They seemed innocuous but were much more sinister underneath. It was extremely fun to read and follow the clues. It gave me “Ready or Not” the movie vibes. I could not wait to find out the ending of this book. I needed to know what all the secrets the family was hiding were. No one in this family was innocent.

I also liked the holiday aspect of the book. Both Thanksgiving and Christmas are in this book and the Krampus part of Christmas was very interesting (and quite terrifying) to read about. It’s weird to say but this would be a good thriller to read around the holiday season, especially since, in my reading, it’s hard to find a thriller that takes place during the holiday season.

Another one of the aspects of this book that I enjoyed even though it is small was chapter titles. Books I read normally don’t have chapter titles and it was a nice touch when reading this book. I also loved that this book has short chapters. It makes for easy stopping points and a quick, fast-paced read.

There were a few small things that didn’t totally add up in this story, but I still enjoyed every second of it. I also kind of started to figure out one of the twists as the story was going along although there were parts that still surprised me. It was a wild ride that I enjoyed being a part of. I would definitely recommend this book!

Thank you so much NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Horrifying, absurd, and an absolute good time. The Family Game is Catherine Steadman's fictional take on rich in-laws and the games they play. We've all heard of the in-laws who don't welcome in new partners very easily and believe in good family names, but the Holbecks take it a step further. They seem to love their son and brother, Edward's, new fiancee, Harry, but lurking behind their closed doors are a series of tests. Presented as games, Harry must use her thriller writing skills and adept survival techniques to survive the Holbeck's games that teeter on the edge of life or death.

You've got to suspend your reality a bit, but once you do, The Family Game is a darn good, addictive read. It feels wordy at first, with full descriptions that don't seem to jive with the story at first, but after completing the read I feel like Steadman was giving us time to breathe before the novel took off at lightspeed. With complex characters, a well-developed plot, and twists you cannot possibly see coming, The Family Game is an over-the-top fictional thriller that is impossible to put down. Steadman pulled out all the stops for this novel, capturing all your usual character tropes and plot points that drive a thriller, while blending in a horror storyline that seeps in slowly and then takes over. Unpredictable and as wild as a circus, The Family Game took me by surprise and is totally worth the read.

"The Family Game" was unlike any family games that I have ever played. This book was a quick read that kept me wanting to know what would happen next. The twists surprised me, which always makes for a good thriller.

Harry, a successful British author, falls in love with Edward of the rich and powerful American Holbeck family empire. They quickly become engaged and expecting. In an attempt to fit in and be accepted by her soon-to-be new family, Harry must begrudgingly partake in the Holbecks’ silly and surprisingly dangerous family games and traditions. Robert Holbeck, the head of the family, is trying to send her an important message about the family through recorded cassette tapes he slips her in private — but is he a friend or a foe?

I enjoyed this one, even though I pretty much anticipated the “twist” and it didn’t have the same shock value with me as others have been raving about. It was a very slow burn and it took me a while to get into but the pedal was to the metal in the last 25% or so and that is where the thrill and action was.

A big thank you to NetGalley, Random House Ballantine, and Catherine for an advance reader’s copy of this title! I was so excited to see it was a Book of the Month pick.

While noted in other reviews, THE FAMILY GAME comes across as something akin to the movie Ready or Not. And... yes... but also no. But that in no way means this is not an enjoyable thriller full of some good twists. I also love reading about the trials and tribulations of narcissistic rich people in these family suspense thrillers. Something about the over the top, luxurious drama of it all! This book will definitely score more ambiance points if read on a cold December night, maybe even closer to the holidays. It creeps up on you and is a pretty good time. It is an entertaining ride!

Although I found this novel difficult to get into, I ended up really enjoying it! I was enthralled by the characters and their world. Highly recommend!

decent read with an interesting concept. The action scenes were very descriptive which made them slightly hard to follow. I would recommend overall

The Family Game by Catherine Steadman

Harry is a novelist who is in the process of finishing her second book. Her first book did really well for her. She meets Edward and he is wealthy from American old money. She moves to New york with Edward. Everything seems so perfect for this couple. Harry then gets to meet the family which they like to play strange holiday games. Some of them scared the hell out of me especially the one for Halloween. Anyways Harry is drawn Edward's father Robert Holbecks. Edward is estrange from the family he is making his own way in life and he is the eldest son of Robert Holbeck and is set to inherit it all this is how the inheritance works. At first Harry is welcomed with open arms by the family. The games they play are so strange but there is a reason for the games.

This was fast paced so much family dynamics and how money plays into wealthy families was interesting. I liked the character of Harry and her trying to figure out what was on the tape and get to the bottom of the mystery in this family. Why did Robert give Harry the tape? What is the deal with the games for the holidays? You need to read this complex family drama with a mystery to be solved.

I enjoyed this one I liked the twists in the games and the ending of the story. I like the dynamics between everyone in the family and I like how Harry has strength that helps her persevere over everything. I recommend this book to people who like family drama books with a mystery. The games this family plays is well worth the read. I cannot wait for the next book from Catherine Steadman. This is the first time I believe I haven't read something of Mrs. Steadman and l am looking forward to future books.

Thank you to NettGalley and Random House Publishing Group Ballantine books for a free copy of this book for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.