Harriet, who has just published a wildly successful novel, has emigrated to the United States to be with the love of her life, Edward. Edward comes from a very wealthy “old money” family from whom he has been estranged. The family hopes that Harriet will bring Edward back into the fold. But, they are a family who likes dangerous games, starting with a tape that the patriarch gives her. Will Harriet succeed at the games and will her long held secret remain just that….secret?

A lot of readers really liked this book. I liked the atmospheric writing and enjoyed that it was a quick, engrossing read. However, I thought the storyline a bit much. There is a saying “the rich are different”. Are they really THAT different? As the action spirals downward to the ending, which was not a surprise, I felt the entire story deteriorated. And don’t get me started on Harriet’s careless treatment of the tape.

I have to point out that I am a reader who does not like to suspend belief when I read. Those who are comfortable doing this will probably like the book much more than I did. I have enjoyed Steadman’s books in the past and will certainly seek out her next one.

Really had me on the edge of my seat. I could not put this book down. It was geniusly written with well thought out characters, plots, and suspense. Catherine Steadman has a fan in me for life. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next. Bravo on a great read!

Holy moly, this book is all kinds of crazy! Completely out of the norm, The Family Game takes the ‘meet the parents’ trope, adds some locked room horror and a dash of Holiday spirit to create one of the most talked about books of the year! The game played by the family is definitely not one you can add to your Amazon cart, and I promise you won’t want to!

I swear, I was totally immersed in this one. The two main characters, Harry (Harriette) and Edward are easy to like and have a seemingly perfect relationship but you can tell from the very beginning that something sinister lies beneath.

Catherine writes these characters so vividly, it is easy to believe they could be a real family…making what happens even more horrific. Upon meeting her, Ed’s father, Richard, gives Harry a tape to listen to. Richard is surprisingly warm and welcoming although Harry has heard he will be the hardest of the brood to win over. Because Harry is a novelist, Richard says the tape is a novel he has been working on and he wants her to listen to it and let him know what she thinks. The only catch is, no one else can know about it…not even Edward.

As Harry listens to Richard describe a murder, she realizes this is definitely not a novel — it’s a confession. What has she gotten herself into? The more time she spends with the family, the crazier this book gets. I was intrigued by the different traditional games they play together and how they think they could be normal. They’re definitely NOT.

All the twists and turns leading up to the heart-pounding finale could not prepare me for what happened. It absolutely blew me away! I really hope this one gets picked up for a movie adaptation and soon! I’m ready!


#qotd - Do you have any family traditions you participate in over the Holidays?

The Family Game, by Catherine Steadman, is a spell-binding, absolutely captivating thriller that is wholly unique, pulse-pounding, and well-written. I find some mysteries to be convoluted at times, and complex to the point of confusing. The Family Game is not that way. It’s layered and intricate, full of secrets and surprises, but also easy to follow and understand. It is loaded with twists and turns and I was riveted to every page of this fast-paced mystery.

Harriet is an author who is newly engaged to uber-wealthy magnate, Edward Holbreck. As close as they are, she has yet to meet his family. Edward has warned her that not only is he somewhat estranged from his family, but they also are highly unusual and like to play games…games that are more than good old fun. As Harriet gets to know the family, she finds them eccentric, but rather delightful and a much needed stand-in for the family she lost long ago. However, the more time she spends with them, the more disturbing and dangerous these unconventional games seem to be, and merely covers for secrets that are much, much darker.

Suspenseful to the last, I found this novel to be thoroughly entertaining, unusual and fun. It’s definitely one of my favorites of the year!

Thank you to the author, publisher and Net Galley for providing a free ebook ARC of this title in exchange for my review.

I think it's time for me to 'break up' with this author. I've tried her previous books and haven't really enjoyed them, and only chose this one for the hype and the fact that it was supposed to be DIFFERENT from the others. IT really wasn't. I'm not a fan.

I'm not sure what this book wants to be. It feels a bit like a romance and a little like a thriller, but doesn't really pull of either genre. I suppose it's ok, maybe if you don't read a lot of thrillers, but for me it felt like a waste of time.

2 stars for 'it was ok'.

The Family Game by Catherine Steadman is a real page-turner and a game that I do not want to play! Get your copy now! Thanks to Net Galley for the copy.

Read/Listen If You Like:
🔪 Mysteries and Thrillers
📖 Short Chapters
👨‍👩‍👧‍👧 Messy Family Dynamics
🧩 Scary Games
⏳ Cat and Mouse
💰 Powerful & Rich Families
🗽 Books Set in New York

Book Review:
This book absolutely had me on the edge of my seat for basically the entirety of the book! It was just so well done!

We get introduced to our main character Harry (Harriet) who is newly engaged to Edward which means it is time to meet his wildly rich, eccentric, and possibly murderous family… and on top of that, she finds out she is pregnant… and has secrets of her own she wants to stay hidden.

I loved the absolutely well done game of cat and mouse that she finds herself in and how you think you are putting all the pieces of this insane family together to realize that you didn’t really have anything figured out… the twist at the end was one I never saw coming and that is a tribute to how well this was written and all the deniability but with none of the concerns about plot holes.

I will absolutely be reading more from this author in the future as this is one of my recent favorites! Thank you Ballantine books for the ARC of this one in exchange for my honest review!

The Family Gams

I really liked this…. I thought I had The Who done it aspect figured out but then halfway through I kind of lost it.

I thought there were so many creepy parts to this story that left me on edge which is exactly what you want in a thriller like this.

I think it’s one of the best thrillers I’ve read/listened to in a while and honestly the first I have read in a bit. But it was so fast paced and a lot happening it drew me in and made me want to keep listening.

I thought the narration and directing of the audio was great! I loved how for the parts of the recording they made it sound as if a tape player was being played as well as the phone calls were muffled in sense as if listening to someone else answering a call. It really brought the whole book to life in a new way.

I will say the “games” and the ending felt a bit far fetched / unbelievable but sometimes with thrillers I don’t mind that.

I liked the aspect of this person coming into a family with loads of money that can easily make any problem go away.

I loved that she was a writer and it gave me Verity vibes.

I will say this is definitely a favorite of mine by this author.

“Everyone’s got a book in them, as the saying goes. Though sometimes that’s probably where it should stay.”

This one was a ride! A super fun one at that.

Our main character, Harry, was a tough chick and I loved her even if she were a little oblivious to the world.

I also give her credit for sticking it out so long in this weird family. If I were ever invited to an event like their "Krampusnacht" and had an almost strangers child pee on me while ALSO running for my life from some giant, I'd never show my face again.

This family was always into some crazy event and it was apparent by all of their personalities. But what went from just being fun quickly turned into a game of cat and mouse with Harry being the main target.

She did everything she could to keep the Patriarch of the family off her back and try to figure out how to handle his confessions but also doing what she needs to do and I think she managed SUPER well.

Harry quickly dove into the mystery of the tape figuring out the puzzle and putting her pieces together. Quickly she realized the big Christmas even was also the big reveal and the night she'd either take control and take down the father of the family OR her life would end there. Either way, she wanted to make sure her fiancé who's been nothing but kind and caring towards her in regards to his weird family, got out unscathed...as Harry has a secret and daddy war bucks knows what it is.

Clearly we all know how that goes otherwise this boom wouldn't have been as long as it was.

The reason this didn't get five stars from me was because I knew right away what the twist was and what was going on BUT I really did enjoy the way Catherine Steadman played it out. She did a phenomenal job on ALL of the characters and literally NONE of them, Harry included, were what they seemed.

The end result was fantastic and I was really pleased with the development.

I'd definitely read more from this author and recommend you give this one a try!

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Ballantine Books , for providing this digital ARC with me in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book came out on October 18th and has quickly travelled to the top lists. Make sure you get your hands on it too!

Please check out this review (publishing 10/28) and many others on my blog, sweetbooksomine.com

There was just something about The Family Game by Catherine Steadman that I really liked. Although it was a slow burn getting to the actual meat of the story, it was certainly fast paced with just enough tension and suspense to hold my attention.

After Edward and Harriet get engaged, she meets his estranged family who will do anything to reel Edward back into the family. Seriously, this family is off their rocker dysfunctional and it is no surprise why Edward wants nothing to do with them. They have some strange and terrifying traditions and games they play, with the ultimate goal of lording the secrets of the family members over their heads. Harriet has no idea if she will fit into this rich and powerful family, but she loves Edward so much that she wants to stick it out, no matter how crazy they get. A couple of little things that kept it from being five stars: one of the secondary characters gets written out before all the action (maybe that was a good thing) and the book definitely goes off the rails with the conclusion. It was a lot of fun getting there, though, with a couple red herrings and a bunch of secrets and lies to keep you guessing. The whole over the top, deranged family drama really did it for me.

This book had me hooked! Fish out of water author, Harriet, has traded her English homeland for the United States where her fiance runs a company and is a member of a rich and affluent family that he cautiously associates with. When Harriet is tricked into meeting her future in laws at Thanksgiving her fiance’s father gives her an audiotape for her ears only. Listening to the first part of the tape, Harriet quickly finds herself involved in a family that is far sinister than their public persona and leaves her asking herself if she really wants to be a part of them. This book was a fast read and definitely kept me wanting to read more. I didn’t love the twist but enjoyed the journey to get there. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced ecopy of the book for an honest review.

This book contains murder, dysfunctional family dynamics and Christmas, three of my absolute favorite things.

The Family Game was a delight from start to finish. I'd describe it as a mashup between the horror movie Ready or Not and the Hallmark Christmas movie The Christmas House 2: Deck Those Halls. Does that sound like a mashup of ridiculousness? Yes. Yes, it does. But this book handles that ridiculousness the only way it can be handled: by not taking itself too seriously.

You can feel the fun Steadman had writing this novel while you read each chapter. In turn, I had a blast with this book. It is the best dysfunctional family/murder/Christmas story I didn't know I needed. But now that I've read it, I want to read more just like it! I am going to read all of Steadman's backlist and any future works she publishes from now on.

This book is a popcorn thriller, but it has enough depth and unpredictable twists to position it at the top of all popcorn thrillers. I read it in one sitting. As long as you allow yourself to suspend your disbelief, you're in for a murderous and magical (Christmas magic) ride.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for this e-galley in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed The Family Game. I've been describing it as a cross between HBO's Succession and Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier.

I love a good Gothic and I felt this was an updated version of a woman marrying into a family that has some secrets. At the end the story took a turn into horror, which is not my ideal read, but I still found this a lot of fun to read.

Harriet “Harry” Reed has a meet-cute at a publisher’s party with Edward Holbeck, scion of the filthy-rich family that got its start in the Robber Baron era. Harry’s first novel is being published and it’s a huge hit. Naturally, the publisher wants a second novel ASAP, but Harry’s got a little bit of writer’s block and a lot of romance going on.

When Edward pulls out all the romance stops to propose to Harry at the skating rink at Rockefeller Plaza just before Thanksgiving, she’s overwhelmed and excited. But now it’s time to meet the family. She’s to start with Edward’s sister, Matilda, as the least intimidating, but even with that first meeting alarm bells go off. This is a seriously powerful family, used to getting what they want. They want Edward back in the bosom of the family and its business, and they want Harry to help with that. Is that all? It would seem not.

Harry receives a mysterious tape from Robert, Edward’s father, that seems to reveal a horrifying secret about the family—but also knowledge of a terrible secret of Harry’s. What does Robert want from her? What will she have to do to keep her secret safe?

Over the next few weeks, there are numerous Holbeck get-togethers, each of which reveals that this is one dangerously messed-up family. But Harry carries on until Christmas, when the whole family gets together at their remote country estate and plays a very dangerous game of hide and seek.

The good news is that the Christmas climax is heart-thumpingly thrilling. The bad news is that what keeps the plot running is a volume-knob-turned-to-11 level of annoying. The whole crazy story could come to a screeching halt if Harry just spilled the beans to somebody—oh, like maybe the retired cop she uses as a crime consultant. Or the police. Or any number of people. But no, of course not. This is one of those books where I was constantly muttering curses at the protagonist.

If you can suspend a very heavy weight of disbelief, you might enjoy the wild action of the denouement.

They say you can't choose your family, but Harriet Reed's choice to marry into the Holbeck family will stay with her forever...

After moving to New York, writer Harriet Reed is engaged to Edward Holbeck, successful businessman and eldest son in a very rich, well known and well connected family. As Harriet is brought into the Holbeck family, she participates in their "games" which are strange to say the least. But after receiving a tape from patriarch Robert Holbeck with a shocking confession, the long game may be the hardest of all.

I read A LOT of mysteries/thrillers but the description of this book intrigued me enough to read it (which is saying something about my 300+ book TBR list.) I have read part of Catherine's "Something in the Water" and I do enjoy the author's pacing - which carried into this book. I found it easy to breeze through my copy and enjoyed the read for the most part. This would be a great late fall/winter read. I liked the author's descriptions of the characters - they felt very real and you were able to understand and empathize with them. I did not guess "the big twist" correctly and for that, Catherine deserves praise.

Without getting into spoilers, there were two elements of this book that I didn't enjoy. They didn't bother me enough to stop reading, but they were enough to get a little "cringe" when they came up in the book. Overall, I look forward to Catherine's next book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books (Random House Publishing Group) for my digital advance copy of "The Family Game" by Catherine Steadman in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars!

Catherine Steadman's "The Family Game" is a gripping mystery with interesting, complex characters and a terrific narrative that's riveting and quick to unfold. I felt like I *was* Harriet, chasing down leads and trying to figure out of my future father-in-law could be a seriously bad dude who has essentially confessed, on tape, to many crimes. Could he just be messing with her and testing her to see if she's good enough for his son Edward? Or is he a cold-blooded billionaire who will do anything for his family?

Steadman has such a visceral, descriptive writing style that I could see this story playing out right in front of me. Since I am relatively new to the mystery and thriller genres, I found this book to be relentless, bizarre, confusing, twisted, and scary, all in a good way. It's a cat-and-mouse game and a battle of wits all rolled into one, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Solid twists, too! I will definitely put Catherine Steadman on my authors-to-auto-buy list! Great stuff here.

Thank you to NetGalley, Catherine Steadman, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and Ballantine Books for providing me with an ARC copy of this book! All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for my review.

🔪 REVIEW 🔪 The Family Game

Out October 18, the latest from @catsteadman is a must read for your spooky season TBR! Harry is dating a very handsome man from one of the most influential families in the world, the Holbecks. A story of success, family secrets, and lies The Family Game proves that not everyone is who they appear on the surface.

This book is twisty, and clever with a unique blend of characters. The Holbecks are a force to be reckoned with, a family so powerful they will stop at nothing to ensure family secrets stay hidden to protect the family’s reputation. Outsiders are kept at a distance, heavily vetted, and very few get close enough to see what it means to be a Holbeck. However, Harry has secrets of her own and will do anything to protect them.

Steadman has crafted an interesting family with their own bizarre traditions, where family “games” turn into a fight for your life and a reminder that some family secrets are best left alone. Thank you @penguinrandomhouse and NetGalley for this ARC!

4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

At last, proof that the two scariest things on earth are in fact Krampus and billionaires.

This is a fantastically fun and creepy inheritance-driven murder mystery, a thriller and a gothic novel in one.

This is the story I always want out of books like this, and there are many that play off of this trope. What I wanted out of The Hunting Party, Inheritance Games, heck, even The Westing Game is what I finally got here in The Family Game.

It’s creepy, atmospheric, and suspenseful. It also relies on that sense of atmosphere and menace rather than anything overtly grotesque to engage the reader, which is what makes a good suspense novel a great one, at least to me.

Though I guessed the “twist” relatively early, it’s still a good one that feeds the plot well, providing a satisfying way to conclude the story and preventing the novel from suffering what most like it do:: the big letdown of a big reveal.

I’ve been up and down on Catherine Steadman’s work, but this one is excellent, perhaps her best to date. Its Succession meets The Westing Game meets The House of the Seven Gables, and it’s terrifically eerie and fun.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦Book Review👨‍👩‍👧‍👦
*
Summary: THE RULES
1. Listen carefully
2. Do your research
3. Trust no one
4. Run for your life

Harriet Reed, a novelist on the brink of literary stardom, is newly engaged to Edward Holbeck, the heir of an extremely powerful family. And even though Edward has long tried to severe ties with them, news of the couple’s marital bliss has the Holbecks inching back into their lives.

As Harriet is drawn into their lavish world, the family seems perfectly welcoming. So when Edward’s father, Robert, hands Harriet a tape of a book he’s been working on, she is desperate to listen.

But as she presses play, it’s clear that this isn’t just a novel. It’s a confession.

A confession to a grisly crime. A murder. And, suddenly, the game is in motion.

Feeling isolated and confused, Harriet must work out if this is part of a plan to test her loyalty. Or something far darker. What is it that Robert sees in her? Why give her the power to destroy everything?

This might be a game to the Holbeck family—but losing might still prove deadly.
*
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
*
My thoughts: thank you so much @catsteadman @netgalley for the advanced copy of The Family Game! This one released last week and I absolutely loved it ! A 5 star thriller with the craziest character and concept. I was absolutely hooked and addicted to finding out what happened next! There are some definite comparison online to the movie Ready or Not but I think it was way better! A wild twist I didn’t see coming with a crazy rich family. Very fun, can’t recommend this one enough!

Harry is a writer & newly engaged to Edward Holbeck, whose family is the epitome of old money and success. though Edward has recently severed ties with the family, their engagement has them eager to make amends.

meeting the family for the first time, Harry is struck not only by the family’s house and fortune, but by Edward’s father, Robert. upon asking for a word in private, Robert hands Harry a cassette tape with undisclosed secrets that leave Harry both intrigued and chilled to her core.

as Harry makes it through the entirety of Robert’s tape, she must continue to act normally around Edward and his family, participating in holiday gatherings and their family’s unsettling games and traditions. Harry doesn’t know what Robert’s end game is, but she does know all too well what it’s like to have a secret, and how far people will go to keep their secrets from being revealed.

i was super into this book! i thought the characters were interesting and the plot was suspenseful throughout. i breezed through this bc I was dying to know what was on that tape! Steadman did a great job keeping her audience intrigued with the slow burn of this book, taking her time to expose all of the tape’s secrets and leaving her audience desperate to find out.

my overall thoughts about this one was pretty similar to her book ‘Something in the Water’; I was super entertained throughout, and I liked both endings, though I thought they were a bit unrealistic and far-fetched. i kinda saw the twist of The Family Game coming at the very end, but I think Steadman threw in a few clues along the way to lead you there so you’d figure out the twist around the same time as Harry. there were some aspects of the story I thought were a little unnecessary or unresolved, but nothing that would make or break the story.

this is definitely a fun suspense for those who like a little family drama & want to read about some bizarre traditions (it’s also a perfect holiday read for when you’ve had enough Christmas spirit or need a break from all the family time) 😇

thank you to @netgalley, @catsteadman & @randomhouse for my advanced reader’s copy! this book is out now!