3.5 ⭐️

While I mostly enjoyed this book, the first 60% of it was definitely not a thriller. Maybe a little bit of a mystery, but overall, a lot of background and build up for not a ton of payoff. The action was pretty good, but by the time it got there I feel like it was super rushed and could have played out longer.

I think this would be a good read for people who are new to reading thrillers, but it was a little predictable for me towards the end.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Okay so. I really like the ~idea of this one. I think it’s an interesting concept and the story itself was quite good.

But y’all. The main character was so *painfully* dumb that it made this a less than enjoyable read. Half the book was just unnecessary because the main character couldn’t use her brain for five minutes to do what any rational person would’ve. (Just finish the whole tape????? It’s not that hard??? Everything you’re wondering is on there; I promise.)

But here's what frustrated me most: First of all. Harry not listening to the whole tape. ....What? It absolutely infuriated me that she spent so long looking for the nanny when she did not need to. I also couldn't even figure out how she guessed it was the nanny? I immediately assumed the blonde was a girlfriend and went back and read a chunk to see why she thought it was the nanny. I couldn't figure it out. And then she learned exactly nothing from the nanny?? So the whole process of finding her and talking to her is about 50 pages that are TOTALLY UNNECESSARY to this story.

What I wish would've happened with this story is that she would've listened to the whole tape in one go and then the rest of the book would've been just a giant mind game with Robert where he maybe asked her to do some strange things. Instead this was just a scavenger hunt for information that Harry ALREADY HAD IN HER POSSESSION but was too dumb to actually find. Oh and she's supposed to be a thriller writer?!? So that's extra bad????? She writes thrillers but can't be bothered to complete obvious, simple tasks? I never, ever want to read a thriller she's written.

Anyway. If this had been approached a bit differently, I think I would’ve liked it more? But the more I read and the more I put actual thought into it, the less I liked this. I just can’t get past a dumb main character. It makes for a really frustrating, predictable read.

But. That being said. The ending was… a lot but it almost made up for the painful middle chunk? So I don’t know. This was a confusing, frustrating experience. I liked some things but some parts of this were just so… bad. I’m mostly glad to be done and moving on to other things.

I have enjoyed other books by this author so I’ll still keep her on my radar and pick up her future efforts. But unfortunately this was just a miss for me.

Anyway, thank you to NetGalley and Random House for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review!

I really like this author and was excited to receive this ARC! Unlike her others, this one took me a minute to get into. Once I did, I could barely put it down. Harriet is marrying into a super-rich, EXTREMELY dysfunctional family, and they like to play The Family Game. And let's just leave it at that. I appreciated the different storyline and fast pace. The only things I didn't like were the slow start and Harriet took a bit to get into. Kind of bland but she grew on me. Overall, a really entertaining read.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Catherine Steadman and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

What's it about (in a nutshell):
The Family Game by Catherine Steadman is a psychological thriller about a wealthy family that enjoys its secrets and games.

Initial Expectations (before beginning the book):
I know this book is a psychological/domestic thriller, so I'm hoping for a fast-paced story that will shock me with surprising twists and turns.

Actual Reading Experience:
I hardly know what to say about The Family Game. It's so dark and disturbing that it genuinely leaves me speechless. Have you ever read The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell? You may have read it in school. I know I did. In it, a big game hunter ends up on an island where he becomes the hunted. Give that story a family twist and a different setting, and you will have something close to The Family Game.

It's the story of a wealthy family and the games they like to play – games that definitely have a substantial element of darkness that will make you wonder about each and every family member. The games are what make the pace explode until you can't turn the pages fast enough to see if anyone makes it through the games alive.

The writing homes in on just the right elements of suspense and describes them in such a way that I felt I was there watching it all unfold. Safely and from a distance, of course, because you couldn't have paid me any amount of money to play. There are some gaps in the plot, but with everything going on, I didn't think twice about ignoring them and just following the story where it took me.

There are surprising twists and turns as well, which I always love. I didn't expect the story to turn out as it did. I wasn't sure how this tale would turn out at any point, and I just let the story happen. I always enjoy a thriller more when I take this reading stance, and it didn't let me down this time.

Characters:
Harry (Harriet) is an author who writes psychological or domestic thrillers, as near as I can tell. She was orphaned as a child and lived a very independent life as an adult. She has no family, so when she meets and falls in love with Edward, she can't wait to meet and be part of his rather large one. Harry is likable even though she mentions that she's keeping secrets more than once. Character development is non-existent in this story, so I never felt like I knew her or any of the other characters very well.

Narration & Pacing:
The story is told in first-person narration by Harry, which works well. She keeps her own secrets from the reader and doesn't know everyone else's secrets. So, the reader gets to experience those revelations as Harry does.

The pace is rapid, and the plot is focused. It definitely could and should be called a page-turner because those pages do turn quickly. I enjoyed the pace most of all the aspects of note in this book.

Setting:
The setting is New York, with most of the story happening at the Holbeck's family estate outside the city. With the estate set up as it was with a maze and plenty of nooks and crannies, it was perfect for a story about dangerous family games.

Read it if you like:
• Disturbing domestic/psychological thrillers
• Fast-Paced stories
• Shocking twists and turns
• The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell

I was excited to be reading some fiction after a trinary reading spell of unpleasant nonfiction. I knew Catherine Steadman was a Reese’s Book Club author for Something in the Water so although I haven’t read it yet her new book The Family Game caught my eye. I was looking forward to a thriller and this book no doubt delivered thrilling content.

This book revolves around a British author Harriet who is newly engaged to Edward, a member of one of the most prestigious American old money families. This book kind of gave me The Gilded Age vibes as I imagined the Holbecks, but the similarities mostly stop there. The Holbecks have some really interesting and bizarre family traditions. This book is set near the holidays mostly from Thanksgiving to Christmas and the weird games that the family plays in honor of these events.

This book was definitely suspenseful but some of the content was just so outlandish it was hard to imagine it being real and therefore wasn’t as convincing. The twist wasn’t quite so obvious until the end and did keep me guessing a while so I was definitely invested in the mystery element but some of the drama was just due to these ridiculous scenarios.

Also, I found the narrator, Harriet, to be kind of blah and boring. She didn’t have a huge personality that really captivated me. I always find it funny how many characters are authors in books. I get that people write what they know but doesn’t anyone ever want to get creative? This character was especially meta as she was writing a thriller about the family which was exactly what we were reading.

All in all this book did bring me out of my funk and I enjoyed it overall, it just didn’t have a five star quality to it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an ARC of this book.

Playing games with family is fun, right?

Harry, a novelist and her finance, Edward, a successful businessman are happy together. They each have a bright future career wise and look forward to the years to come as a couple. So, it is only natural that Edward would want Harry to meet his family - the Holbecks. Yes, those Holbecks! The family that is the epidemy of old money in America. They have power and can pull whatever strings they want or need pulled. They have their hands in everything and leave no stone left unturned. Their wealth is immense, and Edward is going to inherit everything! Naturally, they would want to know more about the woman Edward is going to marry.

The family welcomes Harry into their fold. Sure, they are a little intense, but Harry can live with that. Then Edward's father asks for a private meeting and gives Harry a shocking and disturbing cassette tape. Why?

Then there are the games. This family is not the board game playing family. Their games are quite different. Games where the stakes are high and there is only one winner.

With a writing deadline looming and Christmas coming, Harry is feeling the pressure. Plus, let’s not forget that cassette tape and the annual family tradition...

This book was a pleasant surprise. I read the book in one day and enjoyed how everything played out from the cassette tape to the interactions with Edward's family. This one kept me on my toes and just when I thought I had things figured out, I was hit with a twist and a reveal. This one goes a little (maybe more than a little) over the top but that is what makes this book fun and hard to put down. I just had to know what was going to happen next!

Fun, full of tension, hard to put down and over the top! An engaging read from cover to cover!

I loved Catherine Steadman's Something in the Water and when my wish was granted for The Family Game, I knew I would love it. What an incredibly twisted story. It had all the elements I love. Incredible suspense, a bit of horror, a dark family secret (or in this case multiple), and a huge family estate. Oh, and an author as the main character.

Each chapter will leave you wanting to move on to the next. There was even one particular scene that I found myself actually scared (if you've read it, you probably know) and I don't scare easily. Steadman's writing brought the characters and scenes to life.

I highly recommend this book!

Thank you Random House - Ballantine and NetGalley for the eARC!
4.5/5 stars

Things are looking bright for British novelist Harriet (Harry) Reed. Her first book is a big hit, and she is close to finishing her second one. Living in New York City, she's head over heels in love with Edward Holbeck, one of the most eligible and wealthy bachelors. Once the couple gets engaged, it is time to meet Edward's uber-wealthy family. Having a family is something Harry craves as she lost both parents in an accident when she was 11 years old. The initial meeting goes well. The Holbecks seem to be not as scary or off-putting as Harry had feared. She even connects with patriarch Robert, who has a difficult relationship with Edward. But Harry soon learns that Edward’s family has a rather unusual holiday tradition of playing games that she needs to participate in. Forget charades. These are odd, scary and possibly dangerous games. As she gets sucked into this strange family’s world, she starts to learn some of their dark secrets, and she fears her own secrets might also get revealed. Let the cat and mouse games begin.

The Family Game is a creative psychological thriller with effective twists and turns. Its author, Catherine Steadman, is also an acclaimed actress and her writing style has a cinematic feel. The action plays out like a tense movie. This is the third book I've read from Steadman, and it is my favorite. It's fast-paced and loaded with suspense. Harry is a very smart, likable character and one to root for as her fairy tale starts falling apart. I enjoyed this hard-to-put-down book.

It takes a bit at the beginning to get interesting, but once it really starts, it doesn't let up. I love how tense this is!

This is without a doubt the most intense psychological thriller I've read this year.

I can't count the times I was shocked by the absolutely masterful storytelling in this book. It took me from one end of the spectrum to the other and back again, I loved it.

Reading this book felt like something from the golden age of film, some moments felt like they had been touched by Christie or Hitchcock, it's stunning and left me wanting more.

Our characters all have a past, one marred by life, love, tragedy, and deceit. It builds who they are and why they do the things they do.

Harry (Harriet) and Edward seem like they're the perfect couple, but as we all know perfection is almost always an illusion.

Through ups and downs that would have broken some people, they both made it through and found each other. However, we must always remember most fairytales are things of nightmares in the beginning and their story is no exception.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for providing an advance copy of this book. I have voluntarily read and reviewed it and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Love that I didn’t see the twist coming! Super easy to read, effortless, easy to recommend! Stedman does it again!

One of the things I find myself thinking after finishing this story is if it seems too good to be true, then it probably is, which is mostly what happens here. Harry is doing well with writing and publishing best-selling novels and has moved from Europe to New York for the man she loves and is hoping to marry. Edward is the heir to a huge fortune as a son in a vastly wealthy family and Harry can't believe he picked her, loves her, and wants to marry her. She, of course, has a secret of her own that she doesn't want him to know either though, but little does she know the secrets that his family holds.
This was a thrilling read. It was an intense psychological thriller, and while it had some twists and turns, I kind of guessed and knew what they were. I knew when the pieces fit together what was happening and I was torn about how I felt about Harry because when I started reading the story; I liked her, but then I found out about her history and questioned her character. I'm still not sure how I feel about her with her past and with what happens, but then this story is very much out of the ordinary for what would normally happen when you meet, get engaged, and plan to marry the guy of your dreams.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine Books for letting me read and review this enticing and edge-of-your-seat thriller. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A rich, eccentric family. A time-honored tradition. Or a lethal game of survival? One woman finds out what it really takes to join the 1% in this riveting psychological thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Something in the Water, Mr. Nobody, and The Disappearing Act.

Harry is a novelist on the brink of stardom; Edward, her husband-to-be, is seemingly perfect. In love and freshly engaged, their bliss is interrupted by the reemergence of the Holbecks, Edward's eminent family and the embodiment of American old money. For years, they've dominated headlines and pulled society's strings, and Edward left them all behind to forge his own path. But there are eyes and ears everywhere. It was only a matter of time before they were pulled back in . . .

After all, even though he's long severed ties with his family, Edward is set to inherit it all. Harriet is drawn to the glamour and sophistication of the Holbecks, who seem to welcome her with open arms, but everything changes when she meets Robert, the inescapably magnetic head of the family. At their first meeting, Robert slips Harry a cassette tape, revealing a shocking confession which sets the inevitable game in motion.

What is it about Harry that made him give her that tape? A thing that has the power to destroy everything? As she ramps up her quest for the truth, she must endure the Holbecks' savage Christmas traditions all the while knowing that losing this game could be deadly.


3.5 stars!

This book totally reminded me of the movie Ready or Not. I really enjoyed it for the most part.


Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing/ Ballantine Books for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

WHAT. A. FINISH. Catherine Steadman has never disappointed me and “The Family Game” was no exception.

A spooky, twisted family saga set in Manhattan & upper state New York. We meet author Harriet Reed in quite the compromised position in the first pages, setting up a thriller storyline only Steadman is capable of. Harriet’s sweet fiancé Edward comes from quite the diabolical family. Between his controlling siblings Matilda, Oliver & Stuart, his mysterious mother Eleanor & disturbed father Robert, we have a difficult time knowing who we can even trust.

As Harriet’s & Edward’s relationship blossoms, it’s apparent his family will do anything they can to keep them apart. Or will they? Pick up this sinister novel today - perfect for reading on spooky October nights!

Pros: This was a fast-paced, plot driven thriller/suspense that I think readers who love that genre will enjoy. I read it in one day.

Cons: Although I enjoyed this reading experience, I don’t think I will remember this book among the many others I read in the thriller/suspense genre.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read this book.

I was really excited for this thriller with a very intriguing synopsis and fun cover but unfortunately didn't love the writing style. I didn't care for the FMC very much and found her inner monologue to be incredibly frustrating to read. It was repetitive and way too much word vomit. The writing style was very "I did this, I said this, I thought about this" and leaving nothing to the imagination or up for reader interpretation. I found a lot of her thoughts to be repeated chapter after chapter and she could not stop freaking thinking about Robert!!

Apart from the FMC, the storyline was mostly intriguing, but the huge twist was really just not surprising at all. The ending also felt rushed and like it jumped to the epilogue way too early. This thriller has some good elements and would be fun to read around the holiday season, but overall I found it to be just okay.

Thank you Ballantine for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Harriet has a bestselling thriller and is newly engaged to Edward, heir to a huge family fortune. While Harriet has some secrets lurking in her past, she has no idea how many secrets simmer just under the surface of Edward’s outwardly gentile family. But then his intimidating and powerful father, Robert, invites Harriet to play The Family Game—and nothing is ever the same again.

“I know I can handle myself—better than most. I have been through too much to doubt that fact. I know I can do what I need to do when my back is to the wall.”

While it takes a while to become a pulse-pounding cat-and-mouse thriller, fully 40% of the book feels like women’s fiction or a romance, it is definitely worth the wait. Once the game begins, it is a perfectly enthralling, compelling, and fast-paced read. I couldn’t stop reading! The Family Game is highly recommended for thriller readers looking for a family-centric plot. 5 stars and a favorite!

Thanks to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.

Thriller

Another stellar story from Steadman!

A woman with a past, a man estranged from his billionaire family, a marriage, lots of family secrets all combine for a blockbuster of a mystery/thriller.

Harriet Reed is about to marry into the Holbeck family - think old, old money from the Industrial Age in America. There is a problem - Harriet is a novelist from England with a past secret no one can know. Her fiance, Edward, has been distanced from his family and is very cryptic about the why. When she looks into Edward's past there are some mysterious events surrounding his former girlfriends. Edward's father drops a bombshell on her as well. Writing mysteries is her forte, but is the truth stranger and more deadly than fiction? Harriet has to find out before she becomes part of the family.

I loved this novel. Steadman keeps the tension high throughout. The plotting was great and I was motivated and intrigued to turn pages quickly. Was it perfect - no. Did I guess the "whodunnit" - yes, but there were enough twists that I didn't see coming that I was engaged to the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC of this novel.

Harriet, a British author, lives in New York with her fiance, Edward. They live a life of bliss until Edward's family, the Holbecks, seek to bring Edward back into their fold. The Holbecks are full of mystery and intrigue, old American money and a castle like home in the Hudson valley. They have power and connections. Eyes and ears everywhere.

This is my favourite Catherine Steadman novel so far. The story slowly built up the intrigue, the mystery, the thrill. We know there are secrets being kept and a dominating arm in society that influences the media and corporations but, we are uncovering along with Harriet how deep and dark the events are. I think we all start off suspecting Robert, the head of the family, and things look particularly damning for him once we listen to the cassette tape he slips Harriet with some shocking confessions on it. However, is this a wild game of cat and mouse to trap Harriet into confessing her own dark secret?! Trust no one but yourself!

This book wasn't super spooky but Krampusnacht was scary! I was on edge reading the whole section and the games that were played that night. The finale chapters in the Hudson valley also had me holding my breathe. I thoroughly enjoyed the game and definitely recommend it!

This is one strange family! Harry is a writer who is enoying the success of her first novel. She is going to marry a very wealthy man, Edward Holbeck. Harry has something in her past she's keeping hidden as she could go to jail if anyone knew. Edward has been putting off introducing Harry to his family as he and his father don't get along. When Harry finally visited the family to meet them, the powerful Robert Holbeck slipped her a cassette tape. Upon playing it, Harry realizes it is a confession, but is it real or not? Then she's invited to holiday dinners and gatherings, during which this family plays some strange, and I think cruel, games. After some of this strangeness, Harry changes the subject of the book she is working on to be about this family she's going to marry into. She also finds out she is pregnant.

Harry listened to that cassette tape on a rather slow timeline. To me, I can't even imagine waiting so long to find out what Edward's father wanted her to know. That seemed unrealistic - I know Harry was really busy with her new book, but this would have been a priority to me. I'm surprised Harry wasn't scared to marry Edward after experiencing the famly.

This was a good mystery and there was definitely some tension buildup. It kept my interest, even though I had to suspend belief to swallow much of it. The games played at the masion were intriguing, though they would have damaged any child's psyche.

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine through Netgalley for an advance copy. This book will be published on October 18, 2022.