I liked it, but didn’t love it.

Lots of tropes that have been done before. The story itself was good, but it was a little slow and then over the top.

I think it’s a fun Christmas time mystery, but it just left me wanting more. The prologue was AMAZING though. I wish it could have kept that vibe throughout the book. Before Christmas was… long.

• Thank you to #RandomHousePublishing #BallantineBooks and #NetGalley for providing this Advance Reading Copy. Expected publication date is October 18, 2022.

Harriet Reed has written a best selling mystery and is working on a second novel. She has whirlwind affair with Edward Holbeck, the heir to a very wealthy and influential family. Edward has decided not to play a role in the family business and has distanced himself from his family. After Harry and Ed get engaged and are expecting a child they decide to reconcile with the Holbeck’s. This family likes to play “games” and have some very disturbing secrets. Harriet can play their games because she has a dark secret of her own. This book is full of suspense and has a “blow your mind“ twist near the end. Catherine Steadman is quickly becoming one of my favorite go-to authors.

I really liked this book. It read well and had some awesome suspense. I did think there were 2 major plot issues. The first is to why Robert chose Harry, especially of Robert was powerful and able to set up these games. Why did he need her? Using her passed seemed shaky considering what she did didn't seem strong enough to elicit that kind of action. Second, was the tape. Most people would have listened to it all the way through but I don't think that point necessarily took away from the storyline.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a good read

This book is another winner from Catherine Steadman. I have read and enjoyed all of her books. I read The Family Game in 2 days. I honestly could not put the book down. I did find the descriptions of the family games a little over the top but then again, I have no knowledge of the lives of the Uber wealthy. The book was very suspenseful. I was legitimately curious as to how so much could go wrong so quickly. I was very surprised by the ending. It was a twist that I did not see coming. I will give a warning - the book is quite violent if that is a trigger.

Catherine Steadman has a gift of grabbing your attention from page one and dragging you along on a wild ride. This story was filled with mystery, intrigue and a little bit of anxiety while trying to figure out what is really going on. As I read The Family Game I felt like I was reading a great thriller screenplay. This book is going to fly off the shelves.

Another great one from Catherine Steadman! The suspense flows through this one from start to finish. Who are the Holbecks? Why are they being hidden by Harry’s fiancé Edward? What secrets lie on the tape from Robert? Each chapter brings new questions and not until the very end do we really get answers.

I enjoyed this one and devoured it quickly. I think a lot of it was because the story was face paced and Harry is such a likable main character. It is a pretty surface level thriller but I enjoyed it none the less. I had a couple guesses for the twist and was ultimately wrong which always wins me over.

I’d pick this one up if you’re a fan of face paced, thrilling page turners. It’s a single POV so it’s easy to follow and doesn’t make things complicated.

After seeing the cover and reading the description, I really expected this book to be a lot like the movie Ready or Not. There are definitely elements of the movie in this book, but this is so much more.
Harry, short for Harriet, has recently sold her first novel which became a run away best seller. She has also just got engaged to the man of her dreams, Ed. However, she has never met his family and the first meeting doesn't quite go as planned. Now she has a recording of a story about multiple murders that might not be as fictional as she thought. She's determined to get to the bottom of it, but unfortunately, she has a secret too.
This was so dark and twisty. Steadman does some really interesting things with the characters and the plot. She does a great job of keeping up the suspense throughout the book.

This was my first book by Catherine Steadman, and it was wild.
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This book gave me anxiety. It was a little out there with krampusnacht, I had no idea that was a real thing. I also thought some how Harry had sexual feelings for her soon to be Father in law was kind of strange. I know a lot of these " weird" things helped to build the suspense. Even though the first 25% seemed like a romance book, the last 25% almost seemed like a horror book😅. After reading this book I know that I can't read thriller books where the MC is pregnant. It just has me way to nervous while reading.
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I honestly did not guess the ending ... Maybe I'm just not too quick to catch on to things. I could not stop reading and has to know what happened. I'm giving this book 3.5 stars because it was wild. There were a few things I did not like, but if you are a thriller junkie... You should definitely read this book.

I will be posting my review on Instagram next week! (10/12)

So good!! This had the dark and the light, the twists and the turns. I stayed up way too late finding myself refusing to stop reading.

This book had so much potential, but in my opinion it fell flat. The writing wasn’t to the level I expected, and the first 70% felt like a rough draft to me. I wasn’t invested in the story or the characters until sometime after that 70% mark when I felt the writing improved and the plot finally started to gain some momentum, but by then it was too late. I felt like the main character made some stupid decisions, and parts were a little too meta about the author main character writing a book about what we’re currently reading about in this book…

I’m sure some people will love this book. I admit I didn’t see the twist coming, so I did enjoy that. But I mostly forced myself to finish this book just to say I was done with it.

Again, I want to stress this book had so much potential! A plot where the characters of Succession play dark and twisted games at holiday gatherings? Throw in a main character with a secret past trying to figure out if one of the family members is a serial killer, and I would have thought this would be an easy 4 or 5 star read! But it was not.

**Minor spoilers here** Plus how could Harry not listen to the tape all at once!? I understand it’s necessary from a plot perspective, but it felt way too unrealistic to me that she couldn’t make the time to listen to the whole tape sooner. What if Robert split the information up and mailed her tapes over a period of time, so she was unable to listen to them all at once? That would have made this much more believable! I have other gripes with the plot as a whole, but I feel they are too spoilery. But I’ll just say that a lot of details didn’t make sense.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine for the copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book started out ok and then it kind of went all over the place. It just lost me. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for review.

Thank you to PRHAudio and Ballantine Books for the complimentary book! All thoughts & opinions are my own.

Buckle up, because The Family Game is a wild ride! Novelist Harry is marrying into an elite, old-money family, complete with a domineering patriarch, an upstate mansion and a walk-in closet full of skeletons.

From the very beginning, I loved how Catherine Steadman paced the different reveals and games. There were definitely some unexpected moments for me. Is it far-fetched at times? Absolutely. Are there a lot of family members that can be hard to keep track of? Sometimes. But overall, I really felt the suspense through this psychological thriller. The mind games and actual games are next level and the plot really delivers on that cat-and-mouse vibe.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from the audiobook, which is read by author Catherine Steadman herself, who is wonderful! She created American accents for the family dialogue and when bringing her own words to life, her performance really added to the overall suspense! Worth the listen.

The cover first intrigued me, but the premise is what really catches you and keeps you reading. Harriet, orphaned when her parents died in a tragic accident, craves a family. When she becomes engaged to Edward, she thinks she hits the jackpot as he is warm, loving, and attentive and has a large family yet she’s never met them. When she finally does, they are all over her as they welcome her into the fold. But the creepy thing is Edward’s father, the patriarch of this very wealthy Holbreck family. He gives her a cassette tape to listen to in the pretense of telling her a shocking tale that she would enjoy, being an author of suspense stories. In this, he lets Harriet know that they are very alike and as they would do anything to protect their family, including eliminating any threats. Both have a deadly secret that they don’t want to get out. He will protect hers if she will do the one thing that he asks. Invited for the holidays, The Holbrecks are a strange family, that like to play games, and we are not talking about Monopoly or Scrabble here. It's every man for himself, winner takes all, and their games are playing for keeps. Can Harriet outwit them and survive? Can she live with herself if she does? This gripping tale is a page turner, keeping you on the edge of your seat until the surprise twist at the end that is not expected. I enjoyed this. What a great thriller read on a dark and stormy night, but be sure to leave the lights on.
Many thanks to #netgalley #thefamilygame #catherinesteadman #randomhouseballantine for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I’m honestly a little surprised at how much I enjoyed this one. After reading the summary and hearing it constantly compared to the movie “Ready or Not” I was a little skeptical. While I love that movie, I was afraid the book would be a carbon copy and not bring anything original to the premise. Happy to report that is not the case!

The two do have a lot of similarities, but The Family Game brought its own spin to the story and I simply couldn’t put this book down. If you’re willing to completely suspend all disbelief and just get lost in an over the top game of cat and mouse, this is the book for you. A lot of things were smartly plotted out in a way that helped me forgive some of the completely ridiculous choices the main character makes. I think the ending will be controversial and while it is incredibly farfetched, I enjoyed it! Very cinematic and definitely a new thriller recommendation for someone looking to get out of a reading slump.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine for the advanced reader copy.

Thank you to Random House - Ballantine and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Catherine Steadman is the QUEEN of twisty endings and this one did not disappoint. From the beginning, I was intrigued by Harry and the secrets around her past from the very beginning. But, the idea of a wealthy family in power, secrets, lies, and so much death kept me sucked in. I couldn’t put this down. I think Steadman is only getting better and better at her craft.

Between the Holbecks creepy past, the bodies piling up, the Holbeck patriarch trying to clue in Harriet and a game that continually escalates, you’re transported into the story and it feels like you’re living it too. This was a stellar thriller. I highly recommend!

I am having a hard time putting my thoughts on this book into words. It was fine. But there was just something lacking. Like maybe it was just so much of a reach? And I wasn’t really held in suspense.

This moved a little slow for me in the beginning but it really picked up by 30%. I flew through the rest. I loved the cat and mouse game and the suspense and mystery surrounding this story.

As usual, Steadman does not disappoint. This thriller is a very good book. The twists & turns are so good & it kept me guessing until the very end. Definitely recommend!

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was simply unsatisfying.

If a family is full of sociopathic traditions, there better be a good reason. bUt we aRe jUSt wEiRD is not a good reason. And the games didn’t even matter???

This is definitely Catherine Steadman’s best book since her debut! Dark, fun, and atmospheric indeed!

Harry is an author whose debut novel becomes an instant smash hit. She also just got engaged to Edward, who is seemingly the perfect man. Sweet, loving, very successful. Edward also comes from a rich family with some traditions…very INTERESTING traditions, to say the least.

Harry gets a chance to meet the family at Thanksgiving. They’re powerful, but seem to welcome her instantly. Then, Edward’s father, Robert, gives her a cassette tape and urges her to listen to it. She finds out something shocking when she listens to it, but doesn’t have time to finish it before the family games begin! She’ll know everything if she can make it to the end…

This is a suspenseful and original thriller that is easy to breeze through. Although it takes a while to get going, it’s always interesting…and I was flipping the pages before I knew it. The atmosphere was fantastic, and the story was highly entertaining from start to finish. I highly recommend it.

Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Expected Publication Date: 10/18/22.