Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

In this case I'm going to be scathingly honest. This is truly one of the worst books I've ever read.

I suppose it started kind of cool- rich family, odd secrets, all that jazz. I mean there's nothing wrong with it, but it's been done before.

Then it just goes off the rails and not in a fun surrealistic way or even in a mystery way, it's just almost nonsensical. It seems like the author just took some canned stories, borrowing heavily from fantasy and tradition, and smashed them together into a crap sandwich.

Also the prose is just boring. I never felt attached to the story or interested in it whatsoever. Even the arc with the patriarch of the family asking Harriet (our MC) to write his story- which was kind of the mystery here- was extremely boring. Totally pointless and that was probably the most intrigue this book had.

The Krampusnacht scenes were just unbelievable stupid. It's like the author wanted to make this family seem as fucked up as possible without breaking any crazy barriers.

Ultimately, I was left wondering what on earth the mystery even was here . Because I'm really not sure. The whole point of the book seems to be that "blood is thicker than water". Even with the revelations of the 3 main characters, there wasn't a huge mystery. It was just a girl figuring things out and telling the reader. To me that is extraordinarily poor mystery writing- you don't tell the reader exactly what you're discovering there has to be a sense of well.... mystery!!

I almost DNF this. It was so drab, so shallow, and so over-the-top in the most stupid ways possible. I'm sure some readers will glean pleasure from this novel- and more power to you if so! However, I couldn't stomach this poor excuse for a twisted mystery. This is exactly what I DON'T want to read. I don't even know how this got published.

I hate to go this hard on ARCs, but they do give them for honest POVs correct?

Oh, this book is FANTASTIC. Like a mix of Ready or Not? and Succession, which I thought was refreshing and entertaining, and I was on the edge of my seat the entire time!

the premise is most obviously reminiscent of the film ready or not, but when its premise takes the form of a book it was presented as less absurd and funny and more tense-on-purpose. pretty good

Although it took me a bit to get into the story, overall I really enjoyed this book.

What I loved:
I always love a story about an author (and rich people.) I find those kinds of stories and the plots around them very interesting. I enjoyed the suspense throughout the book.

What I didn't love:
Some of the character motivations seem unclear to me, but maybe that just wasn't very important to the overall plot? SOME of the points of the plot seemed a little too far fetched.. but then again.. it IS a thriller afterall.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC even though it took me quite a long time to get around to reading it.

One of my favorite thrillers I've read this year! Twisty and dark and so unique, I couldn't put Catherine Steadman's The Family Game down. Full of tension and big reveals throughout, I highly recommend this book for fans of Ruth Ware and Riley Sager.

Thanks for this eARC!

I really enjoyed this book overall. The concept had me intrigued from the start and made me want to keep reading to find out what happened next. There were some moments during the story where I felt like events became too predictable and it was somewhat slow to start, but I always kept going. This story left me on the edge of my seat and wanting more, plus the twist at the end was definitely unexpected. I would definitely recommend this book!

Overall I found this to be a good thriller. It was well paced with many unpredictable twists, and then towards the end a few slightly predictable ones. It’s set around the holidays so I recommend reading in November or December!

This story unfortunately fell flat for me. I think it had a lot of potential but the follow through was not there. The prologue and the last 40 pages were very engaging. However, the bulk of the story had too slow of pacing. I did enjoy the date stamps at the start of the chapters, the chapters being titled after direct dialogue, and the twist at the end!

Loved this read! Such a quick thriller, with some really good twists & turns. Would for sure recommend this one!

This has an original plot line involving a young woman’s meeting of her fiancé’s family and the games she must play in order to assimilate. Some of the games are incredibly disturbing and she questions what is really going on with this family. The ending has an abundance of suspense and a surprising twist.

This was a fun one! Good character development and the plot was well executed. It was creepy but not scary. I'd definitely recommend if you like thriller and a lock-room mystery.

While I felt "Something in the Water" really left something to be desired, I was really intrigued by this novel. Now, of course, I had my theories about some pieces and parts in this novel based on the general stereotypes of true crime, but this is just on another level of woah. The twisted games these people play and subject their new significant others to eventually endure with them is absurdly wild. This is what I'd suspect wealthy people have to do to keep themselves from being bored. It was an interesting read and one I am glad I did.

4.5*
First, thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for this ARC. I wish it didn’t take me this long to get to this book because what a thriller! Now it did take me a little bit to get into it, but not long after did things start getting interesting. It isn’t super gory or scary, but it did keep me on my toes and trying to guess the outcome, which I failed haha This is a great quick read if you like suspense and mystery!

4.5 This one was a wild ride I could not put down. The story follows Harry a thriller author who falls in love with one of the richest bachelors Edward. After Edward proposes he warns Harry that his family could be a lot and if it got to be much she needed to let him know. Harry could not begin to imagine out dark and strange Edwards family is going to be . Over several months Harry finds herself deep in the family and isn’t sure if she is going to make it out. This book was cinematic the action was fun and entertaining and the characters were a lot of fun. Look forward from reading more from this author in the future. I will say that this book did have some typical thriller tropes that felt familiar the book reminded me a lot of the move Ready or Not but I had so much fun reading this I would recommend this to any thriller fan! I would like to thank Netgalley and the publishers for a chance to read this book for an honest review.

This was a wild ride of a read! The story was crazy and kept me reading. I was addicted and could not stop until I found out how it ended. There were twists, there were weird events that I definitely did not see coming. I have read this author's first book and to me this was way better. I also found the story to be more unique and I would recommend this one to any reader.

The Family Game from Catherine Steadman has been on my list for quite awhile. The first half of the book dragged a bit for me so I kept putting it down. Once I added the audiobook to the mix, the pacing seemed to pick up. I found the last half of the book intriguing and appreciated the steadier pacing.

The Family Game tells the story of a woman newly engaged and marrying into a very wealthy, seemingly sinister family. The main character’s profession as an author made for an interesting peak into the research process. However, this aspect of the book was small. The premise of the book held so much promise, but the delivery wasn’t it for me.

I wouldn’t say pass on this one, but I might say to try it on audiobook. Read this if you’re into slow burn, psychological thriller plots with a smidge of family drama thrown in the mix.

Thank you to Netgalley for the DRC.

As a huge fan of Catherine Steadman's previous work, I was hoping for more with this title. While it wasn't bad--certainly Steadman knows how to write engaging characters--it just didn't all hold together for me in the end.

Harriet, is a successful author who writes mystery/thrillers for a living. Edward is a Holbeck, heir to the wealthiest/oldest family but he's gone no contact with them. They've established their life together. Harry is working on her next book and Edward is set to sell his tech company. They're recently engaged and planning their future and family.

News of the recent engagement however have reached the Holbeck family and they want their son back. Harry quickly learns that they are not a normal family. They take traditions and games a little too seriously.

This book was a sloooow burn for the first half but when it picked up it REALLY PICKED UP. The chaos of this book is so wild that you start to believe it. There are definitely parts of this book that I was like "I would absolutely leave. 10/10 noping out.

If you want a thriller with all the twists in turn and chaos. Definitely recommend.

A twisted family tradition shakes loose a number of terrifying family secrets. Harry is an author on the verge of massive success, bolstered by her wealthy husband-to-be, Edward. When she discovers that she's pregnant, it becomes more pressing to develop a relationship with Edward's snooty family. She's invited to (read: wrangled into) join the family's holiday festivities, only to discover that they're more Nightmare on Elm Street than White Christmas. Edward's family has secrets, and when her new father-in-law imparts some of them on Harry, she begins to wonder just what that powerful man has discovered about her own hidden past.

Creepy and weird, largely unpredictable. The Family Game certainly isn't going to be your cheerful holiday rom-com, but the tense mood overhanging the entire novel may more closely resemble some readers' family situations than those Hallmark-style holiday novels!

Harriet is finally building an almost perfect life when she gets entangled with her fiancé’s family who are more sinister than they appear.

The Family Game started out so strong for me. I was hooked from the very beginning and absolutely loved the creepy atmosphere surrounding the Holbeck family. I’m always so fascinated by the actions of people who have tons of money, and I was here for the drama and secrets that came with their family. Unfortunately, by the time we got closer to the ending - the climax and resolution - everything sort of fizzled out, and I got confused by the motives of some of the characters. Overall, it was an addicting read, but the direction in which the story went was not my favorite. If you like short chapters and unlikeable characters, this book might be for you!

CW for suicide, drug addiction, car accident (in past), fire, loss of loved ones, accidental pregnancy, blood, death, murder, drugging, blackmail.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC of The Family Game by Catherine Steadman.