Harriet thinks she has found the perfect man in Edward. He showers her with gifts, takes her to expensive restaurants and is supportive of her career as a writer. But, what does she really know about him? She knows his family is famous, an institution of NYC if you will. So when she is invited to meet the family, she knows she must keep her guard up.

This was a wonderful book with many twists and turns. Harriet tries to bond with Edward's sister and other family members at holiday gatherings. The games that go on are odd at best. There are a couple of twists, however, somewhat predictable, it was still a wonderful book.

This story! It’s one red herring after another.

This family is crazy and there’s only one person just crazy enough to take them on. Each game the family plays gets scarier and scarier. If only they’d stick to plain board games, but nope, it’s just short of all out warfare.

Very suspenseful and I very much recommend it for a bit of light reading. Haha, just kidding. You will be screaming at the characters Add if you were watching a scary movie and yelling at the person not to do something.

Pub date: 10/18/22
Genre: thriller
In one sentence: Novelist Harriet has found her perfect match in Edward - but then she finds herself a pawn in his family's game.

Books about wealthy families with lots of secrets are having a moment, and I'm here for it. You'll have to suspend reality a bit for this book, but once you do, it's a wild ride. I loved seeing the mystery unfold through Harriet's innocent eyes, and there were a few good twists that kept me engaged. The ending also surprised me! I read it in two sittings because I needed to know what happened next.

If you like books like Daisy Darker, I think you'd enjoy this one.

Thank you to Ballantine Books for providing a NetGalley ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed 95% of the book but the twist didn’t do it for me. I wish it continued to go the way it led me to believe, but I also really loved the final chapter and ending of the story.

This was an older/more thriller type inheritance games story and I loved all the hints, puzzles and secrets. It felt like I was in a maze with Harry and trying to pick up clues with her.

Perfect for fans of READY OR NOT! I enjoyed how well the tension built throughout the story— the Krampus night had me genuinely on the edge of my seat! A very fun read!

This is a cat and mouse game between Harriet Reed and her soon to be family as she is engaged to Edward Hoelker. She is a thriller writer with a secret past. Engaged to Edward Hoelker, the heir to his family’s incredible fortune.

She is welcomed into the family and their twisted, dark games that they play at gatherings and holidays. Her FIL has shared a special tape recording with her about his idea for her next novel but when she listens, Harry realizes that this might actually be more of a confession rather than a book idea.

Will Harriet figure it out before it’s too late?

Harriet’s life couldn’t be better – her first novel is a runaway best seller, she’s engaged to handsome Edward Holbeck, future heir to a huge family fortune, and they’re unexpectedly but delightedly pregnant. Edward has been estranged from his parents and siblings, but with a baby on the way, they decide to make the effort to mend fences. Before Harriet even meets them, she’s getting some weird controlling vibes but decides to ignore them and go to Thanksgiving dinner, an evening that is capped off by Edward’s father giving her a cassette tape with truly shocking contents. Before she knows it, an intrigued Harriet finds herself down a dangerous rabbit hole of secrets.

“The Family Game” is a wild cat-and-mouse tale of the ultra-rich behaving badly. The Holbeck family is seriously crazy-pants, and the twisted games they play have much higher and more dangerous stakes than your typical board game – we’re talking literal life or death. I love the way Catherine Steadman writes, but this is the second book of hers in a row that depends on the female protagonist making really dumb choices that continually puts her in harm’s way. I also found the pacing a smidge uneven, starting out really strong, dragging a bit in the middle, then ratcheting all the way up and going off the rails into crazytown toward the end. I did guess the big twist, but the ride to get there was fun and I was on the edge of my seat for the final game and its outcome.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House – Ballantine Books for providing me an advance copy of this book.

Love Catherine Steadman and love the premise here - my only criticism is the extreme similarity to one of my favorite movies of the last few years, Ready or Not. There is a lot here that parallels that film, so some of the fun was lost out there. Still an entertaining read (especially for those that haven't seen the aforementioned movie!)

I received this book as an ARC and this is my review. Wow! I loved this book! The characters are all flawed and the story is loaded with twists and turns. I want to read all previous books by Catherine Steadman. I totally recommend this book to readers who enjoy a great psychological thriller. Grab this one as soon as you can and dive right in.

I have been a fan of Catherine Steadman since day 1. This book was not a disappointment. When Harriet (Harry) is about to marry into a wealthy family, she starts seeing their true colors. Though the plot is fairly easy to figure out, it was still a quite enjoyable read!

This review was also published on Goodreads.

This was a great book. It was well-written, fast-paced, and filled with great characters. Catherine Steadman has written another gem that keeps you guessing until the end.

The Family Game was a great thriller that will keep you on your toes! It had me hooked from the beginning. I just couldn't get enough!!!

Harry Reed is a bestselling author, newly engaged to Edward Holbeck -- estranged heir to a rich and powerful family. When the Holbecks catch wind of the engagement, Harry and Edward become roped back into the family affairs. But being brought back into the fold may prove to be deadly for Harry.

I have loved Catherine Steadman since Something in the Water, so I was THRILLED to receive an ARC of The Family Game. Once again, Steadman proves she's a force to be reckoned with. A great domestic thriller for the fall! 10/10 recommend!

This was such an addicting story, the mysterious high powered family, the games that they play, and the mystery that surrounds them; I couldn't put it down! I did not figure out the twist, in fact I had a whole other implausible theory in my head. I was so engrossed in the book , I felt the terror and pain of the characters, I was just as scared as if this was real life. Nothing is as it seems and the games are competitive and possibly deadly. I've read all of Catherine Steadman's books and this is close to the top of my favorites.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I will post on my Instagram, 2 weeks before publication, on October 4, 2022 at instagram.com/martinas_library.

All I have to say is do not start reading this unless you have the time to finish it! Harriet (Harry) is a novelist who meets Edward when he saves her from an embarrassing shoe situation and eventually follows him to New York. Harry knows his family is rich and powerful. She also knows there has been distance between Ed and his family. When they get engaged, she is eager to meet them and understand more about where Ed came from. It turns out his family is accepting and glad to have her as a future member of the family. But when his father gives her a cryptic cassette to listen to, everything quickly changes. How far will she go to uncover the family secrets and shelter her own past?

Harry seems to have it all. She’s an author whose debut novel just sold a million copies. And she’s just gotten engaged to Edward Holbeck, eldest son and heir of a family that is essentially a fictional version of the Rockefellers or Vanderbilts. But Edward is estranged from his father, Robert, and is reluctant to introduce her to him or the rest of his family. When he finally does, Harry is surprised to find herself drawn to Robert, and even more surprised when he gives her a cassette tape that contains a confession about his past that threatens to both reveal a dark secret from her own past and upend her future.

The Family Game is a cat-and-mouse thriller, but the plot is too reliant on very debatable choices. First and foremost, Harry stretches out listening to Robert’s 90-minute tape into four parts so that she doesn’t listen to the last part until about the 75% mark of the book. While that decision was necessary to plot out the novel—it would have been a novella if Harry had just listened to the whole tape at the start—it is completely unrealistic. Even she eventually, belatedly acknowledges: “It’s clear I should have listened to the entire tape long ago.” The only reason she even has the tape is because Robert is convinced he understands Harry’s nature—and thus gives her his confession—when in fact he is making a guess based upon some very debatable conjecture. Again, it was necessary as a matter of plotting—no tape, no novel—but it was a pretty big leap of logic that required some real suspension of disbelief.

The Family Game has an interesting story, and a decent mystery, at its core. And the book certainly held my attention. But the plot device of the confession tape, and the choices it forces the characters to make to advance the story, were just a bit too unrealistic for me to fully accept.

This was a great book. I loved every paragraph, every sentence and every word of this masterpiece! I read it in 12 hours, which is a lot for me to do! It had everything and more laid out in the novel! I sure hope she writes more! I am totally hooked!

The Family Game

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

This was a great thriller featuring a woman marrying into a wealthy, powerful family and the instant games they started to play. The main character has secrets that are threatened to be exposed and is quickly targeted by the most powerful in the family who shares his own secrets. Plot centered around competition, inheritance, confessions, and secrets. This was a page turner. There were a few under developed characters and perhaps too slow at times. Lastly there were a few details that made this plot a little predictable oversold but overall a worthy thriller to fly through.


Mode: 📱thank you to NetGalley and Harper 360 for allowing me to review and advanced copy e book in exchange for this review.

The Family Game depicts a wealthy family fully of horrible personalities that all somehow drew me in. Each family member is twisted in their own way and there was no way to tell who, if anyone, was good, for practically the entire novel. It’s a quick, fun and entertaining read! I’d love to see this as a movie!

Note: I received this ARC from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine in return for an honest review.

Harriet is a bit of a loner. Yes, she is a super successful author who is the midst of writing her next book. And she has just become engaged to Edward, the super handsome and successful heir to a powerful family. Everything is coming up roses for Harriet.

Now, I don't know from firsthand experience. But my inclination is to believe that super rich and powerful families are a little eccentric. How do I know this? Well, it's clear from watching Succession that most families don't board helicopters to go play baseball in a field on a whim, and I know that the Kennedy family has participated in some high risk activities as a clan. I think maybe part of it is that if your life is kind of super easy, you have everything you need and want in the world, you have to create challenges for yourself?

If there is any truth in my assumptions, The Holbeck family and their games make PERFECT SENSE. I actually didn't question this part of the plot at all. However, I was able to appreciate that Harriet's feelings about the games and family were also warranted, as she was the one forced to participate.

I don't want to give much away as The Family Game is a wild ride. I will just tell you to block off about half a day to finish this one. Because once you start, you aren't going to want to put it down.

Special thanks to Netgalley and Random House for an advanced galley in exchange for my honest review.