WOW! This is my first book by Catherine Steadman and I am BLOWN away! This book was bananas!

I loved how the author immediately demanded your attention. You don't have a choice but to find out how this hot mess express family game ends.......let me tell you that you won't see that ending coming! Holy cow.

Absolutely stellar thriller, I loved it!

This was a great read. Creepy and atmospheric. It's one of those "you shouldn't read while home alone at night" type of books (at least for me, though I'm kind of a big baby when it comes to thrillers). With that said, I very much enjoyed it.

4/5 ⭐

“Games reveal our most base instinct: the instinct to survive.”

The Family Game. And what a game it is! And the family? Well, that’s something else. English born Harriet (Harry), a best selling author, falls in love with Edward Holbeck, son of an incredibly wealthy and powerful family. He seems reluctant to introduce her to his parents and siblings and Harry wonders why. There are good reasons. After their engagement, she’s invited to a family Thursday night dinner. She hasn’t realized it’s Thanksgiving dinner with all its ritual and formal tradition. Score One: Holbecks. That night, Edward’s father Robert hands her a cassette tape and tells her it will help her understand the family. Maybe. (It would make me take the first plane back to England.) Then comes Krampusnacht. Without spoilers, I can’t describe this but England would not be far enough away for me now. Score Two: Holbecks. The final score comes on Christmas at the remote (what else) Holbeck country home. I’ll let you decide who wins this one.

Catherine Steadman, author of the best-selling Something in the Water, is a gifted writer with the ability to make the reader believe in the unbelievable, identify with a flawed character, feel absolute terror (see Krampusnacht above), while she unfolds a unique, engaging plot. The Family Game is a 5 star read!

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and Catherine Steadman for this ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for sending me an ARC of The Family Game in exchange for an honest review.

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 story had everything that I love in a mystery thriller - a rich family, a spooky mansion with a maze and a suspenseful cat and mouse game that left me wondering about the sanity of the slew of family members. I felt on edge, as one by one, Harry met her future husband’s wealthy family because something about every single one of them seemed off. Even the children, everyone seemed suspicious! This story kept me guessing all the way to the big reveal, one that I did not see coming!

Much like Something in the Water, this was a lot of fun. Outlandish and tense and entertaining. The family feels so imposing and vaguely sinister, the games they play are insane and ridiculous, and it makes for enjoyable reading.

Towards the end, things really pick up and that sinister feeling is a lot less vague and it is just so much fun.

My one small gripe is that I don’t like when a narrator teases their secret. Either tell it or hold it back until to you want to. The build up of them talking about it repeatedly and then not revealing it.. it seems unnecessary and builds it up too much where it’s hard to live up to. It’s just a small pet peeve of mine when that happens.

If all her future books are like this, count me in.

Overall really enjoyed this Novel. I feel like the character development was great and the twist at the end excellent though I did have my suspicions. Overall 4/5.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. I love everything Steadman writes and this was no exception. She knows how to suck you in and bring you along for the ride until the twist is revealed. Readers are going to love this one. I couldn't read it fast enough!

Catherine Steadman really knows how to tell a story and hold readers’ attention. I’ve loved her previous books, but this one was catnip for me: a wealthy family playing twisted games in their Gothic mansions. The ending was maybe a little obvious in retrospect, but the way the author builds the plot made it hard for me to see until the final twist was disclosed. Despite being a successful novelist with a dark secret, Harry Reed is a relatable character and her resourcefulness had me cheering and cringing along with her. I loved the descriptions of her new in-laws, their awesome residences (the Holbecks are ridiculously rich), and their traditions. The games that they play are so well described that it was creepy at times. The plot is insanely good and had me screaming at Harry to just break up with her dream fiancé Edward and go back to England. Harry’s insistence is our gain, since this is a great read!
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine!

https://www.tiktok.com/@bettysbooklist/video/7116978954296134954?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1&lang=en

I breezed through this twisty family thriller and definitely didn't guess the final plot twist. Bravo!

Catherine Steadman has done it again with a thriller set around the dangerous games that an influential family plays and what it reveals about each of the players. Harriet is in love with her fiance Edward, the heir to his rich family's fortune. She's alone in the world - increasingly enamored by this family who would do anything for each other. However, bit by bit she starts to realize there is more going on below the surface.

For those who love thrillers of any sort but especially the cat and mouse persuasion, this book is a sure bet. Full of twists and turns, I kept turning pages to know what was happening next. There are a few heavy themes that twist throughout but that were handled delicately by the writer. The ending was chef's kiss and lingered for a few days as I kept mulling over it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Family Game was a fun and twisted ride that I wasn't quite expecting. This was brilliantly written, however the first half of the book moves incredibly slow for my liking. I love how very similar to the movie Ready or Not. There wasn't a lot of thought put into the building of all characters that were in active play, which I wish there had been.

All-in-all I'd recommend this book if you want something that is full of unexpected twists and secrets.

Thank you Netgalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and Catherine Steadman for granting my wish for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

This book is incredibly slow paced. Nothing really happens until 85% into the book.

ARC received via NetGalley.

This started off a little slow for me at first, but man, once she turned the jets on, I couldn't put it down. Harriet is thrilled to be engaged to Edward, but the thought of meeting his prestigious family is daunting. Having money is one thing, but being overly wealthy and powerful is another.
Once she meets them and is given a "gift" by Edward's father that turns out to be a confession, she's unsure of what her next move should be and why he entrusted her with this.
In a prominent family full of games and mystery, will she be able to make the right decision or is she in way over her head?

Catherine Steadman's books just keep getting better and this one is no exception. In this suspenseful page-turner, Harry needs to figure out if her fiance's family game is just a simple family tradition or if she is in serious danger.

The Family Game by Catherine Steadman is when family game night turns deadly!

THE RULES
1. Listen carefully
2. Do your research
3. Trust no one
4. Run for your life

Some parts of the book were a bit slow, and I found myself skimming some pages, but most of the story kept my interest and had some good twists and creepy parts. This book really defines "dysfunctional family."

For a creepy, twisty novel, I would recommend this book. I would rate this a 3.5/4 out of 5 stars.

#TheFamilyGame #NetGalley @atrandom

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the digital ARC of this book.

It’s rare for a mystery/thriller to surprise me. I typically see the culprit, the ending, the twist. Or at the very least I have a list of theories and the truth is somewhere in my list. But I truly didn’t figure this one out!

Our main character, Harriet, is a successful thriller author who is marrying a wonderful, wealthy man named Edward with a powerful family. Everything seems to be going perfectly until she actually meets her future in-laws. Edward’s father gives her a cassette tape whose contents are criminal and she suddenly does not know what to do or who to trust.

I thought I could outline this book’s plot before I ever even began reading. I expected it to go a very certain way and it simply did not. There were lots of twists and turns, and some truly tense scenes scattered throughout. The mind games alone were enough to make my stomach do cartwheels! This is a book I would recommend to fans of domestic and psychological thrillers any day.

I am a fan of Catherine Steadman's books, and while a couple of them haven't been as good to me, her latest, The Family Game, was difficult for me to put down! I finished the last half of it in one sitting!

Harry Smith, a renowned author of a best-selling thriller, thinks she has hit the jackpot when her handsome and successful boyfriend Edward pops the question in an over-the-top proposal. She knows, however, that this means she will have to get to know Edward's estranged family, a family so wealthy and privileged that even Edward has distanced himself from them. When Edward's father, a man with a hushed-up shady past, reveals a secret about the family while also threatening to reveal a dark secret about her past, Harry has to decide how to make this potential future work for her...and her unborn baby.

I loved Harry and how tough she was. She definitely would be someone I would want to have as a friend. Edward's family was very well-described, and if you are married, you are reminded of how true the adage of marrying your partner's family can be as well. I truly think this slow-burn is worth the read as long as you know going into it that there is not a ton of action until the last third of the book.

Harry, a novelist, just got engaged to the love of her life, Edward. As an orphan she's very excited to join his large and loving family. Little does she know this family is not what it seems.

I expected more of a horror story...similar to Ready or Not...and while there were plenty of creepy secrets within the Holbeck family this book fell a bit flat. The first half of the book did a lot of set up and then when the action exploded it was like it was being crammed in. I found myself growing bored and skimming towards the end...an end that was very unsatisfying.

I was given this book in exhchange for my honest opinion. Thank you to Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine Books- and NetGalley for this ARC.