Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an earlier read of The Family Game by Catherine Steadman.

Harriet (Harry) Reed and Edward Holbeck are recently engaged. She is a new bestselling author, he is the son of an old and rich family. Harry has not met Ed's family, as he says they are "a bit much", but now that they are engaged, that is about to change. Invited to Thanksgiving, Harry meets Ed's siblings, mother, and imposing father - and learns that the Holbeck's like to play games. Mr. Holbeck gives Harry what seems to be a taped confession to multiple murders, knowing that she can do nothing about it. You see, Harry has a secret of her own. Thus begins the heart of this cat and mouse thriller. The Holbecks are "a bit much"., as advertised - eccentric, entitled, and used to getting their own way. At first Harry wants to fit in, but eventually she just wants to survive. I haven't read anything by Catherine Steadman before, but will likely do so after reading The Family Game. It had lots of twists and turns, high stakes, and even a bit of a gothic flavor with the family's country mansion. The ending is a bit over the top (seriously, what kind of family is this?), but good thriller fun all the same. If you like Rachel Hawkins or Ruth Ware, then this one should be right up your alley.

In-laws can be a problem, but the Holbeck’s are nothing like Harriet Reed imagined. Each member of the extremely wealthy family has secrets and a desperate wish to keep them hidden. Commanding patriarch Robert uses cruel games to keep everyone, even children, on their toes. This novel was twisty and stressful, and unable to be put down during the last 15%.

A darkly twisted story that became almost too believable!
The story begins as a tender love story. Harriet Reed is a writer. And she has fallen in love with not only a devastatingly handsome man but one who is also from one of the wealthiest families in America.
The Holbecks are mega-wealthy But Harriet or Harry, as she is affectionately called has no idea, as Edward is estranged from his family.
That's just the beginning. As their relationship grows, he slips a ring on her finger. And not just any ring, but his great-grandmother's wedding ring. This is where things start to change.
Now, although she is terrified she wants to meet his family. After all, how bad could they be? As an orphan, she longs for a big family. But Edward warns that they are 'different.'
Still, Harriet is ready to meet them.
She is ill-prepared for the luxurious wealth they possess. And even more ill-prepared when her future father-in-law asks for a private meeting with her in his study. He hands her a tape that will change her life, everyone's lives.
Then she finds out the family plays games, and not the innocent kind of board games most families play. Their games are terrifying and eventually turn deadly.
The twist in this story left me reeling.
Told in first person through Harriet's POV, it was easy to become immersed in the story. The author did a great job of scattering backstory in bits and pieces throughout so there was never a big info dump. As things unravel, I found myself glued to the book and couldn't turn the pages fast enough. I had to know the identity of the murderer and it was shocking! I could easily see this book as a movie. It's a psychological thriller with an unexpected twist.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4. At the book’s start, I was reminded of the movie Ready or Not but that shortly changed and it became its own story, but there were lots of what felt like plot holes, or things that just didn’t make sense, however it was extremely fast-paced with a decent mystery. There were a lot of moments of suspending belief.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of this engaging psychological thriller/domestic suspense novel, my second by Catherine Steadman. It's full of bizarre twists that will keep you turning the pages and haunt your dreams once you have to put it down to go to sleep.
Harriet Reed, the protagonist, is a British novelist who just became engaged to a handsome American billionaire, Edward Holbeck, and moved with him to New York City. Their life together is practically perfect--even more so, when she finds out she's pregnant--except she's yet to meet his eccentric, old-money family from whom Edward is somewhat estranged.
The family is anxious to bring Edward back into the fold and meet his fiancee, so they reach out to Harriet and invite her to celebrate the holidays with them. Harry is caught off guard by the unconventional, even violent, games the family plays as part of their festivities, and she's a little annoyed that Edward didn't warn her. She also learns from them that Edward's older brother, Bobby, committed suicide when the boys were teens. Although she's miffed that Edward kept this secret from her, she's keeping a very dark one from him. One that may destroy their relationship if it ever comes out.
When Harriet meets Robert Holbeck, the family patriarch, he takes her aside for a private chat. He gives her a cassette tape that he says would make a good novel. He commands her not to share it with Edward. Harriet listens to the tape in increments when she can find alone time, and what she hears is shocking. It's a confession to multiple murders. She does some independent research to corroborate the stories, and sure enough, the alleged victims have either disappeared or died of suspicious causes ultimately determined to be accidental or suicide. Even worse, Robert confesses on the tape that he knows Harriet's terrible secret and implies that others in the family may know it too. In a thinly-veiled threat, he suggests her secret is safe with him as long as she keeps his.
The final cat-and-mouse game takes place on Christmas Eve at the family's country estate culminating in an ending I didn't see coming but should have.
The story is told in first-person, present tense, which heightens the tension. Highly recommended!

To quote the ending of Ready or Not: "What happened to you?" "In-laws." Harriet Reed is now engaged to the first-born son of the powerful Holbeck family. As the holidays approach, she meets the family and is drawn into the secret and troubled past of the Holbecks. The patriarch of the family gives Harriet a tape that the readers slowly learn is filled with multiple confessions. It is up to Harriet to discover what was shared with ehr and what she should do about it before she formally enters the family.

This was a very enjoyable thriller. Harriet was a likable protagonist, and her own secrets generated a lot of suspense for the story. Harriet's background as a writer gives Steadman the chance to engage with some commentary about storytelling and the presentation of one's history. I was initially expecting the "game" to take up more of the book, but the final game only comes in the final act of the story. Steadman did a great job of holding back information to release it at the most suspenseful time in the story to keep the reader engaged. A fun thriller about families and secrets that, while a bit slow at times, is well constructed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

In-laws, amiright?? This book was awesome. Total rollercoaster, kept me guessing, I read the whole thing in less than 24 hours because I could not put it down. I kept telling my husband as I read “this is so much fun!!!!” which is a very refreshing way to feel about a book (if not slightly disconcerting, given that it is a thriller).

I’ll start by saying the premise immediately reminded me of Ready or Not, a 2019 horror movie that I did not actually watch, but I saw the trailer on tv enough times that my brain made the connection right away. Some similarities right off the bat: marrying into an insanely wealthy/eccentric family that loves games, the fiancée/bride being put through some creepy/violent “tests” by the family, the main character in the book is an orphan whereas the main character in the movie grew up in foster care, and a mansion being set on fire. Given that I didn’t actually watch the movie, I am not bothered, but this is a…notable number of similarities, which I find worth mentioning.

Now, onto the book itself! What a twisted ride. The writing was wonderful, you’re given just enough detail to really get a feel for everything but you don’t feel that it’s over-written, you get to know the author’s voice (this did not feel like it was written as a generic thriller), multi-layered main character with a shady past (also she’s an author, so we love that), SO many unexpected moments that just made it so juicy and enjoyable, and ultimately, a very satisfying ending made this a win for me. All the games were sketchy AF but so much fun to imagine. This family would never exist in real life so you have to suspend your disbelief a tad, but I was more than willing to do that for the payoff that was the enjoyment of this WILD roller coaster.

Truly loved this. Another that I may actually buy for myself when it comes out! 4.5 rounded up to 5 stars.

When this latest book came out by Catherine Steadman, I was excited to read it. Harriett meets a very wealthy Edward and they fall in love. Harriett also known as Harry has a deep dark secret that no one knows. Or do they? Then Edwards dad has a deep dark secret - let’s say MANY deep dark secrets too. The first 3/4 of the book had me glued to the pages but there were so many people to keep track of, I finally threw in the towel at 65% not caring what happened at the end. I see others love it so it may just be “me”. I look forward to her next book. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review. To be published November 2022.

I have been a fan of Catherine Steadman since her first novel and nothing has changed. I was sucked into the story right from the first page

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Publication: November 8, 2022

I would give this book three stars. This was my first book by Steadman and I wasn't disappointed. Unfortunately, I was hoping for a thriller type book but this fell more in the vein of horror reads (which I'm personally not a fan of).

Steadman does an amazing job creating a spooky atmosphere throughout the beginning of the book. The middle did feel a little slow in my opinion but the ending makes up for it! It might turn some readers off because we have a slow paced middle and then a fast ending but I think if you're into spooky/horror books then you'll enjoy this book. I personally don't enjoy those types of books hence the three star rating.

Perfect for fans: Riley Sager, a dash of Stephen King spooky, eerie atmosphere, horror movies

The family game is a fascinating thriller about a young woman who is set to marry in to one of the wealthiest families in America. However, the family has various traditions they claim are games but seem to have very sinister twists. While I found the writing and pacing of the story to be very enjoyable, the ending seemed far too predictable and didn’t feel nearly as thought out as what came before it. 3/5

A woman of average means meets a dashing, handsome and very wealthy man. I have read books with this plot many times but in this case Harriet (or Harry) is no doe eyed Rebecca. She is a strong, intelligent woman and the author of a debut thriller novel when she meets ultra rich Edward. Harriet is British and Edward Holbeck comes from generations of wealth and his relationship with his family is a bit strained. Still, Edward is the nicest guy in the world, how bad can his family be?
This book is a lot of fun as Harriet has to play a cat and mouse game with these very wealthy people who have secrets, while Harriet has a big secret of her own. When Edward presents her with his grandmother's engagement ring, the family begins to bombard Harriet with invitations to luncheons and parties and she is sure she can handle this eccentric bunch, but can she? I loved the names of the chapters, each one sounded like a movie title with named like "What the Nanny Saw" and "The Tape". As Harriet begins to involve herself in the strange games and rituals of the family, she is finding herself both scared and intrigued as to what their end game might be. It starts with the family Krampusnacht, which is a really crazy twist on St Nicolas night and it ends on Christmas Eve when all is revealed. At times I wanted to warn Harriet to run for her life!
I enjoyed the fact that Harriet was a writer and was interested in maybe getting a story out of this crazy bunch as well as her marriage to handsome, sweet Edward. In their first meeting Edward's, dad Robert gives Harriet a tape that provides Harriet with both a story and another game/twist to solve. The book was fun and a bit scary at times and I couldn't wait to see how it would end. I did wonder how a secret from Harriet's childhood could possibly have been known, but otherwise I really enjoyed reading this fun twist on a standard domestic thriller subject. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free ARC of this book in exchange for a review.

Woah woah woah!! It took me a little bit to get into this book but once it hooked me, I was done for. The twist at the end was unexpected! This is one of the best thrillers that I’ve read in a long time! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc ebook in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to Ballantine Books and Netgalley for an ARC of this book!

Wow. This one has to be my favorite of all he Catherine Steadman books I've read. Although the first third was slow and I was kind of like "oh we've read this before" by the 2nd third I was fully engrossed and by the end I was sitting with my mouth open at the twist. Well done!

OMG. This book is an exceptional thriller. The story is fast paced, well written, and filled with twists and turns I never saw coming. An emotional roller coaster ride of a book that is highly recommended. One of the best books of 2022.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Ballentine Books for providing and ARC to read and review. This review will appear at https://baysidebookreviews.com and its Instagram page on release day. *NetGalley Top Reviewer*

Whew, what a nail biting rush!! If you like the movie Ready or Not, then this book is definitely one for your list. When a thriller novelist, Harry, is given an audio recording of a potential by her soon to be father-in-law, who also happens to be one of America's richest men, she's shocked to find a confession of murder on the tape. And so begins a game of cat and mouse against one of the most powerful families in the country. From lavish townhomes to lavish country-side estates, Harry uncovers shocking secret after shocking secret all while trying to keep her own dark past hidden from her fiancee. This book was a thrill ride and while there were still some unanswered questions at the end, the conclusion was well worth it! For anyone interested in powerful families, hidden secrets, and the super-rich and their quirks, this book is for you.

Let’s put the word dysfunctional in capital letters when you describe this family and our main character, Harriet, is thrown into the fray at the first meeting of her future in-laws .
Harriet is wildly in love and pregnant. Edward finally brings her home to meet his estranged family for Thanksgiving and she discovers they love to play games…….and not the sit down at the card table type. They are out to frighten, demean, ridicule and taunt you, all in the name of good fun. They expect all members, children included to participate so how can she refuse? She wants to fit in.
His wealthy father can afford to delve into the past history she wanted buried and now dangles exposing that information like a carrot. Edward wants out of the family business and dad wants him as heir apparent. Harriet ’s history is safe as long as she advocates for Edward staying in the family business.
Harriet’s a brave soul that keeps pushing through all the adversity that is thrown at her———and it is non stop…….and what keeps the reader enthralled with this bo

The Family Game takes you through what it’s like to walk into love, fortune and all the secrets that come with it.
Harry thinks that she has found her soul mate but meeting his unique family sends her for a loop. Questioning if she is making the right choice.

Although this book was good and kept me entertained, it felt very “wordy”. Almost pretentious at points.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book. This review is mine alone.

The cat-and-mouse game and the surprising finish were both entertaining! This suspenseful, heart-pounding, intelligent thriller will keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time! It was great! I heartily endorse it!

I'm a huge Catherine Steadman fan and have read all of her books--this one did not disappoint! Although all of her books are in the domestic suspense genre, they are really different from each other with original and fun plots.

The protagonist, Harriet (Harry), is engaged to Edward, the perfect man. The story begins when she meets his very wealthy (and strange) family, and Edward's father hands her a cassette tape containing some shocking information. Harry begins investigating, and we're right there with her in not knowing who to trust or believe. The plot moves along quickly, and I found myself furiously turning the pages to find out what happened next. Some twists and turns at the end which I didn't see coming made this a really entertaining and fast-paced read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC!