I was HOOKED by this premise from the start. It so dark and sinister and interesting. The blurb reminded me of Ready or Not, which is one of my favorite movies, so I had to read it. It was engaging and completely twisted. I've never read anything by this author but I'll start now! The story was great and I'd highly recommend it!

Thank you @netgalley for granting my wish and sending this e-arc my way. Talk about a twisted story! If you love a book that will keep you on the edge of your seat, this is it. The Holbeck family loves to play games, and Harriet Reed, newly engaged to Edward Holbeck, is just about ready to join this family and play the game of her life! After receiving a cassette tape from Edwards Dad, the more she listens, the more the tape seems to be some sort of confession... or is it? The rules: Listen carefully, do your research, trust no one & run for your life!!! This story was quite the ride. Keep your eye out for this one, it publishes on 11/8/22.

I love the movie Ready or Not so I was all in on this premise. The first half is very slow. I found myself not really excited to keep reading. I know we needed something to drag things out but the subplot about needing time to write felt random. I also thought the entire portion about krampus was just odd. The final 20% was the best of the book, although some of the final moments didn’t really add up. Overall a very unique story that is well written. I have a soft spot for rich people behaving poorly but this wasn’t a hit for me.

The Family Game by Catherine Steadman brings dysfunctional families to a whole new level. Harriet “Harry,” Reed is living her best life. An up and coming author, Harry is riding the wave of success from her first best selling thriller, and is blissfully engaged to Edward Holbeck, son of the prestigious Holbeck family, members of the 1%, with unimaginable wealth, and the power to keep even the darkest secrets hidden. Harry knows a little something about secrets herself, but when she embarks on mysterious game with her soon to be father-in-law, she soon realizes life with her future family is stranger, and more dangerous, than the fiction she writes, and the the games are just beginning.

This was a fast paced, exciting read and is worthy of a spot on 2022 must read thrillers lists. I can definitely envision this being developed into a movie and am looking forward to reading more of Catherine Steadman in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Such a fun and exciting book about a powerful and wealthy family and their coverups over the years that are uncovered by an orphan marrying into the family. So many fun twists and turns!

Rating: 1.5

This book wasn't what I thought it was going to be. I hated the main character, she was so annoying. I was really tired of her thinking her fiance's dad was hot, then feeling guilty and blaming her feelings on something stupid. It was repeated at least 3 times in one short chapter. The game didn't even start til almost halfway through and, even then, nothing really happened until the last 30%. I didn't care about the mystery or any of the twists. The book was mostly just slow and boring.

As a person who enjoy games like Monopoly and Escape Rooms I knew this book was going to take me to a whole new level.

Streadman’s amazing imagination had me on the edge of my seat finding out what would happen next.

Take a large wealthy family, secrets, death, a wicked imagination and vengeance with competition and you could not even begin to imagine what lies in this novel.

Harry and her fiancé Edward Holbeck’s go to his family estate and she finds out quickly they play some crazy games that are not for the weak of heart.

Edward’s father Robert has is own game with Harry and it’s not what you think!

Brilliant! Twisted! Unimaginable!
Thank you @netgalley, @ballantine and Catherine Streadman for this advanced copy. This book is due out November 8, 2022.#booksconnectus, #bookstagram, #stamperlady50, #bookreview, #netgalley, #thefamilygame, #catherinesteadman, #ballantine

ARC releasing 11/8/22. Harriett has always been shielded from Edward’s family, but now that they’re engaged, it’s time to meet them. Secrets are revealed through a mysterious tape given to Harriett via Edward’s father and it’s up to her to figure out the truth. Honestly, I was a little bored? I feel like this was more of a mystery and not a thriller, but also not really even a mystery because I found myself not really caring what the truth was.

What does is take to marry into the 1%? Harry gets swept up in a whirlwind romance with Edward. However in the year long love, she has never met his family - the wealthy, elusive Holbecks. That all changes after they get engaged right before Thanksgiving. Harry desperately wants a relationship with his family, but Edward is against it. As she gets to know the family more over the holidays, secrets come out. Does she really know who she is marrying? 4 stars, great thriller.

Wow. This deserves all of the raving reviews I saw, and those reviews did not steer me wrong! I read tons and tons of thrillers, which means I can often guess twists, plots, themes, etc. But this book was fresh, surprising, and I absolutely loved the characters and writing. It kept me turning the pages late into the night even when I was so tired and really should have gone to bed. This is a must read for thriller fans! 5 solid stars! I can't wait to read Catherine's other books.

This is a book about a filthy rich (and completely dysfunctional) family; the secrets they keep and the games they play. It’s told from the perspective of Harriet (Harry), a young British novelist with secrets of her own. She is engaged to the practically perfect Edward, and is finally allowing herself to believe that she can be happy. But first she has to meet the family. Edward is the heir apparent to the family fortune, so Harry knows the entire family, especially Edward’s father Robert, will be scrutinizing her.

To say this family is dysfunctional is a gross understatement. While the story moved quickly, I could not identify with or root for any of the characters. Honestly, I found it unbelievable that Harry would continue to surround herself with these people. Especially after she began to participate in their beyond-strange family traditions. The games were over the top, and hard to believe. I was so hoping that by the end I would understand the motivations of the main characters. But the ending left me with more questions than answers.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC.

This book was legit bonkers, but in a good way. There was a lot going on plot-wise, but it moved really quickly and the nonstop action had me finishing this book in only a couple of sittings. What prevents me from giving this more than 3 stars is the whole weird thing where the main character Harriet (Harry) was sexually attracted to her father-in-law. Too ick for me.
Overall, I enjoyed the plot of this book and would recommend it to others.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine for the ARC!

The Family Game is a wild and intriguing thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. This is the second book I've read from Catherine Steadman and I think I can establish her as an author that writes engrossing dark stories that fill you with dread in the most entertaining way.

Harriet (call her Harry) is a successful British debut novelist who finds herself in a fairy tale romance with American Edward Holbeck. His family is extremely wealthy and powerful and he's been estranged from them for years. But becoming engaged to Harry changes things. The Holbecks insist on meeting Harry, they need to make sure she's worthy of joining the family.

Harry is willing to do whatever it takes to be accepted by them. She treats it like a game, being able to correctly navigate their expectations and manipulations. Which comes in handy because this family loves their games..

Harry's determination to be accepted is put to the test when the patriarch Robert gives her a tape. The tape contains incriminating information and Harry realizes this is a test of her loyalty. And of course Harry herself has a secret from her past that must never get out and Robert knows, possibly the whole family does.

She decides to investigate and see if it's possible to take the family down while still keeping her secret safe. She wants her happily ever after with Edward without his weird family having control over them. But of course things aren't as they seem and the family game might be even deadlier for Harry than she realizes.

If you like your thrillers a little dark and a little weird, this book is for you. The Family Game is a fun and unique read I highly recommend.

Thank you Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the e-ARC.

4.5 stars! Oooooooohhhhhh this was so juicy and soooo good. Harriet gets engaged to her boyfriend, Edward, who just happens to be the son of an extremely wealthy and prominent family. The problem is, Edward’s family is described as a bit too much and over the top, so her soon to be husband doesn’t have a close relationship with them. Harriet agrees to meet them for the first time at Thanksgiving. And things start to get strange. The family appears to be hiding secrets, bad secrets. And they seem to know her dark secret, which if it gets out could land her behind bars. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, she starts to unravel the truth and it is NOT what she thought.
This book was so well thought out and executed. I just can’t say enough good things about it. Please do yourself a favor and read this book as soon as you can!!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Harry (Harriet) is a novelist. She is living with Edward, the oldest son of the fabulously wealthy Holbein family. He has been estranged from his family for a number of years. When his sister contacts them and invites them to dinner they agree even though they remembered it was Thanksgiving. Slowly they begin to, in Harry’s case, establish a relationship with them. The family has some traditions they follow during the Holidays that are pretty extreme, yet Harry has agreed to participate. Nothing is as it seems yet everything is more than real. Going further into the plot will lead to unnecessary spoilers. Best I can say is read it! Thanks to Net Galley and Ballantine Books for an ARC for an honest review.

This is a sale all night till the hours of the morning, just finish the book, type of book! The plot was amazing and it was full of twists and turns which really kept you guessing throughout the whole book! Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this Arc in exchange for an honest review

A different kind of family tradition.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This was so fun! I didn't want it to end. The Family Game tells the story of Harriet aka Harry, an author marrying into a VERY affluent family. A family with billions. As the holidays approach Harry discovers her fiancé's family has some...unique family traditions.

This ended up going in a totally different direction than I thought it would, which I liked! It steered clear of a lot of overused tropes from thrillers which was a breath of fresh air. I've seen this compared to the movie Ready or Not (a fantastic movie if you've never seen it). If you loved that movie, you will definitely enjoy this book, but the story definitely differentiates itself.

I wish the conclusion was a little more drawn out. I was reading the arc on my kindle so I could see the % left and felt like it wrapped everything up a little too quickly. Plus, the end was my favorite part and I would have liked more!

I've never read anything by Catherine Steadman but I'll definitely check out more of her thrillers. The Family Game comes out November 8th. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the advance copy.

Oh man, rich people are so weird. This is my second Steadman read- I read Something in the Water last year and I truly enjoyed both. The suspense in this book and the limited information really made the book impossible to put down. It was agonizing to have the prologue be on Christmas eve but then go back to before thanksgiving and have to wait around a month to get to answers! Another brilliant and incredibly frustrating moment is how Harry doesn’t listen to the tape all at once! Steadman did an amazing job of giving us crumbs and making us wait to see what she made with the recipe. I do wish there were a few more crumbs that led us to the plot twist because I really didn’t see it coming and I felt like a bad thriller reader for not even having a shadow of a doubt about where the book was going. However, sometimes it’s nice to be reminded that you can still be surprised and plot twists can still impact you. I saw another review that someone compared this to the movie “Ready or Not” and I would agree…kind of, in the sense that it’s rich white people doing weird, probably not above board things…for fun. One final thing I wish there was (for closure but I understand and appreciate why we didn’t get it) was an insight into the aftermath of Harry’s actions before her trip to the Hyde. However, I think it might be even better for Steadman to not give us all the information and keep us guessing and on our toes.

A wild ride from start to finish! I struggled to put this book down. It will keep you guessing and keep you wondering in a way that makes it impossible to put down.

Catherine Steadman never disappoints with her writing. The Family Game was a great, sitting on the edge of your seat thriller. I loved the main characters of Edward and Harry but also the other family members too. It was fun trying to dissect all of the personalities to see who was on the good side and who was on the bad side.

I did figure out the ending/twist about halfway through which was a little disappointing. I was hoping that I thought I had figured it out and then Steadman would have another twist but that didn’t happen.

It wasn’t my favorite of hers but still a fast read that is perfect for anyone looking for a book about crazy families, lies, and how to protect and save yourself.