Thanks to the publisher, Ballentine Books, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

WOW! - This is such a great find and read! This is my first Catherine Steadman and will not be the last. This is a fast paced, psychological thriller with murder, mayhem and twists thrown in!

Meet the Holbecks (think Kennedys - wealth and power) who pretty much own multiple stakes in shipping, communications and publishing industries. Meet Harry (Harriet), a british novelist who falls in love with Edward Holbeck. Harry is an orphan who is given a run for her money when she meets "the family" after her engagement to Edward. The result? A wild ride through three cat and mouse games that are not for the faint of heart and leave few survivors!

I loved Harry. She is a survivor who has grit and uses her creative talents. I had empathy for her and her story. The family was both creepy and fun with their dark sense of humor and the games that they played. The story is very entertaining and I was shocked by the twist at the end - did not see that coming.

Awesome 5stars!!!

I love this book! I haven’t ever read anything from this author before but this will not be my last. This would be a great movie and I loved the main character. Thank you #netgalley for the arc

What a crazy family! Harriet is engaged to a man who comes from a rich family. Inorder to be in the family, she must play the family game. A Thrilling, heart- pounding ride. This book reminds me of a movie called Ready or Not where the plot is very similar. A must read for people looking to read a thriller!

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for the eARC of this book.

Summary: Harriet is thrilled that she has found a man who she loves so completely and is so excited to start a new life with him in New York. However, very soon she is forced into his family's life which includes lies, secrets, and games.

The second my eyes saw the cover of this book I was enthralled. I wanted to read it because I'm very interested in thrillers and the premise reminded me of the movie Ready or Not. The beginning is a little slower paced, but once you get into the curious situation the main character has found herself in, it is impossible to put it down. There were certain times where I just wanted to shake her, but I rarely find that I do not have the desire to scream the answer at the protagonist. While I found the twist thrilling, I wish we had a little more of the story after we learned the twist to the end of the novel in order to finish out the characters' story.

Overall, this is one of my favorite books of the year and I plan on recommending it to everyone.

I have already posted the review on StoryGraph and will post at least one TikTok about the book leading up to publication.

The Family Game threw me for a serious loop. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, the twist attacked from the side! Amazingly written with gorgeous plot.

I really wanted to love this one. The premise is fascinating: a soon to be member of a very wealthy family is brought into their sick, twisted holiday game. I enjoyed the twists and turns in this one and the story had a lot of potential. The game in question does not come until the tail end of the story, but even that is not a deal breaker. I am just fine with building a good back story.

What I struggled with most was the lack of depth in so many of the characters, even really important ones. In fact, the ones that had some of the most importance to the story I had the least attachment to because of their lack of "page time" and their lack of any real dimension.

Even with Harriet, I found myself having trouble rooting for her when she time and again overlooked so many obvious pieces of information and made stupid choices. I found myself towards the end rolling my eyes at how some things were bumbled because I had come to suspect it.

There was an interesting commentary I feel was trying to be made about whether it is okay to do the wrong thing for the right reason, but it was quickly and shallowly explored, and ultimately, fell flat for me. I would have liked to have seen this arc explored earlier on and with more nuance. Yes, to keep a secret hidden heightens a desire to keep reading to find answers, but it also makes me care less about the morality of it when I do get there.

The plot in and of itself had real potential, but I failed to connect with the characters enough to care where the plot went. In the end, I finished reading to find out if I was right about the twist (I was), but got no real satisfaction. All of that sad, if Catherine Steadman writes another book, I'll probably read it too. I like her plots well enough to overlook that I don't love her characters.

**I will post a review on instagram closer to publication date.**

Harriet Reed, a writer, has left England to live in NYC with her fiance, Edward Holbeck. Edward comes from an uber wealthy eccentric family. After getting engaged, Harriet gets the chance to meet the rest of the Holbeck clan at Thanksgiving. Harriet, who has secrets of her own is determined to learn more about the Holbeck family, who seem to know a lot about her. Everything comes to a head on Christmas when the family decides to play one of their famous "games".

I enjoy a domestic thriller and if you throw in rich people, i like it even more. Unfortunately I found this one a little slow and also the entire premise was a bit far fetched. I liked the final twist/ending i just felt like it took a long time to get there.

Family can be brutal, but the Holbecks take the cake!
Reminiscent of the film Ready or Not and Agatha Christie's book Crooked House, The Family Game was a thrilling read. I would have easily read it in one sitting if I didn't have children!

The Family Game is well written, fast paced, and delightfully thrilling(with even some occasional dark humor). The story is so vivid that it feels more like an experience than just a novel. I haven't enjoyed a book like that since Taylor Adams' No Exit. The Family Game is my favorite thriller of 2022 so far!

Harriett Reed is newly engaged to Edward Holback, the heir of an important and prestigious family. While they have been together for some time, she has never met his family. When she is invited to a family dinner she does not know what all to expect. Harry has a particular drawing to Eds father, Robert. He is intense but she can't seem to pull away from him. When he asks to speak to Harry in private about her writings and life in general, he gives her an audiotape of a book he is working on. Harry cannot wait to start listening to it, but when she does she is shocked to hear what it contains. Who is this family she's marrying into? And what secrets will come to light about her and the others? In this intense family thriller, no one is as they seem and only time will tell when all secrets are revealed.

This book was SO good. I loved every minute of it. I was hooked from the very beginning because you know right away that everyone has their secrets. I thought the twist was excellent, not super unexpected but I think thats why I liked it so much. The author did not try to reinvent the wheel and instead stuck with a good, thought out twist. I was very impressed with this book.

I went into it almost blind, not reading a full synopsis. The rules of the game are what got me interested. I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a good, classic thriller!

Thank you to the author, the publishing company, and NetGalley for a copy of this work in exchange for my honest review!

Ｒｅｖｉｅｗ：⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝑮𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒖𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒆 𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆. 𝑮𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒕: 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒗𝒆. 𝑼𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒏𝒋𝒐𝒚𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒘𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔, 𝒘𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆, 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒅𝒔, 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔’ 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔.

📖 description: Harriet Reed is a novelist from London newly residing in NY who is recently engaged to Edward Holbeck, the heir of an extremely powerful and wealthy family. Though the family ties have been strained, news of the impending marriage has the Holbecks inching back into their lives. Harriet is drawn into their world and everyone seems welcoming, so when Edward’s father hands her a tape of a book he’s been working on, she’s keen to listen. As she listens, it’s clear this isn’t a novel, it’s a confession to a grisly crime, and a game is in motion.

💭 thoughts: Oh what a fun ride! This thriller for sure delivered on unexpected twists. I went in to this thinking it was going to be easily figured out and boy was I wrong. Every time I thought I had it figured out, another curveball was thrown at me.

What an eccentric bunch the Holbeck family was. All of them odd, morally grey, yet somehow likable? I like to be sure that all of my reviews are spoiler-free, so all I can say is I do wish we could’ve learned a bit more of their secrets and games of years past 🤫

Harriet was the perfect, yet flawed, protagonist. I loved the air of mystery her past gave her. I was kept on my heels not knowing what she was going to do after learning what she was capable of.

𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍-𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒅𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒂𝒕 𝒖𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒚. 𝑩𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒕.

The last 20% of this book was just pure gold. The game, the revelations, the action.. I loved it!

This is set between Thanksgiving and Christmas time, so add this to your December TBR! It might make you feel a bit more thankful for the family and in-laws that you have.

ᴘᴜʙʟɪᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴅᴀᴛᴇ: ɴᴏᴠᴇᴍʙᴇʀ 8ᴛʜ

ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴀʀᴄ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴘʀᴏᴠɪᴅᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴇ ʙʏ ʀᴀɴᴅᴏᴍ ʜᴏᴜꜱᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪꜱʜɪɴɢ ɢʀᴏᴜᴘ ᴠɪᴀ ɴᴇᴛɢᴀʟʟᴇʏ ɪɴ ᴇxᴄʜᴀɴɢᴇ ꜰᴏʀ ᴀɴ ʜᴏɴᴇꜱᴛ ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡ.

Thank you Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for this eARC.

This book was a rollercoaster of a reading experience for me. It started out slow and then I got into it in the middle and then got far too dark for the last half. I found the ending of the book to be far too dark and not satisfying. There were parts that were needlessly scary and gruesome. I think the book had definite potential but overall was not my cup of tea.

Someone else commented on this, but the first thing I thought after reading the synopsis was that it sounded like a movie called Ready or Not I watched a few years ago. I'm glad to report that while there were similar themes, this book tells its own story and was more psychological vs. violent. I really enjoyed the unwinding of this story and the ending felt fitting.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book played out a deliciously long game. I started reading it thinking that I knew exactly where it was heading, and it was the exact opposite. I was so satisfied by the ending, which is a bright spot among all of the books that tease a surprise but don’t deliver. This book nailed it.

What is the family game? I'm still not 100% sure. There were a few of them thrown in, but none of them were developed enough to be worth of the title, in my opinion. I enjoyed this thriller enough to want to know what was going to happen next, but didn't find the character's motivations for some really bonkers decisions to be rational, and found myself have to actively suspend my disbelief a few too many times to feel terrible satisfied with the ending.

This book was such a nice surprise! Mysteries/thrillers are usually hit or miss for me because they tend to be very trope-y. Sometimes, if the writing is good enough, they get a pass. But in The Family Game, I got a genuinely surprising plot twist AND excellent writing. I had a hard time putting this one down. It's difficult to say anything more without giving away plot points, but it's worth the read.
I will absolutely recommend this one to friends and family, and will be checking out her other books!

This book was great at creating a spooky feel and painting a picture of this family. Steadman did a great job at making the main character explain what a new details means for the overall theory. The twist at the end was not a huge surprise, however it was still a great and enjoyable read!

Harry, an author, is already engaged to the love of her life, Edward, when she finally meets the family that he is largely estranged from. Edward's family is intimidating (to put it mildly); one of those filthy rich, old money, household name types. At the first big family event that Harry attends, everyone is welcoming and Harry is excited to join the family. But then, her future father-in-law slips her a cassette tape of a book that he's been working on and asks her for feedback. The honor of being asked to review his work quickly dissipates as she realizes that the cassette actually contains the detailed confession of a terrible crime.

I really liked this book! Catherine Steadman's writing style made it near impossible to put the book down. I had some issues with Harry's character for the majority of the book-- largely due to the fact that somehow it took her six weeks to listen to the full cassette tape. While this obviously built up the tension, it seemed unrealistic to me that someone would have trouble find the time to listen to a 30 minute confession from a future family member.

The last 20% of this book was insane-- in a great way. I didn't see it coming and it was so intense. I'm already itching to reread this!

Thank you to Netgalley and and the publisher for an early release copy of this book!

This was entertaining, and I wanted to find out how it was going to end...but the whole setup felt extrememly far-fetched, even more than the usual domestic thriller, which detracted from my enjoyment.

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC of this book, Catherine Steadman’s The Family Game. All opinions are my own.

The Family Game is a compelling thriller very much in the style of the movie Ready or Not. Harry (Harriet), a successful British author, has met and is now engaged to handsome and wildly successful Edward Holbeck. But Edward is not just anyone - his family is incredibly wealthy and powerful, with their history going back decades. Think Rockefeller or Vanderbilt, if you’re American. Kennedy would also not be far from the mark, except the Kennedys are much more visible publicly, with many of them running for political parties and offices. The Holbecks are much quieter and more private; they like keeping their cards, and any favors owed, close to their chest.

Harry has rose colored glasses on when it comes to her fiancé, and when his previously estranged family comes knocking and wants to develop ties with her, well, she can’t shut off the fantasy in her mind of loud, bright, family filled holidays. She was orphaned at a young age, and is very much used to being on her own. But Harry has secrets herself, and she isn’t willing to give those up for anyone. What are the Holbecks hiding, and just how dangerous are these games they like to play anyway?

This book was well plotted, but I had a few issues with the pacing. The book builds tension, but it doesn’t truly light up until its third and final act at the remote Holbeck compound. Many of the twists were too loudly telegraphed, such as Harriet’s pregnancy - I know this sounds like a spoiler, but it’s revealed quite early on. I wish there had been more suspense and that there had been a bit more mystery. Most of the “twists” like the heavily hinted at backstory of Harriet, were just not surprises at all. Even the final twist when the real villain is revealed is not much of a shock when you already saw the writing on the wall.

It is clear from the start that Harriet is way out of her depths with the Holbecks; just how out of her depth, we don’t quite know. I did not find the videotape very convincing and felt it needed more polishing to be believable. As is, it felt rather rushed and was quickly pushed to the sidelines in the third act.

If the publisher is able to address a few of these issues, I would give this a solid 5/5. As it is now, I’d give it a 3.5/5.

Harry is engaged to Edward, and is set to join the Holbeck family. But this billionaire society family is guaranteed not to be your average in-laws.The Holbecks hold immense generational wealth and a multitude of secrets. To add to the mystery, these relatives also love playing games. As Harry makes her way into the Holbeck inner circle, she's put through the wringer, with outlandish family competitions testing her character, tenacity and loyalty. But when patriarch Robert Holbeck issues Harry the ultimate secret challenge, will she accept her fate or leave her future Holbeck life behind? While the family games in this book were pretty over the top, I found them entertaining and enjoyable. Another "rich family with secrets" storyline, this one kept me hooked trying to figure out Robert's angle and the true motives of the Holbecks. Four stars.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing--Ballantine for an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest feedback.