Harry has a secret. But so does her father-in-law. Who wins the game determines who keeps the secret. Would you play? Would you win?

As a fan of Catherine Steadman's other novels, I was excited to see "The Family Game" available on NetGalley. The novel starts off with a strange relationship between Harry and her soon-to-be father in law. It almost put me off with reading the book. But it was going somewhere... Harry's soon-to-be in-laws had a twisted sense of humor and played weird games but those games also served as a sort of power play.

A high 2 stars. Fun to read, but in the end, not worth the effort!

This is an incredibly slow and sometimes choppy book. The story starts and stops a lot. Nothing really happens and while there is an attempt made at building some kind of tension, it sadly doesn’t succeed at all. At no point did the text convey the feeling of danger the protagonist was apparently experiencing.

This very messy family wasn’t as fun as it could have been as the characters were very flat. The relationship dynamics and the way everyone behaved made no sense. The protagonist and her actions were incredibly irritating, her thought processes were very repetitive and the central relationship, the one with her partner, wasn't believable at all.

The promised plot didn’t really start until 80% into the book. Those last 20% could have made for a fun thriller if they had taken up and been spread out over the entire novel.

I found the blurb to be incredibly misleading. It implies that this book is focused on a deadly game, which it isn’t at all, in my opinion. It's about a pregnant woman deciding if she wants to be a part of this wealthy family or not while dealing with her own past. Also, most of the plot points mentioned in the descriptions don't come into play until almost halfway through the book, with some elements only being introduced almost at the end!

I had an enjoyable time reading it. And while it was very engaging and I wasn’t bored, I was mostly waiting for something to happen. For there to be more to the story. For it all to actually make sense. There was clearly a lot of potential. But I was just very frustrated by the end.

🔥💰 The Family Game💰🔥
By Catherine Steadman (via #netgalley)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wow! What an incredible book! Full of twists that keep you guessing. At times it was strange and maybe a bit far fetched, but a true thriller and certainly unique nonetheless. 10/10 definitely recommend.

Harriet ‘Harry’ Reed has been keeping a deep dark secret. She did a terrible thing in the past, but she’s the only one who knows. Fast forward to adulthood and she’s a best selling author. Her boyfriend/fiancé introduces her to his family (soon to be her new family) and things seem to be on the up and up. But his family is different. Eccentric. Secretive. Mysterious. And the family loves to play daring games. Harry’s future father in law hands her a cassette tape of a recording. The tape holds a confession that will change Harry’s future and listening to the tape marks the beginning of the family’s traditional Christmas game. This game isn’t one for the faint of heart. Will Harry survive the game or will her secret be exposed?

The Family Game will be released November 2022!! Thank you #netgally for the ARC!

#netgally #netgalley #bookstagram #books #read #readmore

I really enjoyed this Catherine Steadman masterpiece. So I went into this book thinking it would be a rehash of one of my favorite thriller movies " Ready or not" where the bride is forced to play a cat and mouse game as her in-laws take to hunting her down with the intent to kill. But this book pleasantly surprised me with its fresh take on a similar premise. Bestselling author Harriet ( Harry) gets engaged to Edward who comes from a wealthy and powerful family. When Edward finally introduces her to his family the Holbecks, Harry is thrown into a game devised to test her to see if she is worthy of being part of this mysterious and eccentric family. She is given the rules of the game and they are quite clear; 1.) listen carefully 2.)Do your research. 3.)Trust no one. 4.) Run for your life. Harry of course does her research. She writes thriller novels for a living after all. What she discovers is secrets stacked upon secrets and even murder. There have been others before her that have failed this game and paid with their lives. Harry has no choice but to play along until the end because the patriarch of the Holbecks knows one of Harry's own darkest secret from her past, and he holds it over her head as leverage. Read the book to find out if Harry wins this game and gets to join the Holbeck family alive. Thanks to publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

Wow. Catherine Steadman has done it again! This is my favorite novel of hers. I was sucked in from the first page and I had to know how everything would play out.

This book is so fast-paced. It has a great plot twist, a main character harboring a secret, and a rich & mysterious family who plays high stakes holiday games. It has all my favorite characteristics in a thriller, and I can’t wait to get my own physical copy later this year!

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

In a word, this book was NUTS!! A little over the top but you should go into this story blindly-quite a roller coaster of a book. I highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review.

I totally enjoyed this book! I could see it making a good movie and I was picturing it in my head the whole time.

The editor describes it better than I could:

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

Harriet (Harry) is an author, and gets engaged to uber wealthy Edward. He comes from a very powerful family who likes to play games. As Harry gets to know the family more, the games get crazier and crazier. You know someone is up to something, but you are not sure what it going on...

It was about 25% of the way through before anything even started - before she really met the family. But I was still tense and on my toes, because you could SENSE it coming. The writing was that good.

This book was different, it was suspenseful, it was fun.. Reading it was like boarding the crazy train - you didn't know what was going on. Who were the good guys - who was bad?

One sentence that i loved really stuck out. Harry is speaking with a cop friend. The cop says he likes her books because "she made you root for the protagnist even though you know she was bad". This stuck out because you just know Harry did something bad too - but how bad was it? And you like her anyway...

This was 5 stars until the end.. It felt weird - but I am not sure why I felt a little disappointment. Was it a little rushed? Was the endiing too trite? I am not sure- but it didnt live up to the rest of the book. Don't get me wrong - I liked the ending - I just felt like I needed MORE of something.

However, because I was up late because I could not stop turning the pages, and because I immediately looked up the author to see what else she wrote, I have to give it the full 5 stars, right?

I want to thank the author #catherinesteadman the publisher and #netgalley for the ARC which did not impact my review.

I have really enjoyed all of Catherine Steadman's books, and this one did not disappoint. I was hooked in from the start. Harry (Harriet) is a British author with a recent best selling novel, who has recently become engaged to Edward, heir to a wealthy family. Edward has kept Harry away from his family while they dated, but now she is getting to know them. They have some scary family secrets, and they are also digging into Harry's past.

This was a fun romp through a wealthy family's dirty laundry. I couldn't put it down. I think it could have established some of the siblings better, but I did really like Harry's character and how she would stand up for herself and do what she had to do.

This was a real page turner - especially the last quarter of the book! I've been a fan of Catherine Steadman for a while now and this book definitely didn't disappoint. There's really good character development and the story kept me interested all throughout. There were just a few quirky things that made me wonder why they weren't caught in editing (who is able to make a regular doctor's appointment on THANKSGIVING day??). But I would definitely recommend this book. You won't be disappointed!

The Family Game is The Inheritance Games’ older, much darker, slow-burn brother.

This story has Catherine’s signature realistic dialogue and excellent sequence of reveals. While the story was more slow to build than some of her others, it was riveting—so many mundane moments made tense, conversations layered with double-meaning and deceit. It’s a bit of an over-the-top premise, I’ll give it that, but it was masterfully done, and though I don’t entirely understand everything that happened in the end, I was much to invested to be frustrated. I would’ve loved a clearer wrap-up, some details/motives/what characters knew explained, but it was still an excellent idea, and a satisfying execution.

I’d recommend to fans of slow-burn psychological thrillers.

Abounding thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc!

-A

Finally. Harriet, a writer with a best seller, has put the past behind her. Her secrets are safe, and she's engaged to the love of her life, Edward. He's handsome , loving, and has millions. And now she's getting to travel to his family estate for Christmas and take part in festivities, including a game.

If you like rich people behaving badly, trusting no one, and large, isolated estates, this book is for you. It's got Steadman's trademark writing and is maybe my favorite of hers. I enjoyed the secrets coming out and the cat and mouse elements of the game.

This is a suspense novel-Harriet is a novelist, she meets Edward who comes from a VERY rich and powerful family. It all seems too good to be true, and then she meets his family. The family plays crazy/dangerous games, and there are stories of former girlfriends who have disappeared. Who does she need to be afraid of? What is happening in this family? #thefamilygame #catherinesteadman #catherinesteadmanbooks #psychologicalthriller #suspensenovel #bookstagram #booklover #bookblog #booksaremagic #booksbooksbooks #lovetoread #readersofinstagram #bookloversofinstagram #cassettetape

This is my third book by this Author and probably my favorite….. I loved the twists this book took. I really enjoyed her descriptions and characters. While I wasn’t really sure what the back story was or who the real bad guy was I was pleasantly surprised with how it all worked out.

Since thrillers have been my primary genre for well over a decade now, it’s very uncommon for me to find one that’s completely different. A thriller that doesn’t have a plot, trope, characters, twist, etc that’s never been used before is a rarety. So I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered the unique story that is Catherine Steadman’s The Family Game.

The story centers around Harriet aka Harry, a British novelist living in NYC. Harry just releases her debut novel which has become a hit and she is in love with her seemingly perfect boyfriend Edward. Edward comes from the Holbeck family who is uber-rich because of old money(think the Carnegie’s and Guggenheim’s). Edward keeps his family at arm's length but being the eldest son, he is expected to inherit the Holbeck’s fortune. When Harry meets the family, the patriarch Robert slips her a cassette tape which reveals a shocking story that sets a real-life game of cat and mouse into motion.

Going into this one, I expected it to be similar to Good Rich People by Eliza Jane Brazier but it's not! The Family Game is a completely unique and original story. Harry made a very interesting main character and I felt so much empathy for her. I also enjoyed getting to know the morally grey Holbeck family who is a very eccentric bunch with a very dark sense of humor. Of course I revel in thrillers because of the plot twists and there is an unexpected twist towards the end that completely knocked my socks off!

Some parts of the book were a little slower paced but over all this story kept my attention throughout and I found it highly entertaining. This is my second read by Catherine Steadman, the first being Something in the Water, which I also really liked. So I'll definitely be looking into reading more of her work.

The Family Game by Catherine Steadman will be available on November 8. Many thanks to Ballantine Books and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Ballantine!

Harriet is newly engaged to Edward, the heir to a powerful and rich family. His father, Robert, hands her a tape of a book he has been working on. It's about a murder. Is it a confession or fiction? She'll have to play the game to find out.

Alright, I saw this one coming from a mile away. It's still a decent thriller that kept my interests, but the twist was very obvious. And geez, that family was so odd!

Whew, the twists and turns in this book were INTENSE! Our main character, Harriet (called Harry) is a debut novelist engaged to the scion of one of America's wealthiest and oldest families (think Vanderbilt or Carnegie). As soon as the ring is on her finger, her fiance's family swoops in. Poor Harry, an orphan since childhood, is more than a little overwhelmed at the intensity of the attention... and a little concerned about protecting her own secrets, both happy and not so happy. As she spends more time with her soon to be in-laws, she learns that one of their favorite things to do is play games... sometimes very dangerous games, with high stakes. And inevitably, Harry finds herself playing for the highest stakes of all...

What a wild ride this one was! I literally could not put it down and definitely stayed up way too late shoving words into my eyes hand over fist. If gripping thrillers are your jam, get your hands on this book ASAP.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballentine for the opportunity to read this one early!

Guys. I. Couldn’t. Put. This. Thriller. Down.

The story follows Harry (Harriet), a woman who holds a dark secret from when she was 11 years old. She falls in love with Edward Holbeck, a man in a rich with a capital R family (we’re talking old, old, money). Her dark secret comes back to haunt her as she is forced to participate in “family games” in order to win her soon-to-be-husband’s family affection and keep her secret. Will her secret be her downfall, or be the thing to save and redeem her?

Just when I thought I knew what was going on in this book, it took a turn that was unexpected yet not out-of-left-field. Also, as is important to me in a good thriller, the main character isn’t a fool walking head-first into the arms of a murderer absentmindedly.

This was an ARC, graciously provided by @netgalley (my first one, eek!) and it’s out November 8th. Put this in your TBR. For real. Your November 8th self will thank you. It’s also set around Christmastime so it’s a perfect thriller to hunker down with with the Christmas lights twinkling (if you’re like me, and out your Christmas lights up early 😉).

📖 The Family Game
✍️ Catherine Steadman
🔪 Thriller
#️⃣ 336 pages
🗓️ 09/29/22

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you NetGalley + Ballantine Books for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Harry is an up-and-coming novelist on the brink of starting her dream life with her perfect husband-to-be, Edward. The only problem is this next step in their relationship forces a newfound closeness with her husband Edward’s family, the infamous old-money Holbecks. Edward, the eldest and heir to both the family business and the fortune attached, has long-since distanced himself from the family, so no one is more surprised than Harriet that the family seems to be welcoming her with open arms. So much so that Robert, the head of the Holbeck clan, entrusts Harriet with a family secret via an old cassette tape upon their very first meeting with each other. The contents of the tape prove to be inflammatory in more ways than one… so what should Harry do? After all, she’s got secrets of her own she needs to protect.

I am calling it right now, I think this book is going to be the thriller of the year! Cat Steadman has been an auto-buy author from me ever since I read SOMETHING IN THE WATER, but THE FAMILY GAME absolutely takes the cake for my favorite book by her. I thought the premise was instantly gripping and while the pacing was a bit slower in the beginning 30ish%, but the second half of the book was action-packed and I could NOT put it down. I love nothing more than a good cat-and-mouse thriller and this novel was nothing if not that. I especially appreciated that our MC was smart, determined and made (mostly) rational decisions. I LOVED the ending - avid thriller readers might see the *twist* coming, but it’s so well-executed, you won’t even mind. Highly, highly recommend!!

🎲 Single POV
🎲 Domestic thriller
🎲 Short chapters
🎲 Slow burn (second half is faster-paced)
🎲 Cat and mouse thriller
🎲 Twisted games
🎲 Explores class differences, feelings of not belonging
🎲 Action-packed ending

#caitsquietplace #caitsquietplacereviews #cqpthrillers #thefamilygame #catherinesteadman #ballantinebooks #netgalley

The Family Game is a book that catches you from the first chapter which starts as a glimpse of what is to come later in the novel. Harry is a novel writer who is in love with Edward, who comes from a very wealthy and high status family. Throughout the novel Harry is brought to family events to participate in so called family "games" - however everything is never as innocent as it sounds. As Harry is drawn into the dark family secrets she continues to try and keep her dark secret buried. As she realizes these "games" are more dangerous than they seem and the stakes are higher than anyone can imagine. I loved this book start to finish and was pleasantly surprised with the twist at the end! I had actually not seen it coming and I am an avid thriller reader so sometimes I am able to see them in advance. I would definitely recommend this book to those seeking a thriller with a twist!

I loved this psychological thriller by Catherine Steadman and will definitely recommend it! Her first book "Something in the Water" is an all time favorite. "The Family Game" is equally good with a twist you don't see coming. I was glued to this book all last weekend and could barely put it down. Thanks for the ARC!