Thank you to @RandomHouse and #NetGalley for the digital ARC of #AKillerintheFamily. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

I love a good mystery. Even better is discovering a new mystery writer whose plots are the believable yet the right kind of twisty. And the best thing is realizing the book you just finished (and really enjoyed) is part of series!

The plot revolves around the search for a serial killer. While the police are trying to protect the women of Southhampton from the Bonfire Killer, Aisling Cooley is trying to locate her long-lost father. When Aisling uploads a sample to a DNA site, the two searches collide.

This was the perfect mix of police procedural and family trauma/drama for me. The ancestry angle added a "true crime" vibe. Can't wait to read book 1 to see where Jonah Sheens and his team of inspectors started!

This is the 5th book in the DCI Jonah Sheens series and although it can be read as a stand alone, I wouldn’t. I’m assuming there’s a lot of character development I’ve missed in the first 4 books as at the beginning of this one, I often was questioning if I’d missed something and why seemingly important things were being skimmed over. I definitely was missing too much back story. The author often brought up smaller things that I’m sure were discussed in the previous books that just left me confused. Sometimes I request books on NetGalley not realizing that they’re a part of a series… this is completely on me.

This book took me so long to read; It’s definitely a slow-burn type of story.
Sometimes It felt way longer than it needed to be, with a bit too much almost unnecessary detail. The first 30% of the books was kind of slow building and repetitive. It got better but I was only really intrigued to read by 60%.

70% and on of the book was a wild freaking ride that I loved! I liked that all the small details came together slowly. And good God was it so messy but in the best way. The ending was a solid 4 stars. Unfortunately, that was only 25% on the book, but it really did finish with a bang.
It was also very well written!

I’d love the read the first books to see how I would feel about this one after having all the necessary info. I feel like me even giving it a rating is unfair without reading the first few!

Thank you @netgalley @penguinrandomhouse & Gytha Lodge for the DRC in exchange for a review!

A Killer in the Family had me on the edge of my seat from page one. Talk about a page turner! I couldn’t read fast enough to figure out what was happening. I read a lot of novels like this, and this storyline was extremely creative and unique.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and Net Galley for providing a free ARC of this title in exchange for my review. And many, many thanks to Net Galley for introducing me to Gytha Lodge and her Johan Sheens series in the first place. My life has forever been changed, and I have a new favorite author to look for each year!

OK, this book. It's great, isn't it? The story line was a bit of a surprise as it unfolded - how many people can really be related to each other? But the story moved quickly and you can feel Sheens' mind working as he breaks down each of the suspects. This is a page turner like no other!

Dislike, however, for Jonah/Michelle relationship story line. That was distracting.

But the overall story, the case - total page turner. Can't wait for the audiobook to be released so I can buy that and experience the story again!

4.5 stars - "really, really liked this one."

I'm generally not one to pick up a book that's a part of a series, and I never jump in after the beginning, so it's totally out of character to start at the fifth installment of something. That said, I couldn't say no to the premise of this and I enjoyed it so much I plan to go back and start from the beginning with book 1.

Thank you so much Netgalley for approving me to read this arc in exchange for a review.
This was such a fast paced read! Absolutely devoured this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House for the copy of A Killer In The Family by Gytha Lodge. This is the first book I have read by this author and in this series and it started out great, then it slowed down so I started to lose interest. I also couldn’t keep track of the characters. The pace picked up and the book got really good. I loved the reveal and when I thought about it I could see it made perfect sense! If you don’t mind some slow parts and you love lots of characters/suspects. This is the perfect book for you! 3.5 rounded up to 4.

A KILLER IN THE FAMILY by Gytha Lodge is a rollercoaster ride with dips and peaks throughout.
As the police are on the hunt for the Bonfire Killer, they cross paths with Aisling, a single mother of two teenaged sons. When the Bonfire Killer leaves behind some blood at one of the crime scenes, the DNA leads them to Aisling’s sons. Fearful that they are going to pin the murders on one or both of her sons, she contacts an ex-beau, Jack O’Kean, who is now a private investigator. The relationship with Jack never really closed as she just disappeared when her family suddenly moved away. She hasn’t seen Jack in thirty years but as they race to find the answers they realize that their feelings for each other remained. Their hunt leads them to a vast array of characters; victims, suspects, police, biological parents, adoptive parents, ranch owners, ranch hands, etc.
As the police close in Jack and Aisling are in a race against time to clear her sons.
I enjoyed this story. It taught me a few things about DNA, ancestry, adoption, and astronomy that I didn’t know. I couldn’t give it 5 stars however because I felt that there were just TOO many characters. I was even writing them down and still had trouble keeping up with who was who. That made things a bit distracting for me and it felt like more work than I wanted to do while I was reading instead of working. I’m not sure what characters could have been cut for they were all integral to the story and it wouldn’t have been the same without them. Overall though, I do recommend this one, just bring some paper.

I had no idea going in that this was part of a series, and I was pleased that I never really picked up on that either. It was easy to follow along and feel like "all the pieces" were there.

The multi-POV didn't seem entirely necessary, but I wouldn't say that it detracted from the story either. There did seem to be a slow-down in pace in the middle of the book, which is odd because that's where we find out the DNA tests are causing some intrigue. Overall, the conclusion seemed relatively easy to guess, but it was still nice to see some red herrings thrown in to keep readers engaged towards the end.

Overall: 4 stars

I'll tell my students about: language, sex, death, mental health/trauma

**Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the free DRC. All opinions expressed are my own.**

Thanks NetGalley for an ARC of this wonderful mystery in exchange for an honest review. This book is the 5th in a series but Lodge doesn’t make you feel like you are coming in on something you have no clue about. An earlier case is mentioned in passing but in such a way that you want to read that book (as if you haven’t) and not stop this book. This story is about family and how we treat them. Aisling Cooley hasn’t always lived in England. After uploading her DNA on an ancestry site, she finds out that she is related to a serial killer who is setting women on fire. She has two teenage sons and DNA confirms it is not either one of them. DNA doesn’t lie, so who is it? This is a fairly fast paced book. Not too many characters to make it confusing and enough mystery to keep things interesting. Enjoy!

A Killer in the Family by Gotham Lodge

Characters: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Mystery/Thriller:5/5
Overall: 5/5

This one was a great read because it focused on the one thing we all want to use in order to find out about ourselves and our family, DNA. The interesting part is that this is told first by a serial killer and then by a mother Aisley Cooley who uploads her DNA into an ancestry site. She receives a call about the findings but not by who she expects. Detective Chief Inspector Jonah Sheens informed her that her DNA is a match for someone called the Bonfire Killer.
After about halfway through the book you realize who the killer is but the other characters have not realized it yet. The characters are very well developed and somewhat cynical but still likable.

This book will be released on August 8, 2023 and is sure to be a hit.

Thank you to NetGalley as well as the author and publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my unbiased and honest review.

I loved the premise of the book. We hear countless stories about how DNA tests have changed people’s lives in many ways, so I was looking forward to reading this book.

I was a little lost at the multiple POVs. I like a little more structure in my books. I thought it moved fast-paced despite the little confusion I had. I thought it was a nice thriller to begin my summer thriller binge.

hank you NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.

This had me turning the pages so fast I thought my kindle would die! I love Loved this book so much. in all honesty it really is a page turner. The plot was awesome and the characters were great. I loved them all. Does her DNA match? I'll let you read the book to find out.

The different POV’s were so interesting. I really enjoyed this book. I found a few things a bit predictable, but it still made for a very enjoyable read.

I loved the premise of the book! It was hard to follow some of the POV’s at certain points and ended up being a really slow burn read. The book still had some good twists!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the e-ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

This book was interesting. It was very well written and I like how it flowed for a thriller book. It plot behind the book was a bit hard to captivate me but once it did I couldn’t put it down. I didn’t predict some things that happened which was good. I’d highly recommend

An interesting read about what might be revealed when you upload your DNA to a DNA ancestry website. Aisley Cooley is a single mother her on a quest to find her father. She uploads her DNA and hopes for contact. She is shocked when she is contacted by Detective Chief Inspector Jonah Sheens who advises her DNA is a close match for a serial killer known as the Bonfire Killer. The debate surrounding the use of DNA is fascinating a well written. Thank you NetGalley, Random House Publishing and author Gytha Lodge for the advance read copy of this book.

When I first started reading this book, it creeper me out. The first few chapters are from this serial killer's perspective. I almost put the book down. But I didn't, and as I read further, it turned into a very complex thriller, and readers learn where the title comes from. We discover more about the killer, and about our protagonist Aisling Cooley, and how they in a strange are tied together. If it were possible to feel sympathy for a psychopathic killer who has killed many women, I almost did. Check it out for an intense and edge of your seat thriller! I recommend it.

3.5 ⭐️
This is my first book by Gytha Lodge and this book was interesting! Basically this woman name Ainsley uploads her DNA to the DNA ancestry website and this results come out saying that she is related to the Bonfire Killer (the killer who has been scaring her town). The synopsis definitely got me hooked and was a major part to why I wanted to read this ARC. The book did start of really strong but then the pacing went slower as I kept reading on. The pacing wasn’t very consistent and that caught me off guard :( Maybe because I didn’t read it from the first book but I didn’t really feel that strong emotional connection to the characters.

Thank You NetGalley, Gytha Lodge, and Random House Publishing for the e-ARC in exchange for a honest review!

The premise gets 5 stars, but the execution brought it down to 3. The beginning started off with a bang, and I settled in, expecting the rest of the book to follow suit. This ended up being much more of a slow burn than I like. It was well written, but it just didn't engage me as a reader.

However, I did enjoy the debate surrounding DNA use, and that trope has been explored a lot in thrillers lately. The author did a great job sparking discussion about that issue, but all in all, I don't think I'll be reading another Jonah Sheens mystery. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my early read.