Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of A Killer in the Family by Gytha Lodge in exchange for my honest review and opinions. This is book #5 in the series and each book gets better and better! I was beyond excited when I was given the chance to read this before all my friends and family as we all LOVE these books! Tons of action and suspense and will keep you turning the pages as fast as you possibly can to see what is going to happen next. Do yourself a big favor and read this ASAP!

Did not realize that this is a fifth in series. Will update review if I have a chance to catch up in the future.

A Killer in the Family by Gytha Lodge tells the story of Aisling, who, while trying to find information about her family (including her estranged father) signs up for an ancestry DNA site. But instead of being contacted by her father as she is hoping, she's contacted by the police who inform her that her DNA is a close match to some blood found at a crime scene. She is thrown into turmoil as she tries to prove that she and her sons are innocent of any wrong-doing.

This book was a bit of a slow-burn. The beginning started off with a bang and I was pulled in, however the middle got a little slow and finally at the 60-70% mark it came back with another bang.

There have been a handful of books recently with the ancestry DNA trope, and I think it's a good one. It's quite divisive for many people. I think that if you enjoy police procedurals or slow-burning mysteries, you will enjoy this book by Gytha Lodge.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This book failed to keep my interest it started off ok but I felt like it was predictable and so therefore I am only going o rate it 1 star. Thank you netgalley for a chance to read this book and review for my own thoughts and opinions

Loved this thriller of a book that will keep the reader guessing until the very end. Well planned and well written.

🔥🪵Book Review:
Title: A Killer In The Family
Author: Gytha Lodge
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/3 stars

When multiple women start showing up burned to death on pyres in the town of Southhampton, the "bonfire killer" quickly induces panic. In the midst of this terror, Aisling Cooley is searching for her father, who left many years ago when she was a child. She decides to submit her DNA to an ancestry website, and she soon finds more than just her father. Her DNA matches evidence that was left at one of the murder scenes. Someone she is related to is a serial killer.

This book was pretty good. I would not have been able to keep it together the way that Aisling did. Especially when the killer could potentially be one of her sons! Yikes!

Published: August 8th, 2023
Thank you, @netgalley and @randomhouse, for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was my first in the series, and while this can technically be read as a standalone, I do wonder if I would have enjoyed this more if read as part of the series.

The twists were a little outside the realm of what I'm comfortable with, but I really enjoy the character aspects of the story, particularly around Aisling.

Aisling Cooley Is a single mom who has two teenage sons. Due to her relationship with her parents, she didn’t understand why her father left the family. She doesn’t know anything about her relatives which made her feel incomplete. Aisling decides to upload her DNA to an ancestry group hoping to find some answers. She does get an answer but it’s not one she was expecting. The answer is Detective Chief Inspector Jonah Sheens. He tells her that her DNA sample “matches” the Bonfire Killer. The Bonfire Killer is the serial killer that has been killing women which then he burns them on a fire. DCI Sheens says there are three likelihoods that might be the serial killer. They are her father or her two sons. Aisling doesn’t know what to think but she can’t imagine her sons being guilt but are they or is it her father?

The author has written a dark twisted mystery. There are clues throughout the novel. I have not read this series before but I don’t think it’s necessary to read this mystery. I was gripped by the excellent writing of the author. I couldn’t stop reading.

I didn't realize this was part of a series so I went back to read in order and I am so glad I did! I loved these and this one just may have been my favorite!!

Thank you to Netgally, the publishers, and Gytha Lodge

When I requested this book I was unaware that it was apart of a series, one that requires you to read the previous books for this one to make sense. I am unable to read all the previous books along with this one before the publish date. Therefore, I will rate this a fair 3/5 stars and will adjust the rating and review when I am able to read all the books in the series along with this one.

This was not for me. The story was kinda slow and I couldn't connect with the characters at all. I was hoping for something different

A Killer in the Family is more of a police procedural than a thriller, and it is predictable. This book tackles the issue of use of DNA from genealogy sites, which is a real concern.

After a second dead woman's body is found on a pyre, police believe they are dealing with a serial killer. After Aisling submits her DNA to find her father, detectives show up and let her know that it is a close match to blood evidence found at one of the crime scenes. Without a lot of family, the suspect would have to be her father or one of her two sons.

This would be a great theme for a discussion. What would you do if someone in your family was not who you thought they were? What are the rights of the company that does your DNA analysis compared to the rights of the subject? If there was a criminal in your family, would you want the police to find them through your DNA?

This is book five in a series, which I didn't know when I read it. There's very little character development in this book, but I'm sure it's all covered in the earlier books. If you can live with that, you can read this as a stand alone.

I liked the themes in the book, but found it to be too predictable to be fun. The twists weren't very twisty. Three stars for being fine, not great.

My thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is book 5 in an intense thriller. While chaos is wrecking havoc in the world about a killer in the area. Curiosity has set this single mother down a path in search of her long lost father, She decides to upload her dna to an ancestry site. As she anticipates the results of the answers she’s been longing for, whom she connects to brings a lot more questions in her past. The Bonfire Killer is a lot closer to home than what she had planned.

This dark thriller kept me invested in the story from the get-go! It is the first book I've read by this author, and I really enjoyed trying to keep up with all the twists and discover where things would go. The characters are well-developed and easy to connect to, which makes for an easy and enjoyable read. I will look for more from this author and continue with the series for sure!

This was a fast and clever book, it kept me guessing until the end. Gytha has an amazing ability to weave together a twisted book that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

This one fell short for me. I had a really hard time getting into the story and I just never really got into it. I honestly had a hard time finishing it. Just wasn't for me,

When I originally requested this book, I did not realize it was part of a series. That being said, it could be read as a standalone. This book follows a police procedural in which we are looking for a serial killer who burns his victims in bonfires and a woman who is searching for her lost father might just learn that his DNA matches that of the serial killers.

This story is told from multiple points of view, which seems to be in these days. The book starts a bit slow and there are definitely sections that are dragged out, but overall, it's not a bad read.

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read A Killer In The Family.

This is a police procedural about a woman named Aisling, who is a single mom of two teenage boys and is looking for her long lost father.

Detective Jonah Sheens and his team are looking for a murderer they have dubbed as the Bonfire Killer. He seems to be an active serial killer who has the town on edge.

When Aisling decides to use a ancestry website to help her find her father she is in for a surprise when Detective Jonah is brought right to her doorstep... as it turns out, her DNA is a close match with The Bonfire Killer!

This is my first book in the DCI Jonah Sheens series, i didn't realize this was not a stand alone book, so I will be going back to read the others! I really enjoyed this book! I read it in a day! I couldn't wait to see WHY the detectives found a close relation from Aisling to The Bonfire Killer! thought the idea of using an ancestry site was a new and exciting concept. I loved the character development and the suspense. After reading the blurb on the book I knew this book was for me. My only complaint was the book was a little dragged out in parts, but overall a great read.

4 stars

A Killer in the Family by Gytha Lodge is the fifth book in her DCI Jonah Sheens series. This book can definitely be read as a standalone though. The beginning murder scene drew me in quickly and I couldn’t wait to get into the story. I enjoyed how genetic genealogy was worked into the solving of the Bonfire Killer case. That is something that you hear about all the time in the news, so it was fun to read about. I also liked how I thought I knew who the killer was several different times, but was proven wrong. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Slow burn suspense with some mystery since we don't know who the killer is until the very end. Bonfire killer is an interesting concept. The horse being killed is rough.