A Nearly Normal Family is a compelling read that combines elements of psychological thrillers and legal dramas to create a thought-provoking narrative. Its strengths lie in its deep character exploration and the moral questions it raises. While the resolution of the murder mystery may feel a bit too neat for some, the journey there is filled with enough twists and emotional depth to keep readers engaged. M.T. Edvardsson has crafted a story that will resonate with anyone interested in the complexities of family relationships and the gray areas of morality.
Overall, A Nearly Normal Family is a must-read for fans of psychological thrillers and legal dramas, offering a rich and nuanced look at the lengths to which a family will go to protect its own.

Rating:4/5 Stars
•
This is an older book review, but I am finally getting around to finishing it - finally - but also why did I wait so long to read this one!? It was awesome.
•
A Nearly Normal Family is told in three separate parts, through the father, the daughter and the mother. The same story, a different perspective. I absolutely loved that about this book. I thought that it made the story more suspenseful because you weren't really sure what exactly was the truth until it was that person's experience or thoughts that really drove home what happened. I feel that the pacing for this one was pretty steady throughout.
•
This story has a lot of depth to it. Yes, its a legal thriller. Yes, there is murder. But this is about how far someone will go for a person they love. This had so much insight at how far a family can be stretched. There is a lot of ethical dilemmas brought into this story as well which makes this super interesting and unique. There is so much growth within this specific family dynamics that I know that this story will be memorable for quite some time. The characters are in that morally gray area where they are both likable and unlikable, doing shady things and making you really just think if their actions are good or bad.
•
I listened to this one via audiobook and it was narrated by Emily Watson, Georgia Maguire and Richard Armitage and I think they all played each each character perfectly. They complimented one another as well. If you are thinking of picking this one up - I definitely recommend the audiobook!
•
A Nearly Normal Family came out in 2019 and then was adapted to a Netflix series in 2023, which of course now I am going to have to binge. Huge thank you to NetGalley, M. T. Edvardsson and Macmillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for my very late but honest review.

A legal thriller with a whodunnit courtroom drama, family drama all twisted into one book. What started as a slow burn quickly turned into an edge of the seat read. Told in multiple pov in three parts this is one thought provoking read.

I love a good thriller but A Nearly Normal Family by M. T. Edvardsson translated by Rachel Wilson-Broyles was just okay. It’s about a family, mother, father and daughter and the daughter is arrested for murder. The mystery of did she or didn’t she do it and why was interesting and I enjoyed the three part structure with each family member’s POV. I listened to the audiobook and it was nice how each POV had a different narrator. The three narrators Emily Watson, Georgia Maguire and Richard Armitage did a fine job. I didn’t enjoy the slow pace and this book was too long. It has over 100 chapters! It was so drawn out with so much rehashing of events that by the end I didn’t really care to find out the truth.

I read this book since I saw it was made into a TV show, and I tend to enjoy thrillers by non-American authors significantly more than those by American authors. It exceeded my expectations. While it reads like a legal thriller, the truth is far from clear and this novel kept me guessing until the very end.

How far would you go to protect your child? Your family? We all like to think we’d always tell the truth when it matters most and that overall we are good people and we’d know exactly what we would or wouldn’t do in a given set of circumstances. But do you? Really? A tragedy falls on a family who are already struggling to connect and the worst happens when the police call and say they have detained their daughter on the suspicion of murder! How far will this go? What can you do? Are you a failure at parenthood? Why don’t you know more about your daughter. Why does she behave the way she does? Is she guilty? How could you even entertain that?? You’re her parents! Isn’t it impossible for you to even consider? Do you know her as well as you thought? Find out in this amazing book! I loved that it was written from all three perspectives, the Dad, the daughter and the mom. It just goes to show how different three peoples actions and perception can be in the same sequence of events. This book was fantastic! And as a parent it hit on another level!!!

I thought this was ok. I liked the format of it being split into three parts, with three perspectives. I felt compelled to keep reading at first but by the time it got to the third part, it was feeling repetitive. All of the characters were unlikable in their own way so maybe that played into my enjoyment a bit. It was also a little difficult to tell which timeline we were in with the audiobook. Stella would be talking about the past and then suddenly she would be speaking from jail.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I know I am late to reading this phenomenal book but I am so glad I finally did! This is an incredible legal/psychological mystery woven between three different narratives, and I was so captivated from the very beginning. The audiobook is so wonderfully narrated and I found myself loving this complex mystery and powerful look at human nature and the things we will do for our family.

How far would you go for the ones you love? Told from multiple POVs, this story is told from the point of a father, mother, and their daughter who is accused of murder. The narration is great and kept me listening. Set in Sweden, this thriller poses the question of not only what a parent would do to protect their child, but also parents who happen to be a pastor and a criminal defense lawyer.

The beginning was good but I struggled a little bit through a few slow parts, and started to lose interest around 55-60%, but I think it was just the mindset I was in while listening at the time. I did get back into the story as it went on. I'm also a bigger fan of suspense or psychological thrillers vs. legal ones. It was interesting to have the narration broken up into chunks per narrator vs interweaved together throughout the book. The writing is good and it's pleasant to listen to. If you're a fan of legal thrillers, I think you'd like it.

Grooming shown through various points of view. So many red flags in Chris' narcissistic personality. Predator. A 30something pursuing teenagers.
Told via Stella and her parents' perspectives - the slow build to murder. What really happened on that night. Do the police and prosecutor have enough to convict?
So well done.

Although I loved the narrators of this book, the book (in and of itself) fell a little short for me. The narrators kept me interested, and I did like how the book was written in sections, rather than alternating points of view. However, this book was SO repetitive. Each person (father, daughter and mother) told of basically the same events, just from their own points of view. So, basically, there was a good chunk of the story that was repeated from point of view to point of view. This started to drive me crazy in the book, especially when the third narrator started. I think this book has good bones, it just wasn't for me at this time of my life.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Net Galley for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

LOVED this book it kept me up all night reading . Discovering the family’s secrets through the story was so interesting to me .

This is a slow burning legal thriller that I throughly enjoyed. Lies and secrets abound. Thanks NetGalley for the audio eArc.

Truly felt chills throughout this entire book. Both the plot and the narrator killed it. It made me feel even more like I was within the world of the book.

This one had been sitting on my shelf for way too long. NetGalley dropped an audiobook of it so I figured it was time to start it. I always love a family with secrets and this one had some strong writing and twists. This was a well developed plot and keep me interested throughout even though it is a slower story. The trio of narrators were great and did a lovely job with their respective parts. I am excited for Edvardsson's upcoming thriller!

I loved the multiple narrator fiormat of a nearly normal family. After reading The Woman Inside and this one, I am now a confirmed M.T. Edvardsson fan -- A new auto-buy author! Thanks so much for the opportunity to listen and review!

This one had been on my TBR forever and having FINALLY gotten to reading it I can't believe it's over. Gripping read, worth every page.

I could not put this book down! I really enjoyed the different perspectives from all the family members, and the distorted picture it painted of the events. Every time I thought I had an idea what was going on, I'd hop perspectives and get the events from a different point of view and start questioning things again. This was such a good read, right up until the end!

An excellent twisty suspense novel about a teenage girl charged with murder, told from the alternating perspectives of the father, the mother and the daughter. Families are complicated and our relationships within them can be a disappointing challenge; parents can become obsessed with protecting their children or can wish their child were more like someone else. There are a lot of character flaws on display here and the plot holds the reader riveted to the end. Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with an advance copy of the audiobook version of this novel.

This audiobook had me reaching for it every chance I could. There are lots of little chapters divided between 3 character POV, and I really liked how they were in parts rather than alternating. It was occasionally hard to tell about time shifts as they happened but that was a minor complaint. 4.5 stars.