Fallon, a psychologist dealing with PTSD, receives the results of a DNA test gifted by her brother. To her shock, she discovers that her brother isn’t related to her at all. Instead, she has four previously unknown brothers. But there’s a chilling twist—one of them is a serial killer. A police officer informs Fallon that her DNA matches that of the probable murderer. Determined to uncover the truth, she works with the policewoman to identify the killer among her newfound siblings.

This is an intense and twisty page-turner. While some elements may stretch believability, the overall experience is captivating and entertaining.

Wow what a great read!!! I really enjoyed this book & will definitely be on the lookout for more books by this author!!

I couldn’t get into this book no matter how hard I tried. I just found the plot bland and boring and the characters didn’t feel developed enough. Unfortunately, not for me.

The book started off alright. The story felt long and there were things that didn’t add to the plot at all. Some parts of the book felt unbelievable. All in all this was just an ok read for me.

A great tagline: Is murder in her DNA? This was a great thriller-y read! Serial killer, courtroom drama, family dysfunction. Flawed characters, twists, turns, and surprises! Thank you, Netgalley, for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review. 4 Stars

WOW what a rollercoaster of a read !! Lots of twists and turns throughout that kept you guessing as to who ‘the brother’ was , as soon as you think you’ve worked it out , another twist comes along sand changes your mind ! And an ending that you don’t see coming !! Great read !

I love a book that discusses dna and geneaology. I loved also how it combined my love of serial killers.

I did not finish this one, it was not for me, I couldn't relate to the characters, and just did not care for the story.

The Brother was a good and interesting read, that I enjoyed a lot. The writing was fine and kept my attention, so it was easy to finish this

I watched Silence of the Lambs last night and that reminded me to write this review. Why? Because NV Peacock manages the same trick Thomas Harris did there, and Jeff Lindsay with Dexter for that matter - creating a monster of a serial killer who you love to hate, but kind of like as the villain. It's both disturbing and amusing to realise how you feel about him as you read.

The Brother has many layers and twists as we slowly unravel the horror that befell Fallon at Cat Hall and realise she's back in yet another life and death situation. The forensic genealogy angle is interesting too. Well paced and plotted. It kept me turning the pages and I appreciated the dark comedy that flowed throughout.

Overall, an engaging and fun read. Dark in parts, but the comedy moments balanced it. Recommended. :)

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley, below is the blurb

"My mother lied to me. My family is not my own. If it wasn’t for the genealogy test, I would never have known I was the child of another woman. Now I’m learning that I have four brothers I have never met. And one of them is a serial killer. My brother is taunting me to play his vicious game – solving his clues before he spills more blood. Who can I trust? How can I find and stop him before it is too late? And what if it is me he really wants?"

I have to say I found this book just ok. It kept me interested enough to finish it but didn't really get me hooked. Not sure why that was as I can see from the other reviews that lots of people enjoyed it. As a side, my favourite character was the dog! Please don't let me review (or lack of one) put you off, it was ok and lots of people are enjoying it, it just wasn't for me.

I thought the plot was such a good idea! Finding out you have another family and one of them is a serial killer. This would make a great movie. However, the ending really disappointed me, as I felt it was a cheat way out and not clever like the author intended.

I enjoyed the writing style of the book and the use of different character POV chapters worked in Peacock’s favour but overall thought The Brother was an average read.

It felt as if there was 3 different stories in this book, Fallon’s kidnapping case, the serial killer brother and the adoption storyline, and I’m not quite sure the three worked together. I would’ve liked the serial killer story and the Cat Hall horror to have been 2 separate books, but the author did mix them together at the end nicely so I must give credit where credit is due.

This book was given to me by Net galley to read in advance and in return I am writing my honest opinion about this book,

What an excellent book. I expected it to be a page turner but I was in for a pleasant surprise because not only is this fast paced but it runs several themes throughout the book.

One character is dealing with so much. She learns that her past is not what she believed it was, and with this new information comes a new family. Don’t think this comes without a cost.

Be prepared to spend late nights reading, not wanting this book to end.

I can’t wait to recommend this to all my book lover friends. I can’t wait for this author to publish another book.
Well written. Thank you.

This was so much fun and wonderfully fast paced. You'll be able to read it quickly, which is a good thing because you'll want to know what happens and which brother is the murderer. Red herrings abound until his identity is finally revealed and it's a shocker!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC without obligation.

This sounded right up my street and the synopsis gave me major SERIAL KILLER’S SISTER vibes. Dark, chilling and suspenseful, this family reunion turned game of cat and mouse thriller was fast paced and interesting, BUT I wasn’t crazy about it.

While the plot line was intriguing and well thought out, unfortunately I wasn’t a huge fan of the writing style itself. A lot of the dialogue came across as quite simple, some major events and twists felt rushed, and although I’m normally a fan of multiple storylines, this aspect didn’t work as well as it could have in this book.

Having said that, I switched to the audio version about a third of the way in and enjoyed it a lot more. There were plenty of positive features: there was no shortage of twists and turns, and the introspective look at nature vs nurture when it comes to serial killers was compelling. I also found, being a psychologist, the perspective of our main character was a super interesting one, as she intertwines her experiences with her understanding. The prologue was also PERFECTION 🙌🏽

[𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯. 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 @𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 (𝘐𝘎), 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩.] —— 𝑬𝒇𝒇𝒚 @ 𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒈𝒊𝒓𝒍 🥀

Wow! This was such an exciting read! There were so many things that I liked about this book. First, reading from the serial killer’s POV was creepy and thrilling and so well done! You have no idea who they are, but you’re in their head trying to catch on to any clues you can. Second, I thought I had the Brother figured out dozens of times, then something else would happen or be said that would have me rethinking everything I thought I knew. It had me questioning EVERYTHING. Third, I really liked the prologue and how it set the tone for the rest of the story. It introduced the Brother’s thought process and really drew me in. Finally, a fantastic ending! I would even love a second book of this story!

It's been three years since I read N.V. Peacock's debut novel (and really enjoyed it) and I was really looking forward to this one. The premise was intriguing and the subplot was right up my alley. A woman with a traumatic past finds out through a DNA test she actually has a whole new family, with four older brothers and one of them might be a serial killer. About 50% in I thought I had the twist pegged but I was wrong. Secretly I thought my twist would have been better but I was still happy with the ending.

Whilst this was a fine thriller, the execution just wasn't there for me. There were too many characters and too many storylines that made the story muddled, and at times, hard to follow.
However, I really like Peacock's writing style. She writes strong female characters and has a way of twisting the story around to the point where you're unsure if she's really who she says she is. That's my kind of writing.

Content warning: sexual assault (off page) not graphic.

Absolute packed full to the brim of thrills, twists and terror.

I loved this book, a gift of a DNA ancestry test turns in to a fast paced ride through hell.

Truly one for everyone and I absolutely loved it.

I really enjoyed The Brother by N V Peacock, basically psychologist Fallon is gifted a DNA family tree test by her brother but when the results come back, Fallons world is turned upside down, her brother isn't related to her and someone from the police has contacted her saying her DNA is a familial match to a probable serial killer. on the whole it was a great book with lots of chances to guess who the murderous brother could be and a few red herrings to muddy the way.

The prologue really sets the tone from the start and gives you insight into the killer. Has minor LGBTQIA+ representation. Two main characters, a psychologist working through her own traumatic event and a serial killer. You get to see the POV of the serial killer and it is chilling. Interesting court scenes. Big twist at the end. Intriguing epilogue. Only sour note while I look back is the psychologist being overly risky, kind of to the point where you are like "does she want to get murdered?" which could be the case actually, though they do not really explore that. I plan to check out more by this author.