I believe this is the most unique format for a mystery I’ve ever read. It’s like being behind the scenes on a true crime documentary in one instance, like you’re reading a script for a show in the next and then somehow you’re suddenly in the audience learning about the discoveries as they happen.

Once I’d gotten used to the style of writing I was absolutely addicted to the story. There was a massive amount of twists and turns that kept me completely invested until the last page! Make sure you read every little detail because even the smallest things could matter in the end. 😘

While I enjoyed this immensely it would have been even better to have a physical copy in my hands so I could have sturdied the articles, texts, and emails more closely . I recommend getting this in print above all other avenues.

Thanks William Morrow for the arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Murder in the Family by Cara Hunter is everything I love about cold case tv shows in a novel.

Written in the form of scripts, interviews, newspaper articles and emails, this story follows the investigation of who Luke Ryder was and who killed him in his London home.

Full of twists and turns, this novel will have you guessing until the very end.

Big thank you to @netgalley & @author for my copy of this e-arc in exchange for an honest review. This was fun group/buddy read with @ Chris, steph, ciara, lexy, Erika

Murder in the family is an epistolary formatted novel about a 20-year-old cold case murder being reinvestigated on a true crime docuseries.

To start let me say that I’m a sucker for any type of epistolary novel so even if this wasn’t a topic I wanted to read about I probably still would have read it. The first 30% of the book really revolves around getting to know the different characters and the facts behind the cold case but once you get to that point, it’s a very quick read due to the formatting and obviously wanting to know what happened.

I went into this one wanting to take notes while I read, because I wanted to see if I could figure out who the murderer was alongside my reading but I don’t think notes are necessarily required if you’re just looking to read along (it’s the OCD in me).

This is my first book by this author, and I did thoroughly enjoy it. There were several twists and turns throughout, even when you thought you had the crime all figured out.

Highly recommend this one for anyone who is an armchair detective like me, or just enjoys an epistolary novels. Easy and quick to read. A good read for any thriller lover. I wouldn’t call this a popcorn thriller but it definitely reads just as easily.

Thank you William Morrow for my gifted copy. I thought this book was definitely unique but I struggled with the format. I would recommend it if you're looking for something a bit different.

I was thrilled to receive this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. I absolutely love the concept of experiencing the evidence as I read. Unfortunately the formatting of this book on my kindle device is not showing me the excerpts in a legible way. From what I read the book is going to be awesome. However I don't want to miss out on the bonus content the book has to offer. I won't be able to finish as an EBOOK. I have pre-ordered my physical copy of this book and will be eagerly waiting for it to arrive so I can experience it in its intended and unique way.

Thank you so much to William Morrow for the chance to read and review this book prior to release!

A 20-year-old unsolved murder is brought to the limelight when it becomes chosen for the latest season of a true-crime TV series, INFAMOUS. The story is told in mostly TV script with the occasional newspaper clipping here and there. I think that the mixed media format helped add some extra dimension to the story, but could also see how it could be distracting to some readers, so it's definitely more of a personal preference thing. Personally, I expected that the formatting would help me read quickly, but I think it actually slowed me down, but maybe that was for the better to really get a handle on all the characters in play.

There are a lot of characters, but the book has actual resumes for many of them in the beginning of the book which was a really helpful resource as I had to flip back a couple times to remember some details.

As far as the actual mystery itself, it was pretty fun and original. I didn't guess the ending and was surprised quite a few times. I think true-crime junkies will eat this up!

This book will be available for purchase on Sep 19th!

3.5 Stars

First of that ending. 🤯 I’m a nice bow at the end person so I’m not sure if I truly like it. While the ending is kind of a your own impression type thing it still felt like a conclusion. A conclusion in maybe a mysterious way. This book was written in such an interesting concept! I’ve never read ANYTHING set up like this. The main form was in show transcripts.(That were a little hard to keep everyone straight in my mind) But there were also newspaper clippings, chat forums (not my personal favorite), texts and emails. I felt like I should have been taking notes myself(!) to solve this crime. It truly brings you into the investigation, while maintaining the investigation tv show suspense and stunning revolutions. Talk about twists! ORIGINAL format that I’m definitely open to reading again.

Murder in the Family is one of the most uniquely written books I've ever read.

A thriller about a cold case, a group of specialists are brought together for a tv show to try to heat up a case after 20 years of being unsolved.

This book is written like a screenplay from a documentary series. It also has several newspaper articles, photos, text messages, voicemails, etc. They were fun additions to the story, but I was reading on my Kindle Paperwhite and could enlarge them, so there were a few I wasn't able to read.

I loved the idea of how this written. I always appreciate something creative and different. And I enjoyed the story and did not figure it out until it unfolded.

I give Murder in the Family 4/5 stars.

I got this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Twenty years ago, a good-looking younger man, married to an older, richer woman was found dead in the garden of the London mansion they shared with her children from a previous marriage. The case was never solved. Now, the family’s son, who was 10-years old at the time of the murder is back, with a film crew in tow, for a true crime miniseries to try a solve the mystery once and for all. But as the expert crew digs deeper into the story, details come out that bring some unsettling…. “surprises” to light. And the family who agreed to participate must figure out how much they are prepared to take in the search for the truth.

This book is told in the form of news articles, screen production scripts, photographs, etc. It’s different than a “normal” story style, so don’t go into it thinking you’re going to get a regular narrative writing style. There’s also a bunch of characters to keep straight, which is confusing at first, but once you get into it, becomes easy to do.

I didn’t mind the unique style of this book and found myself loving the compelling mystery at its center. The revelations come quickly as we follow the reality show episode format, with spicy cliffhangers and all. It did feel like you were viewing, waiting for each new episode as the book unfolded. That, IMO, gave it some special excitement. And like a reality show, there’s heroes (though not many, as no one can keep their hands fully clean with these things) and villains and some double crossings. All in a day’s work!

The ending was pretty intense too, though not entirely unexpected. As with any reality show, the twists come and reveal themselves fast and furious at the end, designed to leave you breathless, like a good “tell all” special. I just had a few lingering questions at the end that maybe kept this at a four-, not a five-star read. But overall, I was really impressed.

For a great mystery with a different writing style, this is a great choice. It was an intense mystery with some cliffhangers that kept me reading.

I received a free copy of, Murder in the Family, by Cara Hunter, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Who killed Luke Ryder? The book premise is to figure out who killed Luke Ryder. I did not care for the format of the book, like an interview instead of a novel, it made it hard to get int the book.

📺 EIGHT EPISODES, ONE KILLER 📺 … tune in to find out whodunit in Cara Hunter’s “Murder in the Family”!

BOOK REVIEW: 🖤🖤🖤🖤/5

Twenty years ago, Luke Ryder was murdered in the garden at his prestigious home and the murderer was NEVER found. Now in present times, his stepson Guy Howard has decided to reopen the case and investigate it as a true crime documentary series on Netflix that he will be directing.

The case is presented through a series of newspaper clippings, text message conversations, emails, maps, phone conversations, crime scene evidence and follows a group of specialists dissecting and debating each piece of evidence. I really enjoyed the forms of mixed media that pulled the case together. As a reader you truly feel like you are a part of the investigation and it kept the wheels in my mind consistently turning 🧠!!!

WHAT really happened to Luke Ryder back then?? And what other horrific truths and secrets will this documentary bring up to the surface through its investigations??

Thank you kindly to @carahunterauthor @williammorrowbooks @harpercollinsca @netgalley for my advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review! This book releases on September 19, 2023!

Twenty years ago, Luke Ryder was murdered in the garden of his home. The case has gone unsolved. Now his step-son, along with six criminal experts, will explore who killed Luke Ryder in a true crime television series. Who knows what truths they will uncover.
Murder In The Family is a quick murder mystery told in an unique way. The story is drafted as a screenplay of the television series. As each episode is filmed, you begin to see more evidence as to who may have killed Luke. The slow reveal and interesting plot device keeps you entertained and has you eager to keep watching(reading) much like your favorite reality show.
I loved this story. It delves out clues a little at a time, making everyone look suspect. I deducted the ending halfway through but I still was very interested in watching it all play out. It felt like a real life reality trime crime show wrapped up like an Agatha Christie novel, putting my favorite mystery author in a modernized light. It was the perfect whodunit.
Thanks to Netgalley, William Morrow, and the Scene of the Crime Early Reads for the advanced copy of the book. The opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced e-book in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book! The format was very different from a standard novel as it was written in multiple formats, but it was done very well.

The book is written as an in the minute true crime documentary that is being solved through eight TV episodes. Guy was 10 years old when his stepfather was found murdered in their England garden and twenty years later the crime is still unsolved. Now, a TV director, he wants to uncover the truth once and for all so his family can finally have closure. But, as the saying goes, be careful what you wish for.

The majority of this book is written as if it was a transcript of the TV episodes. There are also some newspaper stories, social media excerpts, text messages, and voice mail transcripts throughout the book. Most of what we uncover comes through each TV episode. The story was well-done, though I did predict who the real murderer was pretty early on. However, I wasn't really sure I was correct until the ending was revealed.

My only issue with this story was that the ebook format made some portions of this book hard to read because the font was so small. The episode transcript that made up the majority of the book could be resized on my Kindle, but the newspaper and the social media excerpts were so small and also done in lighter font. I couldn't resize them. I had to take a picture on my phone and enlarge some parts that way. I would have preferred if all the parts could be made larger. But, other than that, the format was really cool on this book!

Twenty years ago, 26-year-old Luke Ryder is brutally murdered in London and his body is found by his teenaged step-daughter. His murderer is never found.

Now, the deceased’s filmmaker step-son Guy Howard has decided to revisit the cold case in a true crime TV docuseries featuring the fresh eyes of detectives, a lawyer, a psychologist, a forensics expert, and a journalist.

Each chapter covers an episode of the fictional show and is told through a mixed media format which includes transcripts from the episodes, newspaper articles, text messages, online message boards, and e-mails. Each “episode”/chapter ends with a big twist to entice hypothetical TV viewers and the reader alike.

The creative storytelling format was fun for me and a reason I sped through the novel, but it might not hit with every reader. As with a lot of reality TV, you don’t necessarily get to know the real people, just the personality they portray on TV. So if you’re looking for character development as opposed to a purely plot-driven romp, you might be disappointed.

On Kindle, some pages were a bit difficult to read (the message boards and phone texts particularly) and it was hard to flip back and forth when I had a question or wanted to remember something I’d read previously. I’d definitely recommend reading a physical copy. There were also a lot of spelling errors and typos, which I assume will be dealt with before the final publication.

Overall, the journey to uncovering the real murderer was really satisfying and I had a great time reading this. I would definitely read this author again.

Excellent book. I recommended it to my friends. I will be adding all of Cara Hunter’s books to my TBR list.

Just a heads up for those, like me, who are not huge fans of epistolary fiction.
I can handle epistolary formats sometimes, especially if there are some longer elements of narrative text, like letters.

But this book was hard-core epistolary, made up entirely of a lot of short elements like resumes, film scripts, texts, and newspaper articles.

I struggle with books like these because of the complete lack of world-building and the fact that the effort it takes to read them does not seem relaxing.

If you love books like The Illuminae Files, then this one is for you!

Buckle your seat belts for this one! There are so many twists that you might get whiplash!! A cold case about a gruesome murder that happened twenty years ago is revisited by a true crime series - with a twist. The filmmaker involved in the series is the stepson of the murder victim, Luke Ryder. You will meet the crew - journalists, police detectives/investigators, psychologists, etc. along with Guy and his two sisters. The manner in which each participant is drawn into the show is revealed like peeling layers from an onion. Each new layer is teased at the end of the episode resulting in quite the cliff hanger each time. Crew members are pitted against each other as they strive to figure out who knew what and when while still trying to see if they can solve this murder. Written like a stage play with excerpts of texts and clippings from newspapers to fill in holes. Overall, an enjoyable and engaging read.

A special thanks to NetGalley for the advanced e-copy of this book and to Cindy Burnett at Thoughts from a Page (Lit Lovers Traveling Galley program) and William Morrow for the advanced reader copy of this book - due to be published on September 19, 2023.

This book was sent to me electronically by Netgalley for review. Thanks to the publisher and the author. I could not get into the format of this book easily. Innovative style. Mystery and intrigue. I liked the book.

The format of this book is such a distraction for me. I’m one of those people who can’t watch a movie with subtitles because I focus only on the words and not the action. People who like reading things in a format other than a novel (ie, journal entries, play scripts, etc.) will enjoy this dive into an old and unsolved murder. Lots of twists!

I can be a little stingy with my five star ratings, so you know this is a GOOD one.

Cara Hunter is a genius. Her books are so creative, her plots incredibly unique, and her twists are absolutely wild! Murder in the Family is definitely her best work (in my very humble opinion).

THE PLOT:
Twenty years after his stepfather is murdered, filmmaker Guy Howard decides to work on a documentary about the cold case. But this isn’t any old documentary! A panel of experts is called in and they actually work on solving the case… in real time.

THINGS I LOVED:
•The pace! I felt like I had whiplash in the best possible way. Every time I thought things were slowing down they picked up in double time.

•Itty bitty Easter eggs from Hunter’s DI Fawley series. You don’t need to have read those books and nothing will be spoiled, but there are a few fun little mentions of cases/characters that someone obsessed with those books (moi!) will appreciate.

•Easy explanations of some key “Brit-isms”. During conversations the characters will say something like, “and for our American viewers”… which was really helpful.

•All of the characters were so unique and well developed.

THINGS TO KNOW:
This book is written as a screenplay with a lot of unique mixed media elements added in (news articles, voicemails, “Reddit” threads). It’s absolutely fabulous and so well executed, but I know this won’t be for everyone. Swipe to get an idea of what I’m talking about.

This is one book that you ABSOLUTELY need to read the physical copy of. I tried to read a bit on my kindle and it’s really hard to fully experience some elements. Also I was determined to solve the case and needed to flip back a lot (and take notes)!

Overall, this was SUCH a winner and I can’t recommend it enough!

thank you to the publisher for the chance to be an early reader. all opinions are my own!