So, first things first - the format. This will absolutely not be for everyone, but truthfully I loved it! It made this such an interesting read. I haven't read a book yet with this type of format, but it worked for me because I felt immersed into the show. I felt like I was there with the characters and in the room and on the set filming with everyone. *Just a note that if you do the audio, I suggest reading along to the book*

As for the story itself, whew. This is for sure a slow procedural type read in my opinion. However, all of the details leading up to the final "episode" are so important! I think this was brilliantly written and everything fell into place spectacularly!

The end is jam packed with twists that could give you whiplash! I was not prepared for hardly any of them.
This is absolutely a read for true crime documentary fans in my opinion!

This book will likely not be for everyone, but it absolutely worked for me and I look forward to more of Hunter's work!

Major thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC copy!

First of all, this may be the most unusual book to leave laying around your house for your family to see it...

Guy's stepfather was murdered in his home garden. Twenty years later he now has hired six investigators to look through the case again and see if they can solve this unsolved cold case.

My favorite thing about this book was the multi-media format. Most of it was done in transcripts from a tv season that is being produced. There are also newspaper clippings, text strings, voicemail transcripts, and email correspondence. I do have to say that while I had an ARC of this on my kindle, I quickly gave up and purchased the print copy because it was very frustrating to read on a kindle. I would imagine the audio would not be as smooth either.

A clever murder mystery that does find resolution, and perhaps not in the way the reader expects, which always wins me over.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the complimentary e-copy of this book.

A fun, fast-paced whodunit with an unusual structure. Red herrings abound, people are not who they seem, and the concluding reveal is rather satisfying. Quick, satisfying read.

First I have to thank #netgalley, #killercrimeclub and #carahunter for the ARC of Murder in the Family.

The book is written in an interesting format that took a little bit to get used to. Once adjusted it was involved, riveting and constantly moving, resulting in my saying to myself, I think I know … well maybe not … well possibly.

It constantly was intertwining with the characters and the twists that occurred in the plot. The book as a whole was a surprising ending, well written and so worth the read. Each chapter you learn more and more about not just the family dynamics but all the characters involved.

Will definitely read more book written by Cara Hunter.

While the premise isn't much of a standout -- solving a true crime 20-years after the fact -- I thought the format was really interesting and very unique. Hunter writes this story in the format of an investigative true crime show, telling the narrative through tv show scripts, newspaper articles, voicemails, emails, and text messages. Each chapter is one episode, and some are much longer than others, so I think this best read in large chunks so readers can keep track of the twists and the drama. And there is plenty of drama! It kept the story moving, but in all honesty it felt almost like, "But wait, there's more!" every chapter -- and most chapters it happened more than once -- so it started to lose its luster. But I really liked some of the twists and the ending made it all worth it if you were paying attention to detail while reading. Also, I think the print format does this story justice better than an ebook.

Thank you, NetGalley and publishers, for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Perfect for a true crime fan. The format takes a bit to get use to and requires a lot of attention to detail.

First off thank you HarperCollins and Netgalley for the ARC of this book!! First off I’m a huge murder mystery girlie. This book had me on detective mode from start to finish…. AND I STILL GOT SURPRISED BY THE ENDING!! I thought I had it figured out and I solved the case but boy was I wrong. While I am still confused by the last two pages overall this book was a page turner that had me hooked from start to finish!!

I loved the concept behind this book! I think I would have loved it more if I would have read it as a physical copy. I’m not sure it translated as easily on my Kindle as it would’ve on paper.

However, it still had a great concept and plot.

I love reading mysteries in a unique format that pulls you into the story more. Murder in the Family is set up as a season of a true crime show. However, they’re not just trying to relay what happened, they’re also trying to solve the cold case. The season’s director is the victim’s step-son, giving the crew unprecedented access to the family and where he was murdered.

I found the format of the book very fun. I thought it was done very well overall with conversations in screenplay format with other information in emails, texts, newspaper clippings, maps, subreddit-like posts, and other images detailing the original case.

The cliff hangers from one episode to the next were done so well a handful of them had me audibly gasping. However, I liked those and the other reveals along the way a lot more than the actual resolution to the actual murder. Somewhere along the way we start to find out more about the background of the victim and I found that to be more interesting than the murder.

One downside of the format is that it got difficult for me to tell the people from the investigative team apart. It made it difficult for me to keep track of their backgrounds, and they really all started to blend together.

I think this might be a book best read in physical format. It could really benefit from taking notes and sticking tabs to keep track of everything and also help you feel even more like you’re a part of the story, trying to solve this along with them.

All in all, I found this to be a very enjoyable experience. It was an immersive experience, an easy to read page-turner with many twists and turns, and while the final resolution (for me) was a bit of a let down, I still thoroughly enjoyed the journey and would recommend it, especially if you like mysteries with unique formats like The Appeal.

Thank you so much to William Morrow and NetGalley for the eARC!

4.5 stars. SUCH a FUN read! I love the format of a documentary filming, I loved the dialogue of "Experts" format, etc. Twisty, fun mystery with lots of interesting characters. I don't want to say too much, because there are lots of fun reveals/twists along the way to the ending.

"A shocking thriller about a cold case, a fictional true crime series, and the family caught in the middle.

SIX EPISODES. ONE KILLER.

It was a case that gripped the nation. In December 2003, Luke Ryder, the stepfather of acclaimed filmmaker Guy Howard (then aged 10), was found dead in the garden of their suburban family home.

Luke Ryder's murder has never been solved. Guy Howard's mother and two half-sisters were in the house at the time of the murder--but all swear they saw nothing. Despite a high-profile police investigation and endless media attention, no suspect was ever charged.

But some murder cases are simply too big to forget...

Now comes the sensational new Netflix series Infamous, dedicated to investigating--and perhaps cracking--this famous cold case. The production team will re-examine testimony, re-interview witnesses, and once again scour the evidence. The family will speak. The key players will be reunited--on camera. The truth will come out.

Are you ready to see it?"

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed herein are my own.

I have very mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand I really liked the mystery, the twists and the overall but I strongly disliked the format. I love true crime series but I prefer to watch it instead of reading a teleplay. The instant messages, the emails and the discussion added to the story.

Thank you William Morrow and Netgalley for an ARC of “ Murder in the Family”. I have been in a reading lull and whenever I find myself dragging through a book, I always pick up a thriller. From the moment I opened this book, I knew it would hook me. It is written like a documentary where all of the characters are interviewed. The story revolves around Guy, a wealthy film director who has been plagued for years about being the only family member home when his stepfather was murdered. After years of not knowing and the case going colder, he has decided to hire the experts in the criminal field and see if they can look at this murder with a fresh look. I DEVOURED this book, and loved the ending!

If you like true crime documentaries, this is the book for you.

Guy Howard was 10 years old when his stepfather was brutally murdered. Guy was sleeping upstairs at the time. Twenty years later, the murder has not been solved. The case has now been selected as part of a true-crime docuseries and Guy is the director. Six specialists who were not involved with the original investigation have been selected to re-examine the evidence and see if they can solve the mystery.

What makes this interesting is that the story unfolds through a series of emails, texts, newspaper articles, and the transcripts of each episode. For me, this format worked. I felt as if I was watching everything unfold and looking at each piece or revelation for a hidden meaning or additional information.

The format of this book was very unique. It took me a while to get in the groove of reading it. Once I was however, it was great. I loved the story line. A positive was that I did not see some of the twists and turns coming. This was not an easy read, but for a true-crime novel, it was decent. I don't love when stories seem not real and unbelievable and this one at times was that. Maybe I'm too much of a realist. While I did physically read this story, I do think it would have been interesting listening to it as an audiobook. I do wish this book was about 80-100 pages shorter.

With a unique format, this is the story of an infamous family - of murder and secrets and questions left decades unanswered. Youngest son of the family, Guy Howard is producing a sort of live documentary in which he attempts to bring together a handful of experts and new technology to unravel the mystery of his stepfather’s murder.
Interspersed between the chapters are texts, emails, news articles, social media posts and voicemail transcripts, along with call sheets for each filming day. These items were REALLY hard to read on the Kindle version of the book, but so worth it. Adjusting the font size didn’t help as they were inserted as photos I think? I would recommend getting the hard copy to get the most out of all the little extras.
The cliffhangers as the investigative team made discoveries was just as exciting as actually watching a TV show end episodes on a giant revelation - except unlike in real life you didn’t have to wait a week for the next part of the story haha.
The mystery kept me guessing, the characters were interesting and the ending was chilling. A great read!

Who Killed Luke Ryder? That’s the question the reality tv show Infamous asks on six episodes. The panel of experts who review the evidence from the twenty year old cold case and interview new and former witnesses will find the answer but not without revealing many long hidden secrets. Film maker Guy Howard is behind this project. He was ten years old when Luke Ryder was found dead the garden of Dorney Place, his family estate. He was alone at the time, his teenage sisters were at the movies and his mother was at a party. Guy was alone with his stepfather, an Australian surfer and much younger new husband. Those are the facts. They are not the truth.

Murder in the family, by the talented Cara Hunter, is told by the dialogue of the actual broadcasts and by voicemails, texts and newspaper excerpts. The reader slowly pieces the story together, bit by bit, as the panelists do. There are many secrets to be revealed and the surprises keep coming even when this mystery seems to be solved. This thriller is a true puzzle and impossible to put down. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow and Cara Hunter for this ARC.

This book includes a ton multi-media and reads like a television script. It was so fun to read! I loved that the style was so different than my usual whodunnit mysteries. It reminded me so much of a show my husband and I binged it on our never-ending second date. Obviously no spoilers, but it made me love this read even more when Hunter mentioned it in the book too.

You all know I’m a huge e-reader and I did alternate back and forth between my kindle arc and physical copy to binge. Ultimately tough, the mixed media parts were tough to read digitally so I do recommend the physical book if you can!

I loved how face-paced the book read and the concept was just so originally. I could totally see a television station picking up the concept and true-crime junkies eating it up. This was my first read by the author and I already purchased more.

I loved the set up of Murder in the Family, a television show that gets a group of experts together to review a cold case (the murder of Luke Ryder that occurred 20 years ago) in the hopes of solving it. As the experts re-evaluate the case new discoveries are made and revealed at the end of each episode followed by viewer commentary on social media and whatnot. I loved the TV show concept, it added a fun layer to your standard whodunnit mystery. I listened on audio and while I wouldn’t say this translates the best to audio format, once I found my footing with it, it was easy to follow.

4⭐️ Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced reader copy. Murder in the Family released on September 19th.

The characters were well written but I did not enjoy the format of this book. At times the text was hard to read but mostly I found it difficult to follow the story.

My only wish is that I had read this book physically instead of digitally. The format would work MUCH better in a physical book than digital.

Content-wise: I loved this book! I fancy True Crime podcasts and streaming viewing, so the inclusion of transcripts, CVs of the experts, text messages, etc was a fun aspect to the storytelling that I haven't encountered as a reader before. If you like deep dives into true crime, this book takes it to a new level!