I really enjoyed this one! It was a different reading perspective for sure I was a bit confused in the beginning with all the introductions of the characters and then when I figured the documentary view it all made sense. I did read it from my kindle and the images were hard to read but other than that it was a quick read if you have a whole day to do nothing.
A SHORT summary WITHOUT giving the story away. A team of professionals as well as individuals involved are trying to uncover a killer from a 20 year old murder.
FULL of twist after every episode and mouth dropping shocking revelations. This team is going to find their killer even if its....
...NO SPOILERS :)

There were too many narrators and too much going on with this book to be highly enjoyable and it got to be way too predictable. I received a free copy from NetGalley for my honest review.

Guy Howard, filmmaker, takes viewers through a 20 year old cold case, of his stepfather, who was found dead in the family garden. You start off by getting a look at everyone involved in solving the crime both from the original investigation and current, along with the film crew, journalists, experts, family and friends. You get articles, resumes, pictures, emails, texts, everything you’d find if this was happening in real life and you are following the case and more important involved and a part of the case.

This is the first mixed media type novel I have read and it was great. I read this on my kindle, since I didn’t have a physical book to write in, I did take some notes throughout so I could keep everything in line. There are a lot of characters and stories and twists which can get overwhelming but I found it to greatly keep my attention. This would be a great book for those who annotate.

This was one of my most anticipated reads this year and it did not disappoint. Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow Books for the copy of the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

If you are a true crime doc fan this is the perfect read

This was my first book by Hunter and a fun read for true crime fans!

Short synopsis: An unsolved murder 20 years ago becomes the subject of a Netflix true crime series.

Thoughts: Told only via news articles, message boards, emails, texts, and the actual script of the show, this story was written like no other. I enjoyed the mystery behind the murder and how Hunter plotted clues and twists throughout the entire book, keeping me curious until the last page. While it was easy to envision each episode in my mind, I would recommend pacing this book out (maybe reading one episode per day) to avoid any burn out with the format. I also highly recommend the print book over audio or ebook to get the full effect. It’s easiest to see the news clippings and messages that way!

Read if you like:
-True crime documentaries
-Screenplays
-Breadcrumbs tactfully plotted
-Twists and turns
-England setting
-A full cast of chatacters

A book where I try to figure out the killer? Yes, please! Once I saw this book I knew I had to have it.

The format wasn't what I was expecting at all. I figured the book would be in a detective's POV. Boy, was I wrong. The format took some getting used to but I did like how different it was. You didn't get any bias coming from someone's POV. I did however feel the book dragged in some parts. I did enjoy the twists!

Okay we love a multi-media aspect to a book and this one used so many. Script format, newspaper clippings, text screenshots, voicemail summaries, Reddit forums, etc. The only part that wasn't enjoyable in that regard was that with the Reddit pages, the font was so light it was hard to read, but that may just be an #ereaderproblem.

I did NOT expect that ending. Definitely felt left on a cliff hanger for a few of the plot points, so bear that in mind.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cw5rQ6RLZDH/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

🩸 BOOK / REVIEW 🏏

#murderinthefamily by @carahunterauthor was SUCH A FUN BOOK to read!!

As someone completely obsessed with all things #truecrime, I was utterly fascinated by how this book was constructed. It really did feel like the reader was helping to solve the murder of Luke Ryder, right alongside all of the characters. I can't even begin to imagine how long it took for Hunter to not only create the plot, but build the perfect characters to fit the story.

And speaking of characters, no one was as they seemed throughout this entire book! I had whiplash at the end of every "episode" and was seriously still guessing up until the final pages.

While this was written in a documentary "style" and the interviews were short, this was not a fast read. There are simply too many factors to consider as an amateur sleuth, so be prepared to block out distractions! The ending will surely blow your mind! Thanks for my finished copy @williammorrowbooks - this one publishes 9.19.23!

So this book started off great, I was hooked, I was on edge, I felt like I was in an episode of criminal minds. The idea was THERE.

However, it was not executed well. It could’ve been shorter with less crazy random twists & I just didn’t love it in the end.

I could see other people loving this book, it just wasn’t a favorite for me.

This is one that’s hard to describe without spoilers so I’m going to keep my review simple and short. It’s about a cold case that becomes the subject of a streaming service (like Netflix) series.
Luke Ryder was married to a socialite in the early 2000’s and was found murdered in 2003 and the police were never able to find his killer. Twenty years later, a group of experts, including detectives, a reporter, a psychologist, a lawyer all headed up but the former step son of the victim, all gather together to work the case through fresh eyes and it all plays out on live tv.
The book consists of scripts, texts, emails, interviews, photographs and it really felt like you were part of the investigation. There were so many twists that I didn’t see coming and everyone was a suspect at some point -even those that you would never think to suspect! The mysterious background behind Luke and what led to his murder was compelling that I found myself completely engrossed and wanting to know more.
This is one that’s hard to describe and yet won’t be one I will forget anytime soon.
Thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

Sometimes it is better to let sleeping dogs lie and sometimes the dogs prowl to the surface no matter if you try to keep them down. In this blend of modern fiction and an old-fashioned Agatha mystery, the reader gets all sides of the mystery and quickly will decide they know who the killer probably was. But then 3 chapters later they'll change their mind, and then near the end, yet again. This is a book you just CAN'T put down once you get into the 3rd chapter- as you start guessing you have to know the truth. Sometimes a morner take on an old style is JUST what you didn't know you were looking for!

In December 2003, Luke Ryder, the stepfather of acclaimed filmmaker Guy Howard was found dead in the garden of their suburban family home. Despite some initial leads the case went cold and was never solved. Decades later Guy is a filmmaker and agrees to provide unprecedented access to his family and case files. Guy and his producer gather a team of experts to re-examine the case with the hopes of solving in an 6 episode mini-series on the murder.

One of the things I loved about this book was the unique writing style. The book was largely written in the form of a script of the dialogue between the experts. It was also broken down by episodes rather than chapters. I really enjoyed this book and would suggest it to anyone who loves the podcast/documentary type of book.

I was really excited to read "Murder in the Family" since I had heard good things about it and liked the idea of a fictional "true crime" documentary production. I have read a few "podcast" style thriller books and LOVED those. However the format of this was very off putting. I felt like I was reading a script rather than a novel. I didn't like the new and press clippings interspersed throughout the book, they really distracted from trying to get some reading flow. The overall story was good, VERY predictable but still good. I wanted to like this book so much (maybe that was part of my issue) but I don't think I will ever read a book formatted this way again and definitely not on my kindle.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in advance of publication.

Murder in the Family
by Cara Hunter
Pub Date: 19 Sep 2023


Complex, not an easy read, well worth your time to read, I highly recommend this.

Synopsis:

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.

Many thanks to #NetGalley, #MurderintheFamily and #William Morrow Paperbacks for providing me with a copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

With a challenging format, we have an intricately plotted story. One body, six experts. Can they solve a decades old murder? Fascinating take on the true crime podcasts!

Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for this ARC!

I liked the story, setting and characters but did not like the format which was mostly a screenplay with some narrative. I would not read another book set up this way. Thanks to #NetGalley and #MurderInTheFamily for advanced digital copy.

A fictional true crime story with a super unique and creative formatting? Sign me up.

Im a visual person, so the inclusion of newspaper articles, resumes, text messages and the like really helped immerse me into this story and its characters from the get go.
The descriptions of Dorney Place made it seem like nothing short of a fairy tale, minus the fact that it was also the site of a gruesome family murder…

I loved how the bulk of the story was told in TV script format, and it felt like I was watching a docuseries the entire time I was reading this one. Reading on my Kindle Scribe made it easy for me to take notes & highlight as I went along, which I especially enjoyed doing as I tried solving this family mystery.

This family was messed UP! And not in your normal family drama sort of way. I didn’t trust any of the characters, but enjoyed predicting which of them was the likely culprit in this fast paced murder mystery.

The only thing that kept this from a five star for me was that I honestly felt a little overwhelmed with the amount of characters and their connections. It’s important to pay attention to all the little details in this story, and I highly suggest taking notes! It will be worth it in the end!

This was such an interesting concept to a murder mystery. I really like following along with the episode set up. It was fun to discover all the mysteries as the characters were. The characters were a super interesting group of people. I really liked the final twist because I did not see it happening. I felt that there was no way it could have been him. I enjoyed the use of dialogue and reading the set up for everything. As someone who was a theater kid it was fun to read it as a script. I am also a huge true crime fan and this played into all the documentaries I watch. Cara did a phenomenal job with this one and I looked forward to reading more from her!

I am a sucker for a good mystery and when I found out this book was in mixed media format I knew I had to give it a read. This is definitely a unique read if you are looking for something different to pick up. Highly recommend!

This was an incredible wild ride!! The mixed media format of this one immediately drew me in due to its uniqueness. Long chapters are usually harder for me to get through, but not these because there was always something happening throughout the entire chapter. Each chapter ending on a huge cliffhanger had me wanting to mess my sleep schedule up so I could keep reading. All the twists and turns in this one were so well done and had me questioning everything I thought I knew. Highly recommend this one!!

What a wild ride!

Listen, did I call the murderer from the beginning? Yes. Did I still have a good time reading this? Also yes.

I’m sad to see people didn’t like the format because I think it’s doing something fun and pretty original. The mixed media is really enjoyable for me and I didn’t find it too daunting to read the script aspects.

There are so many red herrings and good twists. But I’m not 100% the support is actually there to be able to solve the murder before the characters (it was a lucky guess on my part based on what would be the most absurd).

But still 4 stars cause I had a good time reading it. It’s super fast paced!