I am a huge fan of Ellery Kane's writing. Her Doctors of Darkness series was amazing and Shadows Among Us (#4) was dark and twisty and one of my all time favorite books. It had real raw emotion, can't turn the page fast enough suspense, unpredictable twists and a memorable plot. The Good Wife and The House Sitter were also twisty and fabulous though not as dark.

This novel was good but sadly it was not my favorite. It felt more Young Adult than what I'm used to reading from this author. Another big issue is that whoever wrote the blurb on the back of the book gave up one of the biggest twists. Robert not being Hallie's father isn't revealed until about 80% of the way through the book. Why include such a huge spoiler in the synopsis?!

One thing I liked was how the author kind of brought us along Hallie's search for her father. Hallie submitting her DNA to Family Ties and then wrote to hundreds of Robert Thompsons asking them to submit theirs to see if it's a match. We are treated to intermittent response letters from wide variety of personalities.

The overall plot of finding out what the Thompsons were hiding and finding out who was responsible for the murder was well done.

Unfortunately, Hallie's character didn't quite ring true. She lost her job and was essentially broke and homeless when she went to stay her "father" for 2 weeks to get to know him and his(/her) family. She left behind trouble with the law, which she's no stranger to. She previously pushed a lady, who accidentally fell down the stairs, and spent 5 years in juvie, until age 21. She gets out and works at a diner but assaults an a-hole customer and then robs him, which is how she lost her job. Yes he was a jerk, but tons of customers are jerks. Did 5 years (and the need to pay your bills) not teach you to watch your temper? When all is revealed and she's kicked out of Robert's house, she has to go back to where she came from and face her legal issues. We're supposed to believe that she gives the $5k she won in a contest to a friend she just met, who owns a vehicle, has a place to live and a job, because he needs it more? Likewise, she's working in a soup kitchen doing community service for the assault and robbery, and she decides to sell the one thing of value her dead mother gave her, that she has always cherished, and gives the money to charity. It is a nice sentiment, but she is hardly in a position to keep giving money away. She's got herself to support while spending her time on community service, and most likely would have been ordered to pay restitution to the guy she robbed (i.e. pay him back).

My review seems to be in the minority, so please be sure to read the more favorable reviews as well. Thank you NetGalley, Ellery Kane and Bookouture for the ARC.

This book is about a young woman named Hallie and her attempt to contact her long lost father through the means of letters and emails and through an ancestry website.
Once found, her supposed family have some serious suspicions around her and her background.
Throughout the two weeks that she spends living with her new “family” strange things start to happen like a family portrait getting torn up and a gun going missing.
All suspicions point to Hallie as the culprit, but is there something her family isn’t telling her?
I found this book really easy to read, fast paced and left me surprised at the end of every chapter. I would recommend this book to people who are fans of stories with a wide cast of characters and love mysteries

This book grabbed me from the start. Hallie does a DNA test to find her father. She then sends many letters to people with her dad's first name. I enjoyed reading the responses from the Robert Thompsons she mailed letters to. It kept the book flowing and kept me wondering.

Hallie's character was relatable and struggled with many day-to-day things all of us face. She's just trying to make it, along with a past. I liked getting to know the mother from Hallie's point of view. I felt like when the story got rolling, it kept my attention. I got to know each of the character's and came to either love or hate them. There were several times I thought I knew who and what was going on, but each new twist and turn surprised me. I enjoy reading books that catch me off-guard and that's definitely what this book did. The ending satisfied me and I was not expecting what happened.

I was able to read this through NetGalley. I read and reviewed in exchange for an honest review. The Wrong Family will be published on August 30th.

Really clever story about the possible pitfalls of searching for a family you've never met! Absolutely loved it.

I want to start this review by thanking NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me the opportunity to read this book before its release! In the past I haven’t been super into thriller books but over the last several months I’ve been devouring one after another. This book is another that surely did not disappoint!

This story is about a girl with a troubled past that is just trying to find a place to belong. Lots of people can relate to that. Then, of course, as soon as things start going great for her it also starts going south and awry. I mean… SUPER relatable, am I right? LOL

I admired Hallie’s determination, passion, and loyalty in this book as well as various things about the other characters. Even the ones you’re supposed to hate or be suspicious of, I found relatable and sincere things about them. I think the character development was great and the story unfolded beautifully. I also loved the cooking elements as a foodie and a self proclaimed chef (lololol)

While I did kind of see the plot twist coming, there are several other things I didn’t work out in my head first! I liked the fast paced flow of the book and all of the elements that kept me guessing about what’s coming next, like a true thriller book should.

I highly recommend this read to any and everyone! I think you will find it just as enjoyable as I did!

The ending of this books was worth the read but it was slow to start and hard to keep reading. Lots of characters and a surprise at the end.

I recieved this book throught Netgalley as an ARC for a fair review of the book.

I really enjoyed having the opportunity to read this book. I found the book really gripping and I wanted to complete reading it as soon as I could. I tend to enjoy mystery/thriller books and this one did not disappoint! I really liked how the author provided a good charcater development and backstory for the main character, Hallie. I also thought that the ending was not too predictable and surprised me.

Hallie is trying to find her biological father through DNA testing and letters sent to every man of the right description with the name of her potential father. She jumps at the opportunity to spend 2 weeks with her 'father'. However, Hallie should have been careful about what she wished for!

Usually, I do not enjoy the 3rd person narrative but I give Ellery credit as this was done really well throughout the book.

Thank you for allowing me to read this book, I will be sure to check out other titles by this author!

I’d like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Wrong Family’ written by Ellery A Kane in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Hallie’s mother died when she was nine years old and she spent her childhood in care. She sends her DNA to Family Ties who find someone on their system matching her DNA, a man called Robert Thompson. They arrange to meet and he invites her to stay at his house at Lake Tahoe with his wife Natalie and children. Her landlord has just given her notice and with no reason not to go she accepts his offer but things aren’t as they seem.

It’s a pity the initial blurb of ‘The Wrong Family’ gave away its main twist and that several details differed to what was in the novel, which in my eyes caused the story to lose its appeal. It was classed as a psychological thriller but it didn’t come across as that, more like a family drama, and although I’ve no doubt it will appeal to a lot of readers I’m afraid I’m not one of them. I didn’t like the characters who came over as unconvincing and as I couldn’t empathise with them I struggled to keep involved. Generally it had an interesting concept that maybe would have been more suited to young adults and I kept reading hoping it would grow on me but I’m afraid I gave up before the end which is a rare occurrence for me. My apologies to the author who will have put a lot of time and effort into writing it but this is purely my own opinion.

Gahhh, that ending! This book is so addictive, as the story went on, the more I was sucked in. And everything I thought I knew was wrong! Highly recommend. Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for an ARC of this novel. I enjoyed this read. I liked that the plot for the story was very unique (it's not uncommon to read the same things over and over again)- this was a refreshing new idea. The only thing I didn't love was that there were so many hateable characters. I wasn't rooting for a happy ending for too many of them ;) 4 stars!

Hailee grew up not knowing her father...at age 28, she strated on a mission to find him by mailing letters to every Robert Thompson and using a DNA family tree site. When she received an email stating that she received a match, she was so excited to finally meet her father...but is he actually her father?

This book gets 4 stars from me because it seems to have started out slow. It did pick up pace and have me wanting more. This book reminded me of the saying "Be careful what you wish for."
Definitely found a new author to read!

Synopsis (from Netgalley, the provider of the book for me to review.)
*********************************************************
He tells you he’s your father. He welcomes you into his family. And now you’re trapped…

I’ve never met my father. It was always just me and Mom, so when she died, I was completely alone. But today, years since I first mailed my DNA to Family Ties, I finally have a match. They’ve found my biological father. When I meet Robert, he’s warm, dependable, and sturdy. I’m desperate for him to like me. I want to be part of his perfect, high-flying family more than anything. Except, I’m not so sure they are perfect. Every day, strange things go wrong in the Thompsons’ grand Lake Tahoe house. A family photo is found burning. Robert’s car is tampered with. My mother’s necklace goes missing.

Though that’s nothing compared to the horror of finding the huge family portrait violently slashed in its ornate gold frame… But someone is trying to blame me for everything—all eyes are on me. I can’t run now. And then I receive an email from Family Ties that makes my blood run cold. Robert Thompson is not my father. Now I’m trapped in a house full of strangers, with no idea who I can trust. And I’m terrified my life is in grave danger…

Ok the last part of that description is a little off from the book’s plot but that’s ok, I guess as it is not a huge factor in the plot. My own personal AncestryDNA story is freaky and weird and truly be careful what you wish for! Our heroine certainly got herself into a pickle, and a beautiful home in Tahoe won’t make up for it…quite. I found the book a little meandering at times and the ending left me hanging and wondering what is in THAT letter!?!?!?!?!? (the letters that were interspersed were almost my favourite part of the book: they were so divergent!)

A great read, albeit a long 400+ page one...highly recommended for those who can stick it out as it will make you wonder about your family! #shortbutsweetreviews

before we get into this review, i’d like to thank netgalley and the publisher bookouture for sending me an arc copy of this book. im so grateful! 🥰

in this book we follow hallie. hallie has been looking for her biological father. she uses a family dna test to try and find him. she gets an email telling her she has potential matches. she sends out letters to all of her potential matches & impatiently waits for a reply. when she receives a response from robert thompson, she has never been happier!

all hallie has ever wanted is feel like she belongs. losing her mother very early on in life & then being placed in the foster system meant that she has always felt out of place &
so when her biological father offers her to stay with him & his family in their lavish house, she finally felt like she belonged.

but things aren’t adding up… hallie starts to notice that things are very quickly going wrong. as strange things continuously occur, hallie begins to question everything. things aren’t starting to make sense…

wow🤯…
this was an insanely gripping thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time!! i loved the pacing in this book, it wasn’t too slow and it wasn’t too fast. it was just the right pace that made me want to keep reading to get answers.

this book was a buddy read with one of my book besties but i flew through it simply because i could not put it down!! it was an extremely engaging psychological thriller with a plot twist i definitely did not expect!! 👀

Hallie has had a troubled background. When a chance arises after finding her dad through a dna matching service, she jumps at the opportunity to meet her father and the rest of her new family.
Things start to go wrong almost immediately and the safe haven she thought she was going to, is definitely not that safe and friendly.
This book is a great psychological thriller that will have you guessing until the end.

Oh if you know me, you know I LOVE Rich People Family Drama, throw in a murder and you got me hooked. So. when I read the tag line for this book I knew I was going to inhale it. And inhale it indeed I did.
This was my first Ellery Kane novel and I will most certainly be checking out her backlist (I hope she has a long one!) because she is great at building character, developing the plot and creating intrigue. Each page was full of tension and the characters all seemed "believable". Some thriller/mystery writers overdo certain aspects, but I honestly can say they felt real. Another part of her writing that made me like her style was, after a longer intense chapter or deep plot twist she would throw in some random emails from other "Robert Thompsons" I loved this mental break it provided for me as the reader. It also showed creativity Kane had for coming up with plausible reasons that the fakes were not indeed the MC's father.What was most enjoyable was I did not trust one single character. I had no idea who was behind all the craziness that was tearing the Thompson family apart.
The ending had some unresolved questions that I think I would have liked to have been addressed, but overall it was satisfying. The ending will leave you with questions that I guess you could debate at your book club if you chose to read this with others.
Very easy to read book, that kept my attention the whole time. Bonus a great ending!

Thank you Net Galley for this advanced copy read of The Wrong Family. I was not influenced or paid for my honest review of this book.

This book reeled me in. I liked the main character and wanted everything to work out for her. I’d definitely recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley for this read.

Ive loved being a NetGalley reader for this book - I read the overview and immediately needed to get to it. Safe to say it was this definitely won’t be my last Ellery Kane read!

This was my first book by this author and I’m now going to do a deep dive into her previous books - I can’t wait!
A great twisty-turny drama, full of great and really unlikeable and loveable characters.
Great plot for any thrill seeking book lover.

Plus, I loved reading all the letters between chapters!

This was more of a mystery than a thriller to ME.
Hallie is looking for her father and sends letter to all the Robert Thompsons she can find.One day she meets a man who says he is her father and he invites her to their Lake Tahoe home. She meets his family there and that’s where the story sort of begins.
The book is a bit slow but it does hold your interest. Loved the twist at the end.
Thankyou Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC

I received an arc copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinion of it. I dnf this one. It was not a thriller but more of a young adult book. Too far fetched.

Book Review 📚
The Wrong Family by Ellery A. Kane - 4/5 ⭐

Wow. What a wild ride I was just on with this book. I went in blind, didn't read the blurb or description so it's always based on the cover and title. The Wrong Family was absolutely amazing!

The characters were so amazingly described and developed that along the way it just felt as if they were a normal, every day person you know. Kane done a brilliant job in portraying the characters and the world around them.

Kanes writing style really sucked me in to the entire story, it just flowed phenomenally and really kept me on the edge of my seat. I was desperate to find out the truth that by the end I actually think I had pulled majority of my heart out in trying to figure it out myself.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookoture for allowing me to read this ARC - this is an HONEST review from my own personal opinion.