Thanks to Bookouture and Net Galley for an early copy!

I love a twisty book and this had plenty. It was a little difficult to maintain the then and now as you had multiple people tell the story from their own point of view. Several times o thought I’d lost my place in the book due to the repetition. The catalyst act that set off all the other twists and turns seemed grossly unrealistic which turned me off and I admit I had low expectations moving forward. That said, I did have a few gasps of ohhh tricky as things unfolded. The story includes all the things…love, lust, greed, money, trust and so on.

The Cutler family is the epitome of perfect. Tim has a local veterinary practice, Louise is a teacher, and they have 2 wonder children, Harry and Elodie. When Tim's practice begins to struggle, he is given the chance to sell to a corporate firm but maintain his ability to focus on his passion for animals.
His family is given the opportunity to stay at the corporate estate in the South of France for a 2 week holiday. There is no question that this is the ideal sale and chance to firm up terms while at the villa.
What no one expects is a dead woman to be found on the pool lounger one morning, or for Tim to arrested for murder.
Secrets thought to be buried by all soon come to light. Will the Cutler family remain as perfect as they seem?
#JusttheNicestFamily #NetGalley

The Blurb :
I push open the door to the beautiful French villa and my clever, handsome husband and adorable wide-eyed children follow me inside, taking in the breath-taking view. This should be a blissful summer break, filled with sun, swimming and relaxation but the truth is very different.
Because my husband has just revealed the real reason we’re here.
When our friends staying at the sprawling villa greet us on the sun-soaked terrace, I smile brightly and attempt to calm my nerves. If I can just behave normally, everything will be fine. But if any one of the people sitting around the clear, blue pool discovers the truth my whole world could be shattered.
So I have to pretend we’re the perfect family and I’m the perfect wife – all the while knowing that our lies could destroy us.
If our secrets begin to unravel, how far will my husband and I go to protect them? And will two weeks in the sun end in murder…?

My Thoughts :
We meet Tom and Louise Cutler, a couple with 2 children who seem to have it all.
Tom is a Vet and the has hit hard times, when an opportunity comes up and an offer from someone to buy the business he takes Louise and his children to France to stay at a villa and see if they can seal the deal amd meet the potential buyer. Its also a chance to have a little break at the same time. Tim also invites some others that Louise isnt too happy about.
As the holiday progresses a dead body is found by the pool and noone knows who the woman is. Soon things take a turn, secrets are being kept, truths are being told.
Its not the Idylic holiday Louise had hoped for, will her marriage survive her husband’s lies!.
The story pulls you in from the start and you want to keep reading to see what happens.
Its well paced, has some likeable characters and some twists and turns added to the mix.
This is the first book I have read by Alison James, and it wont be the last, I throughly enjoyed this Psychological Thriller and would love to see more from this Author in the future.

Wow, what an absolutely thrilling read! Loved this one so so much. Tense and addictive, a winner all the way. Loved it!

This was a bit of a slow burn thriller, but it was so good! I think Tim and Louise are a great couple. They are so in love with each other and even though they have been married for a long time, their love still seems fresh. But what is a thriller without some secrets and twists?!

We knew Tim’s secret pretty early on, Louise isn’t the only other character keeping a secret. And when that secret was revealed, I was utterly shocked! Then there is the twist at the end that I didn’t see coming. I can’t believe I didn’t see any of this coming. It’s ironic, because as I was reading, I thought “wow, the author is really leaving breadcrumbs for me to figure things out.”

James painted the atmosphere and location with perfection. I could picture the villa, the pool, the loungers, and everything surrounding them. I was a bit jealous as I would have love to have been there enjoying the pool, and having someone else cook!

Thriller fans will enjoy this book!

What happens when the perfect family carries a secret from years ago? Maybe they aren’t so perfect after all.

This book reminded me of a reverse bell curve. It started out really good, took a slow turn, then ended on a high note. The story was unique and unpredictable.

While I enjoyed the story, at times the main characters, Tim and Louise, irritated me. What started out as what seemed to be strong individuals, their persona changed and I viewed them as weak.

This is a quick read, written very well. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc. This one definitely had a lot of detail, twists and intrigue. This book went back and forth in time, and kept me wondering what was going to happen. It had infidelity, blackmail and murder.

This is was a really good domestic thriller by Alison James. Right from the very start I was drawn into the story. I really enjoyed the way the story was told in both present day and past. Both sides of the story was very interesting and I was eager to read more with every chapter. There were some nice and not so nice characters but that’s all part of a good book in my view. There was one part of the story that I did work out quite early on but it certainly didn’t take away from my enjoyment of this great read. The ending was in my opinion excellent and it came as quite of a shocker to me.

Tim Cutler has a struggling veterinarian business when he gets a big business deal and he and his wife is invited to a two week vacation in France. Tim invites a couple that Louise has no idea. However, while on vacation, a woman was murdered. No one knows the victim except Tim who seemed to be knowing the victim. Tim eventually gets arrested. Who committed the murder and what is the connection between the victim and Tim?

This was a fast paced and page turning thriller. The pacing is also good and I like how I was actually hooked into the story, wanting to know what is going to happen next. You get to know different characters and I also like the author's style of writing. The ending was unpredictable and I think the ending was great. Overall this was a great page turning thriller and worth five stars.

This is a new author for me. I really enjoyed Just the Nicest Family. The blurb made me want to read this book and made it sound like the kind of thriller I’d enjoy. Thankfully, I wasn’t disappointed. I enjoyed the structure of the book and how the compelling story is split between the past focusing on Tim’s poor choices and the present which focus on the very real consequences. Everything about this book ticked the box for me including great characters, compelling plot and an engaging narrative. The book took a while to get going but it was worth persevering with. I’d recommend this.

I found this book to be very atmospheric, maybe because I was on holiday when I read it (although not in the south of France like the setting). Despite expecting a family drama/thriller based on the title, I still thoroughly enjoyed the fast-paced story with multiple points of view and unexpected twists, even though some were easy to predict. I would definitely recommend this as a beach/poolside read for someone going on their holidays.

3.5 STARS ROUNDED UP ⭐️⬆️
★★★★
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Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to review this book.

If you enjoy vacation type thrillers than this book is for you. Set in South France, Louise and Tim Cutler are invited to a luxury villa of a potential businesswoman whom Tim is considering selling his veterinary business to. The Cutlers aren't the only guests of Rene Weber however. Soon someone ends up murdered and a whodunnit becomes the center of the story. There are plenty of secrets and betrayals going on within the story to keep you entertained and guessing throughout. I managed to guess one of the major twists, however some of them I did not see coming.

Overall the book was a solid thriller and read as such. Keep in mind that this is a thriller written by a European author and some of the jargon used throughout is evidence of that, however a quick Google search proved useful to quickly figure it out. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will be looking for more by this author.

Who wouldn’t jump at the chance for a complimentary getaway to a luxurious villa in France? Not me, that’s for sure. But let me tell you, this book gave me second thoughts. A couple and their kids are invited by a colleague to stay at a stunning villa for a relaxing vacation. But things take a dark turn when a dead body is discovered in the pool, shaking up everyone’s lives. I’ve never delved into this author’s work before, but now I’m hooked. The way she weaves together different perspectives and timelines had me glued to the pages, eager to unravel the mystery. If you’re a fan of psychological thrillers and mysteries, this book is a must-read. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.

Posted on StoryGraph and Instagram as 4.5 stars

This book was very enjoyable to read. It had a little but of suspense but it could have used more. I will say it kept me guessing until the end!

Just the Nicest Family by Alison James was another edge of your seat tense psychological thriller that I devoured in a day.
This was a fast-paced and a gripping read that I just couldn't put down.
The book grabbed my attention right away and had me hooked. There are twists and turns that keep you guessing until the very end.

Thank You NetGalley and Bookouture for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Thank you net galley and publisher for this ARC. I enjoyed that this story moved quickly and hard short chapters. There were lots of twists and turns. Some surprised me and some I could see coming. A good beach read for the summer.

When the Cutler family goes to a villa in France for summer vacation it turns out quite different than they expected. Tim Cutler heads to the south of France to a villa with some friends for vacation. His wife follows a few days later and she isn’t exactly happy that Tim has invited people that he knows but that she doesn’t on their vacation together. Then Tim recognizes a woman who is found dead one morning by the pool and is arrested for her murder.

This is definitely a beach read where not much thought is required, and there is nothing wrong with that. If you are looking for more, I would suggest giving this one a miss. It didn’t quite hit the mark for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I won't be posting to social media for this book.

Just the Nicest Family by Alison James

A twisty and surprising thriller with some great beautiful scenes coming along with.

A married couple Tim and Louise were invited to a massive and beautiful villa in France. Tim also included another family to this trip. Tim was invited because they had to talk about selling his business. In the big villa, plots got thickened by the past of Louise might be revealed, which could break everything apart.

When I was reading the book, I could easily picture the view and characters. I travelled to the villa in France and I imagined how the characters looked like and acted like.

Even the story had lots of characters, but the author smartly wrote them in an organized way which would not confuse the readers.

As there were many twists and turns along the story, you would never see how it came next.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for my copy.

Pub date: Jun 19, 2024

Tim and Louise Cutler are the parents of Harry, 12, and younger daughter, Elodie. Tim works at his veterinary practice and Louise is the deputy head of a girls’ school. Tim has had an offer to sell his practice to a larger organization which is very appealing to him. In order to discuss the deal, he and his family have been invited to a large villa on the Cote d’Azur. There, they will meet with Renee, a woman who is processing this business transaction. They are to bring a couple of friends if they like and, offhandedly, Tim invites Kevin, Shona, and their daughter, Violet who is Elodie’s best friend. If Louise had had a say in the choice, she would have voted against Shona as the woman is crass.

The villa turns out to be quite large with a beautiful pool and a woman who cooks delicious meals. There are other friends of Renee’s staying there as well. Shona ends up being the obnoxious person Louise was afraid she would be.

Tim is hiding a secret about a serious mistake he made in the past that has made selling his practice necessary. If he is found out, it could destroy his marriage. He hopes the deal will go through so he can keep going.

There are a lot of twists and turns in this book that proves when you think you have it figured out, you realize you are so wrong. The descriptions of the scenery and the beautiful weather in France was simply spot on. A lovely place to spend some time. Enjoy!

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I did not enjoy the ending of this book and felt I saw the whole thing coming pretty early on. Also took a while to start and some things I thought were too far fetched to work. Bit disappointed. And the title almost doesn’t fit what happens in the book.