
Member Reviews

I looove a small town with a powerful family and The Tarnished Son has exactly that. The Clark family rules Williams Bay, Wisconsin and has for generations. This story is fully of family drama and palpable tension. The Clark family is incredibly unlikeable and that fact made me like this book even more. Sometimes I just love to hate, ya know?
A very twist, fast-paced page turner you have to pick up if you're a fan of domestic thrillers!

The Tarnished Son is an unpredictable family drama about the fall of a respected family that has ruled their town for generations. When the shining son causes a tragic accident, long-hidden secrets and cracks in the family's facade are exposed. While I loved the concept, as a first-time reader of Elizabeth McKenna I struggled to fully immerse myself in the story and connect with the writing style. However, there were still plenty of surprising twists I didn't see coming. A quick read for those who enjoy watching a family's destruction unfold.

I loved the concept of the book but i wasn't able to really immerse myself in it, It's my first book by Elizabeth so I'm not sure if it's the writing style or something else.
I did still finish it and there were a lot of things I didn't see coming so the 'wow' factor was still there, I'd still recommend it as a nice quick read!

The first-person narration in a book with multiple POVs didn't work for me. Additionally, 'The Tarnished Son' often tells the audience how characters feel and how events unfold, rather than showing it through actions and descriptions. It seemed as though the book didn't trust the reader's intelligence to piece things together, spelling out every single emotion the character felt.
'Oh, XYZ happened, and I am so very sad,' This hindered my enjoyment of the story. I truly detest when authors underestimate their readers' intelligence and spoon-feed them information. Regarding the story itself, while I can’t say I enjoyed it, I might have appreciated it more if it had been crafted by a more skilled writer.