Joined in 2023 
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What a scandalous bunch of liars!! The Merton adult children have lost their parents to a gruesome murder and they cannot get their stories straight. They stand to inherit millions or could lose everything. Yes! Unfortunately knives are not out! Because the poor caretaker Irena already washed away the murder weapon, cleaning the traces of blood and fingertips of the murderer. She has good intentions. She literally raised those kids and she truly knows how they suffered from controlling monster a.k.a real psychopath father of the year with a big ugly secret.
A well developed cast of characters were delightfully malcontent and rotten to the core which meant that I was on board with any one of them being held culpable for the misdeeds happening here. This was just great entertainment. It’s a book I wanted to find as many hours a day as possible to listen to. I tore through it. I had no clue who committed the murders. Such a great ending! This felt like the book version of the movie Knives Out in many ways, quite honestly; but it was fast-paced and kept me very entertained throughout. I flew through it and had fun the whole time. The short, alternating chapters, made it an incredibly fast read and I was fully engaged. After each perspective, I was sure I had it all figured out.She’d never known him to be violent, even when angry, but he was relentless in pursuit of his own interests. And after what Audrey told her – now she knows he was almost certainly a psychopath.” She didn’t call the police because she thought her brother Dan killed her parents. Cameras at the neighbors suggest she left her house around 11:00 pm and returned at 12:40 am. She also stole a favorite pair of earrings off her mother’s body. I listened to this one as an audiobook, and from the beginning, I just couldn't stop listening. It is divided into short sections, which made me compulsively keep listening as more clues were uncovered. One of her hairs was found in Irena’s car, which was seen outside her parents’ house on the night of the murder, but Jenna insists it could have transferred to Irena when she hugged her after dinner. That family had problems,’ Audrey begins. ‘Sheila wasn’t good for my brother. She was weak and frivolous. She didn’t bring out the best in him.”
The truth is, they’re all so much better off now that their parents have been murdered. No long years – perhaps decades – of waiting for their inheritance. No more jumping to their father’s tune, no endless years of depressing, dutiful visits to old-age homes. They’ve been spared all that. They can start to live. If it wouldn’t be so unseemly, they really ought to be having a celebration. He feels like popping a bottle of champagne into the fridge.” If you’re the type to play detective, this will be the book for you! So many shady and unpredictable characters to choose from. Who could it be?? 🧐 Not a Happy Family is a dysfunctional family whodunit mystery. I'm really digging these plots right now. No, this story isn't very original and reminds me of the movie "Knives Out", but I'm still entertained from start to finish. Everybody……everyone is a suspect in my mind. No one has solid reasons they are all as guilty as hell. Good thing I’m not in the Jury! Poor Dan, is the mentally and emotionally weakest link of the trio. He reminds me of Successions’ Kendall a lot. His father targeted him from the beginning, abusing mentally and psychically, selling the company he’d worked hard for and left him penniless and unemployed. And his last unfortunate business investment left him high and dry. The father of the year rejects to borrow him money, humiliating him in front of everyone, pleasing to watch him squirming in pain. Being middle child and only boy must be toughest. He’s none of his parents’ favorite, left excluded and has every right to reflect years long boiled anger in different ways. Could he be the killer? Why not?Catherine is the oldest, hard working, conservative, conventional, a doctor. She’s in good terms with everyone, her mother’s favorite child. But as soon as her father plans to sell their childhood house, her peaceful demeanor is changed. Could she lie without blushing or showing any reaction to put her on radar? Absolutely not! She’s so cool as cucumber. So calculated. So focused. Could she be sociopath? Why not? If you enjoy books with: shite people who are fun to read about, multiple suspects, and multiple motives...READ THIS!
The Mertons, a wealthy couple from upstate New York, are brutally murdered in their palatial home after hosting a contentious family Easter dinner. The sale of Merton Robotics had gutted Dan, left him unemployed and unmoored, and shattered his confidence. He still doesn’t know what he’s going to do.” Then she reminds herself that she would never want to. Catherine has her own look – tasteful, classic, expensive – and she’s happy with it. It reflects who she is.” It’s been said there are four motives for murder: Lust, Love, Loathing, or Loot. There’s no shortage of the latter two here. There are no tears shed for Fred and Sheila, but plenty of anticipation and elation at the thought of the inheritance. I loved how the author dropped little secrets/bombshells throughout the book about the characters, that made me see each of them with new eyes.A mystery perfect for fans who can’t get enough of the complex Roy family dynamics, Not a Happy Family is the Succession/Knives Out crossover of your dreams!”
Eldest daughter Catherine and her husband, leave in a huff, followed closely behind by beleaguered middle child, Dan and his wife, Lisa. Even the former nanny/now part time housekeeper Irena is angry! Shortly after, their youngest daughter, Jenna and her current boy toy Jake say their goodbyes. The police are investigating the murder of Fred and Sheila Merton, a wealthy couple in their 60s with three grown children. Fred and Sheila spent Easter Sunday having dinner with their three children. Sometime between that dinner and the following Tuesday morning, Fred was stabbed to death and Sheila was strangled. Audrey Stancik looks around the room at all these spoiled children, so smug, so entitled, so sure they’re going to get what they think they’re owed.” Good thing is that it was easy to read, but a bad thing is that it was too repetitive, so many things that were already said were mentioned again and again... Each family member(including the deceased couple) was repugnant, loathsome, and distasteful in different ways. One or more members of the Merton family is possibly a psychopath.The police want to know if they had any enemies, if anyone saw anything, and who has a motive. Umm, everyone!! They have three children. All of them were at Easter dinner. Two of them were with their spouses. One was with a random “boyfriend”. The former nanny and current cleaning lady was there too. One guest couldn’t make it. This was an extremely unique narrative tone for me. The story is told from a distant third person perspective, yet I felt fully connected and engrossed within this twisty and suspenseful tale. I loved the short chapters of this family drama that always left me on edge wanting to read “just one more”. My suspicions flew all over the place, suspecting every single character at one point or another. But are those kids only the ones to inherit the will, or are there other people who could be suspect of this killings?
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